BMC Podcast Network

Guitarist Mike Mele graduated from Berklee College of Music in 1990 (Cum Laude).

Mike is a prominent educator, and has taught guitar lessons through The Music Emporium in Lexington, Massachusetts for over twenty-five years.

He has also taught at Berklee College of Music, Tufts University, Sharon Music Academy and Bentley College.

He is currently an instructor in music at Phillip Exeter Academy.

Mike has spent the last thirty years performing with many

jazz and blues greats, including Roy Hargrove, Antonio Hart, Tony Monaco, Bill Pierce, Joe Hunt, Barry Ries, Marty Rowen, Melvin Sparks & Myanna.

Mike has been a member of the Ken Clark Organ Trio, and recorded the albums Eternal Funk and Mutual Respect for the

distinguished Severn Records label. Mike was also a long-standing member of Michelle Willson’s Evil Gal Festival Orchestra, toured North America and Europe, and released the critically acclaimed album Wake-Up Call for Rounder Records.

Jennifer Wharton is a low brass specialist based in New York City. Though getting her start classically, Jen has deep roots in jazz, commercial, chamber and Broadway music.

Jennifer leads the trombone-forward ensemble, Bonegasm, commissioning works from jazz heavyweights and newcomers. She was awarded a 2020 grant by the NYC Women’s Fund for Media, Music and Theater to continue to bring trombone music to the masses. The result was Bonegasm’s sophomore album, Not A Novelty (2021), a follow up to their debut Bonegasm (2019). Downbeat Magazine called the most recent album “Trombone Ecstasy”.

http://www.bonegasm.com/

Ana Petrova is a Kazakhstan-born, American jazz pianist/organist and a graduate of Berklee College of Music in professional music and performance, and holds a master’s degree from the Berklee Global Jazz Institute, and is now an assistant professor at Berklee. Ana has studied with and/or performed with Danilo Perez, Dave Liebman, Terri Lyne Carrington, John Patitucci, Joe Lovano, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Kurt Elling, Ben Street, and Adam Cruz. She has participated in international festivals such as Umbria Jazz Festival 2013 (Italy), Wave of Ideas 2015 (Bulgaria), Panama Jazz Festival 2020, 2021 (Panama), Berklee Beantown Jazz Festival 2018 (Boston, MA), Monterey Jazz Festival 2018 (Monterey, CA), Soular Jazz Festival 2021 (MA), and Arlington Jazz Festival 2022 (MA).

In 2019 she was awarded with a DownBeat Student Music Award for the Best Graduate Arrangement. In 2021 received a grand-prix at the International Jazz Bridge Competition as a pianist, composer, and arranger, and became the finalist at Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition. In 2022 Petrova received a prestigious New Jazz Legacy Grant, which will let her perform alongside the renowned jazz saxophonist Chris Potter and get creative mentorship with Kris Davis. She is currently working on her debut album and is a principal pianist and organist for Champion: An Opera in Jazz written by Terence Blanchard as a part of Boston Lyric Opera.

A Multi-genre vocalist, composer and educator, Gabriela, holds a

bachelor's degree from Berklee College of Music.

In addition, Gabriela has a master's degree from New England

Conservatory, where she studied under Jason Moran, Miguel Zenon and

Ken Schaphorst.

Her current release is "Homage to Gramlis" and she has received

numerous awards both nationally and internationally including the LABgrant

from Boston Foundation.

Veronica Leahy is a saxophonist, multi-woodwind player, and pianist.

A recent graduate of the Harvard-Berklee College of Music dual degree

program, she was specifically enrolled in the Jazz & Gender Justice Group.

Veronica has performed & mentored under founder and director Terri Lyne

Carrington,(Multi Grammy Award-winning drummer and educator).

Veronica is now planning to establish her post-graduate performance

career in New York City.

Doug interviews well-known and highly regarded jazz percussionist Phil Haynes (https://philhaynesmusic.bandcamp.com). From Wikipedia: "A veteran artist based in New York for 25 years, Phil Haynes is featured on more than 85 LP, CD, and DVD releases by numerous American and European record labels. Haynes’ debut, The Paul Smoker Trio’s QB with Anthony Braxton, was named the #1 recording of 1985 by esteemed critic Kevin Whitehead. The international media have compared his drumming to masters Jack DeJohnette, Roy Haynes, + Elvin Jones, and his compositions to Duke Ellington, Charles Ives, Charles Mingus and the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Haynes' performances were recently noted to be “The perfect middle between tradition and avant-garde, between power and sophistication, between accessibility and adventure. . . standards with a new sense of drama, dynamics, and true moments of fun.”

Laszlo Gardony is the guest on this episode. Hungarian born American Jazz pianist, and professor at Berklee College of Music In the Piano Dept since 1987.

He won the Great American Jazz Piano Competition in 87’

and is the composer of 14 albums.

He is a soloist and has led a jazz trio - playing together for twenty years with bassist John Lockwood & drummer Yoron Israel, and they recently recorded together again on his 22’ release "Close Connections" which is discussed in this interview.

Guest: Ken Gable, who is a music instructor at Belmont Middle School.

Interview by Alison Smith of Aviva Brescher at BMC.

Todd speaks with BHS Marauders Football Head Coach Brian McCray for the first time about the team's progress so far and the upcoming game vs Burlington at home.