Episodes

From his Mexican roots to Chicago's jazz scene, Cortiñas explains how he builds "bold, urgent conversations" on his album 'The Crisis Knows No Borders,’ addressing climate change through the language of improvised music.

The Berklee guitar chair discusses her album 'Spaces' with percussionist Francisco Mela, how natural environments inspire her compositions, and the evolution from classical interpretation to improvisational freedom.

The multi-disciplinary artist reflects on fifteen years since the experimental metal trio's album, exploring the crystalline intersection of visual art, religious studies, and the search for compelling sounds in heavy music's conservative landscape.

After four decades collaborating with acts like the Psychedelic Furs and Siouxsie and the Banshees, the veteran guitarist has created his first deeply personal project—a book and album documenting his return to the Connecticut coast.

The prolific songwriter reflects on three decades of creative output with The Black Watch, what it’s like to release the band’s 25th album, For All the World, and why he just can’t stop stealing from The Beatles.

The innovative composer discusses her new album, Purposing the Air, and the three-year process of transforming Erica Hunt's sixty cryptic koans into musical miniatures for four distinctive vocal-instrumental duos.

The celebrated clarinetist shares how compositions written during Syria's darkest years have taken on new meaning following recent political changes, and why he considers making art an essential act of freedom.

The Israeli guitarist and composer discusses his album 'Mirror Image,' which pairs his instrument equally with strings, woodwinds, and percussion to create chamber jazz, challenging the traditional guitar hero stereotype.

The Manchester-based composer and pianist discusses her album 'Every Journey,' where she employs a newly expanded ensemble to present intricate musical narratives inspired by trailblazing women explorers.

The mastermind behind 'The Whole of the Moon' discusses his four-year journey writing and recording an ambitious musical biography that chronicles Hopper's artistic triumphs, spectacular flameouts, and ultimate redemption.

Craig Mod, author of Things Become Other Things, explains how his love of independent publishing remains uncompromised despite a book deal with Random House and why books represent the perfect focused technology in an age of constant digital distraction.

In the second part of our conversation, Tamiko Thiel discusses Beyond Manzanar, her collaboration with artist Zara Houshmand, where viewers confront the history of Japanese-American internment while drawing connections to contemporary persecution.

In part one of an extended conversation, the pioneering media artist discusses designing the Connection Machine, working with Richard Feynman, and how her Japanese-American heritage shapes her revolutionary approach to making technology beautiful.

With his innovative "In a Landscape" series, pianist Hunter Noack hauls a concert-quality Steinway to remote locations, inviting audiences to wander through nature while intimate piano sounds fill their wireless headphones.

Boston-based saxophonist Noah Preminger discusses his surprising compositional preferences, his challenging education under Dave Liebman, and why his latest album, ‘Ballads,' might be his most accessible work yet.

Swiss pianist Courvoisier and American guitarist Halvorson discuss their third album 'Bone Bells,' reflecting on the value of risk-taking and the slow-burning development of a creative partnership that continues to yield fascinating results.

Brooklyn pianist Phillip Golub splits the traditional octave into 22 notes for his innovative composition 'Loop 7,' demonstrating how microtonality can create mathematical precision on top of profound emotional resonance.

Austin-based ambient artist TJ Dumser shares how his decade of sobriety, move from New York, and love of vintage synthesizers shaped his meditative project Six Missing and its emotional new EP 'Gentle Breath.'

Violinist Jenny Scheinman's double album 'All Species Parade' draws from her childhood on California's remote Lost Coast, crafting a musical celebration that honors the land, its people, and the wild diversity of nature.

Through a hundred interviews and decades of observation, Baker's busking chronicle, Down on the Corner, reveals how the distance between Grammy-winning stages and subway platforms may be shorter than we imagine.

The founder of City Winery and Knitting Factory discusses his journey from Milwaukee to Manhattan and how his Carnegie Hall tribute series has raised millions for music education while celebrating icons like Patti Smith.

After decades of making alternative rock with Camper Van Beethoven and Monks of Doom, Greg Lisher took piano lessons, learned synthesis, and created 'Underwater Detection Method,’ an album that merges human performance with digital precision.

As ETHEL prepares for their first Carnegie Hall performance, Dorothy Lawson reflects on decades of mixing classical precision with popular music's spirit.

Through her latest project with Septet+, the accomplished flutist transforms works by Adrienne Rich, Naomi Shihab Nye, and other poets into conversations between words and improvised music.