VJC Q&T podcast host Russell Schmidt shares questions and tangents with jazz composer, arranger, trombonist Paul Ferguson (Director of Jazz Studies at Case Western Reserve University, Artistic Director of the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra). Together, Paul and Russ explore a wide range of topics, including the emotional heft of musical memory, the serendipity of finding the right teacher at the right time, and even the overriding cultural ethos permeating northeast Ohio.

In this initial VJC Q&T podcast, host Russell Schmidt shares questions and tangents with jazz trumpeter, composer, educator Tito Carrillo (Associate Professor of Jazz Trumpet at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign). Their wide-ranging conversation delves into the relationship between performing and teaching, the importance of musical communication, the nature of creativity, and even the value of liner notes in this digital age.