Category: composer

After Hours featuring Riley Mulherkar, air date Nov. 20, 2024

On By Charles BinghamIn Arranger, Band leader, composer, educator, Featured guest, TrumpetLeave a comment

Join me at 9 p.m. on Nov. 20, 2024, for the next edition of After Hours on KRBD Rainbird Radio as I’m joined in conversation with jazz trumpet player Riley Mulherkar.

Riley has been recognized as a “smart young trumpet player” by The New York Times, praised by The Wall Street Journal as a “youngster to keep an eye on,” and is a 2020 recipient of Lincoln Center’s Emerging Artist Award for his work as “an original bandleader, composer, arranger, educator, community activist and advocate for jazz and the arts.”

Riley is best known as a founding member of The Westerlies, a New York-based brass quartet of (as the name implies) West Coast expats who play a mix of jazz, modern classical and folk compositions, high on tunefulness. This deep admiration for the American songbook can also be heard all over Riley, the solo debut by the 32 year-old Mulherkar.

But love of song is only half of the album’s primary pull. The other is the sonically modern setting for Mulherkar’s vulnerable, melodious interpretation of this rich tradition, a sound design shaped by producers Rafiq Bhatia and Chris Pattishall. Enveloping Mulherkar within a series of textured, intricately-crafted spaces, Bhatia and Pattishall train a cinematographer’s lens on the continuum of great old songs, as well as new Mulherkar pieces which fit right in. It’s a radically bold audio framework for the emotional pronouncements of Riley’s horn.

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

After Hours featuring Marc Johnson, air date March 15, 2023

On By Charles BinghamIn Band leader, Bassist, composer, Double bass, Featured guestLeave a comment

Join me at 9 p.m. on March 15, 2023, for the next edition of After Hours on KRBD Rainbird Radio as I’m joined in conversation with jazz bass player, composer, and band leader Marc Johnson.

Marc was born in Nebraska in 1953, and he grew up in Texas. By age 19, he was working professionally with the Fort Worth Symphony, and while at North Texas State University, he played and recorded with fellow student Lyle Mays.

After graduating he toured and recorded with Woody Herman, before becoming, at the age of 25, the bassist with the Bill Evans Trio, following in the footsteps of masterful players including Scott La Faro, Gary Peacock and Eddie Gomez.

Marc’s many recording credits since then include discs with Michael Brecker, Bob Brookmeyer, Gary Burton, Jack DeJohnette, Eliane Elias, Peter Erskine, Bill Frisell, Stan Getz, Joe Lovano, Lyle Mays, Pat Metheny, Ben Monder, Paul Motian, Enrico Pieranunzi, and Wolfgang Muthspiel, among others.

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

After Hours featuring Emmet Cohen, air date Feb. 22, 2023

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

Join me for the Feb. 22, 2023, edition of After Hours on KRBD Rainbird Radio as I’m joined in conversation with jazz pianist Emmet Cohen.

A multifaceted American jazz pianist and composer, Cohen is one of his generation’s pivotal figures in music and the related arts.

Leader of the Emmet Cohen Trio and creator of the Masters Legacy Series, he is an internationally acclaimed jazz artist, a dedicated educator, the winner of the 2019 American Pianists Awards, and a finalist in the 2011 Thelonious Monk International Piano Competition.

Cohen headlines regularly at Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Village Vanguard, and  Birdland, and has appeared at the Newport, Monterey, and North Sea jazz festivals. His artistry has taken him to venues and festivals in more than 30 countries. Cohen’s entrepreneurial energies led to his developing “Live From Emmet’s Place,” a live-streamed “Harlem rent party” that unites a worldwide audience via tens of millions of internet views.

Cohen has released more than 10 albums as leader and has performed or recorded with Ron Carter, Benny Golson, Jimmy Cobb, George Coleman, Jimmy Heath, Tootie Heath, Houston Person, Christian McBride, and Kurt Elling.

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

After Hours featuring Eugene Maslov, air date Feb. 1, 2023

On By Charles BinghamIn Arranger, Band leader, composer, PianoLeave a comment

Join me for the Feb. 1, 2023, edition of After Hours on KRBD Rainbird Radio as I’m joined in conversation with jazz pianist Eugene Maslov.

A piano prodigy from St. Petersburg, Russia, now residing in the USA, Eugene is a critically acclaimed pianist, composer and arranger deeply rooted in contemporary post-bop jazz. Whether performing as leader or sideman, Eugene is a first-rate artist and his passion for music continues to inspire legions of jazz fans from around the globe. He has recorded and performed with Shirley Horn; Toots Thielemans; Gary Burton; Hubert Laws; Omar Hakim; Eddie Gomez; Vinnie Colaiuta and Bob Sheppard to name a few.

Eugene’s continued development of classical and jazz techniques have resulted in a series of ground-breaking CD releases as leader. Where the Light Comes From“, brings his prolific experience and encyclopedic knowledge of jazz form and improvisation to a format with a balanced concept, astutely and poetically rendered within the tight chemistry of his backup musicians, which include Laws and Colaiuta.

His latest CD titled, “Holiday Classics” is a masterpiece in solo jazz and classical crossover piano. Eugene’s latest album is beautiful collection of timeless classic Holiday and Christmas songs.

Click this link to go to Eugene’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 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 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 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 John Beasley, air date March 1, 2021

On By Charles BinghamIn Arranger, Band leader, composer, Featured guest, Keyboards, Music director, Piano, ProducerLeave a comment

Join me for the March 1, 2021, edition of After Hours on KCAW Raven Radio (and later broadcast on KRBD Rainbird Radio and KSTK) as I’m joined with multi-Grammy-nominated and Emmy-nominated pianist, composer, arranger, music director and producer John Beasley.

John was born in Shreveport, La., and grew up in Texas. His parents and grandfather taught music, and in his teens he played guitar, saxophone, drums, oboe, and piano.

John played keyboard for Freddy Hubbard and Miles Davis and has performed with a wide variety of artists like Dianne Reeves, Sergio Mendes, Ivan Lins, Christian McBride and so many more. He was the lead arranger for 10 years on American Idol. When not involved in his projects or others, John conducts master classes and clinics around the globe.

Click this link to listen to the After Hours show featuring John Beasley, originally broadcast on March 1, 2021. Click here to visit John’s personal website.