Ulysses Owen’s Jr.’s latest album Soul Conversations brings us the energy of a live big band packed with the best in the business. The band is unique in bringing together veterans of the jazz scene with up-and-coming musicians and showcasing music written by band members throughout the album.

In this episode, Ulysses Owens Jr. dives into the creative process of his own original tunes from the groove to the bass lines, to the harmonies, and why he prefers writing with a friend. We also discuss why music and activism are intertwined, how he deals with critics, and his new book “The Musician's Career Guide."

Resources

Learn more about Ulysses Owens Jr. on his website. You can find Soul Conversations anywhere you stream music. It's also available for purchase on Amazon Music. 

Enjoying Bite-Size Jazz? You can support the podcast by Buying Me a Coffee! You can also leave a review, subscribe on your favorite podcast platform, or follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. I’d love to connect with you!

Alexa Tarantino's album Firefly is her third recording as a leader in the last three years. But she's not only busy writing music for her own quartet, she's been involved with groups like the Jazz at Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Sherrie Maricle & The DIVA Jazz Orchestra, Cecile McLorin Salvant’s OGRESSE Ensemble and Arturo O’Farrill & The Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra. 

In this episode, she walks us through the composition process on tunes like "The Firefly Code," "Surge Capacity" and "Daybreak" while also talking about the unique process of recording during a pandemic. We also discuss the difference between playing in an all-woman group vs. an ensemble where she's the only female, what changes when you play with people you're comfortable with on a personal level, and her educational program "The Alexa Approach." 

The Alexa Tarantino Quartet is rounded out with Behn Gillece on vibraphone, Rudy Royston on drums, Art Hirahara on piano and Boris Kozlov on bass. 

Resources

Learn more about Alexa Tarantino on her website. You can listen to Firefly anywhere you stream music. It's also available for purchase from Amazon Music. 

Enjoying Bite-Size Jazz? You can support the podcast by Buying Me a Coffee! You can also leave a review, subscribe on your favorite podcast platform, or follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. I’d love to connect with you!

David Osmond and Caleb Chapman's new album More Where That Came From mixes the Great American Songbook with pop and original tunes into what they call a "New American Songbook." Laugh along with David and Caleb as they tell us the story of how their album came together and how they became the dynamic duo they are today (even accidentally becoming next-door neighbors at one point). 

With Caleb's extensive jazz background (previous President of the Jazz Education Network and director of the Crescent Super Band, which has won many prestigious jazz awards), and David's background in show business (yes, he's part of THE Osmond family, nephew to Donny and Marie), they seemed like a bit of an odd couple at first. But Caleb says it was the perfect way to take world-class musicians and arrangements and pair them with a vocalist who could take the music in a whole new direction. 

Along with snippets from the album, you'll get to hear about their collaborative effort with songwriter Roger Brown from Nashville, the award-winning musicians they perform with from Caleb's music program The Sound House, and why both quality music and entertainment matter. 

Resources

You can listen to More Where That Came From anywhere you stream music. It's also available for purchase through Amazon Music. 

Enjoying Bite-Size Jazz? You can support the podcast by Buying Me a Coffee! You can also leave a review, subscribe on your favorite podcast platform, or follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. I’d love to connect with you!

Vocalist Lezlie Harrison's debut album Soul Book Vol. 1 brings new life to favorites from the 70s. Lezlie says though she loves the Great American Songbook, that wasn't the music of her childhood. She grew up on music from Stevie Wonder, Earth Wind and Fire, Marvin Gay and the Delfonics. Lezlie's fresh takes on songs like Bill Wither's "Ain't No Sunshine" and Steve Wonder's "Lately" groove with Saul Rubin on guitar, Ben Paterson on organ, and Russell Carter on the drums. 

Lezlie's also had quite the career. Fresh out of college, she started working for WBGO, the #1 jazz radio station, then explored France as a model and singer, then came back to New York to pursue a singing career and wound up back at WBGO where you can hear her now. 

Resources

Learn more about Lezlie Harrison on her website. You can listen to Soul Book Vol. 1 anywhere you stream music. It's also available for purchase from Amazon Music. 

Enjoying Bite-Size Jazz? You can support the podcast by Buying Me a Coffee! You can also leave a review, subscribe on your favorite podcast platform, or follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. I’d love to connect with you!

"There is something uplifting even in the most quiet pieces. It wants to express finding peace and balance within yourself." 

Sone Ka-La 2: Odyssey is the sequel to Jacques Schwarz-Bart's album Sone Ka-La, released in 2005. Where the first album digs into the pain of the slave experience, the second celebrates triumph over struggle. Jacques says it's about finding the resolve to overcome. 

Raised mainly on the island of Guadalupe in the French Caribbean, Jacques says the history of slavery there was similar to the history of the US. Slavery was first abolished in 1794, but then re-instated by Napolean I between 1802 and 1848. It was a tumultuous time, when slaves that had been free for 8 years were enslaved again after a revolt and a bloody clash between free slaves and Napolean I. 

While that may sound dismal, the music on the album does not, celebrating the strength to rise above. Jacques integrates elements from Gwoka music, native to his island of Guadalupe, with more modern groove and instrumentation for a perfectly blended and unique style. Jacque credits his time with artists like Roy Hargrove, D'Angelo and Chucho Valdez for giving him a taste for many music styles. The combination of these different colors blends together to create a beautiful new mosaic that you can enjoy on Sone Ka-La 2: Odyssey. 

Resources

Learn more about Jacques Schwarz-Bart on his website. You can listen to Sone Ka-La 2: Odyssey anywhere you stream music. It's also available for purchase from Amazon Music. 

Enjoying Bite-Size Jazz? You can support the podcast by Buying Me a Coffee! You can also leave a review, subscribe on your favorite podcast platform, or follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. I’d love to connect with you!

"Most kids go with their grandparents to bake pies...My grandmother took me to gigs." ⁠

⁠Nicolas King's latest album, Act One, celebrates 25 years as a recording artist. And at 30-years-old, yes, that means his first recording came at age 5. From hanging out backstage at his grandmother's gigs, to starring on Broadway, to touring the US with Liza Minnelli and then starting his own act as a nightclub singer, Nicolas has had one heck of a career so far. And it's only Act One! ⁠

⁠Check out the interview to hear Nicolas' story, bits of his music, and the importance of staying humble during your career! ⁠

⁠Resources

Learn more about Nicolas King on his website. You can listen to Act One anywhere you stream music. It's also available for purchase from Amazon Music. 

Enjoying Bite-Size Jazz? You can support the podcast by Buying Me a Coffee! You can also leave a review, subscribe on your favorite podcast platform, or follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. I’d love to connect with you!

"I don't know if someone like that ever retires, you never stop being a musician." At age 95, Sammy Nestico started writing music for what would become his last project, the album Every Star Above featuring Mandy Barnett. 

Sammy Nestico wrote for musicians like Frank Sinatra, Buddy Rich, Bing Crosby, Michael Buble, and of course, the legendary Count Basie orchestra. Mandy Barnett says "He just exuded warmth, which you could hear in his arrangements. You could tell what kind of person he was by the music he wrote."

Mandy is a legend of her own as well. Though her career up to this point mainly focused on the country and bluegrass music she grew up hearing in East Tennessee, she's never forgottenthe big band music her grandmother used to play. When presented with an opportunity to record music from the Billie Holiday album Lady in Satin, Mandy leapt at the chance, saying it's one of her favorite records. 

The combination of talent from Sammy Nestico, Mandy Barnett, and the 60-piece orchestra behind her is simply stunning. Listen to the full episode to hear more from Mandy about what it was like working with Sammy Nestico, the recording process, and how she went from country to the Great American Songbook. 

Resources

Learn more about Mandy Barnett on her website. You can listen to Every Star Above anywhere you stream music. It's also available for purchase from Amazon Music. 

Enjoying Bite-Size Jazz? You can support the podcast by Buying Me a Coffee! You can also leave a review, subscribe on your favorite podcast platform, or follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. I’d love to connect with you!

London-based jazz vocalist James Hudson says his goal with music is to bring a bit of joy to someone's day, and he certainly does that with his debut album Tomorrow. Along with his musical collaborators Nick Fitch and Joe Hill, James bring a pleasant twist to classic standards like "Pennies from Heaven," "Tomorrow" and "Almost Like Being in Love," that remind us to keep our chins up. He balances it out with a mournful bossa nova version of "It Had to Be You," and a somber treatment of "Someone to Watch Over Me," with a beautiful arco bass. James Hudson's takes on songs that have lasted over 100 years are a sure sign that they're bound to last a 100 more in the hands of great musicians. 

Resources

Learn more about James Hudson on his website. You can listen to Tomorrow anywhere you stream music. It's also available for purchase through Amazon Music.

Enjoying Bite-Size Jazz? You can support the podcast by Buying Me a Coffee! You can also leave a review, subscribe on your favorite podcast platform, or follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. I’d love to connect with you!

"It actually kept me sane too, I lost both my parents literally a year ago, April 1st and April 8th. It was one of those things where, I had nowhere to go, I wasn't sleeping, so I would wake up at 6 am, think about what Pat Methany tune I wanted to learn and then go learn it." ⁠

John Pizzarelli released the first solo guitar album of his career on April 16th - Better Days Ahead - with 13 acoustic versions of Pat Methany tunes. John says that the album was recorded at the beginning of the pandemic, when the world was reeling from the revelation of an international pandemic, and he was reeling from the sudden death of both his parents. Those early morning practice sessions became not only a much needed lifeline, they became his next album. ⁠

Resources

Learn more about John Pizzarelli on his website. You can listen to Better Days Ahead anywhere you stream music. It's also available for purchase through Amazon Music.

Enjoying Bite-Size Jazz? You can support the podcast by Buying Me a Coffee! You can also leave a review, subscribe on your favorite podcast platform, or follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. I’d love to connect with you!

"Come What May, it's like, here we are, we're all doing our best, we're not gonna let anything stop us, we're still making music, and we're still recording. It's really just about us doing our best to hang in there and stick around, come what may!" ⁠

Jazz vocalist Jane Monheit celebrated her 20th year as a best-selling recording artist with the album Come What May. The past two decades have taken her across the globe singing to audiences in every corner of the world.  While Jane is accustomed to traveling constantly — she knows the best spots in almost any airport — the pandemic has brought a unique change of pace. Rather than falling asleep in airplanes every night, Janes sings, "Let's Take A Walk Around the Block."

Come What May features 10 of Jane's favorite songs, polished from performance after performance. Some are lighthearted, such as "On the Sunny Side of the Street," others celebrate her long-time love of Brazilian music such as, "Sambo Do Aviao," Jane's luscious voice caresses songs like, "The Nearness of You" and "Lush Life." Jane has sung many tunes over the years, but only recently has she felt ready to sing a song such as "Lush Life."

Jane says, "I’m like a privileged suburban white lady. I don’t get to just sing 'Lush Life' without thinking about it really carefully, making sure I’ve lived enough and had enough experience to do justice to the material. It's really important to be aware of who we are and bring honesty and sincerity to the music — and never affecting the experience of someone else that we haven’t had."

Listen to the full interview with Jane Monheit to learn how she sings with honest expression. She also talks about her favorite places to travel, how she chooses her music, and much more.

Learn more about Freda Payne on her website, You can find Let There Be Love anywhere you stream music. It’s also available for purchase from Amazon Music.

Resources

You can learn more about Jane Monheit on her website. You can listen to Come What May anywhere you stream music. It's also available for purchase through Amazon Music. 

Enjoying Bite-Size Jazz? You can support the podcast by Buying Me a Coffee! You can also leave a review, subscribe on your favorite podcast platform, or follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. I’d love to connect with you!