This week, I sit down with the fun and interesting Danny Abosch to talk shop about musical theatre. We cover his own early successes, the processes of writing a musical, the challenges of adaptations vs. original material, accessibility in musical theatre, and just some other geeking out over our favorite shows.

For all things Danny:

dannyabosch.com

For info/performances of Fancy Nancy:

http://fancy-nancy-the-musical.com/

For info on Danny and John MacLay's musical adaptation of Goosebumps:

http://www.firststage.org/Shows--Events/2016-17-Season/Goosebumps-The-Musical/

This week, the wonderful Italian composer Giro Deraco sits down with me to talk about lots of music things. We go through developing musical concepts compositionally, connecting with audiences, differences between Italian and American arts cultures, and (of course) his music.

Featured on this episode:

Giro's complete opera, TACI.

AND

Indaco for flute, clarinet, and vibraphone

For all things Giro:

http://www.girolamoderaco.it/

facebook.com/dracogirolamo

In Part 2 of my interview with my mentor David Taylor, we cover academia, differences in trombone between eras, how David digs into the pieces on his records, and so much more. Oh, and he makes fun of me for being corny. Totally deserved.

Check out David's upcoming recital (with 6 string basses!) at Manhattan School of Music on April 11th!

This week (and next week) feature an exceptional conversation with the incredible and legendary bass trombonist (and my former teacher) David Taylor. Just a few of his career highlights include working with Bernstein, Boulez, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis Thad Jones, Charlie Mingus, the Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan, and so many more. In addition to all that, he has commissioned and performed more new works for trombone than anyone else. And now he writes his own music. We cover everything from the studio scene of the 70s to modern music education to how to approach performance. Come back next week for more.

This episode features two tracks:

1) Dave Matthew's "Blue Organum" w/trombonist Jim Pugh

2) Excerpt from David's piece "Too Suite" w/The Low Brass Connection

This week, I sit down with violinist Josh Henderson and pianist Mikael Darmanie of the unusual and exciting ensemble Warp Trio. We talk about melding three unique voices and writing/improvisational styles into one unified voice, reaching a variety of audiences, and balancing a musical lifestyle.

Featured on this episode is the track "Baseball" from their debut EP, "Warp Drive."

For all things Warp Trio (their EP, audio, video and links to all their social medias):

warptrio.com

This week, I have a good talk with my buddy and fellow bass trombonist Felix del Tredici about his burgeoning career and exciting experiments in music. We cover so many things in our talk: fear of improvisation, the nature of art, presenting difficult things to audiences, and putting together unique pieces.

Featured on this episode, is Felix's improvisation "Mission Accomplished" with the Low Brass Connection from the album "The Sounds After the OilWar," available on iTunes.

For all things related to Felix, check his website:

felixdeltredici.com

soundcloud.com/felix-del-tredici-1

This week, the delightful Stephanie Ann Boyd returns to the show for her own full-length interview. We talk about her 50 State Sonata Project (Amerigo), taking advantage of academia properly, and taking potential weakness and turning them into strengths, as well as Philip K Dick, Vincent Van Gogh, and aliens! O_O

Featured on this episode is the first movement (Fantasia) of her violin concerto Sybil, performed by Eunae Koh and a collection of New England Conservatory musicians.

For all things Stephanie:

stephanieannboyd.com

facebook.com/stephanieannboydcomposer

twitter.com/stephanieannboyd

This week, my good friend Chirs Misch-Bloxdorf comes by to talk about jazz, trombone, and composing. We cover the struggle to remain positive on bad gigs, musical father figures, as well as Chris' music, among many other things.

Chris is the greatest dude.

Featured on this episode is a track entitled, "A Shared Office With Superman" from his recent record, "Snap Shots."

Check out his music at:

soundcloud.com/mischachris

This week, singer Lauren Lee stops by the studio (HA. Like I hava studio) to talk about her non-standard approach to jazz singing, artistic integrity vs. monetary gain, NYC neighborhoods, and finding one's way towards what one should be doing musically. She's a really fun hang.

Featured on this album is the track "Voyager" from her upcoming album with The Space Jazz Trio, "The Consciousness Test."

For all things Lauren Lee:

laurenleeprojectjazz.com

facebook.com/laurenleejazz

For this special mid-week Divergent Paths episode, I have a delightful talk with jazz hornist extraordinaire John Clark. We cover the unusual concept of playing jazz horn, surviving the freelance world in the 70s, new music, and the Baha'i faith (which I learned about for the first time).

Featured on this episode are two tracks, one from John's first album from 1978, "The Answer-Island Flower" and one from his most recent album with the Odd Couple Quintet, "MK447JC1."

For all thing related to John, his music, and his career, check out Hidden Meaning Music, as well as his records on iTunes and Spotify.

hmmusic.com