The ProgCast With Gregg Bendian

Miguel Atwood-Ferguson is a violinist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and arranger well-known for his work with Thundercat, Erykah Badu, Flying Lotus, Kamasi Washington, and more. Miguel's work bridges so many areas of musical culture it makes my head spin. A deep and detailed chat about creativity between kindred spirits, today on The ProgCast.

Pianist/composer/improviser Vicki Ray's musicality has spanned the gamut of many new musical worlds - genre-be-damned. Vicki's expressive reach is just incredible. We explore her work with The California Ear Unit, the music of Morton Feldman, Mel Powell, Wadada Leo Smith, and the micro-tonal music of Harry Partch. All of that, and Vicki's current dive into the solo piano music of Cecil Taylor, on...

Stu Goldberg was the keyboardist in the final, quartet version of the Mahavishnu Orchestra ("Inner Worlds") and went on to join John McLaughlin in the One Truth Band on "Electric Dreams." In addition to working with Al DiMeola, Miroslav Vitous and Wayne Shorter, he is an amazing soundtrack composer and bandleader in his own right. We get into all things Mahavishnu, and much more.

Malcolm Mortimore drummed for Gentle Giant on the "Three Friends" album, and later with the Three Friends band playing classic GG with guitarist Gary Green. Malcolm has played with a large range of musical artists including Arthur Brown, Ian Dury, Tom Jones, Mick Jagger, and Barnie Kessel, before rounding up the guys for an incredible Giant reunion on the major prog event of 2020 - GG and their fa...

Bassist/composer Bryan Beller is well-known to fans of progressive music for his stellar work with The Aristocrats, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Dethklok, and Mike Keneally. Bryan's latest release, "Scenes From The Flood" is a massive concept album - an epic for the current moment. We dive deep into that, and have lots of fun touching on his love for Yes, Pink Floyd, and Meshuggah.

DAVE GREGORY (pt 2)  DAVE GREGORY is known the world over as the guitarist/keyboardist of XTC. Dave and I take a deep dive into the details of the band's fascinating history and their myriad musical approaches.

Vocalist JAY CLAYTON is a pioneer of free jazz and an original member of Steve Reich & Musicians - performing on the premiere of "Music for 18 Musicians" and "Tehillim, and more. Free jazz AND minimalism?! Clearly, Jay has come to the right place to discuss her amazing artistry and musical history.

DAVE GREGORY is known the world over as the guitarist/keyboardist of XTC. Dave and I take a deep dive into the details of the band's fascinating history and their myriad musical approaches. Part two coming soon.

DAVID WITHAM is a wonderful pianist, composer, producer, and arranger. We've worked together a bunch in my Trio Pianissimo, as well as Jeff Gauthier's Goatette. We cover Dave's musical history, his studies with Jaki Byard, his work with George Benson and Barbra Streisand, and his longtime involvement with Cryptogramophone Records, among lots of other cool stuff.

I've always been fond of BONE STRUCTURE, an improvised rock ensemble formed with my Los Angeles pals - GE Stinson, Steuart Liebig, and Jeff Gauthier. Getting the guys back together to reminisce about making the Bone Structure disc and our unique type of spontaneous live performance was a true pleasure and tons of laughs.

SAMUEL ANDREYEV is an incredible composer with a fascinating analytical musical mind. We talk about Samuel's rich creative life, and break off into composers like Debussy, Ives, Varese, Stockhausen, among many others. Lots of common ground here, including a mutual admiration of Captain Beefheart.

Dave Liebman is a living colossus of the saxophone. He spoils us with two vivid hours of his incredible experiences in the hotbed of jazz/creative music's seminal days - when he became a meister alongside The Meisters.

As a young'n back in 1975, one of the first new, American, proggy bands I followed was CRACK THE SKY - who recently landed a spot in Rolling Stone magazine's "50 Greatest Prog Rock Albums of All Time." In this episode, fanboy Gregg has the pleasure of chatting with CTS chief architects and composers, singer John Palumbo and guitarist Rick Witkowski. They tell me all about the band's beginnings, th...

Guitarist/keyboardist/composer MIKE KENEALLY is one of a kind. Mike is a musical force-of-nature and one of the most prolific artists I have ever known. His work with Zappa, Satriani, and Vai is legendary. Mike and I cover our 20 years of history together, our trio with the late, great Doug Lunn, our love of XTC, and we tip o' the iceberg on Mr. Keneally's vast reserve of musical ideas and project...

This week I welcome my long-time collaborator, guitarist/composer/conceptualist GE STINSON to The ProgCast. GE is one of the founding fathers of world fusion music and has always been on the cutting edge of improvisation, in all its forms. Lots of ideas and history to cover...

Singer SHEILA JORDAN is living history. A High Priestess of Jazz - from Bop to Free - Ms. Jordan joins me in celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Charlie Parker,  telling some amazing tales of Bird, and taking us back to the very beginnings of that new jazz, Be Bop.

Drumming great CHESTER THOMPSON is an icon of progressive music. He's  well-known for his work with Zappa, Weather Report, and Genesis, and we touch on all of that. (Back in 1977, my dad took me to see Genesis at MSG - Chester's first time in NYC with the boys - and that's just how far back my history with Chester goes.) It's an honor to welcome Chester Thompson to The ProgCast!

Alex Cline and I have a long, rich history of collaboration and friendship. In this extensive interview we discuss our time in Interzone, our mutual influences (lots of ECM), how it is we play so well together, and what the Alex Cline Ensemble is all about.

Randy Brecker is without doubt a founding father of jazz fusion. His pioneering work in the bands Blood, Sweat & Tears, Dreams, and Brecker Brothers is nothing short of seminal. Lots to discuss, including his time with Billy Cobham, John Abercrombie, and Jaco's WoM

Keyboard master Don Preston is, of course, an original member of Zappa's Mothers of Invention. He's also a synth pioneer, a music conceptualist, and a cutting edge composer. We chat about his beginnings as a bassist, his time with Frank, Carla Bley, Michael Mantler and so much more.

Gary Husband is the complete musician/artist we all endeavor to become. Equally at home on drums or keyboards, he's also a wonderful composer and serious educator. My two hours with Gary flew by, as we talk about his time on the British jazz scene, and his work with Allan Holdsworth, John McLaughlin,  Jack Bruce, and so much more...

My dear friend, Zoot Horn Rollo (Bill Harkleroad) joins us to discuss details of his work with Captain Beefheart on "Trout Mask Replica," and "Lick My Decals Off, Baby," and our collaboration on his incredible solo album, "We Saw A Bozo Under the Sea".

JEAN-LUC PONTY is truly one of my musical heroes. That becomes fully apparent during this extensive and candid interview. My appropriate level of ebullience is easily eclipsed by Mr Ponty's eloquence and generous recall, as he shares candid stories about Frank Zappa, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return To Forever, his classical music influences and so much more. My eternal gratitude to JLP for sharing so...