The Jazz Session turns 17 today! I’m celebrating with an archival episode from back in my jazz radio days. I interviewed Les McCann in 2004 about his classic album Swiss Movement. Les passed away on December 29, 2023. I thought I’d commemorate his passing and celebrate his life and the birthday of this show by sharing that interview with you. Thank…

Saxophonist Allison Au’s new album is called Migrations. On it, she explores her family’s history of migration, and by extension the plight of migrants everywhere. In this interview, Allison talks about the album’s spoken word and sung elements; her family history and how it impacted the work; the arranging challenges presented by the presence of s…

Danish saxophonist Benjamin Koppel’s new trio recording with Scott Colley and Brian Blade is called Perspective. In this interview, Benjamin talks about the special relationship between the band members; the band as a collective; his family’s long history in music in Denmark; why he chooses to play in so many different genres; and more. PATREON Bec…

Allison Miller’s latest album is called Rivers In Our Veins. In this interview, Allison talks about the inspiration for the project and the research into American waterways that went into it; the care she took in assembling the band; the multimedia nature of the project, which includes both visuals and dancers; and much more. PATREON Become a Patre…

Saxophonist Benjamin Boone’s new album is Caught In The Rhythm (Origin Records, 2023). In this interview, Ben talks about his ongoing project to combine poetry with improvised music; how he approaches the selection and setting of the poems; his study of the music of speech; using his music for social commentary; and more. PATREON Become a Patreon s…

Marc Copland’s latest album is Someday (InnerVoiceJazz, 2023). In this interview, Marc talks about his bandmates; why he seeks out opportunities to play with younger musicians; his years with John Abercrombie and Gary Peacock; going into the studio without a detailed plan; and much more. PATREON Become a Patreon supporter for $5 a month to get a bo…

This episode of The Jazz Session is sponsored by the TD James Moody Jazz Festival at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. The festival runs from November 3 through 19 and features a who’s who of talent from the jazz world and beyond. Performers include Dee Dee Bridgewater with Bill Charlap; Take 6; Abdullah Ibrahim; Gladys Knight; Dave Grusin; Cy…

Violinist Aline Homzy’s new album with her band Etoile Magique is called Eclipse (Elastic Recordings, 2023). In this interview, Aline talks about imagining a world for the album to inhabit; how that world took shape in the arranging and titling process; writing for these particular musicians; a surprise theremin; how her dad influenced her music; w…

Bassist Todd Sickafoose’s new album is called Bear Proof (Secret Hatch Records, 2023). On this episode, Todd talks about assembling a cast of strong musical personalities; the challenges of recording an hour-long piece with no breaks; his work with Anaïs Mitchell on Hadestown; his long tenure in Ani DiFranco’s band; music as social commentary; comp…

Kait Dunton’s new album is called Keyboards (Real & Imagined Music, 2023). In this interview, Kait talks about her love for 70s synth music; the challenge of using vintage keyboards; how she was “pushed” (in a friendly way) into the world of keyboards; developing her social media following; simplicity versus complexity in composition; and more. PAT…

Pianist Kris Davis’s new album is called Live At The Village Vanguard (Pyroclastic Records, 2023). In this interview, Kris talks about what it feels like to record at the Village Vanguard; how she put together the Diatom Ribbons band; working with a DJ; the role of humor in instrumental performance; working with the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Ge…

Saxophonist Christine Jensen’s latest album is called Day Moon. In this interview, Christine talks about creating musical sketches; writing during the pandemic; turning visual and other ideas into music; playing in duo format; losing the friend to whom the album is dedicated; teaching at Eastman; and more. Christine was also on The Jazz Session in …

Moreira Chonguiça is a saxophonist and producer from Mozambique. His latest album is called Songs of Peace. In this interview, Moreira talks about surviving the pandemic and evaluating life; his education in South Africa; the people in Mozambique who inspired his interest in jazz; his relationship with jazz master Manu Dibango; passing on what he’s…

Saxophonist Michael Blake’s new album is Dance of the Mystic Bliss (P&M Records, 2023). Michael talks about his mom, to whom the album is dedicated; the recording process, especially the percussion; his days with the Lounge Lizards; working with Teo Macero and Scotty Hard; and a lot more. PATREON Become a Patreon supporter for $5 a month to get a b…

Laila Biali’s latest album is called Your Requests. In this interview, she talks about the fan-generated song list; balancing her dual roles as vocalist and pianist; her adventurous collaboration with Kurt Elling; and a lot more. Laila was also on The Jazz Session in 2021 and 2022. PATREON Become a Patreon supporter for $5 a month to get a bonus sh…

Steven Bernstein’s new album with his band Sexmob is called The Hard Way (Corbett vs. Dempsey, 2023). In this interview, Bernstein talks about working with producer Scotty Hard; his “first take” philosophy; bringing the audience in; life as a working musician; and a lot more. PATREON Become a Patreon supporter for $5 a month to get a bonus show cal…

Mark Dresser‘s new solo bass album is Tines Of Change (Pyroclastic Records, 2023). In this interview, Mark talks about the sonic experimentation that led to the modified bass he plays on this recording; how Jimi Hendrix and Charles Mingus influenced his early musical thinking; the short vacation on the East Coast that led to a multi-year stint in N…

Saxophonist Alex Weiss’s new album is Most Don’t Have Enough. In this interview he talks about the legacy and influence of his grandfather; the selection of his bandmates; the evolution of the music; using music for social change; and more. PATREON Become a Patreon supporter for $5 a month to get a bonus show called This I Dig Of You, on which the …

Saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock’s new album is called The Last Quiet Place. In this interview, she explores the idea of the title; talks about her band and how she chose them; describes her methods of composition; gives a preview of some upcoming projects; and more. PATREON Become a Patreon supporter for $5 a month to get a bonus show called This I Dig…

Trombonist and tuba player and educator Bill Lowe has a long and fascinating history in the world of improvised music. In this interview, we talk about his new album, Sweet Cane: Suites And Other Pedagogical Prompts (Mandorla Music Records, 2023); his Signifyin’ Natives Ensemble; the mentorship of Bill Barron and Frank Foster; setting texts to musi…

NOTE: This was originally a Patreon bonus episode. I’m unlocking it so that everyone can hear it and become convinced that it’s cool to be a member. Are you convinced? Great! Join today for $5 a month at https://thejazzsession.com/join. Trumpeter Jason Parker takes us on a guided tour of the world of jazz record collecting. He demystifies the proce…

Nicky Schrire is a vocalist, songwriter, and the former host of The Jazz Session. Her new album is Nowhere Girl (Anzic Records, 2023). In this interview, Nicky talks about the process of crafting the songs on the album; finding the right players to join her on the project; her evolution as both a vocalist and a songwriter; and much more. PATREON Be…

In today’s long-overdue show, we’ve got stories on Teamster fights with Sysco and Yellow, FedEx is heading into a massive reorganization, lots of truck stop news, what’s going on with truck safety; including crash rates for new carriers, new out-of-service criteria, driver-facing cameras, drug testing, E-log violation detection, automatic emergency…

Saxophonist, composer, arranger and educator Bob Mintzer’s latest album is called Soundscapes. In this interview, Bob talks about learning to arrange during his days with Buddy Rich; recording with the WDR Big Band; how he ended up on more than 1,000 recordings; his legacy as an arranger for student ensembles; his work as an educator; and more. PAT…

Vibraphonist Joe Locke returns to The Jazz Session to discuss his new album, Makram. In this interview Joe talks about connecting with an audience; finding the right band; his late colleagues Roy Hargrove and Vic Juris; adapting old songs for modern settings; and more. NOTES You can also listen to Joe’s previous episode from 2010. PATREON Become a …

Jo Lawry’s new trio album with Linda May Han Oh and Allison Miller is called Acrobats. In this interview, we talk about the selection of the band members and the repertoire; gender diversity in jazz; Jo’s years with Sting; and more. NOTES You can hear Jo’s 2008 episode of The Jazz Session here. In addition to the normal bonus episode (see below), m…

In today’s show, we’ve got a cheat sheet to prepare for the upcoming largest safety blitz in North America, the Agriculture Hours-of-Service exemption is coming under fire, California’s AB5 law is back in the headlines, we’ll try to figure out if Electronic Logging Devices have improved safety as much as the FMCSA hoped, the Teamsters are having ba…

In this week’s news, Knight-Swift buys yet another large carrier, daylight savings time is being debated in Congress for the millionth time, a Congressman calls the Secretary of Labor nominee the “worst choice.” We’ll find out why. We’ll discuss a new technology that could possibly give truckers priority at stop lights, a safety coalition calls for…

Tomas Fujiwara is back for his third appearance on The Jazz Session. In this interview we focus on his band Triple Double. We explore their formation and talk about their two most recent albums: March (2022) and March On (2023). Be sure to listen to his previous appearances from 2010 and 2012, too. PATREON Become a Patreon supporter for $5 a month …

In today’s episode, we’ve got a possible new Secretary of Labor, a fight between a Senator and the Teamster’s President, rising pay for diesel mechanics, the Love’s Travel Stop’s founder dies, I’ll tell you about one high tech and one low tech product, Cummins is rebranding it’s emissions-focused division, and apparently, truckers value praise more…

In today’s show, I’ll tell you when the biggest safety blitz of the year will take place, Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) asks the FMCSA for a better Big Truck Crash Study this time around, more rules exemptions are being sought from the FMCSA, new “move over” laws are coming in some states, Canada provides funding to get mor…

Kenny Barron’s latest album is a collection of solo piano performances called The Source. In this interview, Kenny talks about why playing solo piano can be scary and why he returned to it on this recording; his older brother Bill and their musical history together; his goals for the future of his music; and more. PATREON Become a Patreon supporter…

In today’s show, we’ll talk about how the trucking industry was a hot topic at the State of the Union address, we’ll talk about how this futuristic trucking world isn’t working out quite as expected, the FMCSA is staying busy receiving and rejecting exemption requests, I’ll tell you about a new restaurant chain at TA truck stops, and I’ll point you…

The Jazz Session turns 16 today! On this special episode, you’ll hear a clip from each calendar year of the show, along with the story behind the clip. This episode features John Abercrombie, Chico Hamilton, Steve Kuhn, Amy Cervini, Fred Hersch, Jack DeJohnette, Angela Davis, Allison Wedding, Red Wierenga, Josh Rutner, Darcy James Argue, Dmitri Mat…

In this week’s show, we’ve got lots of truck stop news, I’ll tell you the top 10 worst traffic bottlenecks in the US, we’ve got a crap ton of new state traffic laws, the FMCSA is revamping the way it rates carriers for safety, I’ll share tips to get you in and out of a weigh station quickly, and we’ll talk about what your tires are trying to tell y…

Trombonist Conrad Herwig and the Latin Side All-Stars are playing every Tuesday night at Django in the Roxy Hotel in New York now through March 28, 2023. In this interview, we talk about Conrad’s history from his formative years in Hawaii to his early professional career in NYC; his The Latin Side Of… project and its most recent album of Mingus tun…

No show today. Really crappy week. 'Nuff said.By Todd McCann

Well, news was light last week, but it’s back with a vengeance, which means I’m pretty sure this week’s show is going to be long, so strap in and keep your cup of coffee handy so you don’t doze off. LOL News this week includes American Trucking Association’s (ATA) CEO discussing trucking’s biggest issues with Congress, positive drug tests were up i…

Guitarist and vocalist Doug Wamble‘s latest album is called Blues In The Present Tense. It’s an overtly political album that speaks to a range of important issues. It’s also a great album musically, featuring performances by Eric Revis, Jeff “Tain” Watts and Branford Marsalis. In this interview, Doug talks about using his music as a vehicle for pol…

Well, the news is light this week, so we’re trying something different again. We’ve been teasing a mega breakdown saga from listener Wunuvakind in recent weeks and it turned out to be far too long for the listener feedback segment. So, I’m sure much to her surprise, Wunuvakind’s story is featured on the show. I enjoyed it immensely and I hope you d…

NOTE: Members received this a week ago, but I’m making it public so that perhaps you’ll consider becoming a member if you’re not already. You can join today for $5 a month at https://thejazzsession.com/join. You get bonus shows like this, plus early access to every episode, plus a bonus episode called This I Dig Of You that accompanies each main ep…

In today’s show, California’s AB5 just won’t go away; getting paid-by-the-mile is coming under fire; truckers, drugs, and drug testing is always a hot topic; and I’ll tell you where is the worst traffic in the world and the US is (the answer might surprise you). Also, how likely is the US going to be ready for electric trucks by 2045?; I’ll tell yo…

There’s a new anthology of the work of guitarist Steve Tibbetts called Hellbound Train. In this interview, Steve talks about putting together that anthology; how world travel has shaped his life and music; the importance of percussion to the music he writes and plays; and more. PATREON Become a Patreon supporter for $5 a month to get a monthly bonu…

Well, we’re back to our normal news-focused show this week. We’ve got lots of news to catch up on, including how California shutting down a crapload of trucks is going. Is the new Tesla semi already having problems? The FMCSA is staying super busy with both denying and accepting requests. I’ll catch you up on that. What else? Trucking jobs are slow…

Well, you asked and I listened. In today’s show, we go back to a time when there was nothing on the show but this dorky trucker telling a story and a reading a couple of emails from listeners. This time around we’ve got a rant called “Scoot Over And Fix It Now!” We’ll also hear a bathroom story from Driver Dave and Wunuvakind sent in an audio clip …

Ernesto Cervini’s new album, Joy, was inspired by Louise Penny’s detective series about Chief Inspector Gamache. That series has now been made into the show Three Pines. In this interview, Ernesto talks about how the books inspired the music; why he decided to work with vocalists for the first time; composing music based on novels given that some l…

In this week's show, guest host Steven Gorman talks about the difference between accidents and incidents, and how neither should keep you from succeeding in your trucking career. And he backs that up by telling you about his roads mishaps and where he is now. In the news segment, Steven talks about the top 10 largest private trucking companies, he’…

In this week’s trucking news, you’ll get winter driving tips from experienced drivers and you’ll learn if your employer can retaliate if you refuse to drive in bad weather. We’ll hear about the Department of Labor getting an earful about the newly-proposed rules on who qualifies as an independent contractor. California emissions Nazis are reeking h…

Vocalist Claudia Acuña returns to talk about her album Duo (Ropeadope Records, 2022). In this interview, Claudia discusses the long road to an album of duets; singing music in Spanish for English-speaking audiences; collaborating as a vocalist with instruments that don’t play chords; the influence of Chick Corea; and more. CREDITS Theme Music: The …

This week, we’re going to discuss Congress’ controversial intercession in the pending railroad strike, also, both the FMCSA and individual states are making it harder for truckers in some aspects, and easier in others, Facebook seems to be discriminating against female truckers when it comes to trucking jobs, I’ll tell you about a government funded…