Neon Jazz Interviews

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Amsterdam-based Vocalist, Composer & Bandleader Gabriela Martina .. She talked about her new 2023 CD Homage to Gramlis .. It was delayed some years because of COVID, but now she is out there promoting and getting grand reviews. She grew up in Switzerland and spent 13 years living and working in the US (Boston & New York) learning from...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Nashville-based Jazz Drummer & Composer Sofia Goodman .. She opened up about her new 2023 CD Secrets of the Shore .. It takes listeners on an odyssey exploring the human psyche and its primordial link to the ocean .. She was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan to parents who’d met in college: a mother who is first-generation Puerto Rican Amer...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series Jazz Trumpeter and Composer Pablo Masis .. We had a good talk about his new 2023 CD Thought and Memory .. In February 2015, he traveled from his home in New York City to Kabul, Afghanistan as a guest artist with the Afghanistan National Institute of Music for their Winter Academy. On this fourth recording of his, it serves as a musical sna...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Pianist, Organist & Educator Steve Snyder .. He talked about his new 2023 CD Prime Vintage and a great life in jazz .. The new album features 7 original compositions that cover a wide range of moods and stylistic approaches. He maintains an active playing schedule locally, nationally and internationally. His work as an organist a...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Sam First Record/Club Executives & Artistic Visionaries David Robaire and Paul Solomon .. Since opening in 2017, Sam First has become Los Angeles’ leading jazz club for world-class modern, eclectic, and straight-ahead jazz in an intimate setting, and all within walking distance of Los Angeles International Airport. With the guidance o...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Veteran Jazz Singer Linda Purl on the 2023 CD This Could be the Start .. Again, she teamed up with longtime collaborator & music director Tedd Firth for their fourth album. The tunes collectively explore what happens when you stand on the edge and take the leap. Things go right, things go wrong too, love awakens, deepens, is lost and...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Grammy-Winning Jazz Pianist & Composer Kris Davis .. It was an honor to catch up with this modern legend about her new 2023 CD Live at the Village Vanguard .. Following in the footsteps of Shirley Horn and Geri Allen, with the release of Live at the Village Vanguard, Davis joins the handful of women instrumentalists to record at the l...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Vocalist, Songwriter & Performer Hannah Gill .. She discussed her debut and new 2023 CD Everybody Loves a Lover and her life in music .. This 26-year-old artist based in Bushwick, Brooklyn has over 10 million streams on Spotify, and her YouTube videos have exceeded 22 million views. She has been covered by The New York Times, Tee...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Veteran Portland-based Jazz Pianist, Composer & Educator Gordon Lee .. He has been busy lately with pandemic projects coming out in 2023 in the form of the projects The Remainder & How Can It Be .. We cover these albums and his life in music .. He is a longtime institution on the Pacific Northwest jazz scene best known for his jazz pe...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Pianist & Leader Dred Scott of The Pacific Jazz Group .. He opened up about this project, upcoming albums, his life in music and the future ahead .. His label has referred to him as the ‘maestro of mayhem’ in his earlier years and has the resume to back it up. He’s played and recorded with a long list of diverse artists ranging f...

Welcome to a Special edition of the Neon Jazz & Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series .. On this episode, I get into something that is not specifically jazz, but plays into how this host got into jazz radio. Furthermore, Dr. K embodies that spirit, swagger and grace that goes into the jazz community. On September 9, 2023 he was in Kansas City at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum as a part of a...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Trumpeter & Composer Danny Jonokuchi .. We talk about his new new 2023 CD Voices as the Outside in Music label debut as a bandleader in a celebration of the enduring power of collective artistry and the boundless possibilities of vocal expression featuring a stellar 17-piece Big Band. He first moved to New York City a decade ago,...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Veteran Jazz Saxophonist Dave Goldberg .. We dig into his newest 2023 CD The Other Side in a trio with organist Joe Bagg and drummer Adam Nussbaum.  We also get into his life of jazz, stellar live shows he has caught, what he teaches the youth and so much more .. Dig in ..  The Home of Famous Interviews : http://famousinterviewswithjo...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Philadelphia-based Jazz Pianist Jessica Magoch .. She reached out to the show and we had to know more about her and a new 2023 CD called Trivial Pursuit .. It is a glam cocktail of Retro Swing and Pop as a genre-bending masterpiece with influences from Caro Emerald and Norah Jones .. As a self-proclaimed “Bad girl stuck in a good girl...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Veteran Jazz Pianist Joe Alterman on the 2023 CD Joe Alterman Plays Les McCann: Big Mo & Little Joe .. This Atlanta native always expresses a certain upbeat naivete, with a broad smile and bright eyes that make all feel welcome. On his latest album, he pays homage to a master he believes needs more credit for his prowess .. We get int...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Violinist & Composer Aline Homzy .. She talked about her debut album in the 2023 CD Éclipse. It's a dazzling musical world with a power line up of vibraphonist Michael Davidson, guitarist Thom Gill, Dan Fortin on bass and Marito Marques  on drum. She grew up in Montréal before moving to Toronto to study jazz. Since then, she has...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jerusalem-based Jazz Bassist Yosef Gutman Levitt & Pianist/Composer Omri Mor .. They spoke at length about their musical relationship and their new 2023 CD Melodies of Light and also Upside Down Mountains .. Omir is of Iraqi and Argentine heritage born in Israel, while Yosef has deep roots in Hasidic and Southern African music. The pr...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with North Carolina-based Jazz Guitarist Daniel DeLorenzo on the 2023 Album Hey .. For this new project, in the words of Daniel, he is "Unleashing the essence of raw creativity and a rebellious 'garage jazz' spirit, 'Hey' strips down the complexities of jazz, delivering a profound musical experience. Embracing grit and authenticity, this c...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with New York City Jazz Drummer Brandon Sanders .. We got into his first album as a leader in the new 2023 CD Compton's Finest .. Originally from Kansas City, Kansas, he moved to Los Angeles when he was two. He spent his formative years in Compton, growing up in a musical household. His mom played the violin and his stepfather played the t...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with NYC Jazz Vocalist & Recording Artist Audrey Silver .. We caught up with her about her new 2023 CD Oklahoma .. With a growing catalog of outstanding recordings and a warm, swinging performing style, she stands as one of the most elegantly creative singers in jazz today. Known for what Hot House Jazz has called “extraordinary artistry”...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Toronto Jazz Guitarist & Composer Dan Pitt on the 2023 Album Stages .. We cover this new album, surviving a pandemic and his future .. This is his fourth release and the second album of his main trio project. Building on a strong jazz foundation, the music on this album combines influences of ambient, rock and chambered music. He cont...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Pianist/Vibes Richard X Bennett and Saxophonist Matt Parker on the 2023 CD Parker Plays X .. These friends and collaborators heighten their creative relationship with their BYNK Records release. These two are co-leading a session for the first time as they, along with bassist Adam Armstrong and drummer Julian Edmond, explore a do...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with New Orleans-based Jazz Singer Carmela Rappazzo on the 2023 CD Whisperings .. On her new album, she offers a ripple of acoustic guitar, and a cello goes through a darkened nightclub. Then the rest of the small band—sax, accordion and bass—join in with a breezy rhythm as a single spotlight fades up, illuminating a singer on a stool. We...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Toronto-based Jazz Saxophonist Andrew Rathbun on the 2023 CD The Speed of Time ..We get into his latest Steeplechase as a compelling addition to an already impressive body of work. Over his 20 years of work, he has achieved a rare depth of lyricism and compositional intelligence .. We get into this album, COVID life, the future and mu...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Trombonist & Composer Audrey Ochoa on the 2023 Album The Head of a Mouse .. She opened up about her fourth album as a bandleader, surviving COVID, the future and much more .. This project was conceived of during one of the most challenging periods in recent history-the COVID-19 pandemic. As she couldn’t freely perform the music f...