Frank Marshall

Emmy, Grammy, Tony and Oscar winning producer/director Frank Marshall grew up on picturesque Lido Isle in Newport Beach, CA surrounded by the musical friends of his father, jazz guitarist, composer, arranger, Jack Marshall, whose arrangement of “Fever” for Peggy Lee was one of many celebrated albums he worked on for Capitol Records in the late ‘50s and 60s.  Frank Marshall has produced and/or directed multiple stage shows and films, including the Jason Bourne, Indiana Jones, Back to the Future and Jurassic World franchises. Through it all, music has played a major role in Frank’s life and his memories of being surrounded by great musicians growing up is a vivid and joyous. 

In the summer of 1972, Jack Marshall and trumpeter/vocalist, Jack Sheldon joined forces to entice trumpeter/vocalist Chet Baker back into the studio after Chet had stopped recording, due to an injury to his mouth.  The record was made but never released until Frank recently discovered the master and together with Zev Feldman, produced Chet Baker & Jack Sheldon, In Perfect Harmony: The Lost Album.

Betty Bryant

Vocalist, pianist, songwriter and positive spirit, Betty Bryant at ninety-four is an inspiration on so many levels that her age, which would be the first thing one would mention with anyone else, seems almost beside the point.  

Betty’s latest CD, Lotta Livin’ produced by her longtime friend and collaborator Robert Kyle, showcases Betty’s blues roots, soulful sound, and cheeky sense of humor.

Mike Reiss

Comedy writer Mike Reiss has enjoyed a long career making people laugh, from his early years with National Lampoon, Johnny Carson and The Gary Shandling Show, to his continuing work with the animated series, The Simpsons. 

Mike was one of the original writers for The Simpsons, a show he still contributes to 35 years on between writing children’s stories, traveling with his excursion-loving wife Denise and publishing his most recent book, What Am I Doing Here? A Simpsons’ Writer Visits the World’s Hellholes So You Don’t Have To.”

Mike Reiss is one of those deliciously cranky people who love to rail against various notions while keeping you laughing and somehow delighted throughout.  Mike and I met in Panama on the elegant Silver Shadow cruise ship where he was lecturing on The Simpsons and I was flown in to play a concert. Knowing the many connections The Simpsons has with jazz, I asked Mike if he’s a jazz fan to which he enthusiastically responded, “I hate jazz.”  Naturally, I had to have him on my show. 

Hannah Gill

Vocalist Hannah Gill, unlike most twenty-something jazz musicians on the scene, doesn’t have a music degree or any of the usual notions of how one pursues a jazz career.  I found Hannah delightfully open to doing just about anything in show business and realistic about her goals, with none of the “I’m going to get famous and conquer the world” aspirations one expects from someone starting out, but rather, as she told me, she’d like to continue making music for the rest of her life, be able to pay her rent and go out to dinner a couple times a month.  She’s already done much more than that, having toured world-wide with Post Modern Jukebox and performed widely with her own band, Hannah Gill and the Hours.

Her debut album, Everybody Loves a Lover, features swing-era songs from the 1920s through the ‘50s and reflects Hannah’s deep love for Ella Fitzgerald, Anita O’Day and Blossom Dearie, her biggest inspirations.

Roberta Donnay

Singer/songwriter Roberta Donnay has a wide variety of musical influences and a broad focus with the music she performs, from sharing the stage with Elvis Costello or Leon Russell, to her ongoing shows of 1920s and ‘30’s music with her group The Prohibition Mob Band, to her most recent CD, Blossom-ing, a collection of songs celebrating the music of vocalist/pianist, Blossom Dearie.

Blossom Dearie never had the name-recognition of some of her vocal contemporaries, like Ella Fitzgerald or Sarah Vaughan, but she has always been a favorite with jazz musicians and a particular inspiration for Roberta Donnay.  Donnay and Dearie share a similar vocal sound, something Donnay initially resisted but now embraces in this heartfelt tribute to one of her favorite singers.

John Musker Two

Animation director and screenwriter John Musker became a jazz fan early on, hearing some of the greatest jazz musicians playing in many of his favorite animated shorts.  With fellow director Ron Clements, John has won multiple awards for writing and directing, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, The Princess and the Frog, Moana and many other films.

After 41 years with Disney, John has retired and realized an idea he had years ago: that Dave Frishberg’s song, “I’m Hip” would make a wonderful animated short. Four years on, John’s film, I’m Hip, is a hilarious romp staring a hipster feline, singing, dancing, and making mischief to Dave Frishberg’s classic recording.

This is John’s second appearance on Jazz Inspired. We talk about I’m Hip and John’s many adventures in animation. I talked to John from his home in Los Angeles in November 2023.

Kyle Eastwood

Bassist/composer Kyle Eastwood has a wide range of creative influences, including a passion for cinema and great film scores, a love nurtured by his father, Clint Eastwood, who in addition to directing and acting, has written the music for several of his movies.  Clint introduced Kyle to jazz early on and encouraged his composing pursuits by asking Kyle to contribute themes for many of his films, including Gran Torino, Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, Letters from Iwo Jima and Invictus.

Kyle’s latest tour celebrates his CD, Eastwood Symphonic, a collection of quintet and symphony arrangements of some of the best-known themes from his father’s movies.

I talked to Kyle Eastwood from his home in Paris in July 2023 as he was finishing his European tour of Eastwood Symphonic before coming to America for the U.S. tour.

T.J. English

In his most recent book, Dangerous Rhythms, Jazz and the Underworld, author T.J. English explores the symbiotic relationship between jazz musicians and the mob during the first half of the 20th Century, and how that mutually beneficial partnership helped the music flourish but kept the deeply racist attitudes of the day solidly in place.

I talked with T.J. English in August 2023.

Dara Starr Tucker

Singer/songwriter and social commentator Dara Starr Tucker is a woman on a mission to evolve, entertain and inform.  Whether she’s presenting her thoughts on race relations, the state of world, pop culture or music on social media, her vocal gifts, intelligence, and drive have brought her over a million TikTok followers and multiple awards.

Darah Starr Tucker and I got together to talk about it all in August 2023.

Pasquale Grasso

Guitarist Pasquale Grasso grew up in the small Italian village or Ariano Irpino with two very hip, music-loving parents who played classical and jazz recordings for Pasquale and his brother Luigi throughout their young lives and took them to concerts and jazz festivals. Pasquale says that rather than put the boys in front of the TV, they would all listen to a Chet Baker record.

Pasquale’s focus on musicians other than jazz guitarists has contributed to his unique sound.  Combining his love for bebop, his classical guitar studies and his limitless passion for playing has made Pasquale Grasso one of the busiest, most interesting talents on the scene today. 

Zev Feldman

Archival record producer, Zev Feldman has been called the” Indiana Jones of Jazz” referring to his tireless pursuit to find previously unissued, or never officially released, recordings to share with the rest of us. His passion for these musical gems is matched only by his excitement in presenting it with beautiful packaging and extensive, informative liner notes which brings us further into the music.

Treasures is Zev Feldman’s latest CD, a collection of previously unreleased Bill Evans solo, trio and orchestra recordings made in Denmark from 1965 to 1969.  Interviews with Bill’s sidemen give insight into the music, what it was like to play with Bill and the time when each was recorded.

Nicole Zuraitis

Grammy-winning 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.

Arturo O'Farrill Two

Pianist/composer/bandleader/educator Arturo O’Farrill’s latest recording, Legacies celebrates his many inspirations, including his father, Chico O’Farrill.  In Downbeat Magazine’s review of Legacies, they say, Arturo O’Farrill is one of our greatest living pianists, a review that surprises and delights this six-time Grammy winner, as making a jazz piano recording at this stage of his career was not something he anticipated. 

Arturo is the least jaded musician I know and the most positive. He consciously works at making the world a better place and bringing people together through his music.

Allegra Levy

I discovered jazz singer/songwriter Allegra Levy through her delightful, very hip, children’s CD, Songs for You and Me and went on to learn what others had known for years about this award-winning vocalist: that she is one of the most interesting, swinging, heartfelt young talents on the scene today.  Allegra was named a Top 10 Rising Star among jazz vocalists in DownBeat’s 2021 Critics’ Poll.

After banishing her husband, dog and two-year-old from the room, Allegra discussed the joys and challenges of a jazz life with me from her home in Manhattan in May 2023.

John Allee

Actor, singer, songwriter, John Allee thinks deeply about the fascinating characters we meet as we make our way through life. On his new CD, Past Imperfect, he draws on a life of professional empathy and character study through his acting career and his broad ranging musical loves to give us a collection of swinging songs loaded with humor and heart.

I talked with John from his home in Los Angeles the week before his performance in Shakespeare’s The Tempest. 

Robert Kyle & Alyse Korn

Composer, producer, reed player Robert Kyle has recorded and performed with musicians as diverse as Linda Hopkins, Natalie Cole, Carole King and Lou Rawls.  For years he toured as a drummer with rock and country bands before he picked up the saxophone and fell in love.

Pianist/vocalist Alyse Korn is heavily influenced by Brazilian, Afro-Cuban and Salsa music and spends much of her performing life playing these styles.

On their new CD, Tuesday’s Child, Korn and Kyle bring their wide range of talents and influences together for a CD of their original compositions--songs filled with love and gratitude, something they both expressed as a focus now, especially with the world in its present state of turmoil.

Gunhild Carling

Swedish multi-instrumentalist/vocalist, Gunhild Carling had a childhood filled with books, music, and magical adventures. I first met Gunhild in Brazil when we were both part of a music festival for which I served as Artistic Director.  I still have the vision of Gunhild bounding off the airplane in a perfectly pressed polka dot dress, her baby in tow, looking well-rested and upbeat, with full makeup and perfect hair.  She tells me she always looks this way, even on the band bus, which I find almost as impressive as the fact that she plays twelve instruments!

I caught up with Gunhild Carling in April 2023 during her tour with Post Modern Jukebox.

Rickie Lee Jones

Singer/songwriter Rickie Lee Jones has been hard to pin down-- stylistically, geographically and in most other ways--as her fascinating memoir, Last Chance Texaco, makes clear.  While Time Magazine dubbed Rickie the “Duchess of Coolsville” this is a woman who has stormed through a life of challenges that would have felled most people, making her cool mien even more impressive.

While Rickie has always thought of herself as a jazz singer—and was voted best jazz singer in Playboy and Rolling Stone polls two years in a row—she has not always been embraced by the jazz community.  And while some of her past CDs have included jazz, her latest, Pieces of Treasure, is her first focusing completely on jazz as she celebrates some of her favorite standards from the Great American Songbook. 

Duke Robillard onstage in Dixon, IL

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.  

Daniela Soledade

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.