Sam Dunn 9/7-13
British guitarist Sam Dunn spent his early years in the business traveling the world on a 200-passenger, luxury cruise ship where he played solo guitar sets and where I was lucky enough to corral him into playing with me when I was flown in for a concert. A friendship and musical partnership were born and since then Sam and I have toured widely around the world from Europe to Australia.
Megg Farrell 9/14-20
Vocalist Megg Farrell or as she is often called, Sweet Megg, has been a jazz singer, a country singer and river boat tour guide, an athelete, and now, to her delight and surprise, she’s a circus performer. Yes, all her talents have combined to get her a gig with Cirque de Soleil. Her actor parents encouraged her to live an interesting life and that she’s certainly done.
I spoke with Megg Farrell when she was only a few days into performing with Cirque de Soleil, and now, with Megg’s collaboration, that Canadian entertainment company has gone Country.
Neil deGrasse Tyson 9/21-27
Astrophysicist and director of the Hayden Planetarium in NYC discusses his love of blues and the connection between science and music. I’m crazy about astrophysics, so this conversation was loads of fun for me.
Bob Rummage 9/28-10/4
Chicago based drummer and Director of percussion at Elmhurst University, Bob Rummage is an old-style swinger. Bob has brought his groove to tours and recordings with Dizzy Gillespie, Nat Adderley, Benny Golson and many other jazz giants.
Bob Rummage and guitarist Andy Brown joined me onstage at the Dixon Historic Theatre in Dixon Illinois in March 2022 as part of my Jazz Inspired onstage series to talk, play music and swing like mad!
Nicole Zuraitis 10/5-11
Grammy nominated jazz singer/songwriter, Nicole Zuraitis refers to herself as a recovering opera singer, which her beautiful tone and effortless vocal style reflect. Unlike many of the younger vocalists today who jump out of music school right into a recording studio with little onstage experience to back it up, Nicole has put in the long hours performing honing her craft and creating her own unique style.
Nicole celebrates her vision on her CD How Love Begins, co-produced with bassist Christian McBride. The CD explores the dark and light sides of love--romantic and otherwise--and the tug between those states that always exists.
Eden Brent 10/12-18
Singer/songwriter and blues and boogie pianist, Eden Brent is a Greenville, Mississippi native from a family of riverboat captains, guitar pickers, big band singers and all the various characters you’d want in a Southern novel.
Eden’s new CD, Getaway Blues, is a celebration of her roots and the music that’s surrounded her throughout her life in Greenville, the home of The Mississippi Delta Blues and Heritage Festival, the oldest blues festival in the world. Growing up, Eden heard everything from Hank Williams to Nat Cole around the house, as well as most nights, joining in the post-dinner family singalongs. Greenville neighbor, author Julia Reed, remembers Eden’s home as a soulful and far funnier version of The Sound of Music, and refers to the family as the von Brents.
Antonio Adolfo 10/19-25
Brazilian composer/pianist Antonio Adolfo honors the great Antonio Carlos Jobim on his latest CD, Jobim Forever. Jobim’s music launched the international bossa nova craze and won multiple Grammys in 1965 with the release of Getz/Gilberto, one of the best-selling jazz albums of all time. Antonio Aldolfo’s own compositions have been recorded by Sergio Mendes, Stevie Wonder, Dionne Warwick and many others, so focusing this CD on another composer, and one of his favorites, was a labor of love.
John Boutté 10/26-11/1
Vocalist/composer John Boutte, like many of his fellow New Orleaneans, grew up surrounded by music in the streets and in his home, but unlike most of his fellow natives, he went on to a career in the military after graduating with a degree in business. With influences ranging from Stevie Wonder to Nat Cole, John’s vocal style is swinging and unique. John wrote and sang the theme for the HBO series Treme but sees the fame he’s gained from this as giving him freedom to make the music he wants, rather than a road to stardom.
Duke Robillard 3 11/2-8
Guitarist/vocalist Duke Robillard loves the blues, early jazz and swing music and has enjoyed a long career bringing his take on it all to his many fans around the world. From his early years with Roomful of Blues to his more recent work, he’s been celebrated with Grammy nominations, Handy Awards and Blues Music Awards.
Although Duke and I have known each other for years, we had never played together before I corralled him to play and chat with me in front of some enthusiastic music-lovers in Dixon, IL, just outside of Chicago. We taped in a picturesque historic building overlooking the Rock River, a space that is now an elegant art gallery called The Next Picture Show, on Super Bowl Sunday 2023.
Lynne Arriale 11/9-15
Daniela Soledade 11/16-22
Brazilian vocalist Daniela Soledade grew up with a family of great musicians and the influence of many of the iconic Brazilian talents they worked with, including Antonio Carlos Jobim and Fernando Lobos. Much of Daniela’s young life was spent observing and recording with her father, producer/musician Paulinho Soledade, in his recording studio, where he worked with Brazil’s largest TV station, as well as produced a wide variety of musical projects.
Although Daniela was always passionate about music and worked professionally from an early age, she at first resisted a musical career. Now dividing her time between her home in Florida and her native Rio de Janeiro, Daniela focuses exclusively on performing and recording her unique take on bossa nova, samba, Brazilian popular music and the Great American Songbook.
Arturo O’Farrill 11/23-29
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.
Rufus Reid 11/30-12/6
Two-time Grammy-nominee, bassist and educator, Rufus Reid has enjoyed a long career working with a wide variety of musicians including Dexter Gordon, Eddie Harris, Nancy Wilson, J.J. Johnson, Freddie Hubbard and other giants of jazz. A new, exciting pursuit for Reid is composing, and although he’s been doing it for over 25 years, he’s been playing much longer, so he considers composing a new part of his life, and something that has made him look at music differently and play differently. Instead of thinking of the note he’s about to play, he thinks about the bigger picture and the shape of the piece.
Now, with his CD,Celebration, Rufus Reid has fulfilled a dream to record his compositions with strings.
Alan Pasqua 12/7-13
Pianist Alan Pasqua’s career is wide and varied, from his present post as Professor of Jazz Studies at USC, to his early stints with Bob Dylan and Santana, to recording with Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Elton John and Queen Latifah, to multiple collaborations with legendary jazz musicians. He’s equally comfortable in all these worlds and feels each has contributed to his musical development.
Alan Pasqua feels that his CD, a passion project called Soliloquy, reflects his multiple influences and most captures who he is musically today.
Jane Lynch 12/21-27
Actress Jane Lynch is a hilarious presence in the Christopher Guest films, Best In Show, A Mighty Wind and For Your Consideration. Although she was initially reluctant to dive into Guest’s improvisational approach to character development in these films, she loved the process and feels it pushed her forward as an actress.
Now, with her Emmy winning roles on Glee, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and numerous other programs expanding her audience even further, she is, among other projects, doing what she loves most: group singing, with her tours A Swinging’ Little Christmas with Tim Davis and Kate Flannery, and Two Lost Souls, her duo show with Kate.