The Working Artist Project

Meet Juan Tigre, the bilingual alt-rock alter-ego of guitarist/vocalist John Maestas. Inspired by the iconic high desert imagery of New Mexico and imbued with the expansive folklore of the southwest. Psychedelic distorted guitars float over a video game sound palette with rhythms & melodies that draw upon influences from J Dilla, Jimi Hendrix, Pixies and Thundercat. Based in New Orleans, Maestas has become well known locally for his guitar and production talents through his work with Nicholas Payton, Christian Scott Atunde Adjuah, Alex Ebert, Papa Jon Gros, Fiend, Elzhi, and Nesby Phips. Juan Tigre’s debut album ‘The Dream Catcher’ was released April 17th, 2020 and established the band as a new voice in the alt-rock scene. The upcoming album ‘Azúl Arriba, Blue Below’ is a collection of ambient instrumental songs set for release on May 13th, 2022.

In this episode of The Working Artist Project, Darrian Douglas and Gregory Agid talk to master percussionist Kofi Hunter about working with folks like Robert Glasper and creating Righteous Rebel Education.

Art can transform lives. As an in-demand multi-percussionist Kofi has been given the opportunity to support some of the biggest names in music, from The Robert Glasper Experiment Saxophonist Casey Benjamin to Hip Hop Superstar GolDLink. Kofi along with his brother established an Afro-diasporic Neo-Folk Percussion and Vocal Group named ‘Akoko Nante Ensemble. ‘ Akoko Nante has performed at BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn Concert Series and has been featured as a musical guest on VICE’s The Untitled Action Bronson Show. Their debut album ‘Nkrabea: Destiny” is available on all streaming platforms.

When he’s not on the bandstand he’s either in a classroom as a teaching artist with his Arts Education initiative, Righteous Rebel Education, or at the helm of his partnership with Brooklyn music venue and non-for-profit National Sawdust, the modern spin on a traditional Kwanzaa Celebration, music festival Kwanzaa Fest BK.

Kofi recently released his debut album NATION TIME via his Righteous Rebel Music label. #Podcast #theworkingartistproject #neworleans #musiceducation #newyork #marketing #branding #business #art

In this episode of The Working Artist Project, Darrian Douglas and Gregory Agid talk to Amina Scott.

Amina Scott, born and raised in Oakland, CA, is an upright and electric bassist, composer, and arranger. Her interest in music began at an early age when her grandmother began giving her piano lessons. From then, her love and passion for music has yet to cease, playing electric bass at the age of twelve and was soon playing gigs with local bands in Oakland.

In 2012, Amina relocated to New Orleans, LA where she studied with Allen Nisbet, Roland Guerin, and Ed Wise. In 2017, Amina began her studies at Florida State University (Tallahassee, FL) studying with Rodney Jordan, Leon Anderson, Marcus Roberts, and Bill Peterson. In 2019, she obtained her Masters in Music in jazz studies. In 2017, Amina joined the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra led by Adonis Rose.

Now based in New Orleans, Amina has performed with various artists including Dee Dee Bridgewater, Steve Turre, Wessell “Warm Daddy” Anderson, Nicholas Payton, David Murray, Jamison Ross, Joanne Brackeen, Herlin Riley, Christian Scott Atunde Adjuah, and more. She has also performed with the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra (Tallahassee, FL) and the Albany Symphony Orchestra (Albany, GA) and is the current bassist for Dee Dee Bridgewater’s DDB Big Band which is an all women big band featuring women from all across the United States.

In this episode of The Working Artist Project, Darrian Douglas and Gregory Agid talk to Ricio Fruge

Ricio is a fiercely soulful and versatile musician from Jacksonville, FL based in New Orleans. Currently performing with Karl Denson and the Tiny Universe, John Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen, New Orleans Jazz Orchestra and Soul Brass Band.

A graduate of Michigan State University(M.M.), Florida State University(BA) and Douglas Anderson School of the Arts Ricio wears many hats. Trumpeter, Composer, Arranger, Band Leader, YouTuber as well as a few others.

At leisure, Ricio enjoys watching football, enjoying some fitness and cooking by a fire.

Svetlana is a New York-based acclaimed chart-topping vocalist, composer, band leader, educator, and a Manhattan School of Music MA and Columbia PhD graduate. She is on a mission to uplift, connect, and spread the joy of music. Svetlana is a recipient of a grant from Jazz Road/South Arts and Chamber Music America Digital Residency Grant funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and Andrew Mellon Foundation. She is a Finalist of the Paul Carr's 2019 Discovery Act Competition and a finalist of the American Music Abroad program. Svetlana has performed professionally since 2011 after reaching success as a management consultant and associate professor at Columbia University - and has toured with her various bands nationally and internationally, headlining hundreds of sold-out shows in the US and abroad. Svetlana's last record Night At The Movies debuted #1 on Billboard Traditional Jazz Charts. She is a founder of Swing Makes You Sing - a project which brings interactive virtual and in-person jazz performances and jazz education workshops to youth in Grades PreK-12, focusing on kids who are starved for hope and joy associated with music-making and meaningful high-quality music programming.

In this episode of The Working Artist Project, Darrian Douglas and Gregory Agid talk to Jocelyn Gould about her career, and touring in a post covid world.

Jocelyn Gould has been called “a leader in the next generation of great mainstream jazz guitarists” by Howard Paul, CEO of Benedetto Guitars. Her joyful energy has captivated audiences around the world and her passion for music is infectious. She has absorbed the influences of the jazz guitar greats and has woven them into an exciting personal sound. Her unique ability to connect with audiences always leaves them wanting more.

Jocelyn Gould has performed internationally in the groups of Grammy nominated vocalist Freddy Cole, Trumpeter Etienne Charles and DownBeat Rising Star trombonist Michael Dease. She can be heard on albums lead by Michael Dease, Jon Gordon, Diego Rivera, Randy Napoleon and Will Bonness. She is the 1st place winner of the 2018 Wilson Centre International Jazz Guitar competition.

Jocelyn's debut release as a leader, 'Elegant Traveler', won a 2021 JUNO for “Jazz Album of the Year” in the 2021 JUNO awards. Elegant Traveler showcases Jocelyn's warm and inviting sound and melodic compositions with an all star band.

Jocelyn is a full time music professor and Head of Guitar Department at Humber College in Toronto.

In this episode of The Working Artist Project, Darrian Douglas and Gregory Agid talk to Curtis Nowosad about his career, "jazz fame" and immigration.

100 years after the Harlem Renaissance shook the world, there’s a whole new cultural and spiritual awakening in that corner of the jazz world. A key player in galvanizing this fresh and dynamic sense of cultural awareness, drummer/composer Curtis Nowosad has been a major force in The Harlem Sessions, organized by renowned pianist Marc Cary.

Having made his home in Harlem since 2013, the Canadian native emerges as a powerful musical force for social justice on a groundbreaking self-titled jazz and blues-driven collection that illuminates past and present history while creating some profound history of its own. Co-produced with Cary, it is his first collection to feature the explosive and intuitive chemistry of his NY-based ensemble that has held court in NYC everywhere from Smalls to The Jazz Standard to The Blue Note and full week residencies at Dizzy’s Club at JALC.

Curtis laid the foundation for this current release with two previous critically acclaimed collections, his debut The Skeptic & the Cynic and the WCMA-winning and JUNO-nominated Dialectics, which made DownBeat Magazine’s “Best of 2015” list. A remix project, titled CNRMXD, will be released in late 2022.

Curtis has played in the bands of trumpeter Philip Harper, trombonist Craig Harris, saxophonist and vocalist Braxton Cook and Cary (who both make major contributions to the album) while headlining major jazz festivals in the U.S., Canada and Europe. He has also played with five NEA Jazz Masters: Candido Camero, Dave Liebman, Jimmy Owens, Ron Carter and Kenny Barron. He is an endorser of Canopus Drums.

Hailed by the New York Times as “a tenor saxophonist with an enigmatic, elegant and harddriving style,” JD Allen is a bright light on today’s international jazz scene. His unique and compelling voice on the instrument – the result of a patient and painstaking confrontation with the fundamentals of the art – has earned Allen years of critical attention signaling his ascension to the upper ranks of the contemporary jazz world.

Originally from Detroit, Allen’s apprenticeship, anchored by his lengthy tenure with Betty Carter, occurred largely in New York, where he worked with legends Lester Bowie, George Cables, Ron Carter, Louis Hayes, Frank Foster Big Band, Winard Harper, Dave Douglas, Cindy Blackman, Butch Morris, David Murray, Wallace Roney, Rufus Reid and Geri Allen.

Courtney Bryan, a native of New Orleans, La, is “a pianist and composer of panoramic interests” (New York Times). Her music is in conversation with various musical genres, including jazz and other types of experimental music, as well as traditional gospel, spirituals, and hymns. Focusing on bridging the sacred and the secular, Bryan's compositions explore human emotions through sound, confronting the challenge of notating the feeling of improvisation. Bryan has academic degrees from Oberlin Conservatory (BM), Rutgers University (MM), and Columbia University (DMA) with advisor George Lewis, and completed postdoctoral studies in the Department of African American Studies at Princeton University. Bryan is the Albert and Linda Mintz Professor of Music at Newcomb College in the School of Liberal Arts, Tulane University and a Creative Partner with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. She was the 2018 music recipient of the Herb Alpert Award in the Arts, a 2018 Hermitage Fellow, a 2019 Bard College Freehand Fellow, a 2019-20 recipient of the Samuel Barber Rome Prize in Music Composition, a 2020 United States Artists Fellow, and a 2020-21 Civitella Ranieri Fellowship recipient.

In this episode of The Working Artist Project, Darrian Douglas and Gregory Agid talk to Joshua Gouzy about his booking agency Magnolia Music and growing as a musician, producer, and writer.

A New Orleans native, Joshua Gouzy was raised in a family with four generations of musical heritage. He has played a variety of instruments throughout his life and cultivated his early musical skills while playing "by ear" in his church band. Joshua is a graduate of Loyola University New Orleans with a Bachelor’s in Music Education and a minor in Jazz Studies. He also has a Master’s Degree in Music from the University of New Orleans. In his sixteen years of performing professionally, he was the regular bassist with more than fourteen New Orleans-based bands and has been featured on over 30 albums. He also established his own music booking agency, Magnolia Entertainment, offering authentic New Orleans music for corporate and social events. For most people, that would have been enough achievement to last a lifetime, but Joshua knew that there was more to his evolution as a musical artist, producer, and composer. A global pandemic, a chance connection in the Bay Area, and a deep dive into the Sound for Picture and Games program at the Pyramind Music and Audio Production Institute opened the doors to his passion for composition and sound design. Lauded by his professors for coming to the program with such extensive musical experience and skill, Joshua is clearly on his way to becoming one of the most in-demand production talents in the industry. #Podcast #theworkingartistproject #neworleans #musiceducation #newyork #marketing #branding #business #art