Visionary composer/bandleader Maria Schneider knows firsthand that deep listening is the key to understanding. “Every time I hear my band play, I witness the magic of listening,” she explains. “A true jazz improvisor thrives on listening.... Jazz shines a light on what we are allowing to slip away in our brittle and fractured world, making our art form more relevant today than ever before.”

Schneider’s new EP American Crow is out February 3, 2026, via ArtistShare®, along with a visual narrative exploring listening, connection and courage in a divisive age. 

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Kris Davis is a Grammy award-winning pianist and composer described by The New York Times as a beacon for “deciding where to hear jazz [in New York] on a given night.” Davis has released 24 recordings as a leader or co-leader and collaborated with artists such as Terri Lyne Carrington, Dave Holland, John Zorn, Craig Taborn, Ingrid Laubrock, Tyshawn Sorey and Esperanza Spalding.  She was named a 2021 Doris Duke Artist alongside Wayne Shorter and Danilo Perez, Pianist of the Year by DownBeat magazine in 2022 and 2020, and Pianist and Composer of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association in 2021.  In 2019, Kris Davis’ “Diatom Ribbons” was named jazz album of the year by both the New York Times and the NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll. Today Kris joins the show to share her newest music, The Solastalgia Suite. 

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Niklas Lukassen’s internationally renowned quartet with saxophonist Ben van Gelder, pianist Kit Downes and drummer Francesco Ciniglio, fuses captivating individualists of the jazz scenes of Amsterdam, London, Paris and Berlin into one symbiotic musical organism.
With natural improvisational flow, this unit's interplay runs like water through sonic river forks into unexpected directions. Unafraid of intentional, suspenseful collision, it produces pounding waves of raw energy. Enriched by artistic contributions from guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel, saxophonist Wanja Slavin & trombonist Geoffroy De Masure, they musically explore the unimagined depths that underlie supposedly still waters.

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Community spirit has been a constant in the work of composer and trumpet player Sarah Wilson, whose experiences and inspirations have ranged from socially conscious puppet theater to brass band and New Orleans traditions to her own illuminating style of jazz. When musicians are truly inspired and connected with one another, Wilson describes, time seems to stand still for artist and listener alike.

“Time just evaporates,” Wilson says, “and you’re completely immersed in feeling the euphoria and joy of being in this creative moment. You forget everything else that is happening in space and time, while paradoxically the music is moving through time.”

During a 2023 artist residency in Krems, Austria, the Bay Area-based Wilson experienced a similar epiphany when she encountered the paintings of Viennese artist Thomas Reinhold. One of the founding figures of German “New Painting” or “Junge Wilde,” Reinhold’s large- scale work combines architectural planning with the chance effects of time. Wilson’s reaction to the paintings inspired the music on Incandescence, the joy-fueled new album by her sextet Brass Tonic.

Out July 18, 2025 via Wilson’s own Brass Tonic Records and co-produced by Wilson and Grammy Award-winning producer Hans Wendl, Incandescence was commissioned by InterMusic SF’s Musical Grant Program. It draws equal inspiration from Reinhold’s bold, multi-hued abstracts and from the street- level, community-spirited traditions of brass band, marching and New Orleans parade music. In Brass Tonic, Wilson combines an all-woman horn frontline – herself, alto saxophonist Kasey Knudsen, and trombonist Mara Fox – with the buoyant rhythm section of guitarist John Schott, bassist Lisa Mezzacappa, and, for this recording, drummers Jon Arkin and Tim Bulkley.

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Harben Kay joins the show to chat about the release of their highly anticipated new album, The World I Live In (Sulis Records, October 3rd 2025). This album represents a deeply personal exploration of identity, transformation, and the way change influences creativity. Written over the past three years, during a time of frequent moves between London, Edinburgh, and Glasgow, The World I Live In reflects the shifts in Harben’s life and the profound impact they had on the music. Inspired by the work of renowned writer Bernardine Evaristo, particularly her book Manifesto, Harben delves into how the process of moving, both physically and mentally, can shape creativity. “There has been a lot of change in my life over the past few years, and this album reflects that,” says Harben. “It’s about how change shapes who we are and influences the music we create.”

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Long time friend of the show Huw joins the show to tell us about his incredible new music. His new single 05/05/21 with his band Di-Cysgodion is out today and we celebrate by listening to the track and diving into all the musical details. 

He's also promoting and performing at concerts at the London Jazz Festival at the London Welsh centre and we hear about all his exciting plans and ideas for the festival. 

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Spike has played saxophone for over 40 years, with many musicians, in Australia, the USA, the UK, Canada, Ireland, Greece, Singapore, Italy, The Czech Republic, Holland, Turkiye, and New Zealand.

He's performed at countless festivals and clubs, from stadium stages to people's kitchens, with both famous and unknown musicians, in front of very large and very small crowds. 

He's also been a recording session musician for many diverse artists, helping them make their music a reality, by performing, composing, arranging, and producing on over 250 albums, including soundtracks for film and television. 

Spike spent many years studying too and have been awarded a Masters of Music In Jazz Performance, a Bachelor of Music, a Bachelor of Education, and an Associate Diploma of Jazz Studies, and a Graduate Diploma in Research.

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Hannah Brine talks to Tara Minton about her new album, 'Blue Sky Now.'

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Tara Minton speaks with Lorna Reid about her new album, songwriting and more. 

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