Radio & Podcasts
Tune in daily to hear the internet's top jazz programs including Mondo Jazz, Jazz Bastard, World of Jazz, The Third Story, One Man's Jazz, Jazz at 100, Neon Jazz, A Broad Spectrum, Liner Notes and more. View our program schedule and check out the most recent JazzWeek Radio Chart.
Philip Dizack: If Our Perspective Is Right Then We’re Always in Complete Humility
by Leo Sidran
Trumpeter Philip Dizack (named by Downbeat Magazine as “[one of twenty-five] Trumpet Players for the Future") on how he thinks about playing, teaching ("preparing for teaching is the most helpful thing that I've ever done for myself"), practicing ("the more specific your questions are, the more specific your answers will become"), potential ("I hear so far beyond what I'm capable of doing right now"), and perspective ("if our perspective is right then we're always in complete humility"). Plus, ...
Continue ReadingBen Sidran: Who's The Old Guy Now
by Leo Sidran
For the second year in a row, I talk to my dad, musician/producer/journalist/philosopher Ben Sidran in honor of his birthday. This time he's turning 77, and we consider his recent projects, including the books “The Ballad of Tommy LiPuma" and “There Was a Fire: Jews, Music and the American Dream," and his latest single “Look Who's the Old Guy Now." Of course, these are atypical times, and so this is an atypical episode, in which we discuss being ...
Continue ReadingEric Krasno: Bridging the gap
by Leo Sidran
Guitarist, songwriter, producer Eric Krasno on what he's doing during these strange and trying times, his experience as a podcaster, producer, and provider of deep and soulful grooves, the development of Soulive, Lettuce, & Velour Recordings, the values and expectations of jam and jam band audiences, “the boom bap with interesting chord changes," learning how to do less and better, and how many times one man can say the word “nugget" in an hourlong interview. Plus, stories of working with ...
Continue ReadingJochen Rueckert: Fringe Guy
by Leo Sidran
In this wide ranging podcast interview, drummer Jochen Rueckert meditates on his early years in Germany, his time playing with Marc Copeland and later with Will Vinson, why playing with great bass players is like eating great pasta (especially true with Matt Penman), refusing to share hotel rooms, why he is a reluctant teacher, what Lage Lund's daughter thinks of his electronic music project, the rare innate heart condition he suffers from, how to groove with organ players, booking tours, ...
Continue ReadingRudresh Mahanthappa: "Just because you're improvising doesn't mean you're playing jazz."
by Leo Sidran
Saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa on his early development, the journey through music schools, cruise ships and merengue bands that ultimately led him to New York, exploring one's personal identity through music, teaching jazz in a non conservatory environment, Sesame Street, and a casual analysis of saxophone on popular recordings in the '80s. He also discusses his new trio record Hero Trio (Whirlwind Recordings) with Francois Moutin and Rudy Royston, and the influence of David Sanborn, Michael Brecker, Charlie Parker, and Grover ...
Continue ReadingJason Moran: Promoting the Freedom Principles
by Leo Sidran
Pianist, composer, conceptual artist Jason Moran on truth versus passion, promoting the “Freedom Principles," America's unfortunate way of forgetting the past, when innovation becomes rhetoric, what it means for African American musicians to move freely “from the stage to the table," the power dynamic in choosing repertoire, coming up in Houston among a generation of jazz innovators (including Robert Glasper and Eric Harland), what we still have to learn from Louis Armstrong, the common threat from Thelonious Monk to KRS-1, ...
Continue ReadingOrlando le Fleming "It's real out here"
by Leo Sidran
Bassist Orlando le Fleming on how to get a sound on the bass, why he puts “rhythm before notes," what were the advantages to starting his career in England, when it's to leave New York, who were his mentors, the “jazz struggle" and why “groove comes from culture." Plus, he discusses his experiences working with David Sanchez, Antonio Sanchez, Jane Monheit, Ari Hoenig, Jeff “Tain" Watts, Lage Lund, Will Vinson, OWL Trio, Branford Marsalis and much more. ...
Continue ReadingBecca Stevens on releasing new music in a pandemic
by Leo Sidran
Singer and songwriter Becca Stevens has the ability to make you feel like you know her even when you only know her work. Here she talks about “dancing with the critical voice," looking for silver linings, “the whole money thing" and a newly born pack of baby ducks out her window. Plus she discusses her new record, Wonderbloom (which includes collaborations with Jacob Collier, Michael League, Jason Lindner, Cory Wong, Michael Mayo, Kaveh Rastegar, Alan Hampton, Larry Goldings, Michelle Willis, ...
Continue ReadingRemembering Richie Cole
by Leo Sidran
Saxophonist Richie Cole died on May 2, 2020. He lived a jazz life all the way. His playing, his demeanor and his philosophy were all contained in his catchphrase / modus operandi: Alto Madness. This episode revisits conversations with him over the years, as well as recent chats with Janis Siegel and Ben Sidran about their friendships with him, and some newly unearthed live performance recordings of Richie with singer Eddie Jefferson, captured just days before Jefferson was killed. ...
Continue ReadingCurtis Stigers on What It Means to Be a Gentleman
by Leo Sidran
In this episode, musician, singer, songwriter Curtis Stigers on promoting new music in the midst of a pandemic, what it means to be a gentleman, how hanging out in a hotel lobby in Boise changed his life, which lessons he learned from Michael Brecker and Gene Harris, and the difference between a tie and a cravat. ...
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