Benny Green has been described as "a consummate jazz pianist," "a prototypical modern jazzman," and "one of the most gifted jazz pianists around." His performing and recording career covers a period of 40-plus noteworthy years primarily centered around piano-bass-drums trios.

Benny’s musical path, however, is now moving in a different direction that has taken on an emphasis as a solo artist. His latest album, "Renovation," on Sunnyside Records, is his first live solo recording, and it continues a solo piano lineage that began with a collaboration with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers.

We recently caught up with Benny for an engaging conversation that lasted nearly two hours. As a result, we have decided to present Part One of the story exploring Benny’s fascinating history.

Part Two will take a deep dive into his latest project called "Renovation," his first live solo recording from a performance at Dizzy's Club in New York City.

Join us now for Benny Green Part One, as we explore the development of this gifted artist and his musical journey that began in his hometown of Berkley, California.

Juno Award-winning artist, vocalist and trumpeter Bria Skonberg, shares the breadth of her vocal expression on her latest release ‘Indigo’, the anticipated partner to ‘Brass’, her earlier 2026 trumpet-centered album. Co-produced by Skonberg and her longtime collaborator, Matt Pierson, ‘Indigo’ is a celebration of song, singing, and orchestrating for all the colors of her vocal artistry. Asked frequently whether she’s a singer who plays trumpet or a trumpet player who sings, Bria says she’s “partly neither, and both entirely.” It’s a revelation from the artist who The New York Times calls “the shining hope of hot jazz.”

Join me for my conversation with Bria as we explore the significance and meaning to her of the vocal side of jazz.

Cuban-born “Master of the Ivories,” piano sensation Kemuel Roig, has just released a masterfully-crafted album titled ‘3Discovery: Volume 1, featuring eight original compositions. The music is delivered in the piano trio format that presents a wide range of Cuban rhythmic styles - from conga to mambo, cha-cha-cha, and danzón - with several tracks incorporating piano tumbao patterns.

The impressive ensemble for this recording includes Cuban-trained musicians, bassist Samuel Burgos, and drummer Juan Armando Diaz, both of whom live in the Miami area.

Kemuel’s extensive touring and performing resume is a star-studded roster of legendary artists that includes icons Aymée Nuviola and Arturo Sandoval. In our conversation, Kemuel credits Sandoval as one of a trio of individuals who have been extraordinarily influential in his successful career development. The other two are renowned pianist and educator, Shelly Berg, and Kemuel’s longtime associate and friend, guitarist and producer Gary Galimidi.

Join me for an in-depth conversation with Kemuel Roig, one of the most versatile and captivating musicians of his generation.

"Sound Within: A Celebration of Bill Evans" is the latest album by pianist Randy Ingram. This release is Ingram's deeply personal tribute and homage to the legendary jazz pianist.

From the beginning of his career, Evans was an indelible influence on Ingram, and he knew that he would one day honor Evans with a project celebrating the sound of this jazz piano icon.Randy was determined to wait until the right moment to musically offer his praise and gratitude.

That time is now.

The new release features songs connected with Evans that resonate in meaningful ways. It also includes original compositions penned by Ingram that reflect the profound impact Evans had on him. All of the album’s music is delivered in Ingram's own distinctive musical voice, and is supported by two former collaborators of Bill Evans, drummer Joe La Barbera and bassist Rufus Reid.

My conversation with Randy Ingram about the album’s backstory delves into its creation.

Much of the music that we know and love is enjoyed by listening to it over the air waves, on a turntable, a CD player and of course over the internet on our devices but there is nothing like the experience of a live performance of music. Case in point, is saxophonist/composer Brent Birckhead’s live performance recorded at Baltimore’s Keystone Korner featuring Brent along with an all-star lineup of musicians and special guest stars.

The recording is titled “Exchange, Live at the Keystone Korner”. Brent says the live musical experience is not only special, but like no other; in fact he describes it as an exchange between the musicians and the audience that invests both in the experience.

My conversation with Brent dives into the development, the music, and the story behind “Exchange, Live at the Keystone Korner”.

In this episode, we are privileged to have a conversation with Grammy Award-winning bassist, composer and cherished educator John Clayton, plus vocalist and contemporary storyteller René Marie.

John just recently released his 8th album as a leader and it’s called “the two-o duo project”. This work is a project which allowed him to play a series of duos with René, his longtime collaborator, plus his son and frequent musical partner, 7-time Grammy-nominated pianist and composer Gerald Clayton. The recording spotlights a range of material through different cultural eras, plus lyrical and compositional contributions from both Rene and Gerald.

My conversation with John and Rene is all about how the magic happened in the studio to create this richly textured 11 track album.

The Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band (JKIBB) – led by celebrated vocalist and band leader Julia Keefe of the Nez Perce tribe, is one of the only jazz big bands in the world comprised exclusively of Native and Indigenous people. Julia brings together a 16-piece ensemble to celebrate a largely unrecognized lineage of Indigenous artists in jazz, while presenting new compositions rooted in tribal histories and storytelling. This project is their premiere album titled “Incarnadine.”

The album features music made famous by Indigenous jazz musicians from the Twentieth Century such as jazz singer Mildred Bailey, whose mother was a Coeur d'Alene tribal member, and Jim Pepper a saxophonist, singer and composer of Kaw and Muscogee Heritage. Also playing significantly in the development of Incarnadine is the collaboration between Julia and trumpeter Delbert Anderson of the Dine tribe who is a featured artist on this album.

In my in-depth conversation with Julia Keefe, we learn not only about the music, but about the centuries of struggle, deep beliefs, and unwavering respect of the earth that brought Julia to gift us with this truly remarkable work.

My guest for this episode is pianist, accordionist and composer Ben Rosenblum whose latest project is a musical kaleidoscopic blend of Dominican merengue, West African and Caribbean rhythms, Irish folk music, neo-soul, J-pop and hard bop and other traditions. The beautiful musical form Ben and his group of top rate, globally influenced ensemble of musicians called the Nebula Project, has created is called “The Longest Way Round”, out now on One Trick Dog Records.

Another significant influence of note for this album is the extensive globetrotting for Rosenblum, who spends about half of his time on the road touring both with his own ensembles, and with Rickie Lee Jones, Catherine Russell and Indian singer Kiran Ahluwalia.

Here is my conversation with Ben Rosenblum about his wild and exhilarating ride across musical boundaries to create “The Longest Way Round.”