Music Artists Episodes

A conversation with a rising artist who deftly blends jazz, hip-hop, and neo-soul.

The acclaimed jazz pianist discusses influences, longevity, and cooking.

The Canadian sound artist and producer talks about his spacious new album, Find Yourself Lost

The Swedish born jazz-bassist and composer talks about his exciting new album, Look Inside.

The Lithuanian jazz drummer and producer opens up about his unique electronic and world music influenced sound.

This talented South African keyboardist and emcee talks about the unique blend of hip-hop, jazz, and soul found in his fantastic album Love Is Energy.

Today, the Spotlight shines On Monika Herzig, whose career as a jazz pianist and composer spans three decades and dozens of releases. Monika joins us to talk about the release of a reimagined set of Joni Mitchell’s music, which she arranged and features vocals interpreted by her late friend, award-winning vocalist Janiece Jaffe. To quote from the liner notes: “This album is, first and foremost, about relationships: between Janiece and Monika; between the stretch of time that gave rise to Joni’s ...

Today, the Spotlight shines On New York-based jazz innovators Jane Ira Bloom and Mark Helias, who join us to discuss their latest collaboration with drummer Bobby Previte, 2.3.23 . I’d like to read from Mark’s notes for the album, “ 2.3.23 was an outgrowth of the improvisational recording project that emerged between myself and Jane Ira Bloom beginning at an early stage of the pandemic in April/May of 2020. We struggled to come to terms with the technological limitations of playing remotely over...

Today, the Spotlight shines On John Brodeur, leader of the music project, Bird Streets. John conceived of Bird Streets as his return to a band format after a long career as a solo artist. The new band point of view proved to be artistically freeing, and John joins us today to talk about Lagoon , the second Bird Streets album. Among John’s collaborators on Lagoon are Pat Sansone of Wilco, Michael Lockwood, who has worked with Aimee Man and Fiona Apple, Ed Harcourt, John Davis of Superdrag, and Jo...

Today, the Spotlight shines On Australian jazz heavyweight Christopher Hale. Christopher has been called “one of the most unique and respected musicians in Australia” ( Glam Adelaide ) and an “unconventional virtuoso of the bass guitar” ( The Age ). His new release, Ritual Diamonds , came out on March 3 through Earshift Music. The work reimagines Korean ritual drumming and contemporary jazz, creating music that is mysterious, complex and beautiful. On it, Christopher is joined by collaborator an...

Today, the Spotlight shines On rising electro soul artist, Nick Locke, who performs under the name Phyphr. A songwriter and producer, Phyphr combines his own live guitar playing with electronic elements to create a unique, vibrant twist on electronic funk, soul and blues. Phypht and host Lawrence Peryer had a great time connecting which hopefully comes across in this recording. About Phyphr and his music Host Lawrence Peryer More Spotlight On Find more great podcasts from Osiris Media , the le...

Today’s episode is a live recording of a conversation Spotlight On host Lawrence Peryer had in Santa Barbara, at the FestForums conference, with American musical treasure, Jesse Colin Young. Jesse Colin Young has been a pioneer of American roots music for more than half a century and has left his unique mark on the intersecting worlds of folk, blues, jazz, country, and rock & roll. As the frontman of the Youngbloods, he immortalized the ideals of the Woodstock generation with "Get Together," an ...

Today, the spotlight shines on the German electronic jazz collective Conic Rose. Their new, self-released debut album Heller Tag (or, Bright Day , in English), is out tomorrow, February 17, worldwide. Members of the group who joined our talk included Trumpeter Konstantin Döben, keyboardist Johannes Arzberger, bassist Franziska Aller and guitarist Bertram Burkert. All come from diverse musical backgrounds, with their individual projects including work with artists like arena-filling German pop s...

Today, the spotlight shines on musicians Bart Wirtz and Emiel van Rijthoven who perform and record together under the name WAAN (Dutch for ‘Craze’). WAAN have a new record, Echo Echo , out on February 24 through the Sonar Kollektiv label. As of this recording three tracks have already appeared on streaming outlets and through the band’s bandcamp page. In fact, just hours before we spoke the final advance track, Omi, dropped. If you are a fan of Floating Points, BADBADNOTGOOD, Ezra Collective or ...

Saxophonist-composer Jeremy Rose leads a multi-dimensional career spanning a dozen releases of original music with collaborative and solo projects across the world, including The Earshift Orchestra, Jeremy Rose Quartet, and The Vampires. Rose is the founder and director of the Earshift Music record label and festival. Rose has performed at festivals, venues, and concert halls throughout Australia, Europe, and the UK, including recently touring Europe with guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel and collabora...

Markus Reuter is a music producer, composer, performer, and creative educator with international credentials and a vast discography. Reuter's work as a recording artist, solo performer, and collaborator spans (and frequently fuses) electrophonic loop music, contemporary classical music, progressive and art rock, industrial music, world jazz, jazz fusion, pop songs, and pure improvisation. Over the course of a two-decade career, he has been a member of multiple bands, ensembles, and projects (inc...

Duncan Chapman is a composer/musician based in Lincolnshire, UK. Much of his work involves collaborations with a wide range of people creating performances, installations & recordings. Recent projects include online live-streaming events, curating a concert for the Aural Diversity project, and performing morning music with Supriya Nagarajan at the Jaipur Literature Festival in India. Recent projects include work with BCMG, x-church Gainsborough, COMA Glasgow, online performances with Comb Filter...

Back in the early 70s, drummer Mike Clark and bassist Paul Jackson were best friends living in East Oakland, playing flatbed gigs at Black Panther rallies, and generally raising hell. Cooking was not their forte, so the barbecue joint next door became a hangout. Mrs. Jones (of Everett and Jones) asked them to write a song to promote the spot, and they came up with the first version of ‘God Made Me Funky.’ Bill Summers worked with Jackson at the local record store, and he jumped at an opportunit...

Born into a scientific family, music technologist Don Slepian showed both musical and technical talent early in life. He was a tester on the early internet as a member of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Synthesizer Soloist with the Honolulu Symphony and Musical Director of the Honolulu Theater For Youth. He has been presented by WNYC’s “New Sounds” in New York’s Lincoln Center and performed at the Pompidou Center in Paris. He currently lives in the Pocono Mountains of Penn...

FEMME HOUSE fosters more equitable opportunity for women and gender-expansive individuals in the technical and behind-the-scenes areas of music. They are creating the future producers, mixers, engineers, DJs, artists, and executives of the industry by providing education and scholarships, cultivating community, propagating visual representation, and offering professional development opportunities. Learn more about how to get involved with their mission to change the music industry at https://www...

Steven Hall grew up in Scotland in the '60s, singing in church choirs and learning the bagpipes. "I was shy, and wanted to be cool and meet boys and girls, so I taught myself the guitar and learned the songs of The Beatles, Joni Mitchell, and Donovan." Steven emigrated to the US at age 15. After high school, he moved to New York where he hung out with artists, dancers, and musicians. There he met Allen Ginsberg who invited him to attend Naropa Buddhist University in Colorado. At Naropa Steven st...

As a founding member & producer of Orlando-based Hip Hop group, Solillaquists of Sound, DiViNCi first gained notoriety by using multiple drum machines in ways the world had never seen before. His frenetic finger drumming, sonic dynamism & innovative use of music technology have led to stage & studio collaborations with such artists as Ms. Lauryn Hill, Nas, Victor Wooten, MF DOOM, Doug Wimbish & El-P (Run The Jewels). As a public speaker & educator, DiViNCi shares his passion for creative health ...

Named for a William S. Borroughs character, Clem Snide first emerged from Boston as a three-piece in the early 1990s, and the group would go on to become a cult and critical favorite, picking up high-profile fans from Bon Iver to Ben Folds over the course of three decades and more than a dozen studio albums. NPR highlighted the Israeli-born Barzelay as “the most underrated songwriter in the business today, with a sneakily firm grasp on poignancy and humor,” while Rolling Stone hailed his songwri...

More Ghost Than Man