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A look at what’s going on while I drive home. The topics may be random but the drive is a blast. Sit back, relax and listen to The Drive Home!
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Each week, join the JAZZIZ Editors and special musical guests as we listen to and discuss a handful of albums on a given theme. It’s social media in the truest sense of the term: no algorithms, no computer-generated playlists. Just jazz fans sharing records with other jazz fans. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jazziz-conversations/support
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Saxophonist/composer JD Allen is known for his enigmatic, elegant and hard-driving style, as well as for his passionate storytelling through music. On his recently-released new album, Americana, Vol. 2, he continues to explore the underestimated but crucial role the blues has played in the history of jazz and how in continues to evolve and influenc…
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THE JAZZIZ PODCAST #4: Dave King and Reid Anderson (The Bad Plus)
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This week, we welcome bassist Reid Anderson and drummer Dave King to The JAZZIZ Podcast. Anderson and King are two of the founding members of The Bad Plus, one of the defining bands of 21st-century jazz. After over a decade as an acclaimed piano trio, with Ethan Iverson first and Orrin Evans later, Anderson and King have reinvented The Bad Plus as …
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Our guest for this latest episode of The JAZZIZ Podcast is acclaimed pianist/composer Quinn Johnson. Throughout his career, Johnson has played and collaborated with some of the all-time greats, including as the music director of Steve Tyrell for many years. He has lived in different countries and continents, and the wealth of influences offered in …
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Our guest for this week’s JAZZIZ Podcast is Norwegian pianist/composer Espen Eriksen, known for his work with his acclaimed Espen Eriksen Trio with Lars Tormod Jenset on double bass and Andreas Bye on drums. The group has been going strong since 2007, having released a number of praiseworthy albums on Rune Grammofon, one of which was a collaboratio…
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Connie Han inaugurates her own brand new series of podcast conversations. The New York Times has described the pianist/composer as "the rare musician with fearsome technical chops and a breadth of historical knowledge." Her new work, Secrets of Inanna certainly reflects the verity of this statement. Due to be released on September 23 via Mack Avenu…
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Plínio Fernandes, hailed as the future of Brazilian guitar, joins us on the latest episode of JAZZIZ Travel. The 27-year-old musician recently released his major label solo album debut, Saudade, on Decca Gold. The record is a collection of interpretations of timeless songs testifying to the rich musical heritage of his native land, from Heitor Vill…
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JAZZIZ Travel: Paloma Dineli Chesky and David Chesky
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Pianist David Chesky and his daughter, vocalist Paloma Dineli Chesky pop into our virtual studio to talk about some of their recent projects. Paloma released Soul on Soul earlier this year, an album of reinterpretations of soulful classics that, at 14 years of age, showcases a voice that is well beyond her years. David will soon be releasing The Gr…
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Origin is a landmark album in the still-young and remarkable career of Joey Alexander. Recently released on Mack Avenue, this is the pianist's first album to feature a program entirely consisting of original material. He joins us to talk about it and some of the driving concepts behind these compositions in the latest podcast episode of JAZZIZ Trav…
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Drummer/percussionist/composer Rohan Krishnamurthy is quickly becoming one of the leading interpreters of Indian classical and cross-genre music on the scene today. On August 14, he will release the self-titled debut of his exciting group, The Alaya Project, featuring longtime friends and collaborators Prasant Radhakrishnan and Colin Hogan. Though …
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In 1995, pianist/composer Joel A. Martin created Jazzical, a trademarked style of playing that is a celebration of creative fusion going well beyond the marriage of classical and jazz music. Over the years, Martin has showcased Jazzical concepts via his own compositions and has applied them to the music of various artists, countries and cultures. H…
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JAZZIZ Travel: Angélique Kidjo and Ibrahim Maalouf
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International music superstars, Angélique Kidjo and Ibrahim Maalouf, have teamed up for their very first album together and both join us in our latest episode of JAZZIZ Travel to tell us all about it. Queen of Sheba is a spectacular record that is inspired by and reimagines the myth of Queen Sheba, the African Queen who challenged King Solomon’s wi…
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Flutist/composer Elsa Nilsson joins us in our latest episode of JAZZIZ Travel to talk about Coast Redwoods - 41°32'09.8"N 124°04'35.5"W, her latest trio album with Jon Cowherd on piano and Chris Morrissey on bass. This is also the first release in her Atlas of Sound series, inspired by human connection to locations of the natural world, and its mus…
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Multi-instrumentalist and keyboard extraordinaire Kibrom Birhane has been called the future of Ethiopian jazz. His third and most adventurous album to date, HERE AND THERE, showcases his unique style, which not only delivers the ancient traditional and deep jazz roots of his native Ethiopia but is also influenced by many other styles and genres, in…
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JAZZIZ Travel: Ken Druker on "Ella at the Hollywood Bowl"
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In this episode of JAZZIZ Travel, we travel back in time to discover a previously unheard Ella Fitzgerald concert recording, capturing a very special performance at the Hollywood Bowl from August 16, 1958. On this day, the First Lady of Song performed selections from an album she recorded a few months earlier, Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berli…
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Melbourne producer/musician Jake Savona, a.k.a. Mista Savona, unites the deep roots groove of Jamaican reggae, dancehall and rocksteady with the scorching soul of Cuban son, timba and salsa on the second part of his Havana Meets Kingston project, released on June 3 via Cumbancha. These star-studded sessions brought together a multi-generational cas…
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This year marks the 60th anniversary of the release of Jazz Samba, the landmark 1962 collaborative album by Charlie Byrd and Stan Getz that helped launch bossa nova to international stardom. Acclaimed guitarist Nate Najar pays homage to the spirit and iconic repertoire of Jazz Samba on his very own LP, Jazz Samba Pra Sempre, a loving reimagining of…
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Trumpeter extraordinaire Gabriel Mark Hasselbach is a U.S.-Canadian artist who has the rare distinction of regularly topping simultaneously the Mainstream and Contemporary Jazz charts everywhere. Indeed, there are two sides to his personality explored in two of his latest albums. The first is the latest installment of his acclaimed MidCentury Moder…
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JAZZIZ Travel: Vik Sohonie, founder of Ostinato Records
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Vik Sohonie is the founder of Ostinato Records. Based in New York City and founded in 2016, Ostinato's mission is to celebrate the music of countries and societies underrepresented in the music industry in an authentic way. During its lifespan, the label has released albums celebrating the cultural legacies of such countries as Haiti, Senegal, Soma…
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Bill Charlap, one of the premiere pianists of his generation, joins us today for a very special episode of JAZZIZ Travel. Late last year, Charlap released his new record with his acclaimed trio, featuring Peter Washington on bass and Kenny Washington on drums. Street of Dreams is a reflection of the literal and metaphorical road traveled together, …
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For over a decade, Sonny Singh has brought his fiery trumpet and lead vocals to audiences around the world with his acclaimed group, Red Baraat. Now, he has released his solo record, Chardi Kala, named after the Sikh concept of revolutionary, eternal optimism. Offering a response to the violence and tumultuousness of these times, Chardi Kala, relea…
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Vincent Peirani is one of the world's foremost accordionists, especially prominent in today's jazz scene. He is also the latest guest of our JAZZIZ Travel conversation, where we discuss two of his latest projects, each of which showcases a different side of the French composer/musician's creative personality. The first is Abrazo, a collaborative pr…
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Having mesmerized listeners everywhere with his own compositions and traditional Armenian music, pianist Tigran Hamasyan is set to release his first album of American standards on April 29 via Nonesuch Records. StandArt finds him applying different techniques and ideas that he has developed over the years to a revered repertoire, breathing new life…
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Zev Feldman is an internationally recognized, independent producer and the co-president of Resonance Records. He is also known for traveling the world in search of lost or forgotten records. Today, he joins us to talk about two stunning recordings documenting piano legend Bill Evans in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Morning Glory is a 1973 concert with E…
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From a small Argentinian port town to the vibrant club scene of New York City, saxophonist/composer Julieta Eugenio's journey has been fascinating and it has led her to finally release her debut album as a leader, Jump. The album musically explores and promotes the idea of taking leaps forward to explore new situations and accept new ideas. Recorde…
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Sigurd Hole is one of the most in-demand bassists of today's Norwegian jazz and creative music scene. His new album, Roraima, documents a live performance that took place between lockdown in Oslo in October 2020. The work, commissioned by Oslo World, reflects on themes of solidarity and ecological vulnerability. By referring to the northernmost reg…
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Júlio Resende is an internationally acclaimed pianist/composer and a downright music ambassador of his native Portugal. Among his most ambitious and visionary projects is the development of an idiosyncratic blend of the sounds and emotions of fado, arguably the most characteristic music of Portugal, with the invention and vocabulary of jazz. Fado J…
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Alex "Apolo" Ayala is one of the most in-demand bassists in the contemporary Latin music and jazz scene of New York City. His latest album, Bámbula, is available now on Truth Revolution Records. On it, he marries modern jazz ideas with Afro-Puerto Rican styles via a set of seven original compositions and one reimagination. He particularly offers hi…
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Miriam Elhajli is a New York-based composer/improviser/folklorist whose work is influenced by the rich musical tradition of her Venezuelan, Moroccan and North American heritage. Her anticipated second album, The Uncertainty of Signs, features a wide cast of players performing on instruments of various cultures and traditions. The record will be rel…
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Award-winning virtuoso flamenco guitarist/composer Miguel Espinoza gracefully balances tradition and innovation, blending flamenco with jazz, classical and subtle world music on his latest album with his Miguel Espinoza Flamenco Fusion, Veneta. Available now, Veneta is mostly made up of new original material, capitalizing on sophisticated rhythmic …
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JAZZIZ Travel: Stacey Kent and Jim Tomlinson
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Last year, Stacey Kent released Songs from Other Places, a varied and eclectic collection of voice and piano duets with Art Hirahara. Recorded during the lockdown, these songs explore the concept of travel and give musical expression to our collective desire to roam the world again in a post-pandemic world. Songs from Other Places, released on Cand…
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Vocalist/composer Christiane Karam will release Nar, her first album in nine years, on January 28. A tribute to the lives tragically lost in the 2020 explosion at the Port of Beirut, her birthplace, the record is intended to be a joyous and uplifting tribute to the resilience, connection and triumph of the human spirit in the face of adversity. Nar…
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Malcolm Jiyane is a revered figure of the contemporary South African jazz scene. He's a successful painter as well as a musician. A generous sideman and bandleader, Jiyane plays multiple instruments. He was an integral part of SPAZA's most recent release, UPRIZE!, where he played piano. On his new debut album as a leader, he showcases his chops on …
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Norwegian guitarist/composer Hedvig Mollestad has fronted her own acclaimed power-trio with bassist Ellen Brekken and drummer Ivar Loe Bjørnstad for the best part of this decade. Her new album, however, finds her performing her sweeping brand of progressive jazz-rock with a loosely-configured sextet. Documenting a performance from 2018, Tempest Rev…
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Vocalist/composer/saxophonist Elena Maque was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. She is a university-trained musician, who spent years honing her craft and wowing audiences throughout Russia, Europe and the United States, where she currently resides. She is highly regarded for her ability to cross-pollinate with funk and pop. Her new album, Feel Again…
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Sara Serpa is a singer/composer/improviser who, through her practice and performance, explores the use of the voice as an instrument. She was born in Lisbon, Portugal, and moved to New York in 2008, where she resides to this day, and where she creates ethereal music drawing from a broad variety of inspirations, including literature, film and visual…
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Puerto Rican master drummer/composer/arranger Henry Cole is known for his versatility and groove. Over the years, he has performed with many of the greats, from Miguel Zenón to Gary Burton and beyond. During this time of intense activity, he also developed his own idiosyncratic "mestizo sound," which synthesizes African, Indigeound and European inf…
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Trumpeter/vocalist/composer Amir ElSaffar is a Chicago native of Iraqi-American heritage. A visionary musician with a prominent background in classical music and jazz, ElSaffar is also a purveyor of old, endangered Arabic music. He is particularly fond of the Iraqi maqam, which he performs actively as a vocalist and santur player, and has integrate…
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Adam Bałdych is a Polish violin master who works within a wide range of settings and genres, and who is particularly known for leading a jazz violin renaissance in European jazz in later years. Yet, no matter the project, he is driven by one fundamental goal: to make music that communicates, able to enter people's lives and stay with them. His new …
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Icelandic-born, Sweden-based singer/songwriter/pianist Anna Gréta was born in music (her father is acclaimed jazz saxophonist Sigurður Flosason) and has performed with some of the great Nordic jazz musicians of today. On October 29, she will release her debut album, Nightjar in the Northern Sky, via ACT Music. The record emerged from a period of tw…
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Camae Ayewa, a.k.a Moor Mother, is not only a musician but a poet, visual artist and prominent thinker. Having established her reputation as a force to be reckoned with in creative music everywhere, particularly with her debut album Fetish Bones from 2016, she has continued to share her thoughts in a variety of music and multimedia projects. Her la…
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Virtuoso pianist/composer Hiromi's new album, Silver Lining Suite, is a blend of classical composition and jazz invention. It is also her collaboration with violinist Tatsuo Nishie, concertmaster of the New Japan Philharmonic. The origins of this collaboration can be traced back to the pianist's Save Live Music series of concerts and livestreams, w…
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JAZZIZ Travel: Ches Smith and Daniel Brevil
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Drummer Ches Smith and percussionist Daniel Brevil join us on this new episode of JAZZIZ Travel to talk about their collaboration on the new album, Path of Seven Colors, out now on Pyroclastic Records. This eight-track collection melds Haitian Voudou and contemporary jazz, and is performed by the We All Break ensemble, the brainchild of Ches Smith.…
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Via de la Plata is an ancient commercial and pilgrimage path that crosses the West of Spain from North to South. It represents the country's main artery and allowed Spain to come together for the first time, bringing together people of different cultures, from Celtic and Nordic to Mediterranean and African, and from the Americas also. An awareness …
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Los Angeles-based saxophonist/composer Patrick Shirioshi's previous LP, 2020's Descension, heavily focused on the experience of being inside a Japanese-American concentration camp. By doing so, he revisited one of the darkest pages in American history that is not talked about as often as it should. His new album, Hidemi, is a solo multilayered wood…
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JAZZIZ Travel: Gisele Ben-Dor and Juanjo Mosalini
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Argentinian Astor Piazzolla, born in 1921, leaned heavily on the jazz vocabulary to create the nuevo tango, a form of music in which new elements are incorporated into the traditional Argentinian tango. To celebrate the centennial of this groundbreaking music artist, conductor Gisele Ben-Dor and bandoneon virtuoso Juanjo Mosalini have released an e…
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Pianist/composer Bram Weijters is based in Antwerp, Belgium, and is certainly one of the most exciting voices on the contemporary Belgian jazz scene. He has led and participated in a wide range of projects, including his Crazy Men ensemble, which recently released their second full-length record, The Return, out now on Sdban Ultra. The band consist…
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Miles Monday: Merci Miles! with Kenny Garrett, Deron Johnson, Florence Joelle Halfon & Ashley Kahn
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In this special "Miles Monday" episode of JAZZIZ Conversations, we discuss the recording, remastering and release of Merci Miles! (Live at Vienne), a previously unpublished live concert album made available by Rhino Records on June 25. The album captures an electrifying set by The Miles Davis Group at the Vienne Jazz Festival in the summer of 1991,…
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Double-bassist/composer/vocalist Sebastián de Urquiza, born in Boston but naturalized Argentinian, is a musician in constant growth. He recently released his large ensemble debut as a leader, Unity Vol. 1, with a second volume on the way. Recorded in Switzerland, the session features a multinational and multicultural lineup united by jazz and impro…
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Japanese artist Satoko Fujii is one of the most exciting voices to have emerged from the avant-jazz scene of the '90s. A prolific bandleader of several ensembles large and small in different parts of the world, the pianist/accordionist/composer is fast approaching her 100th album. This year alone, she has released a number of noteworthy records, wi…
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JAZZIZ Travel: Peter K. Siegel on Joseph Spence
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Richard Thompson, The Grateful Dead, Ry Cooder and Taj Mahal. They are just some of the artists who have been influenced by Bahamian guitar legend Joseph Spence (1910-1984). By combining individual inspiration and talent with regional musical traditions, Spence created a seminal guitar style. Yet, it is also thanks to the work of such music preserv…
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