The Jazz Podcast

Joan Hutton is a performer, composer and educator residing in Minneapolis. Joan’s diverse interests have taken her from jazz, free improv and funk to classical, chamber music and pit orchestras. She has released two jazz albums featuring her original music, with co-leader Sue Orfield, on Shifting Paradigm Records: “Take That Back” (2022) and “Splash” (2024.) She is a member of the Ancia Saxophone Quartet, which has recordings out on the Naxos and Albany labels. Joan teaches a large studio of private students around the Twin Cities and is the saxophone and clarinet instructor at Augsburg University.

Support the show

Darius and Cathy join the show to share their lifetime of work and achievements. With a new book and film Playing The Changes as well as a rerelease of The Jazzanians iconic album We Have Waited Too Long theres so much to catch up on! 

Support the show

In a world which celebrates the virtuosity of the individual, HLK’s vision has been to develop their ensemble virtuosity, compelled by a unified vision. The music comprises precise notated sections, moments of conversational interaction and room for individual improvisation. It is a delicate but powerful balance. This unique, interdependent rhythmic language has required unparalleled commitment, but yielded astonishing results. The Trio’s music is celebrated for being emotionally and cerebrally challenging yet accessible, captivating audiences young and old across the UK and mainland Europe.

HLK have completed their second recorded volume: ‘Anthropometricks’. Their unique musical relationship with Dame Evelyn Glennie has evolved and the results captured in five of the eight compositions on the album. Two additional artists have also been invited into the fray. British Cellist Natalie Clein’s rich tone and melodic interpretation add a wealth of texture. Varijashree Venugopal contributes a spell-binding vocal performance, including an incredible improvisation on the title track. Today Rich Kass, Rich Harrold and Ant Law join Rob Cope to chat about the new album. 

Support the show

Sam joins Rob Cope to tell us all about his brand-new album. We chat about the music, the influences and the key decisions behind the project.

Support the show

Loren’s began her career as something of a prodigy at age 13, when she won a songwriting contest, gaining national attention. Before she was 19, she did a stint in Nashville, soaking up that city’s ancestry of great American songwriting. She recorded her first album at 20, and from there she was off and running, recording successive albums that garnered awards, Billboard recognition and an international following that has sent her touring around the globe, including stops in Korea, Africa, Japan, Canada and the Caribbean, to name a few locations. Her records regularly make “best of” lists, and her sublime talents as a vocalist are attested to by several albums hitting the #1 slot on Canadian and Japanese jazz charts. Today she joins the show to tell us all about her new album. 

Support the show

Swedish artist, Vidya talks to Tara Minton about her new album, Adi Shakti. 

Support the show

Professor of the Practice in the Department of Music at Duke University, Anthony Kelley joined the Duke faculty in 2000 after serving as Composer-in-Residence with the Richmond Symphony for three years under a grant from Meet the Composer, Inc. He received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Duke University, and he earned a Ph.D. in Musical Composition from the University of California at Berkeley.

In 2021, Kelley was appointed as Composer in Residence for the North Carolina Symphony. His major works for symphony orchestra include: Spirituals of Liberation (commissioned and  premiered in 2022 by the North Carolina Symphony, with Evan Feldman and Michelle Di Russo, conducting); the piano concerto, Africamerica (premiered in 1999, by the Richmond Symphony with piano soloist, Donal Fox and George Manahan, conducting); and The Breaks (commissioned and premiered in 1998 by The American Composers Orchestra under the direction of Gerard Schwartz). The Baltimore, Detroit, Atlanta, Oakland East Bay, Marin (CA) and San Antonio symphony orchestras have also performed Kelley’s symphonic music.
Among his awards and honors are the Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Institute and Academy of Arts and Letters, and composition fellowships from the North Carolina Arts Council, the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation.  Some of his other work includes his soundtracks to the H. Lee Waters/Tom Whiteside film, Conjuring Bearden, (2006), and Dante James’s film, The Doll (2007), explores music as linked with other media, arts, and sociological phenomena. A recording of Kelley’s work, Grist for the Mill (commissioned by the Mallarme Chamber Players), was released in August, 2009 and is available for purchase on iTunes.

Support the show

Our guest host Martin Hummel interviews Rob Cope about his new album, Gemini which is out now. Rob chats about his influences and inspirations and Martin does a stunning job in the captains chair. 

Support the show

Music has been an integral part of Martin’s entire life. Since his early days as a musician, Martin staged concerts as a teenager (featuring Elton John), worked in various music clubs and was a DJ/Music Director in professional radio.  For 17 years, he was responsible for Pepsi-Cola’s international communications, where he worked with the likes of Michael Jackson, Madonna, Tina Turner, The Spice Girls, Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Robbie Williams and Pink, amongst many others. He's founded Ubuntu Music, one of the great labels for new music and jazz and today he shares his thoughts on running the label with us. 
You will often find him at live shows, whatever the time of the day or night, looking for the next Bird, Dizzy, Esperanza, Charlie, Miles, Ron, Ella, Art or Chet.

Support the show

As a band leader and co-leader he is responsible for much of the output of the groups; Lammas, The Underground Orchestra, Storms / Nocturnes (feat. Joe Locke and Geoffrey Keezer), Acoustic Triangle, the last few years of Bill Bruford’s Earthworks, and The Lighthouse Trio, (feat; Gwilym Simcock and Asaf Sirkis). This final group makes a 20th anniversary come-back tour and release during 2024! 

Today we chat to Tim about his new album, Moment of Departure. 

Support the show