Meaningful Musical Conversations

What you just heard is our guest setting an intention for this interview, by singing this little song in Haitian Kreyol. I’m happy to announce that we have our first drummer and percussionist on the show! I’ve seen him perform many times over the years and have always enjoyed something about his playing that is hard to describe. I guess I could say that it is as much about his Presence as his playing. 

He was born in Bronxville, New York, grew up in Western Connecticut, and made his way to California in 1974. He performs in and around the Bay Area playing with a large pool of musicians and plays in a variety of styles and genres. That said, he has a special passion for Haitian drumming, has studied seriously for many years, and performs regularly with two Bay Area Haitian dance companies. 

He has also been a member of the Brazilian Jazz guitarist/composer Ricardo Peixoto’s quintet for five years. 

Our guest is also a teacher, teaching both privately and at Sonoma State University, where he leads an ensemble in the Jazz Program.

He is one of the first people I thought of having on the show when Daniel and I first started this project, so I’m thrilled that we finally got to sit down with him, and get to share our conversation with you! We are so pleased to welcome, Kendrick Freeman!

kendrickfreeman.com

Rara Tou Limen with Daniel Brevil

Blanche Brown leader of Hatian Dance Company, Group Petit La Croix

John Salz

Marc Farre: Singer/Songwriter and Guitarist, The Craft of Songwriting: Where do Songs Come From? The Value of Self-Discipline and Perils of Perfectionism, Being Your Own Benefactor.

Our guest this episode is a guitarist/singer-songwriter who is known as an Indie POP-rock musician with an art house French vibe sound, a throaty voice, and darkly poetic lyrics.

He grew up in Washington D.C., was raised speaking both French and English at home,   and sings many of his songs in French.

After graduating from Georgetown University with a degree in Mathematical Economics he lived in NYC for about 10 years, working as a manager for the Merce Cunningham Dance Company and traveling the world, before he left to pursue a career in music. In 2018, he and his wife made their way out to Sebastopol, California, where they currently live, growing their own food, and enjoying the beauty of Sonoma County.

This episode has plenty of music throughout, with several clips from songs from our guest’s albums as well as two live performances.

We are so pleased to share with you our charming poet-musician, Marc Farre!

marcfarre.com

flatbedfestival.com

Our guest this episode is a professional pianist, originally from Newport Beach, California, currently residing in the San Francisco Bay Area where he performs with his trio, as well as with a long list of other accomplished musicians, including vocalist Deborah Winters, and soul singer Chris Saunders. He is also a member of guitarist Ricardo Peixoto’s Quintet.

Our guest is an adjunct faculty member of the Jazz department at Sonoma State, teaches piano privately, and composes and scores music for film. He loves all kinds of music and has played on 13 albums.

He has a B.A. in Economics, attended Berklee College of Music in Boston and has a Masters degree in Jazz Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music.

I feel fortunate to have gotten to know our guest and listen to him play live during our conversation, as he shares his heart and wisdom generously through both. He is also strong in the empathy department!

We are so pleased to welcome to the show, Ken Cook!

kencookmusic.com

Ken's Discography

Sonoma State University

Our guest this episode was born and raised in Carson California, where she studied classical piano throughout her childhood starting at very young age. After high school, she attended University of California, Long Beach, where she studied Interior Design. After one semester there, she changed course and made her way to Sonoma State, where she graduated with a BA in both Music, (piano) and Fine Art, (printmaking).

Our guest works as an accompanist in private studios and is currently the pianist who accompanies the applied music students at Santa Rosa Junior College in Northern California. She is also a vocal coach for these voice students.

While our guest’s career is primarily focused on music, her interest in the arts is eclectic. She has a passion for both comedy and drawing and finds great satisfaction through creating comics strips. She also loves variety shows, theater, puppets, and dance and has even created, starred in and produced several variety shows for the stage!

We are so pleased to welcome our multi-talented, funny and humble guest, Nancy Hayashibara!

Our guest this episode was born and raised in the UK in East Anglia - and in December of 2019, she became a US citizen. She is a vocal improviser, which means that she sings without knowing what she is going to sing, both alone and with others, and she is also a teacher. 

Our guest developed her musicianship chops through studying with well known vocal improvisers, Rhiannon and Bobby McFerrin, as well as with bassist and guitarist, David Eskenazy and Indian master singer,  Atulkumar Upadhye. In 2017, she recorded “Listen”, an album of completely improvised vocal music with her quintet, The Elements, and has two albums coming out in 2020. 

While she performs in ceremonial contexts such as weddings, blessings, and grief rituals, as well as regular gigs throughout the UK and America, our guest is also very much a helper/healer/priestess of sorts. She has trained with Dr Melissa Michaels of the SomaSource Leadership Training, and works with people who have experienced trauma and oppression. I have had the honor to both witness and experience her capacity to hold sacred space, and the therapeutic nature of her work. 

We are so honored and pleased to welcome our guest, Briony Greenhill!

We are pleased to announce that this is our first episode where our guest plays live music on the show. Our guest this episode is a Native Californian. He began playing piano at age four, soon transitioned to guitar, bass guitar and by age 14, decided on eight stringed guitar as his primary instrument. Our guest is a full time musician, primarily playing solo gigs on his eight string guitar, with which he simultaneously plays bass, chords, melody and fills. He has a passion for the blues, which is evident in all of his playing. He writes and performs originals and creates unique arrangements of cover tunes, embracing a wide variety of genres from the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, to today’s music. We are so pleased to welcome our guest, a hard working musician with incredible chops, Nate Lopez! We are al is our first episode where we are recording an artist playing live. 

NateLopez.com

Our guest this episode grew up in a suburb outside of Paris, France and currently lives in Penngrove, California. She started singing and performing with her brother, Gabe Pirard, when they were children, and later, after having moved to the States, formed the band Dgiin, where they performed together for over 12 years.

After a vocal injury that required a two year vocal rest, our guest formed a new band called SonoMusette, where they perform in the style of French Chanson from the 20th Century, including covers of Jaques Brel and Edith Piaf, as well as their originals.

Our guest is also Mom to a six year old, an avid mountaineer, kayak lover and bee keeper!

We are so happy to welcome to the show, Mimi Pierce!

Photo by Frederic Aube

Our guest this week grew up in the Bronx, New York, currently lives in Sonoma Valley, California. She is a professional pianist who composes, performs and teaches a variety of genres, and has a passion for Brazilian Jazz. She started studying classical piano as a young girl and began attending the children’s program at Manhattan School of Music/Juilliard at age 11. Our guest has a BA in Piano Performance from University of Michigan School of Music, and she also wrote for, acted in and directed a feminist theater group at the University. She has been playing and performing since childhood, and since moving to California, has performed at many of the major Bay Area venues, The San Jose Jazz Festival, and has headlined The Healdsburg Jazz Festival with Grammy-winning Brazilian Jazz Icon, Leny Andrade. Our hard-working guest is also the music director for both a synagogue and a Christian church- and she happens to be a great story-teller. Her effervescent, joyful personality infuses her music and all that she does. 

We are thrilled to welcome our guest, Stephanie Ozer!

Stephanieozer.com

Our guest this episode is from Petaluma, California. She started singing, taking piano lessons, and studying classical voice as a young girl living in the country. As a teen, she attended a performing arts high school, then moved East to continue her studies at Syracuse University where she focused on theater arts. Our guest then moved to New York City and pursued acting for five years before returning to her hometown of Petaluma. Upon her return, she and guitarist Gabe Pirard started a band called French Oak Gypsies, based on their mutual interests in French Gypsy Jazz and Traditional Jazz from New Orleans. This band is now called, Bandjango Collectif.

Several years later, our guest developed The Billie Holiday Project, combining her acting and story-telling skills with her vocals as Billie, creating a top notch quartet to accompany her.

Along with being the leader of several bands, acting as their manager, booking agent, and publicist, today’s guest teaches voice, acting, beginning piano and guitar. 

We are so pleased to welcome our guest, Stella Heath!

Links:

www.StellaHeathMusic.com

www.BillieHolidayProject.com

Our guest this episode is originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is a pianist, composer, arranger, sound engineer, accompanist, as well as the music director at a church. He moved to Northern California in 1979, and currently lives in Sebastopol, CA. 

Our guest also works as producer, musician, and sound engineer at his recording Studio, J Dog Studios in Sebastopol. He has both a Bachelors and Masters degree in Music Composition and composes in the genres, jazz and electronics. You can find clips of his music at the end of the podcast in this order:  “A Night in Athabasca”  (Electronic piece), followed by  “CMYK”, and “Crepuscle with Nellie” - both Jazz piano compositions, and can listen to many other recordings on his website, johnsimon.net by clicking on "listen".

Our guest is also an accomplished soloist and the preferred accompanist for many vocalists and instrumentalists in the Bay Area, as well as the keyboardist for many different rock, dance and jazz groups.

Along with his gifts as a performer and composer, our guest is also a teacher. He taught at Sonoma State for seven years, and at Santa Rosa Junior college for 11. He also teaches piano out of his studio in Sebastopol, where I’ve been the lucky recipient of his knowledge, wisdom, and hilarity! 

We are very pleased to welcome our guest, John Simon!

www.johnsimon.net