After Hours featuring Cyrille Aimée, air date March 10, 2021

Join me for the March 10, 2021, edition of After Hours on KRBD Rainbird Radio (and later on KSTK and KCAW Raven Radio) as I’m joined in conversation with French jazz vocalist Cyrille Aimée.

Improvisation is not just a technique for Grammy-nominated artist Cyrille Aimée, it’s a way of life. The acclaimed vocalist ventured from singing on street corners in Europe to dazzling audiences at the world’s most prestigious jazz festivals; from sneaking out to sing in gypsy encampments in her native France to acting on Broadway; from braving the notoriously tough audiences at New York’s Apollo Theatre to being called a “rising star in the galaxy of jazz singers” by The New York Times.

Among countless accolades, Aimée won the Montreux Jazz Festival Vocal Competition and the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition. As an actress, Aimée co-starred with Bernadette Peters in a Stephen Sondheim tribute at New York’s City Center which inspired her to dig deeper into Sondheim’s repertoire, resulting in her fourth and most recent album, Move On: A Sondheim Adventure. She’s shared her story via master classes, a TEDx talk, and a few addresses at the Conference on World Affairs.

Click this link to listen to the After Hours show featuring Cyrille Aimée, originally broadcast on March 10, 2021. Click here to visit Cyrille’s personal website.

After Hours featuring Alicia Olatuja, air date June 29, 2020

Join me for the June 29, 2020, edition of After Hours on KCAW Raven Radio as I’m joined in conversation with jazz/R&B/soul vocalist Alicia Olatuja.

Praised by the New York Times as “a singer with a strong and luscious tone and an amiably regal presence on stage”, Alicia Olatuja has been astounding audiences with her exquisite vocals, artistic versatility and captivating demeanor. She first came into the national spotlight in 2013, while performing as the featured soloist with the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir at President Barack Obama’s Second Inauguration. Shortly thereafter, she assembled her own jazz-based ensemble and recorded her first solo album, Timeless (2014).

Click this link to listen to the After Hours show featuring Alicia Olatuja, originally broadcast on June 29, 2020. Click here to visit Alicia’s personal website.

After Hours featuring Diane Schuur, air date June 8, 2020

Join me for the June 8, 2020, edition of After Hours on KCAW Raven Radio as I’m joined for an uplifting and stirring conversation with jazz vocalist and pianist Diane Schuur.

Nicknamed “Deedles”, she’s been blind since birth due to retinopathy of prematurity but has been gifted with absolute pitch memory and a clear vocal tone.

Stephen Holden, from the New York Times says, “Her voice is impressive in its size, range and brightness. A song can suddenly fly up an octave into little-girl squeals, then make a swan dive into the murky depths. She uses her twirling vibrato as a rhythmic punctuation. After drawing out a note, she dispenses that vibrato like a cherry on a sundae.”

Click this link to listen to the After Hours show featuring Diane Schuur, originally broadcast on June 8, 2020. Click here to visit Diane’s personal website.

After Hours featuring Karrin Allyson, air date Feb. 17, 2020

Join me for the Feb. 17, 2020, edition of After Hours on KCAW Raven Radio as I’m joined in conversation with American jazz singer and pianist, Karrin Allyson.

Karrin has been nominated for five Grammy Awards and has received positive reviews from several prominent sources, including the New York Times, which has called her a “singer with a feline touch and impeccable intonation.”

Click this link to listen to the After Hours show featuring Karrin Allyson, originally broadcast on Feb. 17, 2020. Click here to visit Karrin’s personal website.