Music Life and Times

EP77: J.Paul Whitehead: Getting Back to My Music

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 06:00:00 -0400

It's not an uncommon story: Musicians take another course in life to ensure a steady enough career to support themselves and their families. But sometimes, they have the courage and a passion for playing music to eventually leave corporate life and return to music as their full-time pursuit. The bottom-line reason: Nothing compares to the feeling of playing music well and seeing the enjoyment in the faces of your audience. That's the story of JPaul Whitehead as he tells it in this episode of Music Life and Times.

EP76: The Eclectic World of Steve Williams

Fri, 20 Mar 2026 06:00:00 -0400

Steve Williams is a multifaceted musician: composer, arranger, saxophonist. His depth of expertise and versatility has led him over his more than 50 years of playing and performing into a wide range of musical arenas, from the famed One O'Clock Band of his North Texas University days, to the U.S. Navy Commodores, where he played lead alto, was musical director, and contributed some 70 compositions and arrangements, to his current role as lead alto with the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra. A devotee of big band jazz, his recordings include the Latin Grammy winning album, Caribbean Jazz Project's Afro Bop Alliance and his own album, Steve Williams and Jazz Nation.

EP75: Mica Bethea - Persistence and Determination

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 06:00:00 -0500

In 2005, Mica Bethea, a 21-year-old jazz student at the University of North Florida, was driving back to campus when he was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer in stand-still traffic. The accident left him quadriplegic, with close to 90 percent of his body paralyzed. Doctors told him he would never again play his instruments, saxophone and piano. But he refused to let the accident keep him from music. After three years of rehabilitation, he returned to school to finish his degree, this time as a composer, and has since become a prominent figure in the North Florida jazz scene and a respected new voice in big band jazz writing. He has also built and operates NSF Ranch, a recording studio in Jacksonville, described as blending “iconic analog gear with cutting-edge digital technology to deliver uncompromising sound, comfort, and creative freedom. This is not a typical hourly studio — it’s a destination where artists come to focus, create, and bring meaningful projects to life.”

EP74: Musicians Are Entrepreneurs

Sat, 21 Feb 2026 06:00:00 -0500

An entrepreneur is defined as someone who starts or owns a business and is willing to take on the related risks. As a musician, your business is your career, and while you might not have employees or an office to keep afloat, you are a service provider running your own business. In a Harvard Business School Online article, “10 Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs,” (https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/characteristics-of-successful-entrepreneurs) Kelsey Miller (https://www.kelseymiller.com/) delivers a list of attributes that, if coincidentally, unquestionably apply to playing music as a profession. In this episode of Music Life and Times, we take on the list and discuss how each characteristic applies to making a living as a musical entrepreneur.

EP73: Howard Paul Part II: Savannah Jazz

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 06:00:00 -0500

Howard Paul is well known and respected as a highly accomplished jazz guitarist. But he is also a pillar of the Savannah, Georgia music community. He has served as Savannah Jazz Festival chair and president of the board of directors of the Savannah Jazz/Coastal Jazz Association for a combined twelve years. He was inducted into the Savannah Coastal Jazz Hall of Fame in 2011. Howard continues as a member of the Association board, which oversees and manages Association activities, including the annual Savannah Jazz Festival, educational programs, and the Savannah History Museum's Savannah Jazz History & Hall of Fame Exhibit. In this episode of Music Life & Times, Howard recounts some of the history of jazz in Savannah, which, he explains, is similarly rich and deep as that of New Orleans, and how the city, including through the annual Festival and an extensive and impressive calendar of performances throughout the year, continues to provide jazz fans access to some of the today's most outstanding jazz musicians and music.

EP72: Music and Ministry - Timothy J Mercaldo

Fri, 16 Jan 2026 06:00:00 -0500

Reverend Timothy J. Mercaldo is a professional musician and, for more than 35 years, an evangelical minister who uses music as his primary way to connect with people. With music and worship as centerpieces of his life, Tim founded WorshipPlus to equip local churches and Christian organizations to think creatively, that is, to use the creative arts to enhance their worship experiences and outreach events. In this episode, Tim talks with Mike and Kevin about how playing music, in particular the piano, has impacted his life as well as the people he encounters wherever he plays or prays.

EP71: Howard Paul, Guitarist and Guitar Maker

Fri, 02 Jan 2026 06:00:00 -0500

Howard R. Paul is one of those rare individuals with the talent and energy to successfully navigate a dual career as business person and jazz musician. Paul has established himself as both as an internationally acclaimed guitarist, whose CDs include “Tony Monaco/Howard Paul: New Adventures,” “Bob James & Howard Paul: Just Friends: The Hamilton Hall Session,” and “Ali Ryerson: Jammin’ At The Jazz Corner,” and a respected manufacturing executive as president of archtop jazz guitar maker Benedetto Guitars. Paul is a pillar of the Savannah, Georgia music community, having served as Savannah Jazz Festival chair and president of the board of directors of the Savannah Jazz/Coastal Jazz Association for a combined twelve years. In this episode of Music Life & Times he talks about the evolution and challenges of sharing life between music and business.

EP70: The Versatile Bassist Chris Riggenbach

Fri, 19 Dec 2025 06:00:00 -0500

Through 20-something years of his post-graduate professional music career, Bassist Chris Riggenbach has compiled an impressive resume based on his versatility. Playing cello as a youngster, he graduated to electric bass in high school, then in college took on upright bass in order to play with jazz combos. His versatility has found him in everything from orchestras for musicals to jazz trios touring Europe, and includes 10 years on cruise ships backing a host of celebrity performers as well as leading his own jazz trios. Like so many accomplished musicians, Chris gives back to the community as an educator, currently teaching jazz bass and directing jazz combos at Atlanta's Emory University and Oglethorpe University. His goals for his future: keep refining his craft and keep sharing the joy of music with audiences and fellow musicians.

EP69: The Hank Mobley Story by Matt Miller

Fri, 05 Dec 2025 06:00:00 -0500

Saxophonist Matt Miller was influenced by the playing of legendary saxophonist Hank Mobley early in his musical life and has remained so throughout his own career. Mobley’s influence has extended beyond Miller’s playing to a passion to learn more about this beloved player about whom comparatively little has been written or is known. History seemingly has forgotten the man, a contemporary of John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins, despite his long and brilliant career including pivotal roles with the likes of the Jazz Messengers and drummer Max Roach, not to mention 15 years of Blue Note recordings. That combination of importance, brilliance, and obscurity led Miller to begin what has become extensive research and the initial writing for a Hank Mobley biography. In this episode Miller gives us a preview of the content of the book as well as a brief look into the life of this important musician about whom history has fallen silent. Miller talks about Mobley’s influence on his playing, but also about how his commitment to telling his story has become a huge part of his own life.

EP68: Advice From Monk (Part Two)

Fri, 17 Oct 2025 17:54:00 -0400

It was around 1960 when Steve Lacy, a saxophonist in Thelonious Monk’s band at the time, wrote down a series of items, pieces of advice that Monk had conveyed to him while touring in 1960 and 1961. Long before there was an internet, Lacy’s handwritten list went viral. In Episode 67, we covered the first 11 items on the list. In this episode we discuss the meaning or implications of the remaining items.

EP67: Advice from Monk (Part One)

Fri, 03 Oct 2025 06:00:00 -0400

It was around 1960 when Steve Lacy, a saxophonist in Thelonious Monk’s band at the time, wrote down a series of items, pieces of advice that Thelonious Monk had conveyed to him while touring in 1960 and 1961. Long before there was an internet, Lacy’s handwritten list went viral. And while it provides insights into Monk’s philosophies about performing, many of those pieces of advice can metaphorically apply to life outside of music. In this episode, we tackle the first 11 items on the list; in our next episode, we will address the rest of the list.

EP66: Music and the Brain - David Michael Bashwiner

Fri, 19 Sep 2025 06:00:00 -0400

David Michael Bashwiner is a composer, a guitarist, a professor at the University of New Mexico, and at the root of it all, a neuroscientist. He speaks nationally on the subject of music and the brain, and in particular on how music is used to establish meaning and emotion, for example, by the movies as the means to having scenes interpreted as they are intended. David talks about how his neuroscientific approach to music guides his understanding of music theory.

EP65: Ronnie J. Frugé - From His Cajun Roots

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 06:00:00 -0400

Ronnie Frugé learned t play guitar as a 10-year-old on a Sears Silvertone acoustic in a town called Iowa (pronounced I-o-way) outside the city of Lake Charles in Southwest Louisiana where, now in his 70s, he has returned to live and perform. His first influences were Cajun songs; his first band featured him on guitar and a friend on accordion. From South Louisiana his music took him to Austin, Texas, then the Colorado mountains, then to Nashville where he spent 11 years working his way up and through the swarm of guitar players all seeking stardom, and only some like, Ronnie, able even to gig regularly. No matter the town or the venue, wherever he played, the one constant was an enthusiasm and energy that got people on their feet dancing. His story is that of many: a talented guitarist, singer, and songwriter who might not have achieved celebrity but is grateful for a career that has enabled him to make a living playing his music for the people.

EP64: Surgeons Guided by Pianist's Playing

Fri, 22 Aug 2025 06:00:00 -0400

On Easter Sunday, April 20, 2025, surgeons at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida drilled 14 holes in jazz pianist Mark Burnell’s skull and inserted 200 electrodes in an attempt to halt his increasingly frequent seizures resulting from a brain injury that had been festering since a childhood accident. In the newly developed treatment protocol designed to remove damaged areas of the brain, Burnell was kept awake and instructed to play jazz on a mini-keyboard while also singing the tunes’ lyrics. If he played a wrong note or sang a wrong lyric, the doctors were alerted by his wife, vocalist Anne Burnell, who was at his side for the procedure. At her signal they would stop probing so as not to disturb the part of the brain used for making music. In this episode we interview the couple and hear their amazing, inspiring story. Stay tuned for the results of the surgery.

EP63: Authenticity

Fri, 04 Jul 2025 06:00:00 -0400

Typically people who want to play music want to play the kind of music they like most. And learning to play involves studying and absorbing how the musicians we admire most play. But maturing as a performer means finding your own voice; that is, beyond imitating, learning to express your music in your own unique way.

EP62: A Life Lesson from Playing Music

Fri, 20 Jun 2025 06:00:00 -0400

Responsibility is one of the life lessons that learning to play music and performing music teach you. Not only do you have to show up, you have to be “on,” that is, playing your best every time you take the stage, no matter how you feel or what your day was like. You owe it to your audience, to other members in the band you’re playing with that night, and to yourself.

EP61: Play Music; Learn to Express Yourself

Fri, 06 Jun 2025 06:00:00 -0400

Consistent with our recurring theme of how music has a positive impact on our lives, we talk about how music teaches those who learn to play to express themselves better, not just through music but in other ways, including in their careers outside music and their social interactions.

EP60: Mark Gresham, Publisher of EarRelevant

Fri, 23 May 2025 06:00:00 -0400

A composer, conductor, and journalist, and the founder, publisher, and principal writer of EarRelevant.net, Mark Gresham has been writing about classical and post-classical music and other arts for more than 35 years. He co-founded the monthly publication Chorus! in 1989 and edited it through 1995. Thirteen of his interviews from the magazine were published in 1997 as the book, Choral Conversations. Before founding EarRelevant, he was a contributing writer for Creative Loafing from 2002 to 2011 and then for ArtsATL until mid-February 2019. In this episode of Music Life & Times, Mark discusses his life-long involvement with music in multiple capacities, how music has shaped his life, and its impact on all of us.

EP59: Lisa Campbell Albert - Singer, Educator, Author

Fri, 09 May 2025 06:00:00 -0400

Lisa Campbell Albert sings and teaches others to do the same. For more than 30 years she has been singing and playing keyboard, leading her and her husband’s blues band, Uncle Albert, performing in and around St. Louis as well as nationally and internationally, including regular annual appearances in Germany. She has also channeled her knowledge from her academic studies as well as her professional experience into a career as an educator, currently as a professor at the Webster University Conservatory Theatre. Her book on singing, co-authored with fellow professor Bill Lynch, is titled The Moment Before the Music Begins. In our podcast, she talks about her work coaching all types of singers and, most importantly, that each must find their own voice. It was the turning point of her career, she notes: “I’m going to sound like Lisa” and her audiences would have to “take me as I am.” Now nearing 60 and still “singin’ the blues,” she reflects on the key life lessons being a musician has taught her, that “Every time I take a new step I find a different part of me that lets me exhale,” and that music has allowed her to find herself as “a person who’s authentic and happy.”

EP58: Trumpeter Mark Rapp, Founder of ColaJazz

Fri, 25 Apr 2025 19:01:00 -0400

Mark Rapp’s resume as a performing artist is impressive enough. He has performed in jazz clubs and festivals around the world from Croatia, Brasil, Austria, Switzerland, and the US, including back-to-back appearances at the 2017 and 2018 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. His celebrated 2009 debut release “Token Tales” earned him DownBeat magazine’s recognition as a “Top Emerging Trumpeter,” a sold-out Blue Note appearance, and a spot in the famed Newport Jazz Festival. Moreover, he is the founder of the ColaJazz Foundation, an initiative in his adopted home of Columbia, South Carolina, which hosts a premier annual jazz festival as well as ongoing performances by leading jazz figures, and an outreach program that includes three Summer Camps and jazz-based education sessions at schools throughout the state.

EP57: A Tribute to Sam YI

Fri, 11 Apr 2025 06:00:00 -0400

This extended episode of Music Life & Times pays tribute to Sam Yi, “the guiding light of jazz in Atlanta,” who ran the Churchill Grounds jazz club in Midtown for two decades. Sam passed away on February 3. “His steadfast promotion of jazz music helped artists maintain a sense of belonging and provided listeners with a spot to hear the latest talent, among shifting venues and interest,” noted the ArtsATL website upon his passing. The podcast features comments from friends and musicians, just a handful of the many whose lives he blessed. Podcast participants include trumpeter and educator Gordon Vernick, saxophonist David Sanchéz, and Sam’s longtime close friend John Hammond. Their memories of a loyal friend and supporter and stellar human being are here to enjoy.

EP56: Jazz Funerals

Fri, 28 Mar 2025 06:00:00 -0400

The recent deaths of jazz promoters and club owners Johnny Scatena and Sam Yi were followed by extensive tributes from the musicians whose careers they enabled and lives they changed. Unique to the music profession, and in particular to jazz, is how the most beloved of their time are sent off with performances of the music they played, or in these two cases, the music they so ably and enthusiastically promoted.

EP55: The Versatile Jazz Guitarist Dave Frackenpohl

Fri, 14 Mar 2025 06:00:00 -0400

The versatile Dave Frackenpohl has played in the widest range of groups, from symphonies to nightclub duos, and formats, from commercial rock bands to big bands to touring Broadway musicals to jazz festivals. His life in jazz took off during his 10 years in Rochester, NY, and his reputation as a premier jazz guitarist has grown steadily over more than 25 years of being based in Atlanta. In the tradition of the finest jazz musicians, Dave is an educator, teaching jazz guitar, jazz history, and arranging, and directing the University’s jazz combos and guitar ensembles.

EP54: James Casto, Producer, Home By Dark

Fri, 28 Feb 2025 06:00:00 -0500

James Casto is a singer-songwriter who expanded his passion beyond his own music to create and continue an annual series of concerts featuring singer-songwriters. Inspired by his time in Nashville, and in particular by a song performed one night by Vince Gill, Casto began developing the concept that has matured into a five-month program annually of indoor and outdoor, paid and free, sing-songwriter performances. The program is now 19 years old and draws thousands of attendees, many of whom purchase season tickets so as not to miss a single performer or performance.

EP53: Justin Varnes - Percussionist, Educator

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 06:00:00 -0500

If you were putting together a jazz combo for the evening—or for the ages—you’d be well served by Justin Varnes on drums. And if you wanted your son or daughter to study with someone who will help them learn to love music as well as play it, again there is Justin Varnes. Based in Atlanta, Justin studied at the University of North Florida and the New School in New York. He has played with a long list of jazz greats, including our host Kevin Bales, and teaches at Georgia State University. In 2015, he created a program called the Jazz Legacy Project that combines education with entertainment. In Episode 53 of Music Life and Times, Justin talks with Kevin and Mike about the Jazz Legacy Project, as well as about learning to play, his approach to helping others do the same, and how learning to play has impacted his life and those of his students.

EP52: Kevin Korschgen’s Wheel House Sessions

Fri, 31 Jan 2025 06:00:00 -0500

Kevin Korschgen, drummer, educator, and the producer of Greenville, South Carolina’s Wheel House sessions talks about his seven years of more than 100 concerts in a small space in Greenville’s arts district he originally rented as a drum rehearsal studio and how it became his concert venue. As rare as the venue, so too are the combinations of musicians he brings together, from Greenville, but also from around the Southeast, including our podcast host Kevin Bales, accomplished jazz musicians who most often have never performed together thus encouraging and allowing for the spontaneity which best defines jazz. According to Korschgen, the success of his Wheel House series is due not to planning or organizing, but by “just letting it be what it is,” an intimate connection between players and audience. In this episode of Music Life and Times, he talks about the concerts, about those who commit the time and effort it takes to become accomplished players, and as an educator how he has seen music impact so many lives, including his own.

EP51: Gary Motley, Pianist, Educator, Composer, Arranger

Fri, 24 Jan 2025 06:00:00 -0500

In anticipation of the 2025 Valentine’s weekend edition of the Emory University Jazz Festival, we talk with Gary Motley, the founding director of Emory’s Jazz Studies program, about his beginnings in music and jazz, some of his associations with other revered jazz musicians, and the upcoming Emory festival where he and his trio will be joined by tenor saxophonist David Sanchez on Friday February 14 for the festival’s feature concert.

EP50: The Audience Rewards You

Fri, 10 Jan 2025 06:00:00 -0500

One of the lessons you learn from performing music is how audiences reward you for your efforts, that is, the joy you get from their appreciation of your music. That’s one of the greatest returns you get from the work you put in learning to play music well. What could be more fun or more gratifying!

EP49: Tribute to Johnny Scatena

Fri, 03 Jan 2025 18:00:00 -0500

Johnny Catena, the much loved owner of Café 290, Atlanta’s premier music venue for more than 30 years, passed away on November 15, 2024. More than a club owner, Johnny was a lover of music and the musicians who played it. In this extended episode of Music Life and Times, several of Atlanta’s preeminent musicians—Joe Gransden, Kipper Jones, Melvin Miller, William Green, Gary Harris, and Music Life and Times host Kevin Bales—check join us to pay tribute to Johnny, to talk about what he meant to their careers, and to share some of the often hilarious moments that being in Johnny’s presence created.

EP48: Kevin Smith: Bassist Extraordinaire

Fri, 06 Dec 2024 06:00:00 -0500

Where you find great jazz in Atlanta, there’s a good chance you’ll find Kevin Smith on bass. The Florida State grad became enamored with the instrument early in life, chose in fact, orchestra over band in school because the orchestra had a bass, then became enamored with jazz, hearing it for the first time in person from a group that included Music Life and Times podcast co-host Kevin Bales. An educated player who reads as well as he improvises, Kevin is as comfortable with a classical score as he is on stage with a makeshift jazz combo. As a teacher, he is intimately involved with the Atlanta Music Project, a program of the Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs providing world-class music training to youngsters in under-resourced communities.

EP47: Feel the Burn: Vinnie D'agostino

Fri, 29 Nov 2024 06:00:00 -0500

On Friday, November 15, 2024, Vinnie D’Agostino led a group of four premier jazz musicians, including our podcaster Kevin Bales on piano, at Atlanta’s Red Light Café for a night of intensity and energy aptly advertised as “Feel the Burn.” Vinnie, who was our featured guest in Episode 16 of Music Life and Times, began his professional music career on saxophone in his teens, then steered his life toward the corporate world, holding positions with the Department of Defense and more than 30 years with Coca-Cola retiring as Director of Global IT for Global Human Resources Technology. Now he’s back, he’s full time and full energy into music, leading as well as playing as a sideman with other highly accomplished jazz musicians. Vinnie talks about playing jazz, what distinguishes his approach to his music, and the lessons he brings from the corporate world back to his renewed commitment.

EP46: Dave Finucane: Saxophonist and Director of the Durham Jazz Workshop

Fri, 22 Nov 2024 06:00:00 -0500

Dave Finucane talks about his Durham Jazz Workshop, a nonprofit arts organization dedicated to preserving and promoting jazz music in North Carolina. The Workshop, which he co-founded with his wife Valerie Courreges, offers jazz education programs, including instruction in improvisation, music theory, and performance techniques, to aspiring musicians of all ages. The Workshop’s Sharp 9 Gallery Jazz Club presents live performances featuring renowned jazz musicians—local, regional, and international. By fostering a vibrant jazz scene and supporting the professional development of musicians, Finucane explains, the Workshop contributes to the cultural vitality of Durham and beyond.

EP45: Composer and Pianist Randy Hoexter

Fri, 15 Nov 2024 06:00:00 -0500

Kevin talks with Randy Hoexter upon the debut of his latest album, Tomorrowsville. They discuss his musical upbringing and how he became enthralled with the creation of music—that is, composing as well as playing. His style is described, at least on one hand, as “intricate,” a definition that is well supported in his playing and recordings. But while intricacies are central to his compositions, the end result is unquestionably musical, pleasing and listenable, even to the untrained ear.

EP44: Jazz Journalist Ralph Miriello

Fri, 08 Nov 2024 06:00:00 -0500

Ralph Miriello has been reviewing new—and old—jazz recordings since 2007 for publications like Downbeat and currently through his blog, Notes on Jazz.com. A passionate fan of jazz, Ralph spent much of that time in Atlanta before moving to the West Coast, in Washington State just outside of Portland, Oregon. In this episode of Music Life and Times, Ralph talks about his work as a jazz journalist and about the universality of the music, and shares his passion for everything jazz.

EP43: Giving Back or Welcoming In?

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 06:00:00 -0400

A tradition among jazz musicians is bringing along younger players, giving them a chance to mature and grow their skills as well as their love of playing. The tradition plays itself out in many ways, such as in jam sessions, university jazz programs, and private lessons, but also through organizations like the Hilton Head Island Junior Jazz Foundation. Kevin is on the board and this year again, assembled five young musicians from around the country to perform for audiences, first at the Velvet Note jazz club outside of Atlanta then in Hilton Head for the annual Junior Jazz Foundation celebration. Kevin and Mike talk about the uniqueness of the jazz community, which includes supporters and audiences, as well as musicians, in how welcoming they are and dedicated to nurturing new, young talent—and about the lifelong relationships those assemblies lead to.

EP42: On The Passing of Russell Malone

Mon, 26 Aug 2024 06:00:00 -0400

Russell Malone was not only a world-class jazz guitarist but someone known for reaching out to other musicians, showing interest in them, and encouraging them, as he did so frequently with our podcast host Kevin Bales early in his career. Kevin shares some memories of his times with Russell and talks about mentoring and music, and how common it is for great players like Russell to mentor the up-and-coming.

EP41: Persistence: Another Life Lesson Music Teaches.

Fri, 09 Aug 2024 06:00:00 -0400

Persistence: You won’t get far without it. Learning to play music well is hard; progress can be slow, very slow; you can be tempted to quit. Kevin and Mike share experiences of their own as well as stories of some of the greatest musicians of all time, including Charlie Parker and Ludwig von Beethoven, and how they worked to overcome obstacles and persisted when it might have been easier to give up.

EP40: Music Teaches Resiliency

Fri, 26 Jul 2024 06:00:00 -0400

It’s not easy to learn to play music, especially to learn how to play well. It takes a great deal of work—we call it practice—and practicing in a way that leads to meaningful progress. As well, the more you learn, that is, the better you play, the more work it takes to make progress. You also learn by making mistakes, and if you make mistakes on the job, that’s a hard lesson; it can be humbling. That’s where your resiliency comes into play. So yes, learning to play teaches you to be resilient, which will help you learn to play well, and when you learn to play well, it’s a joy for life.

EP39: Your Instrument: Let’s Talk Pianos

Fri, 12 Jul 2024 06:00:00 -0400

The relationship between player and instrument can be life-long. You might go through several instruments as you learn to play and learn what you like in your instrument, but once you find the one, it’s a marriage that endures. Some players even assign names and genders to their instruments. On a recent trip to the Steinway factory in New York, Kevin was hosted for a tour of the entire facility and was able to observe the craftsmen and women as they built some of the world’s finest pianos. What makes a great instrument and how do instruments, in particular pianos, differ? These insights will be particularly enlightening to people looking to buy a piano.

EP38: Guest Joe Alterman

Fri, 28 Jun 2024 06:00:00 -0400

A Joyful Sound

As a child taking piano lessons, Joe Alterman was impressed, more so bowled over, by a guitar player named Doc Watson and his boogie style. From those seeds emerged the joyful sound that characterizes Joe’s playing. Among his idols, his mentors, was the incomparable Les McCann. Much of Joe’s work today, including a recent album, “Big Mo & Little Joe,” and several ongoing projects, involves giving new life to the incredible wealth of music McCann created.

EP37: Guest Saxophonist Matt Miller on Playing and Teaching

Fri, 14 Jun 2024 06:00:00 -0400

Matt Miller, a native of the Philadelphia area and a graduate of the heralded The New School in New York City, is a busy member of the Atlanta jazz community, featured regularly in various combinations of musicians, from trios to big bands. Matt talks about his responsibilities as a performer to his fellow players and his audiences, and how learning to play music teaches his young students responsibility and other life lessons.

EP36: Guest Karla Harris

Fri, 31 May 2024 06:00:00 -0400

Jazz Vocalist and Music Educator Karla is in the midst of an admirable career, not only as a performer and recording artist with top billing at some of the country’s most notable venues and festivals but also as an educator ensuring that future generations have access to the arts. Well-known for her performances, she has also been recognized now for her work in the area of education as one of Atlanta Magazine’s “Women Making a Mark in 2024.”

EP35: Standing Room Only: Trumpeter and Vocalist Joe Gransden

Fri, 17 May 2024 06:00:00 -0400

Joe Gransden has built his brand on multiple levels, perhaps best known as big band leader, heading up the 16-piece group of jazz musicians that filled Café 290 on Monday nights for more than 12 years and continues to entertain at venues and events around Atlanta and beyond, as well as performing with a variety of combinations for a variety of gigs, from restaurants to corporate parties to his own popular jam sessions.

EP34: Guest Roderick Harper

Fri, 03 May 2024 06:00:00 -0400

At 57, Roderick Harper is gaining steam. A versatile artist with both jazz and R&B albums, he calls on a background that started as early a small child singing along with TV commercials, through early lessons in the American Songbook and a minor in jazz studies at Southern University, to a performer audiences love for the passion and integrity of his singing. Mike and Kevin talk with Roderick in between two nights of his performances, accompanied by Kevin, at the Atlanta-area jazz club, The Velvet Note.

EP33: Composers and Lyricists

Fri, 19 Apr 2024 06:00:00 -0400

Every Elton John has his Bernie Taupin. Jerome Kern had to have his Oscar Hammerstein. Even Duke Ellington needed a Billy Strayhorn or Irving Mills or Bob Russell. Point is, a song isn’t much of a song without lyrics, and how lyricists and composers work together, if unique to each pair, is one more example of the cooperation involved in making great music.

EP32: Collaboration: A Great Lesson

Fri, 05 Apr 2024 06:00:00 -0400

Consistent with the podcast’s focus on the life lessons that learning to play music teaches, Kevin and Mike talk about musical conversation, that is, how musicians playing together collaborate, listening to each other and accommodating each other’s playing, to create better music.

EP31: Getting Started In Music

Fri, 22 Mar 2024 06:00:00 -0400

Whether you’re a youngster who wants to learn how to play an instrument, or a parent who recognizes the value of music in their child’s education, or an adult who has never played but wants to learn how, it’s never too early or too late to start. Kevin shares insights on how to get started from his three decades of teaching young and adult students.

EP30: On The Road Again

Fri, 08 Mar 2024 06:00:00 -0500

People who make their living playing music typically do a lot of travelling. While some might have a house gig in their hometown, most find themselves in venues that take them to different parts of their country and even around the world. Those experiences—that breadth of experience—combine to be one of the great benefits of life as a musician.

EP29: The Uniqueness of the Great Players

Fri, 23 Feb 2024 06:00:00 -0500

From Bill Evans to Oscar Peterson to Ahmad Jamal to Charlie Parker to John Coltrane to Miles Davis, and on and on, each of the great players is distinguished by their own unique style. In this podcast, Kevin talks about the some of those legends and how they expressed themselves, and he and Mike discuss the importance of individualistic expression—that is, to perform from your heart—to all music.

EP28: My Funny Valentine

Fri, 16 Feb 2024 06:00:00 -0500

The song from Babes in Arms, a 1937 musical by Richard Rodgers and Lorenzo Hart, has been recorded more than 1300 times by more than 600 artists. The song continues to receive mixed reviews from musicians and music critics, but it has been a favorite of artists from Frank Sinatra to Sarah Vaughan to jazz trumpeter/vocalist Chet Baker, whose recording of it is enshrined. The podcast delivers some interesting takes on the history of the tune, some of the recordings, and the song itself.

EP27: Why Musicians Love to Teach

Fri, 09 Feb 2024 06:00:00 -0500

So many great musicians are also dedicated teachers. They love passing along their knowledge and inspiring others, getting them excited about the things they’re excited about, infecting them with love for what they’re doing, and how exciting it is to make music with other people. It is the jazz teaching tradition at its best: “Each one, teach one.”

EP26: Classical Music: A Great Resource for Jazz Musicians

Fri, 02 Feb 2024 06:00:00 -0500

Most great jazz musicians were trained in classical music. So do you need to learn classical music first before you can play jazz? Or is playing jazz about learning shapes and harmony, technique and structures, the things required to play any music well. There shouldn’t be a separation between classical and jazz; the creation and performance of music is the same regardless of the genre. Classical Music’s role for jazz musicians is in its long tradition of attempts at solving technical issues; it is a great resource for jazz musicians.

EP25: Books on Music: A Few Recommendations

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 06:00:00 -0500

As avid readers, we have our favorite books about music and musicians. We discuss a few here in some detail in hopes they might be of interest to you. If you have others you like, let us know at musiclifeandtimes.com > contact us, and we’ll share them in a future podcast.

EP24: The Role of Music in Social Change

Fri, 10 Nov 2023 06:00:00 -0500

From the origins of jazz to the songs of the 1960s protesting the Vietnam War and supporting the Civil Rights Movement to the Grammy Song of the Year in 2021, music has played an essential role in social change, shedding light on the issues and attitudes that threaten our freedoms, here in America and around the world. Your podcasters comment on those times and music and share some stories of their own.

EP23: From Vinyl to Streaming: How Music Is Delivered

Fri, 03 Nov 2023 06:00:00 -0400

From 78 rpm to 33 rpm—and of course 45s with one song on each side—from albums to CDs to streaming, the way music is delivered has evolved substantially. The intent has been to make the music you want to hear easier to access. But have we lost something along the way? Is that why vinyl outsold CDs last year for the first time since the introduction of the music CD?

EP22: The Music of Fred Rogers as Jazz: “Beyond the Neighborhood”

Fri, 20 Oct 2023 06:00:00 -0400

In 2019, as the culmination of what they had discovered as a shared passion, the music of Fred Rogers, Kevin and Keri Johnsrud researched, selected, arranged, then recorded 11 songs composed by Fred Rogers, best known for his long-running children’s television show Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. The jazz arrangements of what have been generally perceived as children’s songs credit Fred Rogers as a composer as well as Kevin, Keri, Bill Thornton, and Marlon Patton as arrangers and jazz musicians.

EP21 Guest Bruce Pulver: Above the Chatter, Our Words Matter.

Fri, 13 Oct 2023 14:39:40 -0400

The Audience Perspective: An interview with Bruce Pulver, author of Above the Chatter, Our Words Matter.

Intro: As performing musicians, Kevin and Mike work to please audiences by playing their best. Bruce Pulver studied music in college but decided to pursue it “as an avocation as opposed to a vocation.” He is an avid fan of live music, even to the point of hosting concerts in his home. His advice: “Get out to hear music live; it will make your day.”

EP20 Music Versus Other Professions: The Process Is Much the Same

Fri, 06 Oct 2023 06:00:00 -0400

Is a career in a creative art like music really that different from other types of careers? While many people see a music career as a counterpoint to other ways to make a living, the process is much the same, including spending the time necessary to build and grow your business. And for people in other professions or business careers who spend time studying and playing music, that exposure helps them develop their inherent creativity, which can work to their benefit in their chosen fields.

EP 19 High Anxiety: Dealing with Pre-Performance Nervousness

Fri, 29 Sep 2023 06:00:00 -0400

If you play music for an audience, be that at home in front of your family or for thousands of people in a concert hall, you’re likely to be nervous before you play. That’s not necessarily a bad thing; can even be a good thing as Kevin explains in this episode. But of course, shaky hands and a quavering voice aren’t helpful to your performance, so consider some of these ways of dealing with nerves and anxiety.

EP 18 Play for People

Fri, 22 Sep 2023 06:00:00 -0400

Learning music is about playing music. And playing music leads to performing. And because music is a communicative art, the job of a performing musician is to communicate with his or her audience, to play for the people.

EP17 Don’t Wait for Perfect

Fri, 15 Sep 2023 06:00:00 -0400

Most players are uncomfortable hearing their own music. They don’t find it as perfect as they think it should be. But an important lesson to learn is not to judge yourself, and indeed, first takes are often the best takes in recording sessions.

EP16 Vinnie D’Agostino: Out of the Corporate World and Back into Music

Fri, 08 Sep 2023 06:00:00 -0400

Vinnie D’Agostino—saxophone, clarinet, and flute—first performed as an 8-year-old and started playing professionally at 15. Throughout his youth he was convinced he would live his life as a professional musician. But as he approached his 20s, he decided on a different path, as an IT professional in the corporate world, a career he concluded as Global IT Director for Global HR Technology at Coca-Cola. Today, he is again a full-time musician, involved in a wide range of projects, and recognized as a highly accomplished player.

EP15 Music Business or The Business of Music?

Fri, 01 Sep 2023 06:00:00 -0400

The music business, like selling records and becoming a music star, is a tiny part of the industry whereas the business of music extends to a wide range of occupations, from writing music for commercials to engineering in a recording studio to teaching. And while becoming a star is so rare that it is unachievable for the vast majority of musicians, there are many opportunities to make a living in the business of music. It might not be a regular nine-to-five job, but it is much like other entrepreneurial ventures.

EP14 American Popular Song

Sun, 27 Aug 2023 16:32:25 -0400

Jerome Kern, Hoagy Carmichael, the Gershwins, Richard Rodgers, Cole Porter, and so many more: the composers of the songs of the golden era of American popular music known as The Great American Songbook, of the tunes that are the platforms from which jazz musicians have launched many of their most memorable improvisations.

EP13 Steal, Don’t Borrow

Fri, 11 Aug 2023 06:00:00 -0400

Imitation might be the sincerest form of flattery, but it is also the way musicians over the years have improved their skills. Great players “steal” ideas and phrases they admire and let them influence their playing and broaden their musical vocabulary.

EP12 Guest Dr. Gordon Vernick

Fri, 28 Jul 2023 06:00:00 -0400

Dr. Gordon Vernick, trumpeter extraordinaire and coordinator of jazz studies at Georgia State University, talks about jazz and how students can improve their playing. This episode is chock full of great insights from a revered teacher and musician.

EP11 Guest Keri Johnsrud

Sun, 23 Jul 2023 06:00:00 -0400

Chicago-based jazz singer Keri Johnsrud talks about singing, her career, and her work with Kevin Bales on the Grammy-nominated album Beyond the Neighborhood, a collection of songs composed by Fred Rogers, host of the long-running children’s television series, Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. The podcast includes a sample of Keri’s inviting voice from an earlier Kevin and Keri recording and hints at a sequel to Beyond the Neighborhood.

EP10 Mentors and Legends

Sun, 16 Jul 2023 15:38:41 -0400

Most accomplished musicians will point to influences that made a difference in their lives and playing along the way, including mentors who were genuinely interested in helping them learn and advance their careers and took the time to do so. Let’s give credit where credit is due.

EP09 Community Support

Fri, 07 Jul 2023 06:00:00 -0400

The jazz community is open and warm in a remarkably non-competitive way. As well, jazz musicians enjoy avid support from people who love jazz, including support systems like jazz societies, and sometimes just individuals who go out of their way to show their support. Here’s evidence of that as experienced by our podcasting musicians.

EP08 Louis Armstrong

Fri, 30 Jun 2023 06:00:00 -0400

“All roads lead to Louis Armstrong, and all roads come out of that,” notes Trumpeter, Composer, and Bandleader Russell Gunn. “All pop music, not just jazz, goes back to Louis Armstrong, his timing and phrasing,” Kevin Bales adds. This episode shares stories about Louis Armstrong, his life and art.

EP07 Funny or Just Strange

Fri, 23 Jun 2023 06:00:00 -0400

As a musician, you typically move around a lot, working in different venues in different places. Many turn out to be, well, not conventional. Sometimes it’s worth a laugh; sometimes it’s a real problem. Here are some of the strangest situations these two career musicians have encountered.

EP06 Beatles

Tue, 20 Jun 2023 20:32:30 -0400

Rolling Stone magazine ranks John Lennon and Paul McCartney as two of the three greatest songwriters of their era. It can be argued that The Beatles were the most popular rock group in history. Were they educated musicians or just raw talent, and how did they learn and refine their craft?

EP05 Duke Elllington

Mon, 03 Apr 2023 17:59:24 -0400

You know about Duke Ellington’s big band and some of his most popular compositions. But the songs we are most familiar with are typically melodies from larger works. Of note: His arrangements gave the musicians in his big band freedom to improvise, to play like themselves, cooperation that still adheres to the singular vision of the composer. Pretty amazing.

EP04 Jam Sessions

Mon, 03 Apr 2023 17:58:17 -0400

Sitting in and playing a song with musicians you don’t know in a key that someone randomly calls can be exhilarating or intimidating. Jazz educators promote jam sessions because they help players get better.

EP03 Life Lessons from Music

Mon, 03 Apr 2023 17:57:44 -0400

The podcasters share their approaches to practicing, including insights from Kevin as a teacher on how he instructs his students to practice, and Mike on how he developed his own practice habits without instruction. How about using YouTube as your instructor?

EP02 Where Classical and Jazz Collide

Mon, 03 Apr 2023 17:56:58 -0400

Classical musicians and some music educators in the past have had a tendency to look down on jazz as something less than serious. But they’re different disciplines. Players of classical music must adhere to the conductor’s understanding of the piece as well as the notes on the page, whereas jazz is rooted in improvisation: never play the solo the same way twice. Of note: Some of the greatest classical composers improvised as they performed their creations.

EP01 Jazz is Democracy

Mon, 03 Apr 2023 17:56:15 -0400

Kevin Bales and Mike Shaw kick off their new podcast series with a discussion of jazz as an expression of democracy, including how authoritarian regimes have outlawed jazz due as its reliance on improvisation, the ultimate display of freedom in music.