Jason Fabus is a Minnesota educated jazz musician making his way out in Los Angeles. He's swinging back through town to visit friends and play a couple shows. He'll be at Crooners on Friday night with Graydon Peterson (bass) and Phil Hey (drums) supporting. Fabus is a bit of an odd bird in the jazz world, as he works both as a saxophonist and as a vocalist. In the conversation Jason shared a bit about his path to performing in two disciplines.

The Twin Cities based cellist Greg Byers stopped by the Afternoon Cruise to chat about his new album, "Dear Zbigniew". Greg discussed how visiting Poland in 2018 for the Seifert International Jazz Violin Competition changed his life and where he believes the world of bowed jazz players is heading.

Billy Stritch connected with Jazz88 in advance of his Crooners show, "A Musical Night Out with Billy Stritch". Sean from the Afternoon Cruise chatted with Billy about what he's learned from working with greats like Liza Minnelli, Linda Eder and others. Billy Stritch also shared a memory of playing with the late great Tony Bennett in Stritch's hometown of Sugar Land, Texas.

As a grant-supported Cedar Commissions artist, Kashimana created a set of songs about becoming a mother. The songs are now on CD, called Phantom Cries. Kashimana performs these songs at a release event at the Cedar Cultural Center, Friday July 28 at 8PM. When Kashimana talked to Phil Nusbaum, she first addressed the creative freedom grant support afforded her.

Bruce Henry dates his music career back to the first time he got paid to make music in a nightclub, going back almost exactly fifty years. He'll be celebrating his breathtaking career at the Dakota on Saturday night. Check out the conversation between Bruce Henry and Sean McPherson

Brian Ziemniak of the BZ3 Organ Trio rolled through the Afternoon Cruise to talk about their upcoming show at Crooners and he brought along Julius Collins, one of the special guests that will be on the show at Crooners. Check out the full conversation here. This podcast was edited by Ben Ere'imul.

The vibraphonist Cecilia Smith connected with Jazz88 to discuss her latest album, "The Mary Lou Williams Resurgence Project Vol. 1". Smith has been on a campaign since the late '90s to shine a light on Mary Lou Williams legacy and her writing. Listen for insight on how Cecilia Smith goes about amplifying and advancing Mary Lou Williams' legacy.

Minneapolis Community Education is presenting it's annual Summer production, titled Bring It On The Musical, showing at Southwest High School through July 22. Jazz 88 summer interns RJ, Lorelei, and Cristian talk with actor Ari Sanford and Student Engagement Coordinator JoEllyn Jolstad about the cast, and how the show was put together.

Mack Avenue Recording artist and Minneapolis resident Steve Cole is getting ready for a headlining show at the Ames Center in Burnsville on Friday August 18. Steve was kind enough to visit the Afternoon Cruise and talk about his career, his connection to the Twin Cities and his path to becoming one of the big names in contemporary jazz.

Leslie Vincent visited the Jazz88 studios in anticipation of the release of her new album "About Last Night". In the conversation she talked about her love of jazz and her connection with the band that played on her new recording.