Articles by Doug Hall
Matthew Stevens, Grammy-award winning jazz guitarist, brings multi-generational talent for upcoming self-titled release
by Doug Hall
Our guest artist is Matthew Stevens, a critically acclaimed Grammy Award-winning jazz guitarist and producer. His upcoming album, Matthew Stevens, will be released May 8th on Candid Records. We will listen to a portion of two cuts from this recording, later in the podcast. Stevens shares the concept-album inspiration and overcoming personal challenges that have now allowed him more musical freedom. These compositions meld acoustic and electric sonics through a mix of genre-blurring originals and deeply personal covers. It features ...
Continue ReadingJavon Jackson, Renown Saxophonist, Channels Dylan In New Release
by Doug Hall
Today our musical guest artist is American saxophonist Javon Jackson, renown horn player, composer and bandleader. A protege of both Art Blakey and Elvin Jones, Jackson has been actively recording and performing around the globe for decades. He now shares his personal journey to his Dylan tribute in a compelling conversation about his latest project, Jackson Plays Dylan (Solid Jackson Records, 2026).Following his acclaimed collaborations with poet and activist Nikki Giovanni, Jackson turns his focus to the music ...
Continue ReadingAaron Irwin, jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and bandleader talks about his new release
by Doug Hall
Today our musical guest artist is Aaron Irwin. Mr. Irwin is a critically acclaimed saxophonist, multi-woodwind player, and composer. He began studying piano when he was 5 years old and switched to the alto saxophone in the 4th grade. In 2024, Mr. Irwin released After (Adhyâropa Records, 2024), his ninth album, which was a collection of works inspired by poetry, as quoted in a AAJ profile, described as “interactions between sound and verse weaving together melancholy, effervescence, and at times, ...
Continue ReadingRay Seol, Berklee Associate Professor, Bassist, Composer And Performer
by Doug Hall
Today our musical guest is jazz artist Ray Seol, a Berklee College of Music Associate Professor in the department of Professional Music. Ray is also a composer of five studio albums, and has performed at major international jazz festivals and collaborated with many regional and national jazz artists.In 2025 Ray received a Fullbright scholarship to sponsor his project Another Season. I will briefly quote from the Berklee Web site posting, summarizing this emotionally intense project: “It also draws ...
Continue ReadingAditi Malhotra, Indian Hindu-influenced jazz vocalist and composer from New Delhi
by Doug Hall
Today our musical guest is jazz artist Aditi Malhotra, a vocalist and composer from New Delhi, India. With an early background in Hindustani Classical Music, and later influences in jazz and Black American music, and Brazilian music, she has performed at notable venues such as the NCPA Mumbai and the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. She won a number of inter-school state and national level singing competitions, and was a recipient of the 2021 ASCAP Foundation Herb Alpert Young Jazz ...
Continue ReadingCuban-Born Jazz Pianist, Vocalist And Bandleader Zahili Zamora
by Doug Hall
Today our musical guest is Cuban-born Afro Latin jazz pianist, vocalist, composer, bandleader, arranger and educator Zahili González Zamora. She started playing piano at the age of six and graduated from the National School of Music with a performance degree. Her passion for music has taken her to Canada, Southeast Asia and the United States. Her Afro-Cuban jazz trio, MIXCLA, has headlined at the landmark jny: Scullers Jazz Club in Boston since 2018. MIXCLA has also performed at the 59th ...
Continue ReadingLegendary jazz drummer, bandleader and composer Eric McPherson
by Doug Hall
On this show we chat with legendary jazz drummer, band leader, and composer Eric McPherson. Mr. McPherson would be introduced to music and jazz at a very young age. Richard Davis, his godfather and an icon among jazz bassists, was a neighborhood friend of the family, and his mother, a superb dancer-choreographer, deep into the jazz scene was taking him to rehearsals and performances, as a child. Her wide orbit of friends included many drummers, major jazz artists like Max ...
Continue ReadingMeet composer, keyboardist, multi-instrumentalist Roella Oloro
by Doug Hall
On this show we chat with Roella Oloro; British-born composer, multi-instrumentalist of Nigerian and Jamaican descent and recent graduate from Berklee College of Music, with a degree in Performance. Ms. Oloro first moved to London in 2017 to study at Trinity Laban and quickly got involved with London's vibrant music scene. She later attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. Ms. Oloro is a pianist, saxophonist, composer, and band leader. As a composer, she has written for a variety of ...
Continue ReadingMilena Casado: Spanish-born, New York-based Jazz trumpeter, bandleader and producer
by Doug Hall
On this show we chat with Milena Casado; Spanish-born, New York-based Jazz trumpeter, bandleader and producer. Ms. Casado's debut recording, Reflection of Another Self in her own words, “portrays an introspective journey of self-discovery, exploring her Afro-Latina heritage by unpacking personal traumas and finding her voice." As Ms. Casado is also a graduate of the Berklee College of Music, she has intersected and played with a rich variety of talent and well established leaders in jazz. Reflection of Another Self ...
Continue ReadingJay Danley: Canadian Jazz Guitarist, Composer, Recording Artist, And World-Class Session Musician
by Doug Hall
On this show we chat with Canadian jazz guitarist, composer, educator and veteran sessions musician Jay Danley. Danley is a world-class session musician who has contributed instrumentally to multiple Juno award-nominated records (including Hilario Duran, leader of a Latin Big Band orchestra) and is the featured guitarist on the Juno award-winning (Julian Fauth), blues album of the year release. He has performed with a multitude of legendary musicians from around the world. Danley also is recognized as one of Canada's ...
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