Author: Charles Bingham

I build community and health project websites in Sitka, Alaska. My sites include http://www.sitkalocalfoodsnetwork.org/, http://walksitka.wordpress.com/, http://sitkacycling.wordpress.com/, http://getoutsitka.wordpress.com/, and http://walkbikealaska.org. My portfolio site is http://charlesbingham.wordpress.com/. Since I build and maintain most of these sites on a volunteer basis, feel free to donate to me through PayPal to help with the costs, https://www.paypal.me/CWBingham3. Thanks

After Hours featuring Leslie Page, air date Feb. 9, 2022

On By Charles BinghamIn Featured guest, Songwriter, VocalsLeave a comment

Join me for After Hours Alaska at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 9, on KRBD public radio in Ketchikan, Alaska, as I’m joined in conversation with jazz vocalist Leslie Page.

Leslie is a singer/songwriter and resident of sunny Southern California. She is an incredible vocal force with unique life experiences that resonate in the timbre of her rich and sultry tone. Her career as a live performance vocalist, studio session singer and touring background vocalist spans with more than 20 years of experience.

Leslie has shared the stage with an ongoing list of world class musicians and entertainers including Joe Walsh, Ringo Starr, Keith Urban, Vince Gill, Billy Gibbons, Rick Springfield, Zack Brown Band, Gary Clark Jr, Hunter Hayes, Brad Paisley, Luke Bryan, Peaches and Herb, Richard Marx and many more. Her vocals have been featured on numerous television/film/commercial recordings and album projects. In July 2019, Leslie released her first jazz album, Heart Songs, produced by Tony Guerrero, featuring some original music as well as covers of some of her favorite jazz tunes.

She has been described as a pro’s pro, having one of the finest and most adaptable voices you’ll ever hear and has been dubbed by producers as the “one take wonder”. Leslie is a woman who sings from the depths of her soul, with great tune and skill. She is truly a master of her instrument.

Click this link to go to Leslie’s personal website.

After Hours featuring Halie Loren, air date Jan. 26, 2022

On By Charles BinghamIn composer, Featured guest, Songwriter, VocalsLeave a comment

Join me for After Hours Alaska at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 26, on KRBD public radio in Ketchikan, Alaska, as I’m joined in conversation with jazz vocalist and former Alaskan Halie Loren.

Halie is an international, award-winning jazz singer/songwriter. This Oregon-based artist brings a fresh and original perspective to time-honored musical paths, channeling her innate understanding of connectedness across musical boundaries to forge bonds with diverse audiences in North America, Asia, and Europe.

Nature, and the natural world, has always featured significantly in Loren’s songwriting. As a child growing up in Alaska, and then as an adult in the Pacific Northwest, her wonder and gratitude for the gifts of the great outdoors have inspired a reverence and communion she brings forth in song.

Halie’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 No. 1 slot on Canadian and Japanese jazz charts.

Considering such success, it would have been understandable for Loren to toe the line and stick to the known path with her new album, From the Wild Sky. Instead she chose to take a leap of faith, forging ahead with a vision that encompassed the full complement of her compositional talents. Funding her latest efforts through fan pledges to a Kickstarter campaign, she teamed up with producer Troy Miller (Gregory Porter, Laura Mvula, Jamie Cullum) and a handful of all-star musicians, including Femi Temowo, Ben Williams, Michael Olatuja, Nathan Schram, Andrew Yee, and Becca Stevens (featured on the track “Wild Birds”).

Click this link to go to Halie’s personal website.

After Hours featuring Ron Wilkins, air date Nov. 24, 2021

On By Charles BinghamIn Band leader, educator, Euphonium, Featured guest, Low brass, Songwriter, Trombone, Trumpet, Tuba, VocalsLeave a comment

Join me for After Hours Alaska at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 24, on KRBD public radio in Ketchikan, Alaska, as I’m joined in conversation with New York-based musician Ron Wilkins.

Ron has been performing on tenor and bass trombones, euphonium, tuba, bass trumpet, and vocals for over forty years. He has performed at the highest levels touring around the world with his own groups, as well as with other premiere artists. Ron also has an extensive background in music education.

Ron is a member of the Birdland Big Band, Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band, and runs his own New York City big band, alongside trombonist Rebecca Patterson, which features their writing and includes some of New York City’s premiere musicians.

Click this link to go to Ron’s personal website.

After Hours featuring Dean Grech, air date Nov. 10, 2021

On By Charles BinghamIn composer, Featured guest, Guitar, ProducerLeave a comment

Join me at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 10, for After Hours Alaska on KRBD-Rainbird public radio in Ketchikan, Alaska, as I’m joined in conversation with jazz guitarist, composer boca and producer Dean Grech.

As with many artists of his caliber, Grech’s music career and his long road to success started at a young age. Grech began his devotion to music and guitar at age 7. He played his first paying gig at age 11. His dedication only increased when he took lessons from world-renowned classical guitarist, and Decca recording artist, Rey Delatorre, at the age of 14.

With the advanced technique that comes with classical training, Dean later found his niche playing jazz and emulating guitarists who would become Grech’s guide to improv in the years to come. His interest started with a gift. Grech’s jazz influence can be traced back to a friend of the family who gave him a stack of records. In that stack, Grech found “Kaleidoscope” by Johnny Smith and “Boss Guitar” by Wes Montgomery. The passion was placed. The sounds of these two guitar players haunted Grech relentlessly from that point on. Dean is extremely talented and well versed in many facets of music.

Click here to visit Dean’s personal website. Click here to listen to this episode of After Hours.

After Hours featuring Harold López-Nussa, air date Nov. 3, 2021

On By Charles BinghamIn composer, Keyboards, PianoLeave a comment

Join me at 9 p.m. on Wednesday evening, Nov. 3, on KRBD in Ketchikan, Alaska, on After Hours Alaska, as I’m joined in conversation with with Havana-based pianist and composer Harold López-Nussa. This show also will air from 8-10 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 16, on KCAW in Sitka.

Harold sets out to capture that stirring sensation with an exhilarating marriage of jazz and Cuban pop music, defiantly standing up to the doubters who failed to share his radical vision. We will explore a favorite jazz venue of his: Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, in Seattle, and delve into how he made his musical dreams come true.

Harold’s music reflects the full range and richness of Cuban music, with its distinctive combination of classical, folkloric and popular elements as well as its embrace of jazz improvisation and interaction. Harold studied classical piano at the Manuel Saumell Elementary School of Music, the Amadeo Roldán Conservatory and the Instituto Superior de Artes (ISA). His career gracefully spans styles, from his recording of Heitor Villa-Lobos’ Fourth Piano Concerto with Cuba’s National Symphony Orchestra to his featured role on the album Ninety Miles, playing alongside jazz stars David Sánchez, Christian Scott and Stefon Harris. His new recording, Te Lo Dije, is the ninth album in a catalogue that includes exquisite classical pieces, mesmerizing solo creations and explosive jazz trio outings.

Click here to visit Harold’s personal website.

After Hours featuring Dale Curtis, air date Oct. 20, 2021

On By Charles BinghamIn Featured guest, TrumpetLeave a comment

Join me at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 20, with my very special guest trumpet player and Ketchikan’s own, Dale Curtis, on After Hours Alaska on KRBD-Rainbird Radio in Ketchikan, Alaska. This show also will air from 8-10 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 2, on KCAW-Raven Radio in Sitka.

I’ll be featuring his “Bridge to Nowhere” album that features his talented quintet. We will dive into his music education experience and why he thinks it’s vital for kids to have this valuable education today. We will also discuss his professional music career which he has been immersed in from many different angles.

You won’t want to miss this special edition of After Hours on KRBD in Ketchikan, which I like to call the island of unexpected artists.

Click here to visit Dale’s personal profile on Facebook.

After Hours featuring Falkner Evans, air date Aug. 18, 2021

On By Charles BinghamIn composer, Featured guest, Keyboards, PianoLeave a comment

Please join me for After Hours as I’m joined in conversation with jazz pianist/composer Falkner Evans.

This episode will air at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 18, on KRBD in Ketchikan, Alaska. This show is tentatively set to re-broadcast at 6 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 20, on KSTK in Wrangell, and at 10 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 23, on KCAW in Sitka.

Originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma, Falkner is a New York-based pianist with an eclectic musical background. A third cousin to iconic author William Faulkner, Evans grew up on classic 60s rock and R&B before getting hooked on jazz in high school. After touring for four years with the Grammy-winning western swing band Asleep at the Wheel, he moved to New York City in 1985.

“Evans is understated, measured and methodical. Yet his way of elaborating a thematic structure…creates its own subtle surprises. He makes you listen carefully to discover the complexities that he configures beneath his music’s attractive but subdued surface.”
— Thomas Conrad, Jazz Times

Missed the show? Click this link to listen to the After Hours show featuring Falkner Evans, originally broadcast on Aug. 18, 2021. Click here to visit Falkner’s personal website.

After Hours featuring Douyé, air date Aug. 11, 2021

On By Charles BinghamIn Featured guest, Songwriter, VocalsLeave a comment

Join me for After Hours at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 11, on KRBD of Ketchikan, Alaska, as I’m joined in conversation with Nigerian-born jazz artist Douyé. This show is tentatively set to broadcast at 6 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 13, on KSTK in Wrangell, and will air at 10 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 16, on KCAW in Sitka.

Douyé was born in Lagos, Nigeria, and regularly spent her summers in England. She was in a church choir in Africa when she was quite young and often sang along with recordings from her father’s record collection.

Douyé also wrote poems and songs as she grew up. Early on she knew that singing was going to be her lifelong love. In her pursuit of singing, she moved to Los Angeles to attend the Musicians Institute as a vocal major.

Don’t miss this exciting soulful interview.

Missed the show? Click this link to listen to the After Hours show featuring Douyé, originally broadcast on Aug. 11, 2021. Click here to visit Douyé’s personal website.

After Hours Special featuring Austin Hays, air date July 28, 2021

On By Charles BinghamIn Arranger, composer, Drums, Featured guest, Keyboards, Piano, Producer, VocalsLeave a comment
PHOTO BY JEFF FITZWATER

Please accompany me for a very special edition of After Hours as I’m joined in musical conversation with Ketchikan’s own drummer, composer, arranger, producer, pianist and singer Austin Hays as we explore making music for video games, the connection between music and math, and exploring bipolar through music.

Tune into this exclusive interview at 9 p.m. on Wednesday evening, July 28, on KRBD Rainbird Radio in Ketchikan.

Born and raised in Ketchikan, Austin has been playing drums since age 5, and also has taken up piano, composing/arranging, and singing. Austin attended Cornish College of the Arts from 2008-13. He enjoys producing his own shows, and currently resides in his hometown as a private music teacher and working musician.

Missed the show? Click this link to listen to the After Hours show featuring Austin Hays, originally broadcast on July 28, 2021. Click here to visit Austin’s Facebook page for his Austinato music studio, and click here for his SoundCloud music page.

After Hours featuring Luca Mundaca, air date March 31, 2021

On By Charles BinghamIn Brazilian jazz vocalist, Featured guest, Luca Mundaca, VocalsLeave a comment

Join me for the March 31, 2021, edition of After Hours on KRBD Rainbird Radio (and later on KSTK and KCAW Raven Radio) as I’m joined in conversation with Brazilian jazz vocalist Luca Mundaca.

A gifted singer and songwriter, Luca’s music is a glorious blend of her native Brazil with a touch of downtown New York. She mines deep melodic roots in her country’s heritage, creating musical gems that she polishes with the lightest of touches.

To her credit, Luca has won an Independent Music Award in the World Fusion category as well as placing third in the International Songwriting Competition, World Music category.
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In addition to her own albums, Luca’s work has been featured on two compilations distributed by Putumayo World Music: Brazilian Lounge and Women of the World: Acoustic. Her music has been featured in movies including End of Watch, The Visitor, Kissing Paris, and television shows such as HBO series Californication,  ABC show Mistresses, and Brazilian telenovela TiTiTi.

“Luca Mundaca is a classic example of a talent deserving wider recognition. Blessed with a sweetly engaging sound, impressive musicality and the rhythmic passion of heart Brazilian roots, she is a talent whose song and singing should be far more widely heard” — Don Heckman, LA Times music critic.

Click this link to listen to the After Hours show featuring Luca Mundaca, originally broadcast on March 31, 2021. Click here to visit Luca’s personal website.