In this episode, Warren Buchholz sits down with Eric Mullins and Jimmy Michaud, co‑founders of Swamp Sounds Florida, a Florida‑rooted vinyl collective dedicated to preserving music, history, and community through records. The conversation explores their journey into vinyl culture, the origins of Swamp Sounds Florida, and their commitment to education through workshops, events, and hands‑on experiences. Eric and Jimmy also share the story behind their annual Vinyl Record Crawl, held on Record Store Day, which blends music history, record grading education, and visits to independent record stores across the Tampa Bay region. Together, they discuss the power of vinyl as a social connector and their vision for giving “Old Florida” a lasting home in the record space.

Host: Warren Buchholz, Jazz Brand Manager, WUSF

Guests:

Rita Batiste – Sommelier / Wine Attendant, Piccolo Buco

Alex – Brand Manager, The Zest

Location: Piccolo Buco, Tampa, FL

In this special on-location episode of Studio Sessions, WUSF Jazz Brand Manager Warren Buchholz sits down with Sommelier Rita Batiste at Piccolo Buco in Tampa to explore the sensory connection between classic jazz albums and carefully selected wines. Each pairing is designed to mirror the mood, texture, and emotional depth of iconic jazz recordings, blending music appreciation with wine education in a relaxed, conversational setting.

Jazz and wine share the same language—emotion, structure, improvisation, and personal taste. There is no “right” pairing, only what resonates with the listener and drinker.

Album & Wine Pairings

🍾 Thelonious Monk –  Monk's Dream  →  Camille Brilliant Champagne (France)

🍷 Miles Davis –  Kind of Blue →  Petite Sirah

🍓 Oscar Peterson –  Night Train →  Strawberry Rhubarb Spritzy Sangria

🍷 Nina Simone –  Gifted and Black →  Vin Velouté Wine

🍷 Frank Sinatra –  My Way →  Super Tuscan Blend

🍾 Ella Fitzgerald –  Like Someone in Love →  Riesling

🍷 Dave Brubeck –  Time Out →  Cabernet Sauvignon & Zinfandel Blend

Recorded by: Natalie Jarrin

Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Gustavo Matamoros is a sound artist and composer who has lived and worked in Miami since 1979. His compositions have earned two Venezuelan music awards and have been performed by prestigious ensembles in his home country. His sound art installations have been commissioned and exhibited throughout the U.S. and Europe by notable institutions, including the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), Miami-Dade Art in Public Places, Atlantic Center for the Arts, the Polk Museum of Art, and the Deering Estate. Matamoros has performed at prominent venues such as the Dali Museum, the Lloyd Foundation, and the Bob Rauschenberg Gallery in West Florida, as well as Roulette and Experimental Intermedia in New York City, the Experimental Sound Studio in Chicago, and LAXart and Mills College in California. Since 1988, Gustavo Matamoros has served as the artistic director of the Subtropics Organization. The college campus is located at 6605 5th Ave. North in St. Petersburg. Funded by St. Petersburg College & EMIT.

Led by founder Holly Cordero, Steamin’ Jazz is made up of players from the Central Florida area with a sense of New York Flair. Steamin’ Jazz plays tunes from jazz standards to brazilian to Funk to arrangements of pop tunes in a Jazz fashion. 

Holly received her Master’s in Jazz Performance from New York University playing with Jazz greats such as Kenny Werner, Chris Potter, Jean Michel-Pilc, Brad Shepik, Tony Moreno, among others. She learned under the tutelage of Mike Richmond who tours with the Mingus Big Band. She now resides in Florida continuing to compose and arrange, constantly learning more from the jazz idiom. She continues to be a strong force in the jazz world performing with multiple ensembles and for multi styled events from Burlesque to Symphony to Country to Funk.

Mike Harris - Sax
Joe Barone - Piano
Ken Shadrake - Drums
Holly Cordero - Bass/composer/bandleader
Camera/Editor - Warren Buchholz
Audio Engineer - Jackson Harpe
Assistance / Setup - Chandler Balkcom

Learn more about Studio Sessions at wusfjazz.org. Studio Sessions is made possible by WUSF, Community Foundation Tampa Bay, and viewers like you. Thank you for your support!

Consisting of Chris Kottke on trumpet, John Wheatley on tenor sax, Jim Lemli on guitar, Don Colladay on bass (Steve King on bass substituting on the Arts Axis Studio Session recording) and Pete Szujewski on drums. The SRQuintet is committed to carrying on the tradition of the great jazz quintets of the last 60 years. Playing everything from songbook standards to bebop classics, blue note gems, bossa nova favorites, and many new original tunes, the quintet is a can't-miss feature of the Sarasota jazz scene. 

Don Was has left his mark on music, producing the Rolling Stones, playing bass for Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Grateful Dead, and leading Blue Note Records. He joins us ahead of his Clearwater show with Don Was & The Pan-Detroit Ensemble to discuss new music, collaborations and stories from his career. This was originally broadcasted on WUSF 89.7fm as part of the Florida Matters episode dated February 9, 2026.

Established in 2022, Sokołowski Trombone Project is a Trombone Band made up of 4 trombonists and 3 rhythm section players. The band’s goals consist of promoting innovative arrangements for the trombone of popular jazz standards, while also aiming to contribute original and modern music in various styles. STP recently won the International Trombone Association’s "Kai Winding Jazz Trombone Ensemble Competition" as well, where the group was given a featured performance at the International Trombone Festival in Salt Lake City.

Meet Al Di Meola. He’s a GRAMMY® Award-Winning American jazz fusion and Latin jazz guitarist/composer, working as a solo artist on hit albums like Casino and Land of the Midnight Sun and performed with Chick Corea’s Return to Forever. He recently released a new album Twenty Four and is currently on tour where he’ll be performing at the Nancy & David Bilheimer Capitol Theatre in Clearwater on January 17 at 8pm.

Meet Laila Biali. She’s a Multi award-winning Canadian singer-songwriter, pianist and CBC Music national radio host of the program Saturday Night Jazz. She is a JUNO award winner and has recently released a new album Wintersongs. She will be performing at the Carrollwood Cultural Center in Tampa on January 16 at 7:30pm. I hope you enjoy.

Gumbi Ortiz a 30 year veteran of The Al Di Meola Group, was born and raised in The South Bronx, Gumbi has Recorded, performed, and/or Produced, some of today’s most diverse and acclaimed  musicians on the Planet  including : Phillippe Saisse, Jeff Berlin, Steve Vai, Nat Adderley, Joel Taylor, Cyril Neville, Irvin Mayfield, Bill Summers, Armand Sabal-Lecco, Senri Kawaguchi, Chick Corea, Gato Barbieri, Rick Ross, Young Jeezy, The J.U.S.T.I.C.E League,Jeff Lorber, Dave Weckl, Eric Marienthal, Brandon Field ,Jay Beckenstein, Barry Miles, Joel Rosenblatt ,The Black Honkeys, Nick Brignola, Jim Pepper, Ted Shumate, Fred Johnson, Irene Cara, kamau kenyatta, Walter Booker, Jimmy Cobb, Rachel Z, Lenny White, kei Akagi,Leonid Agutin, Roman Miroshnichenko, Rick Braun, The Allen Carman Project, Tom Brechtlein, Luis Alicea, New Groove City, The Electrik Rendezvous, Marc Quiñones and Sammy Figueroa, to name but a few. The college campus is located at 6605 5th Ave. North in St. Petersburg. Funded by St. Petersburg College & EMIT.