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.
Join me for After Hours Alaska at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 23, on KRBD public radio in Ketchikan, Alaska, as I’m joined in conversation with jazz pianist Christian Jacob.
Christian is a multi-Grammy-nominated pianist and arranger and first gained widespread exposure as music director for Maynard Ferguson and later as leader of the Christian Jacob Trio and co-leader of the Tierney Sutton Band.
“A post-bop modernist touched by the souls of Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett. … Pianist Christian Jacob is a wonderful player whose crystalline melodies and expansive harmonies mark him as someone to keep an ear on.” ~ JAZZ TIMES
Born in Lorraine, France, Christian fell in love with classical music at age 4 and discovered jazz at age 9. After graduating with “First Prize” from the Paris Conservatory, Jacob came to America to focus on improvisation at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. While attending Berklee, Christian won a number of awards, including the Oscar Peterson Jazz Masters Award, the Great American Jazz Piano Competition and “Downbeat” magazine’s distinction as Top Collegiate Jazz Soloist. He went on to teach at Berklee, tour with Maynard Ferguson, perform and record with a number of jazz legends and was listed by The Japan Times as one of the best-selling foreign jazz pianists in Japan. His extensive discography includes five critically acclaimed trio recordings and seven Grammy nominations from his alliance with vocalist Tierney Sutton, drummer Ray Brinker and bassists Trey Henry and Kevin Axt. Christian also received a Grammy Nomination as an arranger with The Phil Norman Tentet.
While Christian performs year round, his arranging skills are also highly sought after. He has been arranging for the Swiss Youth Jazz Orchestra since 1990 and The Scottish National Jazz Orchestra since 2005, featuring such talented artists as John Scofield, Billy Cobham, Charlie Haden, Phil Woods, Joe Lovano, Ron Carter and Gary Burton. Christian’s latest collaboration has been with renowned Japanese composer Kunihiko Murai and Maestro Jorge Calandrelli.
In 2014, Christian released his first solo piano recording, Beautiful Jazz: a private concert, aptly titled as this intimate solo recording is a dedication to the music that drew him away from the classical world and introduced him to the beautiful world of jazz. Recorded in pure analog and available as a limited edition vinyl LP.
In 2016, the original score to director Clint Eastwood’s box-office smash “Sully”, was created by Christian, The Tierney Sutton Band and Clint Eastwood. It was a fulfilling moment, to orchestrate his and the band’s music for a 70-piece orchestra and hear it live with the brilliant Conrad Pope conducting. The following year Eastwood asked Christian to compose the music for his next film, “The 15:17 to Paris.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
After Hours Alaska 