Neon Jazz Interviews

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Italian-born, Kansas City-based Jazz Trumpeter Alberto Racanati .. He opened up about his latest 2022 album Into the Woods, coming to Kansas City and so much more .. Originally from Bari, Southern Italy, Alber comes from a classical background. He started in 2017, when he began experimenting by combining his trumpet with synthesizers....

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Holland-based Jazz Flutist, Composer & Improviser Mark Lotz .. We talked about his new 2023 album That You Not Dare To Forget and much more .. His work in jazz and contemporary music often crosses borders with other cultures. Collaborations go into film, theater, performance art, visual arts and dance. Over the years, he has worked wi...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Veteran & Award-Winning LA-based Jazz Singer & Actress Jan Daley .. She opened up about her new 2023 album The Way of a Woman, her impressive career, the future and so much more .. She is adored for her singular magic of making what’s classic, contemporary again. Known well as a multi-talented and truly a Best Kept Secret in entertain...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Indianapolis-based Trumpeter & Composer Sam Butler .. He opened up about his new 2023 CD Folklore  his highly anticipated debut as leader, Folklore, featuring alto saxophonist Greg Ward out on May 5th, 2023 via Shifting Paradigm Records. Originally from the Alabama Gulf Coast, he now finds himself immersed in the Indianapolis jazz sce...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Montreal-based Saxophonist, Bassoonist, and Composer Melissa Pipe .. She opened up about her new 2023 album Of What Remains and much more .. As well as leading her own quintet and sextet, she performs regularly with jazz, hip hop, popular, indie, and classical ensembles as a freelancer. A versatile player and writer, she has written f...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Switzerland-based Jazz Drummer Florian Arbenz on the 2023 Conversation #9 – Targeted .. Continuing a two-decade relationship with American sax great Greg Osby .. Clearly a musician who is not content to sit still, he nears the end of his ambitious plan to record twelve albums with 12 drastically different ensembles, with this 9th inst...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Pianist, Accordionist & Composer Ben Rosenblum on the 2023 Album A Thousand Pebbles .. The album’s diverse influences include Bulgarian vocal polyphony, Northern Brazilian party music, Afro-Caribbean rhythms and traditional Irish music. Musical traditions collide and commingle, ignite and recombine, coalescing into strikingly exp...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Paris-based Jazz Flutist, Vocalist & Composer Naïssam Jalal .. She opened up about her latest 2023 Project called Healing Rituals .. Over time, she has created a unique and vibrant musical universe. A few years ago, in search of meaning, as she sought to reconcile the necessities of being and of the spiritual in a world marked by poss...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Montreal-based Singer & Songwriter Roxane Reddy on Her Debut 2023 Album Jaywalking .. After years in the making, she presents an intense and velvety opus with a major focus on vocals representing the view we have on life after overcoming depression. In a brilliant mix of jazz, progressive rock, French song and Disney-like songwriting,...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Veteran Blue Note Jazz Saxophonist & Composer Walter Smith III .. He opened up about his new 2023 album Return to Casual .. He signed with Blue Note Records and enters a new era of his band leading career on this remarkable label debut return to casual. It is a long-anticipated follow-up to his self-released 2014 recording still casua...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with NYC-based Jazz Vocalist Ben Cassara .. He talked about his new 2023 Album What a Way to Go! .. Born and raised in NYC, he began singing around the family piano and went on to perform in both church and high school choirs which culminated in a televised performance at Carnegie Hall at the age of 16. He tried his hand at theater and aft...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Multi-Instrumentalist, Composer & Arranger Robert Kyle &  Pianist & Vocalist Alyse Korn .. They opened up abut their latest collaboration as musicians and a couple on Tuesday’s Child .. Comprised of nine captivating compositions written and performed by the duo .. The songs are intimate and lyrical, inspired by their love of Jazz...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Vibraphonist & Composer Cecilia Smith … She is proud to announce the release of her 2023 CD Volume 1: Small Ensemble Repertoire, the new album from her NEA American Masterpiece Award-winning Mary Lou Williams Resurgence Project. Cecilia is a leading vibraphonist of the four-mallet technique and an avid composer and arranger, with...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Chicago-based Band Leader Shawn Maxwell on the 2023 Album Story At Eleven .. This record is his eleventh album as bandleader and composer done a long-form composition in four movements. Each movement stands independently, but they are connected musically and emotionally .. We cover this project, live shows, post-COVID living and much...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Chicago-based Jazz Guitarist Kenny Reichert .. We talked about his new 2023 Album Deep Breath .. Coming out on Shifting Paradigm Records, this sophomore effort is a masterful showcase of his musicianship and versatility as a performer, composer, and bandleader. Born in Brookfield, Wisconsin, he began his study of classical piano at th...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with UK-based Jazz Pianist, Composer & Bandleader Gabriel Latchin .. He opened up about his new 2023 CD with the Trio called Viewpoint .. Over the years, he has made a name for himself as one of the UK’s finest musicians, praised by critics and world renowned musicians alike. Known for his effortlessly swinging feel, deep repertoire and co...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with NYC Jazz Pianist Isaiah J. Thompson .. We had a good talk about this 2023 CD The Power of the Spirit .. He is a rising star in the modern jazz world making waves in the jazz scene with his unique sound and virtuosic playing. With a deep respect for the jazz tradition and a forward-thinking approach to improvisation, he has established...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Veteran Jazz Pianist & Composer Bruce Barth .. He opened up about the 2023 Project & Show Fly with the Wind featuring Terell Stafford, Tim Warfield & Dick Oatts .. The Same Lineup Will Join the Temple University Symphony Orchestra, Studio Orchestra and Jazz Band to Explore an Eclectic Mix of Classical, Jazz and Crossover Music at Jazz...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Bassist Kevin Ray  of the Group East Axis .. We dug into the  new 2023 Album No Subject with this adventurous improvising quartet also featuring pianist Matthew Shipp, bassist Kevin Ray and drummer Gerald Cleaver with new addition Scott Robinson on sax and reeds .. It’s their second album via Mack Avenue Music Group and Brother M...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Ukraine-based Jazz Saxophonist & Composer Carlo Muscat .. From his home base of Kyiv, Ukraine, Carlo opened up about his latest 2023 Release called Hymns done with Pianist Tony Tixier featuring interpretations of some of the most renowned French songs. The the intricate interplay between the two musicians and the unique fusion of jazz...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Georgia-based Jazz Vocalist Senobia Smith West .. She talked about her  2023 Debut Album Time to Breath and her life in music .. She has been performing all over the world since grade school. She has performed all sorts of music: Opera, classical and gospel music .. She loves the magical feeling of performing onstage for an audience ....

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Veteran Bay Area Jazz Bassist Dewayne Pate .. We talked about his new 2023 Album On The Upside and a good life in music .. Born in Richmond California, in the cradle of East Bay Funk, he started playing bass at the age of 15. In 1980, he moved to Los Angeles where he attended the Musicians Institute, then returned to the Bay Area .. H...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with NYC Jazz Bassist & Composer Marty Isenberg .. We spent some quality time talking about his debut 2023 CD The Way I Feel Inside .. Playing bass was love at first pluck as his career as a jazz musician began at the age of 12 after losing his father to cancer the year prior. For almost 20 years, he has been part of the rich New York City...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Philadelphia-bred Trombonist & Founder/Creator of City Jazz Festival Founder Ernest Stuart .. Now entering its ninth year, this year's Center City Jazz Festival takes place in Philadelphia on Saturday, April 22 from 1:00 to 7:30 PM.  It returns triumphantly after a 3-year COVID hiatus and it has sold out over the past five years it wa...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with GRAMMY®-Recognized Producer, Music industry Veteran, Educator & Jazz Musician Nick Phillips .. Over his career, he has worked on several hundred commercially-released projects. Newly-recorded projects produced by Nick include albums by jazz luminaries like Kenny Barron, Randy Brecker, Fred Hersch and so many others.. We cover new proj...