Neon Jazz Interviews

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with New York City Jazz Vocalist Samara Joy .. We caught up with her on January 2022 from her home in New York to talk about a recent trip to Russia to perform, her debut 2021 Self Titled CD, COVID life and her career in music .. Growing up in New York, music was a pervasive presence, due to the inspiration of her paternal grandparents .....

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with NYC & Seattle Musician, Emcee, Singer, Drummer & Producer Kassa Overall .. We talked on January 5, 2022 about quite a bit .. Like his latest 2021 CD I’m a King, COVID live in America and his world of melding avant-garde experimentation with hip-hop production techniques to tilt the nexus of jazz and hip-hop in unmapped directi...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Spanish-born Jazz Pianist & Composer Marta Sanchez on the new 2022 Year .. She opened up about her new 2021 Single – The Moment of Your Life and material that is on it’s way in 2022 .. She talked about the return to the live stage and hopes for the future as a brand new year begins to unfold .. Enjoy .. Hosted by Simplecast, an Ad...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Co-Author Wayne Enstice of the 2021 Memoir The Lady Swings about the life of Drummer Dottie Dodgion .. Dottie was a force and lived an entire lifetime before she was seventeen. Undeterred by hardships, she defied the odds and earned a seat as a woman in the exclusive men’s club of jazz. Her dues-paying path as a musician took her from...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Panamanian-born Jazz Pianist, Composer, Humanitarian & Activist Danilo Pérez .. He happened to be on the road as gigs are starting to happen again and he is in the midst of promoting his new, upcoming album .. The cornerstone of his mission is that he believes that a united global perspective for the arts and social justice are th...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Award Winning Veteran Jazz Trumpeter Carl Fischer .. He talked about his new 2022 Single .. the cover of What a Wonderful World done as a tribute to the greats that postured as more than just trumpet players, but also as innovators in the music, styles and social movements that surrounded them. Louis, Dizzy, Miles and Maynard .. Over...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Omaha, NE-born, Kansas City-based Jazz Drummer David Hawkins .. He’s a relatively new addition on the KC scene and he’s been very active .. Most recently, he was the featured drummer on the new 2022 CD High Plains by Kansas City Saxophonist Stephen Martin .. He loves KC and has a great story .. Have a listen .. Hosted by Simplecast, a...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Kansas City Jazz Drummer Natalie Bates .. I caught her live last week at the RecordBar with Grand Marquis and it was a powerful set of much needed live music .. We caught up with her to talk about current projects, COVID life, her history and so much more .. She is originally from Idaho and moved to Kansas City at a young age where sh...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Internationally Recognized Pianist, Arranger, Composer & Producer Delvon Lamarr of the Organ Trio .. We had a good talk abut their latest 2022 CD Cold as Weiss, COVID life and much more .. Over the course of the last five years, the Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio have established themselves as the world's premier funky organ trio. Along...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Grammy Award Winning Legendary Jazz Bassist Buster Williams .. We caught up with him on the last day of January 2022 to talk about navigating COVID, upcoming gigs and projects and reflecting on his long jazz existence .. Originally from Camden, New Jersey, his father was a jazz musician and the first show he ever saw live .. He would...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with New York Jazz Singer, Composer, Lyricist & Musician Sasha Dobson .. We caught up with her to talk about her latest 2022 CD Girl Talk .. It’s a venture she felt a burning desire to make and she explains .. Originally from Santa Cruz, California, she performed across the world as both a leader and first-call collaborator. The stylis...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Philadelphia-born, Brooklyn-based Jazz Alto Saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins .. He opened up at length about his latest 2022 CD The 7th Hand – This is a follow-up to his acclaimed debut called Omega that was the NY Times Best Jazz Album of 2020 .. He grew up in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, just outside of Philadelphia. After he graduated hi...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Veteran Chicago-based Jazz Musician & Composer Ken Vandermark .. He grew up in Massachusetts and as a kid in Boston his father gave him a charmed jazz life of seeing legends like Art Blakey and so many others .. Ince the 1990s, he has been a firm fixture on the Chicago-area music scene earning decades of critical praise for his pl...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Guitarist Andrew Marzotto of the Band Pluto Juice .. We spoke to him during aftermath of a blizzard in his home base of Toronto .. This band is a super group and the brainchild venture of Drummer Anthony Fung .. It’s a unique blend of jazz and electronica that immediately grabs the listener into a fluid world of modern jazz going...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Nashville Studio Guitar Legend Tom Hemby .. He talked about his new 2022 CD with his Band called "Dealin' It" .. He has lived and worked in Nashville as an active musician since 1978, but he was born and from southeast Missouri .. His breakthrough came as an active touring musician backing artists such as “The Imperials” and...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Kansas City Jazz Keyboardist, Composer & Producer Vincent Orsolini .. He’s a big part of the Kansas City band Everyday Strangers and he’s relieved that clubs and venues are opening back up .. We talked about his history in music, COVID and the future .. He was born in San Francisco, grew up in the south of France and studied Jazz...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with World Renowned Philadelphia-based Jazz Bassist Mike Boone .. We talked to him on March 15 about his new 2022 CD Asynchronization Party .. Originally at New Yorker and he began  piano lessons at the age of eight. Then he went on to become an Eastman School of Music grad, then he came into Philadelphia fresh off a second stint with drum...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Chicago Jazz Bassist, Composer & Educator Clark Sommers .. He was a part of the new 2022 CD To Chicago, With Love done with Adam Larson and over his career he has toured and performed extensively throughout the world. He has had the privilege of performing with Cedar Walton, Brian Blade, Ernie Watts, Von Freeman, Ira Sullivan, Fra...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Israeli Jazz Saxophonist, Composer & Bandleader Eli Digibri .. His latest project is the new 2022 CD Henri & Rachel and it is his first album of original music since 2015 .. On his self-released ninth album, it was recorded on March 9, 2020, days before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic .. The album is titled for his parents...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Grammy-Nominated Jazz Musician & Composer Chris Brubeck .. We caught up on December 8 to talk about the 2020 CD he curated called Time OutTakes with his father Dave Brubeck  .. This Grammy-nominated composer continues to distinguish himself as an innovative performer and composer who is clearly tuned into the pulse of contemporary mus...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Two-Time Grammy Winning Pianist & Composer Peter Kater .. He talked to the show from one of his bases in Hawaii about a great many things over a long, well groomed music existence .. He just released his newest 2021 CD Rapture that features twelve diverse melodic landscapes straight from his world .. He was born of German parents in t...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Legendary Jazz Singer Diane Schuur .. We spoke to her at her home in the California desert during the COVID-19 Quarantine of April 2020 .. She opened up about her upcoming 2020 CD Running on Faith and the state of the world without live jazz as we know it .. Deedles is a brilliant vocalist and performer who was heavily influenced by D...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Multi-reed Composer and leader Brian Krock of the Brooklyn Jazz Collective Big Heart Machine .. He spoke about their latest 2018 CD - Big Heart Machine .. Their debut album- produced by multi-Grammy nominated composer and bandleader Darcy James Argue featuring a vast range of music that explores the intersection of jazz improvisation,...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Chapel Hill, North Carolina Writer, Radio Announcer & Educator Larry Thomas .. Over his long and esteemed carreer, he has worked at seven radio stations and whose journalistic work has appeared in downbeat magazine and The New York Times Magazine. His busy & colorful career has spanned close to three decades and is the author “The Lad...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Trumpeter Shane Endsley of the cool modern jazz group Kneebody – They talked about their newest 2019 CD Chapters .. And the band’s history .. The group met in their late teens while at The Eastman School of Music and Cal Arts, became fast friends, and converged together amid the vibrant and eclectic music scene of Los Angeles in 2001....