Season 2025
Sept. 11, 2025
Robin Holcomb & Peggy Lee: Behind the Delicate Sound of 'Reno'
Two distinctive voices in Pacific Northwest creative music discuss their long collaboration, their new album ‘Reno,’ and how geographic community shaped their collaborative mindset to blend composition with improvisation.
Sept. 4, 2025
Larry Tye: The Jazzmen Who Changed American History
The New York Times bestselling author discusses his latest book, 'The Jazzmen,' revealing how Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie became civil rights pioneers who wrote the soundtrack for social change in twentieth-century America.
Aug. 28, 2025
Rico Jones: The Spiritual Sax of BloodLines
Tenor saxophonist Rico Jones explains his concept of creating a 'cinema of sound,' discusses navigating multiple cultural identities in jazz, and reveals how his Indigenous and Hispanic heritage inform his music without constraining it.
Aug. 21, 2025
Aqeel Aadam: Code, Creativity, and Democratization of Sound
The founder of Aqeel Aadam Sound discusses his flagship product 'Waymaker,' why he discourages people from buying modular synthesizers, and how his daily creative practice keeps him connected to the inspiration behind his innovative plugin designs.
Aug. 14, 2025
Rez Abbasi: When Everything Else Fades, Sound Remains
The Pakistani-American guitarist and composer opens up about expanding his long-running acoustic ensemble, the philosophy behind 'Sound Remains,' and finding musical magic through non-attachment.
Aug. 7, 2025
Jeremy Sirota Grills Lawrence Peryer on Creative Leadership
The Merlin CEO has our podcast host explain why he believes in everything and nothing, how to facilitate creative thinking in corporate environments, and what the future holds beyond streaming platforms.
July 31, 2025
Sean Imboden: Into the Heart of Big Band Jazz
The Indianapolis-based saxophonist opens up about his move from Broadway sideman to big band leader, the creative challenges of leading a seventeen-piece jazz ensemble, and the community spirit that shaped his debut album 'Communal Heart.'
July 24, 2025
Glenn Dickson & Bob Familiar: The Clarinet in the Machine
Clarinetist Glenn Dickson and synthesist Bob Familiar discuss their serendipitous meeting, patient creative process, and how they transform studio improvisations into the luminous compositions on 'All the Light of Our Sphere.'
July 17, 2025
Gustavo Cortiñas: A Jazz Drummer's Call to Action
From his Mexican roots to Chicago's jazz scene, Cortiñas explains how he builds "bold, urgent conversations" on his album 'The Crisis Knows No Borders,’ addressing climate change through the language of improvised music.
July 10, 2025
Kim Perlak: Guitar, Percussion, and the Space Between
The Berklee guitar chair discusses her album 'Spaces' with percussionist Francisco Mela, how natural environments inspire her compositions, and the evolution from classical interpretation to improvisational freedom.
July 3, 2025
Terence Hannum: Revisiting Locrian's The Crystal World
The multi-disciplinary artist reflects on fifteen years since the experimental metal trio's album, exploring the crystalline intersection of visual art, religious studies, and the search for compelling sounds in heavy music's conservative landscape.
June 26, 2025
Knox Chandler: Exploring the Sound of the Shoreline
After four decades collaborating with acts like the Psychedelic Furs and Siouxsie and the Banshees, the veteran guitarist has created his first deeply personal project—a book and album documenting his return to the Connecticut coast.
June 19, 2025
John Andrew Fredrick: The Black Watch Abides
The prolific songwriter reflects on three decades of creative output with The Black Watch, what it’s like to release the band’s 25th album, For All the World, and why he just can’t stop stealing from The Beatles.
June 12, 2025
Ingrid Laubrock: Purposing the Air with Music and Voices
The innovative composer discusses her new album, Purposing the Air, and the three-year process of transforming Erica Hunt's sixty cryptic koans into musical miniatures for four distinctive vocal-instrumental duos.
June 5, 2025
Kinan Azmeh: Live in Berlin, Rooted in Damascus
The celebrated clarinetist shares how compositions written during Syria's darkest years have taken on new meaning following recent political changes, and why he considers making art an essential act of freedom.
May 29, 2025
Tal Yahalom: A Guitarist's Mirror Image of Tradition
The Israeli guitarist and composer discusses his album 'Mirror Image,' which pairs his instrument equally with strings, woodwinds, and percussion to create chamber jazz, challenging the traditional guitar hero stereotype.
May 22, 2025
Claire Cope: Orchestrating Stories of Brave Women
The Manchester-based composer and pianist discusses her album 'Every Journey,' where she employs a newly expanded ensemble to present intricate musical narratives inspired by trailblazing women explorers.
May 15, 2025
Mike Scott of The Waterboys: The Ballad of Dennis Hopper
The mastermind behind 'The Whole of the Moon' discusses his four-year journey writing and recording an ambitious musical biography that chronicles Hopper's artistic triumphs, spectacular flameouts, and ultimate redemption.
May 8, 2025
Craig Mod: Things Become Things That Last
Craig Mod, author of Things Become Other Things, explains how his love of independent publishing remains uncompromised despite a book deal with Random House and why books represent the perfect focused technology in an age of constant digital distraction.
May 1, 2025
Tamiko Thiel: part 2 - art at technology's edge
In the second part of our conversation, Tamiko Thiel discusses Beyond Manzanar, her collaboration with artist Zara Houshmand, where viewers confront the history of Japanese-American internment while drawing connections to contemporary persecution.
April 24, 2025
Tamiko Thiel: part 1 - sculpting the electronic brain
In part one of an extended conversation, the pioneering media artist discusses designing the Connection Machine, working with Richard Feynman, and how her Japanese-American heritage shapes her revolutionary approach to making technology beautiful.
April 17, 2025
Hunter Noack: Grand Piano & Grander Landscapes
With his innovative "In a Landscape" series, pianist Hunter Noack hauls a concert-quality Steinway to remote locations, inviting audiences to wander through nature while intimate piano sounds fill their wireless headphones.
April 10, 2025
Noah Preminger: A Veteran Saxophonist Tackles the Ballad
Boston-based saxophonist Noah Preminger discusses his surprising compositional preferences, his challenging education under Dave Liebman, and why his latest album, ‘Ballads,' might be his most accessible work yet.
April 3, 2025
Mary Halvorson & Sylvie Courvoisier: Bone Bells and the Art of Surprise
Swiss pianist Courvoisier and American guitarist Halvorson discuss their third album 'Bone Bells,' reflecting on the value of risk-taking and the slow-burning development of a creative partnership that continues to yield fascinating results.