Neon Jazz Interviews

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz Interview Series .. On this episode, we talk with Canada-based Musician and Songwriter Michael Falk .. We get into his new 2024 album I Can Be Two People At Once from what he is known as Touching. He has turned a new musical corner by taking inspiration from a broad range of new sources and completely transforming his artistic direction with his bold new a...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Trumpeter Riley Mulherkar .. We talked at length about his debut album .. the new 2024 CD Riley .. He was born and raised in Seattle and has been recognized as a “smart young trumpet player” by The New York Times, praised by The Wall Street Journal as a “youngster to keep an eye on,” and is a 2020 recipient of Lincoln Center’s Em...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Pianist & Educator Charles Chen .. We cover his new 2024 CD Charles, Play!, living through the pandemic and his life in music so far .. He is from Cupertino, California and over the years he has performed or recorded with Billy Drummond, Bob Sheppard, Roy McCurdy, Ralph Moore, Peter Washington, and Kenny Washington. We get into h...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Veteran New York City Jazz Drummer  Matt Kane on the 2023 CD Song Poems & The Future .. We get into this 5th album as a bandleader featuring bass legend Steve LaSpina and brilliant pianist Yayoi Ikawa.  The album has six Matt Kane originals, as well as two originals the band. It was recorded at Trading 8's in Paramus, NJ and mixed by...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Veteran Jazz Drummer Mike Clark on the 2024 CD Letter to Bill Evans .. On their seventh outing together as a close-knit, collaborative rhythm tandem, bassist Leon Lee Dorsey and drummer Mike Clark tapped pianist Michael Wolff as third man in their ongoing trio adventures. Michael spent some quality time with Bill Evans and as a trio t...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with NYC-based Jazz Pianist, Composer & Vocalist Kelly Green .. We get into her new 2024 CD Seems .. She has a defined presence on the NYC Jazz scene headlining iconic venues like The Kennedy Center, Dizzy’s Jazz Club, and the DC Jazz Festival and having shared stages with jazz giants such as Steve Wilson, George Coleman, and Scott Robinso...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Toronto-based Jazz Saxophonist, Composer, Producer & Band Leader Scott Marshall .. We caught up with him about his new 2024 CD The Solitude Suite and his life in music. This is his sixth album of original music that was written for a unique chord-less configuration of Canadian jazz icons .. Along with the recording, Scott has had the...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Co-Owner of Smoke Jazz in NYC  Paul Stache .. We caught up Paul to get into the history and upcoming celebration of 25 Years of one of New York’s best jazz clubs. Paul and his wife Molly are married and live a few blocks from the club. They met when they were both working at the club’s predecessor: Augie’s. SMOKE led the vanguard of...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Lee’s Summit, MO-based Jazz Musician and Educator Shawn Harrel .. He is a multi-talented digital media technology educator with a wide range of experiences in education, audio/video production, instrumental music, composition & arranging and public radio. We caught up with him to talk about the history of the Lee’s Summit Jazz Orchest...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Veteran Jazz Guitarist & Composer Roddy Ellias .. We caught up with him about his new 2024 CD Moon Over Lake .. This Canadian artist is multi award-winning musician has consistently garnered 4 and 5 star reviews for his recordings, from publications such as DownBeat and All About Jazz, reflecting his unique, personal approach to both...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Israeli Guitarist Itamar Erez & Iranian Percussionist Hamin Honari .. These Israeli and Iranian Musicians Come Together and Show the World How To Get Along with "Migrant Voices," that is a unique project that blends diverse cultural influences, highlighting the spontaneous interplay between guitar and percussion and illustrating that...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Bassist & Composer Gui Duvignau .. We get into his new 2024 CD Live in Red Hook .. He advantage of an ideal performance space in Brooklyn and the brilliance of two outstanding musicians that he knew would provide a performance worthy of posterity. This musician was born in France and lived in Morocco as an infant. He grew up in S...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Puerto Rican-born Jazz Trombonist Ruben Caban ..We get into his new 2024 CD Kangana. It brings a fiery blend of Afro- Caribbeanrhythms, Taino melodies and Neo Soul together with pure spontaneity. He incorporates some well-known standards such as Wayne Shorter’s Yes or No and Pat Metheny’s Song For Bilbao. Over the years, he has toured...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Miami-born, New York-based Saxophonist & Composer David Leon .. We caught up with him about his new 2024 CD Bird’s Eye that stands as a unique confluence of inspirations and experiences came together to form a great ablum. Curious about his Cuban heritage, Leon began studying with master percussionist Manley “Piri” López, the youngest...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Bay Area Jazz Saxophonist Raffi Garabedian .. We get into his new 2024 CD The Crazy Dog. The first single, "A Mother's Letter,"  .. in his own words: It was the first song I composed for this project. Adapted from a poem my grandmother wrote, the melodic and harmonic structure emotes a somber mood, embodying her painful life growing u...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Beijing-born, New York-based Vocalist & Composer Annie Chen .. We caught up with her about her new 2024 CD Guardians and her life in music. It was the dead of winter when Annie visited Acadia National Park in Maine for the first time, but the landscape was nonetheless alive with flora and fauna. The experience sparked a profound awake...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz Interview Series .. On this episode, we talk with Jazz Singer Jane Scheckter on 2024 CD I’ll Take Romance .. We cover this new album that is a CD that encourages replaying. Vocals surround listeners with warmth, and the arrangements by pianist Tedd Firth are graceful, rich, and collaborative. The selections carry us along without breaking auditory sway, an...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Recording Artist, Performer & Educator Robbie Madison .. We caught up with him to talk about his new 2024 CD Live At Sambuca and a great life in music .. These days he is based in Houston, Texas and leads worship for the Houston Texans NFL team, oversees their chapel and family ministry, and can be seen performing around the coun...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Veteran Jazz Pianist & Composer Lynne Arriale on the 2024 CD Being Human .. This is her 17th album as a leader and her fourth for Challenge Records International. This new venture is a suite of original compositions that explores life-affirming facets of humankind. Being Human is dedicated to the things that define our better nature,...

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series .. On this episode, we talk with Veteran NYC-based Songwriter, Guitarist, Vocalist & Bandleader KJ Denhert .. We caught up with this legend to discuss her new 2024 CD The Evening News and a wonderful career in music .. Her new album evokes the sonic ambience of a live set you’d hear in a West Village jazz club .. This consumm...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Contemporary Folk Artist Leslie Evers .. She is celebrating the release of her second album, Bound for Land, which contains a unique blend of acoustic folk, Americana, and American Songbook influences. Bound for Land consists of 11 original songs, meticulously recorded, mixed, and mastered at the illustrious 2nd Story Sound in New Yor...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with UK-based Jazz Singer James Hudson .. We get into his new 2024 CD Moonray, surviving COVID, his life in jazz and beyond .. This lusch collection of tunes features horns, strings and vibraphone, resulting in a showcase of a unique thirteen-piece band, projecting a high impact sound .. It is a celebration of him as an artist with both cr...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with NYC-based Jazz Saxophonist & Leader Daniel Bennett on the 2024 CD Mr. Bennett’s Mind .. He has been hailed as one of the most original and unpredictable musical voices of his generation. The Daniel Bennett Group is celebrating the release of their 10th studio album described as a mix of Jazz, Folk and Minimalism. The album was recorde...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with New York-based Jazz Pianist Jill McCarron .. We caught up with her about her new 2024 CD The Gin Suite, surviving COVID and her life in music that is quickly taking off. Born in Minneapolis, MN, she spent her childhood and teen years in Canada .. After she was awarded a Canada Council Grant, she made the move to New York City where sh...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Veteran Jazz Musician, Composer & Writer Bill Anschell .. We got into his new 2024 CD Improbable Solutions, surviving COVID, his life in music and the future .. This Seattle native returned to the Emerald City in 2002 after spending 25 years studying, composing, and performing across the country and around the world. He’s got quite a...