December 6th 2020 was Dave Brubeck’s centennial. December 4th 2020, I got the opportunity to talk to Dave’s son Chris about two recently released CDs of his father’s music which are perfect bookends to Dave Brubeck’s career. The CD Time Outtakes is a collection of outtakes from Dave’s iconic Time Out album and Lullabies is Dave’s last solo recording. Because of Covid restrictions, the many international celebrations around Dave’s centennial had to be cancelled or postponed so I was especially pleased to have this opportunity to talk to Chris Brubeck and have our own tribute to his father’s remarkable career. This is Chris’ second appearance on Jazz Inspired.
Ben Sidran
Pianist/singer/songwriter/author: Ben Sidran is all of these things and more. He’s played with or produced artists as diverse as Mose Allison, Diana Ross, Boz Scaggs, Jon Hendricks and Richie Cole and for years hosted the Peabody Award winning NPR series, Jazz Alive.
Ben holds a PhD in American Studies but in his own words, has studiously avoided the academic life, preferring instead to spend his time performing, producing and writing. We talk about Ben’s long career and his book, There Was A Fire: Jews, Music and the American Dream, a fascinating study of the enormous Jewish contribution to popular music and how and why the music developed. There was so much to discuss, I made this a two-part show!
A bit of trivia: Ben was the first person to interview me on NPR early in my career, so this was a wonderful reunion.
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Carol Welsman 2
Jazz vocalist/pianist, Carol Welsman brings her love of different musical styles to her ever-expanding artistic range. She is fluent in four languages and sings in all of them. Her latest CD, Dance With Me, celebrates her long love affair with Latin music and her favorite musicians who have taught her so much about this music. This is Carol’s second appearance on Jazz Inspired.
Mike Renzi Two
Pianist/composer/arranger, Mike Renzi and I talk about his new Christmas CD with vocalist Jim Porcella, a throwback to the juicy romantic Christmas recordings of Mel Tormé, Bing Crosby and other classics. Mike Renzi has acted as music director for some of the greatest vocalists in the business, Peggy Lee, Mel Tormé, Jack Jones, Tony Bennett and many others, as well as serving as music director for Sesame Street for fifteen years.
Alexis Cole
Jazz vocalist, Alexis Cole is an adventurer. She spent a year with AmeriCorps right after college, followed by music study in Mubai, five years travelling through Europe busking and hitchhiking, then joined the Army for a seven-year hitch as the lead singer for West Point’s Jazz Knights Big Band. Alexis is now the head of the jazz vocal department at SUNY Purchase but when we talked, she was isolating in her Pennsylvania cabin in the woods where she had used her pandemic time to learn new skills and create opportunities for others.
Don Hahn
Don Hahn produced Beauty and the Beast in 1991, the first animated film to receive a Best Picture Academy Award nomination, as well as receive more nominations than any animated movie in Oscar history. In 1994, he went on to produce The Lion King, the top-grossing traditionally animated film of all time.
Don writes, paints, plays music, makes films and feels each activity keeps the others fresh and interesting. Throughout our conversation, he returned to the theme of honoring the people he most admires, those who have remained creative throughout their lives and continually evolve in their view of both their art and the world.
Don’s most recent project is his documentary celebrating the life and genius of the lyricist Howard Ashman, who along with Alan Menken wrote the music for Little Shop of Horrors, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and many other shows. This was only my second interview conducted during the pandemic and my first done virtually.
Loudon Wainwright III
Loudon Wainwright III is a witty, engaging storyteller, whether acting or in his main gig as a singer/songwriter. Stephen Holden of the New York Times says Wainwright wrings more human truth out of his contradictions than any other songwriter of his generation.
Loudon enjoyed setting his songwriting aside to celebrate his favorites from the Great American Songbook on his new release, “I’d Rather Lead A Band,” an upbeat, swinging collaboration with Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks, whom he’s collaborated with previously on the soundtracks of Boardwalk Empire, The Aviator and other projects.
This was my first pandemic interview and as my good luck would have it, I discovered Loudon lives close to my home in Sag Harbor, NY across the water on Shelter Island. We recorded in his front yard at an appropriate social distance. At one point we were interrupted by his cats meowing away, but we carried on and finished up when a UPS man stepped into our conversation with a delivery.
Joey Alexander
Jazz pianist, Joey Alexander burst onto the scene at the tender age of ten, wowing the crowd at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s annual fundraiser in Manhattan with his interpretation of the Thelonius Monk composition, Round Midnight. Joey went on to become the youngest musician ever nominated for a jazz Grammy Award and followed that with three other Grammy nominations.
Now, at sixteen, Joey is a seasoned performer, having toured internationally since that first triumphant performance in 2014. Like any young person, who’s found their passion early in life, Joey is enthusiastic about his art and happy to talk about it. What I found unusual about Joey, is his gratitude for the opportunities he’s had, which have allowed him to develop his music and grow as an artist, an awareness and gratitude not always displayed by your typical teenager. But then, Joey is anything but typical.
Laura Dickinson
Vocalist, Laura Dickinson may be the busiest person in Hollywood. She’s a voice actor, a vocal contractor—the person who hires and directs musicians and vocalists for film soundtracks--a conductor, arranger and a specialist in doing something called “soundalikes” sounding like Doris Day or Celine Dion or any number of people, if a movie needs someone to sing in that style. She’s won three Grammys for her music production and contracting work, while recording her own CDs between film gigs.
Laura and I recorded our conversation in Los Angeles right before she went off to a gig for Yamaha, where she thought they were using her to analyze different vocal sounds, but she wasn’t quite sure. Yes, this is woman who leads a very interesting life!
Jamie Lawrence
Composer/arranger/ producer, Jamie Lawrence comes from a long line of entertainment professionals. His grandparents, Stan Lee Broza and Esther Broza, were radio and television pioneers, and his father is the multi Emmy and Tony winning jazz pianist, bandleader and Broadway music director, Elliot Lawrence.
This rich artistic background inspired Jamie early on. As a child, when his friends were out playing ball, Jamie was sitting in the studio with his dad listening to recording sessions or tagging along to rehearsals.
Now, a five-time Emmy winner himself, Jamie is equally at home working in television, film and Broadway and for the last ten years, he’s acted as Associate Music Director and conductor for the Tony Awards and written all the original music for the broadcasts. Jamie talked to me about it all and how his deep love for jazz continues to inspire him.
Roger Corman
Director, producer and occasional actor, Roger Corman, has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is celebrated as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. He is known for his cycle of low-budget cult films adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe and many other horror classics, including Little Shop of Horrors and The Man With the X Ray Eyes. In Hollywood, Corman is equally celebrated for mentoring and giving a start to many young film directors and actors, from Francis Ford Coppola, Ron Howard and Martin Scorsese to William Shatner, Bruce Dern, Jack Nicholson and many more.
In 1964, Corman became the youngest filmmaker to have a retrospective at the Cinematheque Francaise as well as in the British Film Institute and the Museum of Modern Art. In 2009, he was awarded an Honorary Academy Award for “his rich engendering of films and filmmakers.”
We recorded the following conversation in Roger’s L.A. office in March 2020, right before lockdown. At the time, Roger was 94 and just as motivated as ever and just as busy. We didn’t know everything was going to stop a few days later so he had trips and a new film planned. An inspiration on every level.
Roger passed away May 9, 2024.
Benny Benack III
Trumpeter/vocalist, Benny Benack III, follows in the footsteps of a trumpet-playing grandfather and clarinet and saxophone-playing father, a lineage Benny credits with influencing his musical attitude and his approach to performing. Benny’s virtuosic playing and singing are coupled with a joyous, fun-loving stage presence, something rare in a jazz world loaded with virtuosos, but lacking in great players who are also great entertainers.
Now in his late twenties, Benny has released his second CD, A Lot of Livin’ To Do, and continues to tour with his own band, as front man for Postmodern Jukebox, and as a sideman to everyone from Melissa Erico and Josh Groban to Christian McBride and Ann Hampton Callaway. Benny and I recorded this conversation the day after I saw him onstage with fashion designer and cabaret performer, Isaac Mizrahi, at the Café Carlyle in Manhattan.
Adrian Cunningham
Australian saxophonist, clarinetist, flutist, vocalist and travel enthusiast, Adrian Cunningham is an energetic practitioner of early jazz with his group, Professor Cunningham and His Old School, and his work with Vince Giordano and The Nighthawks. He’s equally passionate venturing in more modern directions, collaborating often with Wynton Marsalis, Wycliffe Gordon, Renee Marie and others.
Adrian moved to Manhattan from Sydney twelve years ago and feels that move not only raised his musicianship but helped him focus his career direction. We had a great time together discussing my love for his native country, his passion for NYC and Adrian’s new CD celebrating the music of Lerner & Loewe.
Jeff Goldblum
Actor Jeff Goldblum is a distinctive presence in every role he plays, from his early portrayals in The Fly, Jurassic Park and The Big Chill, to recent turns in Law and Order: Criminal Intent and The Grand Budapest Hotel. Now Jeff brings his unique character, curiosity and enthusiasm to his newest adventure, as a jazz pianist and singer, releasing his second CD, I Shouldn’t Be Telling You This.
Jeff and I recorded this conversation in 2020 right before the world shut down for the pandemic. We had a ball. This is one of my favorite shows!
Hendrik Meurkens
Hendrik Meurkens had a solid reputation as a vibraphonist--touring and recording with some of the greatest jazz musicians in the business--when he heard harmonica master, Toots Thielemans, which inspired Hendrik to teach himself to play harmonica, an instrument that only a few jazz musicians master.
His latest CD, Cobbs Pocket, celebrates those elements with three of his favorite musicians, drummer Jimmy Cobb, organist, Mike LeDonne and guitarist, Peter Bernstein.
Arturo O'Farrill
Pianist/composer/arranger/educator, Arturo O’Farrill brings the world together through his music, combining musicians from different cultures and musical influences from past and present. Arturo sees it all connecting in a spiritual, inspiring continuum, which he celebrates on his new CD Fandango at the Wall, which is now also a book and documentary.
As the son of Chico O’Farrill, Arturo enjoyed music as a central focus of his life from the beginning. Additionally, he’s worked with some of the greatest musicians in jazz and continues to pursue collaborations which inspire him in new directions. I found Arturo’s attitudes about what we do with music, how we share it and what we learn from it, particularly inspiring, along with his commitment to put good thoughts and actions into the world.
Mike LeDonne Two
Pianist/organist, Mike LeDonne started playing piano at the age of five and by ten, he was gigging and teaching piano. His playing reflects his broad range of influences and what he learned from his long associations with Benny Goodman, Milt Jackson, Sonny Rollins, Art Farmer, Clifford Jordan and countless other jazz greats.
Mike absorbed and honors the lessons he learned from the early greats who influenced him, notably that the most important thing is the sound and swing of what one plays.
This is the second half of my conversation with Mike LeDonne, recorded in NYC.
Mike LeDonne One
Pianist/organist, Mike LeDonne started playing piano at the age of five and by ten he was gigging, and teaching piano at his father’s music store. Most great musicians show their talent and passion early, but only a lucky few have a childhood surrounded with the kind of reinforcement and joy that Mike experienced with a jazz musician father and a warm, supportive family. Mike’s mother even made hip band uniforms for Mike’s first group!
Mike LeDonne has the attitude of the early greats who influenced him and his playing reflects his deep respect for the history of jazz and his experiences working with everyone from Benny Goodman to Milt Jackson to Sonny Rollins and beyond.
Nadja Salerno Sonnenberg
Violinist, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg has been a powerful and unique presence in classical music since she burst onto the scene in the early 1980s. She moved from her native Italy when she was eight to study at The Curtis Institute of Music, and she later studied with Dorothy DeLay at The Juilliard School. Nadja’s fiery stage presence and passionate musical interpretations quickly brought her international acclaim, recording contracts, awards and a non-stop touring schedule.
Now, in a move that surprised all but her closest friends, Nadja has jumped into a new life in New Orleans, teaching at Loyola University, College of Music and Fine Arts, and going all in on the Louisiana scene. She continues to perform but her main focus is her life and teaching in New Orleans. We discuss her passion for teaching, New Orleans and jazz from her home in the French Quarter.
Sarah McKenzie
Pianist/singer/songwriter, Sarah McKenzie, like so many of her fellow Australians, felt she’d have to leave her beloved country to pursue her dreams, which is exactly what she’s done, living in Paris and London, then moving on to Boston to study at the Berklee College of music, and now settling in Los Angeles. Sarah speaks of her experiences with the passion and appreciation of a poet and channels it all into her songwriting, which is featured on her newest CD, Secrets of My Heart.