The Tonearm

Today, the Spotlight shines On saxophonist and composer  Sean Imboden . Sean spent years touring with Broadway shows and working as a sideman, but something was missing. He stepped away from a lucrative career path and took a leap, returning to Indianapolis, where he ultimately formed his 17-piece orchestra. Now that ensemble releases  Communal Heart , an album that captures the communit...

Today, the Spotlight shines On clarinetist  Glenn Dickson  and electronic musician  Bob Familiar . When a cutting-edge klezmer artist meets a former rock synthesist, you might expect creative tension. Instead, Glenn and Bob found something else entirely—a shared language that turns clarinet and electronics into the most unlikely yet inspired pairings. Their new album  All the L...

Today, the Spotlight shines On drummer and composer  Gustavo Cortiñas Gustavo's latest album,  The Crisis Knows No Borders , tackles climate change head-on through music that's both urgent and beautiful. Working with guitarist Dave Miller, saxophonist Jon Irabagon, and violinist Mark Feldman, he's created compositions that explore how global warming sparks conflicts, drives migration, an...

Today, the Spotlight shines On guitarist and composer  Kim Perlak . Kim chairs the guitar department at Berklee College of Music, where she's spent over a decade expanding from classical performance into composition and improvisation. Her new album,  Spaces , is a collaboration with percussionist Francisco Mela. The record captures four nature-inspired suites that obliterate the lines be...

Today, the Spotlight shines On  Terence Hannum . Terence wears many hats. He is a visual artist, professor, and one-third of the experimental trio  Locrian . It's the 15th anniversary reissue of Locrian's  The Crystal World  that brings us together today. This album marked a turning point for the band, transforming them from a duo into a full trio and giving structure to their...

Today, the Spotlight shines On guitarist  Knox Chandler . Knox's name might ring a bell from his work with The Psychedelic Furs, Siouxsie and the Banshees, or maybe from his string arrangements on Depeche Mode's Exciter. However, his latest project takes an entirely different turn. After decades in the music business bouncing between New York, Berlin, and stages around the world, Knox found h...

Today, the Spotlight shines On  John Andrew Fredrick  of  The Black Watch . After thirty-seven years of making indie rock, the band’s latest album,  For All the World , boasts an energy and vitality that surprises even John. John’s a great guest: His creative process remains rooted in uncertainty, he reads more about music than he listens to it, he draws inspiration from everyt...

Today, the Spotlight shines On saxophonist and composer  Ingrid Laubrock . Ingrid's just released  Purposing The Air , a double album that sets 60 brief poems by  Erica Hunt  to music through four different vocal-instrumental duos. It's an ambitious project that transforms Hunt's emotionally sharp koans into what Ingrid calls "a library of moods”—each piece capturing a differen...

Today, the Spotlight shines on clarinetist and composer  Kinan Azmeh . Earlier this year, Kinan released  Live in Berlin , his fourteenth album with his CityBand quartet. The album captures music he wrote during Syria's 2011 uprising—pieces that carry the weight of watching your homeland torn apart from thousands of miles away. Born in Damascus and now based in Brooklyn, Kinan has spent...

Today, the Spotlight shines On guitarist and composer  Tal Yahalom . Tal has built a reputation in New York's creative music scene for weaving post-bop, classical, and South American influences into a unique sound all his own. On his latest album,  Mirror Image , Tal brings together a chamber quintet that puts his guitar in conversation with strings, woodwinds, and percussion, creating m...

Today, the Spotlight shines On  Claire Cope . This British composer crafts music that combines the freedom of jazz with the precision of classical music, drawing inspiration from women whose stories are often overlooked in history books. Caire’s new album  Every Journey  dropped in March to coincide with International Women's Day. On it, she expanded her original septet to an 11-pie...

Today, the Spotlight shines On  Mike Scott , founder of  The Waterboys . In 2014, Mike stumbled upon Dennis Hopper’s photography in a London gallery and fell into a rabbit hole that led to  Life, Death and Dennis Hopper , a bold concept album that tells the story of the  Easy Rider  star from childhood to beyond the grave. It's a sonic movie with guest turns from Bruce Spr...

Today, the Spotlight shines On  Craig Mod , a writer, photographer, and walker who's spent the last 20 years making Japan his home. Random House has just released  Things Become Other Things , a walking memoir that traces his 300-mile journey along ancient pilgrimage paths in rural Japan. The book blends sharp prose with striking photography, capturing conversations with aging fishermen,...

Today, the Spotlight again shines on media artist  Tamiko Thiel , in the second of our two-part conversation. In our first talk, we explored Tamiko's journey from designing the world's first AI supercomputer in the eighties to becoming a pioneering media artist. Today, we dive deeper into her groundbreaking work in virtual reality and other philosophical matters. Tamiko's been creating immers...

Today, the Spotlight shines On digital media artist Tamiko Thiel . To mark our special milestone of 250 episodes, we are kicking off a two-part conversation with media artist Tamiko Thiel. Tamiko has lived at the crossroads of art and technology for over 40 years. She designed the Connection Machine, the first commercial AI supercomputer that now sits in New York’s Museum of Modern Art. She's work...

Today, the Spotlight shines On naturalist and classical pianist  Hunter Noack . Redefining what a concert hall can be, Hunter Noack hauls a nine-foot Steinway grand piano to mountaintops, forests, and beaches for his series "In a Landscape: Classical Music in the Wild." Hunter grew up in Central Oregon, where his love for music and nature took root. His concert series gives audiences wireless...

Today, the Spotlight shines On renowned saxophonist  Noah Preminger . Boston-based saxophonist Noah Preminger has spent years pushing jazz into new territories before focusing on one of the art form's most enduring traditions. He’s just released  Ballads , a collection that finds this restless musical explorer settling into the quiet power of beautiful melodies. Noah's built his reputati...

Today, the Spotlight shines On two artists who've taken the piano-guitar duo to bold new places.  Sylvie Courvoisier  and  Mary Halvorson  have just released  Bone Bells , their third album, and a fresh showcase of their uncanny musical connection. These two players come from different worlds: Sylvie from European classical traditions and Mary from experimental jazz guitar...

Today, the Spotlight shines On  Phillip Golub , a Brooklyn pianist taking his music in bold new directions. Phillip's new project,  Loop 7 , is a set of minimalist compositions performed on a piano tuned to 22 notes per octave instead of the usual 12. Working with producer Joseph Branciforte, he's created something that lives between acoustic chamber music and studio art. It's a groundbr...

Today, the Spotlight shines On  Six Missing , the musical project of ambient artist  TJ Dumser , who creates music that helps us connect with the present moment in ways we often forget. After encountering an intense phase of burnout, TJ turned his mental health struggles into  Gentle Breath , a dark, lush EP that marks a new direction for this Austin-based artist. It's music that ex...

Today, the Spotlight shines On violinist and composer  Jenny Scheinman . Jenny Scheinman grew up on California's remote Lost Coast, and now she brings us music that captures the wild beauty of her roots. Her double album  All Species Parade  brings together jazz and folk to create something wholly original that feels like the natural world itself. With a dream team of collaborators...

Today, the Spotlight shines On  Cary Baker , author of  Down on the Corner: Adventures in Busking and Street Music . The music you hear on street corners and subway platforms has its untold history, and at age 16, Cary Baker followed a slide guitar's haunting melody through Chicago’s Maxwell Street Market to find himself face-to-face with bluesman Blind Arvella Gray. That chance encounte...

Today, the Spotlight shines On New York live music and venue impresario  Michael Dorf . In addition to founding  The Knitting Factory  and  City Winery , Michael has brought legendary artists together at Carnegie Hall for over twenty years, raising millions for music education while creating unforgettable tribute nights. He launched his first tribute show in 2004 after seeing h...

Today, the Spotlight shines On  Greg Lisher , a guitarist best known for alternative rock who has leaned hard into electronic music. Greg made his name playing with Camper Van Beethoven and Monks of Doom, but during the pandemic, he sat down at a keyboard and started exploring new sonic territory. The result is  Underwater Detection Method , a collection of instrumental pieces that blend...

Today, the Spotlight shines On  Dorothy Lawson , a cellist who's helped redefine what a string quartet can be. Dorothy and the group  ETHEL  have spent years breaking down walls between classical, jazz, rock and world music. On March 13th at New York’s Carnegie Hall, Dorothy teams up with bass legend  Ron Carter  to reimagine his landmark Kronos Quartet recording from 40 y...