Join me for the Jan. 25, 2023, edition of After Hours on KRBD Rainbird Radio as I’m joined in conversation with Jamaican jazz pianist Monty Alexander.
Monty’s playing has a Caribbean influence and bright swinging feeling, with a strong vocabulary of bebop jazz and blues-rooted melodies. He was influenced by Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole, Oscar Peterson and Frank Sinatra. Monty also sings and plays the melodica. He’s known for his surprising musical twists, bright rhythmic sense and intense dramatic musical climaxed.
Monty is married to jazz vocalist Caterina Zapponi, who was interviewed on the After Hours show broadcast on March 9, 2020.
Click this link to listen to the Monty Alexander interview from Jan. 25, 2023. Click this link to listen to our previous After Hours show featuring Monty Alexander, originally broadcast on Jan. 13, 2020. Click here to visit Monty’s personal website.
Join me for After Hours Alaska at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, July 20, on KRBD public radio in Ketchikan, Alaska, as I’m joined in conversation with award-winning jazz vocalist Andrea Miller.
Andrea Miller’s voice has been described as soulful, sensual, hypnotic and endearing. In 2021 and 2020 she became a Top 5 Finalist in the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition. Influenced by Nancy Wilson, Sarah Vaughan and Stevie Wonder, Andrea is currently heating up the international jazz scene.
Andrea opened for the legendary Al Jarreau at many concerts before he passed including the Newport Beach Jazz Festival. She received a standing ovation and gracious compliments from Jarreau and his band and was set to tour with and open for him on his European tour, just prior to his passing.
In 2022, Andrea headlined the Punta Mita Jazz Festival and will headline San Jose Jazz Weekend, The Texas Jazz Festival and Festival de Jazz de Polanco in Mexico City. In 2020 she headlined Bemol 5 Jazz club in Lyon, France. In 2021 and 2019 Andrea headlined Jazz De Polanco Festival in Mexico City and Jazz at LACMA in Los Angeles. In 2018 she headlined the Newport Beach Jazz Party Series, and in 2017 she headlined the Utah Arts Festival, the Salt Lake City Jazz Festival and the Newport Beach Summer Jazz Series with the Tom Kubis Big Band.
“A brilliant young singer” – Al Jarreau
Click this link to go to Andrea’s personal website. Click here to listen to a recording of her interview.
Join me for After Hours Alaska at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, June 22, on KRBD public radio in Ketchikan, Alaska, as I’m joined in conversation with award-winning vocalist Molly Johnson.
Molly is known as one of Canada’s greatest vocalists. She is a mother, singer-songwriter, artist and philanthropist, who has just released her highly anticipated new album, “Meaning To Tell Ya”. Produced by multiple GRAMMY Award winning producer, Larry Klein (Joni Mitchell, Tracy Chapman, Madeleine Peyroux, Melody Gardot, Norah Jones); it is more than a jazz record. It’s funk, it’s soul, it’s groove played by some of Canada’s best musicians.
Dedicated to supporting communities in need, Molly established the Kumbaya Foundation and Festival in 1992, raising awareness and funds for people living with HIV/AIDS, and continues to work with several other charitable organizations each year. Molly has been awarded the Queen’s Jubilee medal, and in 2008, was honored with becoming an Officer of The Order Of Canada (O.C.). This rare distinction was given to Molly to recognize her philanthropic work for a variety of causes and for her international contributions to the arts. In 2016, Molly launched the Kensington Market Jazz Festival, which fills this colorful and vibrant area of Toronto with over 400 local Canadian musicians, performing 150-plus shows over one weekend in September to more than 5,000 enthusiastic music fans.
Molly was the voice of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) Radio 2 Weekend Morning program where she eased listeners into their weekend with great Canadian songs, and stories about musicians and the people of Canada, from coast to coast. The Canadian music icon’s latest release, the Juno-nominated, Because of Billie (2014) is a celebration of the music of Billie Holiday. Billie Holiday’s journey inspires Johnson not only as an artist, but as a model citizen. Paying homage to Holiday’s childhood struggles, Johnson donated a portion of album sales to the Boys & Girls Clubs.
Join me for After Hours Alaska at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 16, on KRBD public radio in Ketchikan, Alaska, as I’m joined in conversation with vocalist Stacey Kent (this interview originally was scheduled to air on Dec. 8, 2021).
Stacey Kent is a jazz singer in the mould of the greats, with a legion of fans worldwide and a host of honors and awards, including a Grammy nomination, album sales in excess of 2 million, platinum, double-gold and gold-selling albums that have reached a series of No. 1 chart positions during the span of her career.
Her album, I Know I Dream: The Orchestral Sessions (Sony) has had more than 40 million streams, won ‘Album of the Year’ in the vocal category at the 2018 Jazz Japan Awards, and received glowing reviews, including a coveted five stars in Downbeat, and was described by All About Jazz as “intoxicating understatement at its finest…one more jewel in a discography with many, it’s one that deserves singling out for its luster.”
This comparative literature graduate with a passion for music travelled to Europe to further her studies, and after receiving her degree from Sarah Lawrence College in New York, through a series of twists of fate, she found herself in London where she enrolled in a graduate music program at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and where she met her future husband and musical partner, Jim Tomlinson.
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.
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”).
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.
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.
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 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. 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.
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