Martin Shore

Filmmaker Martin Shore started his professional creative life as a touring musician and brings that experience and sensibility to his diverse record and movie projects.  His latest film, Take Me To The River: New Orleans, follows his directorial debut with his film Take Me To The River: Memphis.  Both films focus on Shore’s desire to promote tolerance and respect for all people and cultures by showing how cross-cultural collaboration in music has positively impacted our society.

The soundtrack for Take Me To The River: New Orleans is available now and the film starts streaming on all platforms this month

Paolo Alderighi & Stephanie Trick

The piano duo of Stephanie Trick and Paolo Alderighi specialize in  ragtime, stride, boogie and swing arrangements of the classics from the Great American Songbook.  Both have busy performing schedules individually, but it’s their four-hands/one piano concerts and recordings that are unusual in the jazz world and are internationally celebrated. 

There were very few pianists focusing on the early jazz piano styles when I started my career as a ragtime and stride pianist, so I was especially delighted to discover Paolo and Stephanie, two pianists who not only carry on this tradition beautifully with their playing but also educate and evangelize about it through their outreach programs in America and abroad.

Monika Herzig

Pianist, composer, educator, Monika Herzig left her native Germany when she was awarded a scholarship for a one-year exchange program at the University of Alabama.  That one year turned into thirty-four, as she continued her studies at Indiana University and received her Doctorate in Music Education with a minor in Jazz Studies.

Monika is a positive, enthusiastic member of the jazz community.  She is especially supportive of women jazz musicians and with her group, Sheroes,  has recorded multiple CDs and toured around the world.  Monika and I talked about her latest CD with this group, Both Sides of Joni, a tribute to singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell.

Harold Danko

Pianist/composer Harold Danko had memorable runs playing with Chet Baker, Lee Konitz, Gerry Mulligan, Thad Jones, Mel Lewis and many others, and credits them all with inspiring him in multiple ways.  His most recent CD, Rite Notes, celebrates another major influence, Stravinsky.  Rite Notes is a suite of compositions inspired by Stravinsky’s music from Rite of Spring.  In Danko words, his intention was “to create a chamber work with improvisation generated from the original source, but one that could always be fluid and evolving in the moment,” which is a great metaphor for the journey Harold Danko has taken throughout his live as a jazz musician.

Russ Phillips

Chicago based trombonist Russ Phillips went on the road with Louis Armstrong’s Allstars at the age of four, thanks to his father, trombonist Russ Phillips, Senior, joining that band.  That early exposure to great music led Russ to his own busy career playing in a wide range of styles and settings, from jazz and rock to pit orchestras and classical ensembles. 

Russ and I got together onstage at the Dixon Historic Theatre in Dixon, Illinois, outside of Chicago to play together and talk about his long career and many inspirations.  We were joined by guitarist Andy Brown and vocalist Petra van Nuis.

Noel Paul Stookey

Singer/songwriter, Noel Paul Stookey made his name as part of the celebrated folk trio, Peter, Paul and Mary.  While he is best known for this stylistic direction, he has hinted at his love for jazz throughout his career with his choice of jazz voicings in many of his arrangements.  Here we talk about his lifelong passion for jazz and his CD, Fazz: Now & Then, which celebrates it. We got together for this conversation in August 2022.

Judy Carmichael

Over the years, a few of my guests on Jazz Inspired have suggested they turn the tables and interview me about what originally made me fall for jazz and what continues to inspire my creativity.  I hadn’t taken anyone up on this suggestion until recently, during my residency at Radford University in Radford, Virginia. 

Ashlee Claud, General Manager of WVRU FM at Radford, suggested she interview me on Jazz Inspired to honor our long association and WVRU’s new broadcast studio.  WVRU was the first station to air Jazz Inspired—at Ashlee’s behest—22 years ago. Ashlee thought a celebration was in order and I agreed!

Geoff Muldaur

Singer, arranger, composer, guitarist Geoff Muldaur has always been one of the most inspired and original musical voices on the scene, with his early work with Jim Kweskin and Paul Butterfield to his most recent double album set, His Last Letter, a collection that includes songs from the American folk and jazz-blues repertoire, as well as new original compositions. 

Geoff and I discussed this decade-long project, Geoff’s desire to always go his own way and why this album could only have been created in Amsterdam, with the very special musicians Geoff gathered to realize his vision.

Bob Rummage

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! 

Michael Feinstein 2

Pianist/vocalist, Michael Feinstein’s passion for the Great American Songbook is well known from his recordings, concerts and TV appearances.  Less well known is his love for Country music which led to his collaboration with some of the stars of that style on his latest CD, Gershwin Country, a reimagining of the classic Gershwin repertoire through the contemporary lens of country music.  Michael was one of my early guests on Jazz Inspired back in 2005 so this was a lovely excuse to have him back on the show. 

Don Stiernberg

Chicago based mandolinist Don Stiernberg fell for jazz and bluegrass at an early age, growing up with a music-loving family who encouraged this crush and an older brother who played various string instruments.  An unlikely but fortunate turn of events pushed this love forward when Don’s mother heard a radio ad promoting mandolin lessons with Jethro Burns, of the acclaimed Country music team of Homer and Jethro.  Lessons ensued with Don eventually joining the Jethro Burns Quartet and going on to his own celebrated career.

Don joined me onstage at the Dixon Historic Theatre in Dixon Illinois in March 2022 to talk, play music and have a ball. 

Eleri Ward

Actress, and singer/songwriter, Eleri Ward is fascinated with the duality of the pain we experience throughout life, what she calls a “happy/sad cry.”  She explores this thought with her new CD, A Perfect Little Death, a celebration of the music of Stephen Sondheim, who certainly knew a thing or two about the happy/sad cry. Eleri’s Indie-Folk approach to the material allows a new listening experience, one she hopes will reach those who might not be open to a Broadway show or the way these songs are usually presented. 

I talked to Eleri a month before her June 2022 tour with Josh Groban. 

Joe LaBarbera

Drummer Joe LaBarbera has worked with Phil Woods, Art Farmer, Bob Brookmeyer, Tony Bennett and many other celebrated jazz greats, but it’s his work with pianist Bill Evans that he documents in his new book Times Remembered: The Final Years of the Bill Evans Trio, which he co-wrote with Charles Levin.  This sensitive portrayal sheds light on the joys and challenges of the jazz world and the unique place that Bill Evans’ music and philosophy played within it.

Petra van Nuis

The early years of vocalist Petra van Nuis were filled with classical music, which led to her professional debut at age eleven, singing with the Cincinnati Opera Company and by age twelve she was on the road with her first national tour. Petra went on to study ballet in NYC and San Francisco and musical theater at the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music. This career direction changed dramatically when she met guitarist Andy Brown in high school, eventually married him and began her love affair with jazz. Andy and Petra often perform and record together and their latest collaboration, Lonely Girl—I Remember Julie, celebrates another guitar/vocal duo, Julie London and Al Viola and their album, Lonely Girl.

Nate Najar

Guitarist/producer, Nate Najar’s new CD, Jazz Samba Pra Sempre celebrates the 60thanniversary of Jazz Samba, the landmark 1962 album by Charlie Byrd and Stan Getz, that launched the international Bossa Nova craze.  Tenor saxophonist Jeff Rupert, bassist Herman Burney, drummer Chuck Redd and Najar’s wife, Brazilian vocalist Daniela Soledade, join him in this loving tribute to jazz and Brazilian music. 

Jimmy Buffett & Frank Marshall

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival returned last month with a bang after a two-year pandemic hiatus.  This joyful moment was followed by the release of the new documentary, Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story, which honors the festival’s 50 years of celebrating New Orleans music, food and culture.  The film weaves together live performances and interviews from the 50th anniversary in 2019, along with historic footage from earlier days showing how the festival was created and how it grew to an eight-day event with 500 bands.

I talked with five-time Academy Award nominee Frank Marshall, who co-directed Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story with Ryan Suffern, and with Jimmy Buffett, who is an executive producer on the film, along with Quint Davis. 

Frank Marshall and Jimmy Buffett met forty-two years ago at a memorable party at Harrison Ford’s Aspen home and became fast friends.  Their shared love for music, guitar playing, and New Orleans made their collaboration on Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story, a natural.

Deanna Witkowski Two

Pianist/composer/vocalist Deanna Witkowski’s second appearance on Jazz Inspired celebrates one of her favorite musicians, Mary Lou Williams, with a new CD of Williams compositions, Force of Nature, and Mary Lou Williams: Music for the Soul, her biography of Mary Lou Williams. 

Mary Lou Williams transcended a difficult life of racism, sexism and financial difficulty to become one of the most respected jazz musicians of her time.  She wrote and arranged for Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman, and mentored and taught Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Tadd Dameron, Bud Powell, Dizzy Gillespie and many others. 

Although Deanna’s life experience is much different from Mary Lou’s, she feels a special kinship with Williams through their music and spiritual focus.

Jo Harrop

British jazz vocalist/songwriter Jo Harrop grew up with a jazz-loving father who introduced her to Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin and other iconic singers.  She heard Tony Bennett in concert when she was a teenager, a life-changing experience that made her know she wanted to touch people with her singing in the same deep way that Bennett touched her. 

After years as a session singer, Jo Harrop pursued a career singing jazz standards, and while she always wrote her own music, it wasn’t until the pandemic that she gathered the courage to record these originals, which she celebrates on her CD, The Heart Wants with Jason Robello, Christian McBride and Troy Miller. 

Curtis Stigers Two

Singer/songwriter/saxophonist/guitarist, Curtis Stigers is a musician who’s impossible to categorize.  He loves pop and jazz and has lived in both worlds, grabbing what appeals to him most from each style and creating music that continues to evolve.  He recorded a track for one of the biggest-selling pop albums of all time and enjoyed success as a popular singer/songwriter, with his own concerts and as an opening act for Elton John, Prince, Eric Clapton, James Brown and other iconic artists.  There was much to enjoy in that part of the music world, but Curtis eventually realized he is more suited to a jazz career, where the freedom to evolve and create without restraints is much more embraced.

We discuss Curtis’ latest CD, This Life, which showcases new arrangements of songs from his previous thirteen albums, which he’s played live in concert for years.  Curtis celebrates his many influences and where these tunes have gone as they, and he, have gotten older.

Steve Million

Pianist/songwriter, Steve Million grew up in a small town in Missouri with the fetching name of Booneville. Looking back now, Steve appreciates the quiet of that environment and the opportunity for freedom, but in his younger years, he couldn’t wait to move on and pursue a life in jazz, a musical passion that started at the tender age of seven when his mother took him to a Count Basie concert.  

Now based in Chicago, Steve Million keeps a busy performance and teaching schedule and celebrates one of his favorite musicians, Thelonious Monk, in a two-keyboard band with Jeremy Kahn called Double Monk.  His latest collaboration is his CD, Jazz Words, with vocalist Sarah Marie Young for which Steve wrote the music and lyrics.  I talked to Steve about it all from his home in Chicago.