Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Kansas City Jazz Trumpeter & Flugelhornist Alex Abramovitz of His Swing'n Kansas City Jazz Band – This is a band whose primary focus and mission is to preserve the heritage of Kansas City Jazz through performance, education, and entertainment....  Alex grew up in Kansas City and is proud to be a part of a long KC jazz tradition .. The band began in 2008 and has gone through some changes over the years, but today .. they are very busy and voted as one of the best live jazz acts in KC ..

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Violinist and Composer Nora Germain  .. She talked about her latest album Go For It .. And how she spent a lot of time growing up in Madison, Wisconsin – She was introduced to music by her violinist parents and cellist grandmother and went on to become the first ever violinist to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Jazz Studies from the renowned USC Thornton School of Music – She was mentored by Marshall Hawkins, former bassist for Miles Davis and has been around quite a bit at a young age with her sound and wisdom ..

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with the Prolific & Veteran LA-based Freelance Jazz Musician Jim Self  .. He talked openly about his latest -  2017’s Floating in Winter  - He was born in Franklin, Pennsylvania and has since moved on to a very fruitful career .. since l974 he has worked for all the major Hollywood studios performing for over 1500 motion pictures and hundreds of television shows and records – In fact, he was the Voice of the Mothership” from Close Encounters of the Third Kind – Along with the recordings and performances, he is an adjunct professor of tuba and chamber music.University of Southern California Thornton School of Music.

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Saxophonist Arthur White .. This solo artist, composer, and bandleader will be released on the Artists Recording Collective label in 2017 .. Originally from Kansas, he got his Bachelor of Arts in Music from Emporia State University, the Master of Music in Jazz Pedagogy from West Virginia University, and the Doctor of Musical Arts in Saxophone Performance from the University of North Carolina .. He keeps his home, and roots firmly planted, in the Midwest; resides in Columbia, MO and over the years he’s performed with the best around .. like Randy Brecker, Bobby Watson, Russell Malone, Mike Metheny, and Jimmy Greene .. For seven years, he was the director of jazz studies at the University of Missouri. .. He’s always at it getting jazz out there to both the fans and students ..

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Singer and Musician Krystle Warren  ..She is from the jazzy confines of Kansas City, MO .. and these days lives a click outside of Paris in France .. She just released a new album in 2017 called Three The Hard Way .. and it was a new way of assembling an album for her .. and she explains .. Over the years, she has always grown into a very talented artist that moves between the genres of jazz, folk and much more .. Things are taking off .. and there is much more to get done .. She’s wise and has many stories to dispense ..

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Saxophonist, Composer and Educator Greg Osby  .. He’s making his way to Kansas City to play a gig on October 20, 2017 at the new Black Dolphin club .. and he’s no stranger to the Show Me State .. Originally from St. Louis, he has been at this jazz game since the mid-70s and got some good lessons at both Howard University and Berklee College of Music .. He’s played with the best over the years .. a dream line up of cats like Jack DeJohnette, Dizzy Gillespie, Andrew Hill and so many others .. We caught up with him during a busy swing from Europe and a a stack of moments of reflection.

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Kansas City Jazz Trumpeter Chalis O’Neal .. We caught up with him recently about his life in jazz .. More specifically about a show he performed during the 2017 Charlie Parker Celebration at the Folly Theater with the great Bobby Watson, Sullivan Fortner and Tivon Pennicott .. He talked about his life learning with Bobby and many others at UMKC, along with growing up off 18th and Vine in KCMO just down the way from the Mutual Musicians Foundation .. He’s a busy cat and he’s got big plans for his future ..

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Drummer Bernie Dressel  .. He just released 2017s Livin’ and Bernin’ and he’s quite an educated cat .. He has a BM in Performance and Music Education from Eastman School of Music – He is the drum chair for the Grammy nominated Gordon Goodwin Big Phat Band and the Grammy Award winning Brian Setzer Orchestra .. These days he’s busy with LA session work and has done TV scores on shows Knot's Landing, Dallas, Suddenly Susan, Jag, and Star Trek's Next Generation – he’s a funny and intelligent cat with much to say ..

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Cuban born Jazz Drummer Ignacio Berroa  .. He was born and raised in Cuba .. and is on the heels of releasing 2017’s Straight Ahead from Havana – His musical education at age 11 at the National School of Arts and really took off in 1980 when he left his country and settled in New York City where he met the great Cuban musician Mario Bauza who introduced him to Dizzy Gillespie. In August 1981 Gillespie invited Ignacio to join his quartet .. Since that time, he is the only and most successful straight ahead jazz drummer to come from Cuba and make it in America ..

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with San Francisco-based Jazz Pianist Clifford Lamb  .. He just released 2017’s Brothers and Sisters – He is originally from New York and discovered jazz at age 16 – His first jazz piano teacher was Wes Montgomery’s pianist, Richard Crabtree – and he would go on to graduate from the Berklee College of Music in Boston and hooked up with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra – From there, he has woven an interesting jazz journey ..