Improv Exchange Podcast

Episode #175 - Keith Lamar & Albert Marques

In 1989, Keith LaMar (aka Bomani Shakur) was sent to prison at age 19 for murder. He had been living in Cleveland, Ohio, where he sold drugs as a means of survival in the Crack-infested streets he knew as home. On a day that would forever change his life, Keith was robbed at gunpoint and exchanged gunfire with his robbers. He was shot twice in his legs and hit one of the other men in the chest. That young man, one a childhood friend, died. Keith pled guilty and was sent to prison for 18 years-to-life.

Four years later, Keith was attempting to put together the broken pieces of his life at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility, hoping for another chance at life. It was an Easter Sunday, and the weather had just turned warmer; Keith and about 400 other men were outside exercising in the rec-yard when commotion broke out inside and it became clear that some type of protest was underway. Keith made a quick decision to slip inside for a few minutes to secure his personal belongings (since his cell assignment was in the area being taken over). Once back out in the yard, he and the others waited to see what would transpire, watching as the bodies of several men were dumped onto the yard.

As Easter came to an end, the Ohio State Highway Patrol rounded up those on the yard and secured them into another part of the facility. Prison records prove that Keith was among them. Though no one could have predicted what exactly was happening, or how it would all result, an 11-day siege ensued. In the end, nine inmates and one guard ultimately lost their lives. When the dust began to settle, the State of Ohio needed someone on whom to pin several of the early inmate deaths. This is where Keith’s troubles began…

A few months later, several prisoners were enticed with the promise of early paroles and/or dropped charges if only they would come up with a reasonable story to help the State sweep up the “mess” at their out-of-control prison. They determined Keith would be the fall guy, and they pointed their fingers at him. Thus, to make it all come together convincingly, the prosecution withheld actual confessions from his defense, as well as eyewitness statements that contradicted their fabricated version of events. In spite of zero DNA or forensic evidence, they moved forward with their accusations against Keith. In fact, they made sure his trial would be racially biased in their favor by calling for the removal of the few potential black jurors, and by holding his trial in an all-white county in southern Ohio. In spite of having no motive to kill anyone, no actual proof connecting him, nor any affiliation with any of the groups organizing the uprising, the jury didn’t take long to find Keith LaMar guilty of the murder of five of the inmates. He was sentenced to death.

Albert Marquès is a pianist, composer, and political activist from a working class, industrial town outside of Barcelona, where he worked in factories through school. A member of a Catalan anti-capitalist organization as a teenager, he narrowly escaped being detained for his activism.

Influenced by the local punk scene, as well as jazz recordings of musicians like Chick Corea, Brad Mehldau, Michel Camilo and Herbie Hancock, he was self-taught until he attended Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu. After graduation, he made two pivotal trips which changed his life, spending a month in the West Bank in Palestine and a month in Cuba.

During his four years in Barcelona, he played with the best musicians of the scene, such as Marc Miralta, thanks to his unique, non-academic sound. Upon graduating, he moved to Paris, where he worked in a McDonald’s until he learned French. In Paris, he played with musicians such as Remi Vignolo and Pierre Perchaud, and became the pianist in African American drummer Leon Parker’s quartet.

At 25, Albert moved to New York City, without knowing even one person, to play jazz. After a year and a half working as a waiter and going to jam sessions every night, he met his mentor Arturo O'Farrill, who gave him his own baby grand piano. In addition to his musical influence and encouragement, O’Farrill hired him to teach with his organization, the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance, a non-profit that gives free Latin jazz music lessons in the most disadvantaged New York City public schools. Albert also plays and collaborates with his sons, Adam and Zack O’Farrill.

In 2014, he married the sculptor Mia Pearlman, with whom he has two children, Aviva and Sol. It is in New York that he finally combined his biggest influences: contemporary jazz, flamenco, Afro Cuban music and social justice by creating Freedom First. He has recorded four albums as a band leader, and regularly collaborates with rhythm master Ari Hoenig, Spanish flamenco singer and saxophonist Antonio Lizana, and other American and European musicians.

​Marques is the Music Director at the Institute for Collaborative Education in NY, a progressive, public middle and high school in downtown Manhattan.

Episode #174: Charlie Rosen

Rosen has been hailed by The New York Times as “insanely ambitious,” “a sort of bridge between genres and generations, embracing Broadway standards, pop songs and the music of Tetris.” Broadway World hailed his orchestrations for “Some Like it Hot” — co-written with Bryan Carter — as “explosive… another first-rate team.” Opined JazzTimes of the 8-Bit Big Band: “[These are] innovative spins on a hidden musical canon that’s arguably just booting up.” In 2021, Grammy.com proclaimed him to be one of “6 Big Band Composers Pushing The Format Forward.”

Rosen was born in 1990 in Los Angeles, to a bassoonist and music teacher mother and pianist, banjoist, and silent movie theater organist father. When Rosen was three, his father ascertained that he had perfect pitch, when he successfully distinguished piano keys by color without seeing them. “That’s a black key, that’s a white key,” Rosen remembers intuiting.

Rosen played flute in an elementary school orchestra, but that didn’t really take. “I played cello for a year. That didn’t really take,” Rosen says. But as his single digits flowed into his doubles, he accordingly took guitar lessons, and proceeded to perform in bands. “That was my first exposure to what it means to collaborate with your musical peers,” Rosen says, “as opposed to receiving rote classical music from a teacher.”

Large ensemble jazz grew to captivate him most; his father frequently took him to see big bands and jazz orchestras, and his mother brought him to her orchestra rehearsals and chamber music performances. Rosen became fascinated by the sheer numbers of the musicians, the volume, and the force of the moving air. Saxophones, flutes, trumpets, banjos, guitars, and mandolins were around the house. “That influenced my love of arranging and discovering new instruments,” Rosen says — and he learned one after the other. Despite his parents’ love of musicals, Rosen initially gravitated far more to classic rock and jazz. Yet in his sophomore year of high school, he nabbed a role in the coming-of-age Broadway musical “13” — which not only featured an entire cast of teenagers, but an all-teen orchestra. This led him to the comedic historical rock musical “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” — conversely, a full-on professional production with adults. Both shows transferred to Broadway one year apart, before Rosen was old enough to drink.

Rosen studied at Berklee College of Music for a few semesters; around 2010, he decided to focus on Broadway for good. At first, he was a multi-instrumentalist in a variety of pits, and it became clear he was capable of much more. “I started being like, ‘I’ll do anything. I can transcribe your piano parts. I’ll write sheet music. I’ll write horn parts for you,’” Rosen recalls. “Just to get my name out there as somebody who could be part of music teams.” In 2012, he started his first New York large ensemble, dubbed Charlie Rosen’s Broadway Big Band. He went on to work on a plethora of Broadway shows, as an orchestrator, music director, music supervisor, and more — from “Moulin Rouge” to “Be Home Chill” to “Some Like it Hot.”

Already, Rosen was reimagining what a big band could do. “I would take songs from Broadway shows, like I do with the 8-Bit Big Band, and totally flip them on their head — rearrange them,” he says, “and I would ask singers from the Broadway community to front it.” He began a long-running residency at Midtown Manhattan’s 54 Below, and “invited as many music directors, supervisors and composers — anybody I could possibly think of — to come to this thing.”

The 54 Below residency demonstrated Rosen’s swelling chops for old-school, Broadway-style arranging. Fast forward through years of shows and connections, and in 2018, Rosen launched the 8-Bit Big Band, and the lifelong gamer picked up the torch of the “Great Video Game Songbook.” To date, they have released four albums: 2018’s “Press Start!,” 2019’s “Choose Your Character,” 2021’s “Backwards Compatible,” and 2023’s “Game Changer.”

In 2021, Rosen won a Grammy for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Capella. He won one Tony in 2020, for his work on “Moulin Rouge!, and another in 2023, for “Some Like It Hot.” Another Grammy followed in 2023, for his contributions to the latter production’s cast recording. He was also nominated for both a Tony and Grammy award for his work on the groundbreaking 2022 Broadway show “A Strange Loop.”Other productions Rosen has worked on as a musician, composer, music supervisor, and/or orchestrator include “One Man, Two Guvnors”; “Cyrano de Bergerac”; “Honeymoon in Vegas”; “American Psycho”; “Prince of Broadway”; “Be More Chill”; “Moulin Rouge! The Musical”; and “A Strange Loop”. He was the musical director for the 2016 TV series “Maya & Marty,” and 2020’s “Arthur Miller Foundation Honors,” and arranged, orchestrated, conducted, and/or composed for 2017’s “The President Snow,” the 2021 documentary “Listening to Kenny G,” and that year’s Billy Crystal comedy-drama “Here Today,” as well as the music producer for the 2023 film “Wonka.”

What binds it all together is Rosen’s unshakeable faith in the unrealized potential of a piece of music, especially as it relates to its function for dramatic storytelling. How the music functions to deliver a story, or deliver a feeling — “whether someones up there singing or not,” Rosen says. “Or whether it’s creating an arrangement to support a singer singing in a specific way, or an instrumentalist to solo in a way they do best. “Whether it’s your movie, song, orchestra, TV show, or Broadway show,” Rosen concludes, “it’s all essentially the same instinct, but through instruments.”

Marc Shaiman, a Tony-winning theater and Oscar-nominated film composer, described Mr. Rosen as a big talent, but without the eccentricities that sometimes come along for the ride. ‘It’s the kind of talent where I almost want to hate him,’ Mr. Shaiman said. ‘But I can’t.’ You don’t get to be Charlie without being insanely ambitious, but I think it’s really an ambition to have as much music in his life and in his head and in his mouth as he possibly can. He just loves making music.”

Episode #173: Gabriela Martina & Maxim Lubarsky

Gabriela Martina (CH) and Maxim Lubarsky (UA) have been playing together in different musical settings since 2009 and formed this duo officially back in 2019. They both are vivid performers who seek to approach music as a whole, defying any specific style or genre.

The project “Explorations in Sound” aims at creating compositions in the moment from scratch, drawing Inspiration from various sources: melodic shapes and sounds, improvisation on poetry, and finding a unique and unexpected approach to famous songs in genres such as pop, soul and jazz as well as other contemporary music. Gabriela and Maxim creating a musical dialog and always willing to go wherever music takes them defying any boundaries of style and genre while maintaining compositional cohesiveness of the music. In addition to using their main instruments (piano and voice) – they are experimenting with adding unexpected sounds to their performances such as the use of music stand with brushes as a percussion instrument. The project is rooted in the very foundation of creativity and compositional process as well as a musical conversation that involves deep listening and constant exchange of ideas in the moment. Gabriela and Maxim are always searching for the new ways to approach musical composition and improvisation and always willing to dive into unknown. Every performance is a journey into a world of creativity and imagination.

The audience is part of the creation process since what they will hear will be heard for the first time with every performance. The compositions are born in front of their eyes and any given piece will always have a new twist. This approach leads us back to the passion of making music as genuine as a child at his/her first approach with the instrument.

Episode #172: Sean Imoden

Sean Imboden is an American saxophonist and composer. Sean has released three albums as a leader, the most recent being Communal Heart by the Sean Imboden Large Ensemble. His music pioneers forward-thinking, original compositions, and presents cutting-edge live performances. Sean has performed and recorded with GRAMMY-winning artists and jazz luminaries, including Slide Hampton, Taylor Eigsti, Mike Rodriguez, Sean Jones, Emmet Cohen, Steve Allee, Kenny Phelps, John Raymond, and Valery Ponomarev (of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers). A long-time member of Indianapolis-based quartet Tucker Brothers, Sean plays on the band’s four critically-acclaimed albums. An active sideman, Sean has appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and with the Radio City Music Hall Orchestra, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Buselli-Wallarab Jazz Orchestra, Aretha Franklin, The Temptations, Barry Manilow, Johnny Mathis, and Idina Menzel. Sean toured internationally for many years with various Broadway productions, and as a featured soloist with Blast II. Sean has taught at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, and is currently on faculty at Butler University and Ball State University. Sean is a Conn-Selmer artist, and works with students around the world through his online Virtual Studio.

Episode #171: Lizzie Lee

Lizzie Lee is a genre-defying vocalist blending classical precision with the soul and spontaneity of New York’s jazz tradition. Her voice—praised for its rich color and “acrobatics and élan”—offers a bold reinterpretation of the American Songbook and beyond. Raised in Alaska and trained in Paris and New York, Lizzie brings a rare combination of global sensibility and emotional connection to her work. Her debut album, 72nd Street, recorded at the legendary Van Gelder Studio, is a striking statement of identity: lush, lyrical, and rooted in both tradition and risk. The album features a stellar lineup including Joe Farnsworth (drums), Stacy Dillard (tenor sax), John Webber (bass), Joe Block (keys), and Rob Nuovo (guitar). With performances across NYC, the northeast and internationally, and acclaim from artists like Bill Frisell and David Broza, Lizzie is merging elegance with edge, storytelling with swing, while fast becoming a name to know among vocalists in the jazz world.

In the classical genre, Lizzie is a dynamic soprano praised for her “brilliant coloratura, acrobatics, and élan” (Opera Magazine) and has performed across the United States, Europe, and Asia. Lizzie debuted in Europe at Staatstheater Darmstadt and has received international acclaim for her roles as the Parrot in the world premiere of Mahosot: Architect of Dreams by Somtow Sucharitkul in Bangkok and as the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro in NYC. She has appeared as a soloist with the Jenaer Philharmonie, Bergische Symphoniker, and in concerts in Vienna with Maestro Francisco Araiza. Her artistry has been shaped through work with legendary mentors such as Martina Arroyo and the late Dalton Baldwin, whose influence continues to inspire her interpretive depth and stylistic sensitivity. Lizzie has performed at iconic venues such as Carnegie Hall and the Sydney Opera House and has worked closely with artists from many of the world’s most prestigious theaters including the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House, San Francisco Opera, Washington National Opera, and Opéra Bastille.

Episode #170: Elio Villafranca

Born in the Pinar del Río province of Cuba, Steinway Artist, Grammy Nominated, and 2014 Jalc Millennium Swing Award! recipient pianist and composer Elio Villafranca was classically trained in percussion and composition at the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana, Cuba.

Since he arrived in the U.S. in mid-1995, Elio Villafranca has been at the forefront of the latest generation of remarkable pianists, composers, and bandleaders. NYC Jazz Record selected his concert Letters to Mother Africa as Best Concerts in 2016. In 2015, Mr. Villafranca was among the 5 pianists hand-picked by Chick Corea to perform at the first Chick Corea Jazz Festival, curated by Chick himself at JALC. Elio Villafranca’s new album Caribbean Tinge (Motema), received a 2014 Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik Nomination by the German Records Critics Award, as well has been selected by JazzTimes and DownBeat magazines for a feature on their very competitive section Editor’s Pick. He also received a 2010 Grammy Nomination in the Best Latin Jazz Album of the Year category. In 2008 The Jazz Corner nominated Elio Villafranca as pianist of the year. That year, Mr. Villafranca was also honored by BMI with the BMI Jazz Guaranty Award. He received the first NFA/Heineken Green Ribbon Master Artist Music Grant for the creation of his Concerto for Mariachi, for Afro-Cuban Percussion and Symphony Orchestra. Finally, his first album, Incantations/ Encantaciones, featuring Pat Martino, Terell Stafford, and Dafnis Prieto was ranked amongst the 50 best jazz albums of the year by JazzTimes magazine in 2003.

Over the years Elio Villafranca has recorded and performed nationally and internationally as a leader, featuring jazz master artists such as Pat Martino, Terell Stafford, Billy Hart, Paquito D’Rivera, Eric Alexander, Lewis Nash, David Murray, and Wynton Marsalis among others. As a sideman, Elio Villafranca has collaborated with leading jazz and Latin jazz artists including: Chick Corea, Jon Faddis, Billy Harper, Sonny Fortune, Giovanni Hidalgo, Miguel Zenón, and Johnny Pacheco among others.

This year, in 2017 Elio Villafranca received The Sunshine Award, founded in 1989 to recognize excellence in the performing arts, education, science and sports of the various Caribbean countries, South America, Central America, and Africa. He is based in New York City and he is a faculty member of Temple University, Philadelphia, The Juilliard School of Music, New York University, and Manhattan School of Music in NYC.

Episode #169: Pritesh Walia

Pritesh Walia is a virtuoso jazz guitarist, accomplished composer, and dedicated educator hailing from the vibrant city of New Delhi, India. His musical journey began at the age of 13 when he immersed himself in the rich traditions of Indian Classical Music. Fueling his insatiable curiosity for music, Pritesh sought Western influences, pursuing a lifelong mastery of diverse musical styles.

Armed with an Associate of Arts Degree from the Musicians Institute College of Contemporary Music, a Bachelor’s Degree from Berklee College of Music in Contemporary Jazz Performance and Jazz Composition, and a Master’s Degree in Jazz Performance from the New England Conservatory, Pritesh has honed his craft alongside some of the finest jazz musicians in the United States.

Not only has Pritesh showcased his exceptional talent on global stages, but he has also formed collaborative partnerships with prestigious brands. During his tours of India from 2015 to 2017, he proudly represented leading musical instrument retailers. Sponsored by these industry giants, Pritesh conducted master classes and clinics across India, South America, and the United States, including two appearances at the esteemed Panama Jazz Festival. Pritesh's instructional prowess is further exemplified by his lessons and packages featured on renowned guitar instructional platforms such as Licklibrary.

Currently endorsed by elite brands like Gruvgear, Chicken Picks, Collings Guitars, and Antelope Audio, Pritesh continues pushing his musical exploration's boundaries. His passion for education is evident in his role as a Jazz educator at institutions such as Bunker Hill Community College, Brookline Music School, and Excelsia College Sydney, where he guides master's students in the art of jazz.

Pritesh is poised to make significant waves in the music scene with the upcoming release of his debut album, "Hope Town," scheduled for a fall 2023 release on all streaming platforms. This album, meticulously mixed and mastered by multi-Grammy winner engineer Dave Darlington, promises to be a testament to Pritesh's artistic vision. Additionally, Pritesh is set to unveil his organ trio, "PSA," in mid-2024, followed by a Big Band record featuring the Henry Godfrey Jazz Big Band and a modern Brazilian project with strings, both slated for release in late 2024. Recognizing his contributions to the jazz genre, Pritesh has been nominated for "Best Jazz Artist of the Year" at the Boston Music Awards alongside luminaries like Terry Lynn Carrington and Grace Kelly.

Pritesh has had the privilege of studying under the mentorship of illustrious figures such as Scott Henderson, Russel Ferrante, David Fuze, Tomo Fujita, Tim Miller, Donny McCaslin, Jason Moran, Miguel Zenon, and esteemed composers like Frank Carlberg, Ben Scwendenner, and John Heiss. His collaborations include performances with the New England Jazz Orchestra, the Maria Schneider Orchestra at the New England Conservatory, and renowned jazz figures like Donny McCaslin, Bob Sheppard, and many others.

Pritesh Walia's journey is a testament to his unwavering dedication to jazz, a genre that encapsulates not only his love for performance and composition but also his commitment to understanding its intricate harmony, theory, language, history, and voice. As he continues to evolve as a musician, educator, and collaborator, Pritesh's impact on the jazz world is poised to reach new heights.

Episode #168: Michael Buckley

Regarded as the most important and influential musician on the Irish jazz scene, saxophonist/flutist and composer Michael Buckley has been playing professionally since the age of six when critics hailed him as a child prodigy. Born in Dublin city in 1971 Michael first came to prominence on an International level when, aged 10, he played flute with the legendary saxophonist George Coleman in the National Concert Hall. Though largely self-taught, his obvious talent has been developed by his father Dick Buckley, and such legends as Milt Hinton. Buckley has found his unique voice playing both saxophone and flute.

Buckley has been collaborating with the World Jazz Orchestra, where Michael represented Ireland, the Edinburgh Jazz Festival Orchestra (led by Tim Hagans), and small group tours and concerts with Dave Liebman, John Abercrombie, Joey Baron, Jason Rebello, Nils Wolgram, Tom Rainey, and Chander Sardjoe, to name but a few.

Now in his early 40s, Buckley is rapidly becoming the most important producer of his generation. With countless albums ranging from jazz to traditional to hip-hop, Michael is making a name for himself internationally as a producer and engineer.

Buckley has also performed and toured in recent years with The Mingus Big Band, Jason Moran, Kurt Rosenwinkle, Edward Simon, Pete King, Badal Roy, Kenny Wheeler, Lee Konitz, Grant Stewart, Ingrid Jensen, Guy Barker, Greg Burk, Damon Brown, Kevin Dean, Florian Ross, soloist with the BBC big band, Albert Sanz, and Gerard Presencer among others. As well as frequent radio spots, Michael has made numerous television appearances, regularly works on film and television scores, and recently collaborated on recordings with Donovan, the Cranberries, The Coors, Jerry Lee Louis, and Johnny Mattis.

Episode #167: Aubrey Logan

Trombone-playing singer-songwriter Aubrey Logan hails from the picturesque surroundings near Seattle, WA. Raised by her two music-educator parents, she began her artistic endeavors as a child singing in theatre and in church, Thoughtful songwriters like Billy Joel & Carole King influenced her early childhood via her singing mother and trumpet-playing father, as well as the soulful musicianship of American horn bands such as Chicago, Earth, Wind, & Fire, Steeley Dan, and more.  Things took an intriguing turn when she picked up the trombone at the age of 12, igniting her passion for the jazz tradition.

Aubrey possesses a distinct yet truly unique voice, able to take a song from practically any era or genre and really make it her own, through surprising vocal melisma, scatt jazz interludes, and a blissful warm tone that expands over her entire catalog of originals to innovatively-arranged hits.

Her accolades are as impressive as they are extensive, from clinching victory in the prestigious Shure Montreux Voice competition in 2009 to securing a full scholarship to Berklee College of Music, where she stands as an alumna. Notably recognized as a top trombone player by Downbeat magazine, Aubrey has graced stages globally, touring alongside renowned artists like Dave Koz & Postmodern Jukebox. For as much success as Aubrey has had in her career, she doesn't take herself too seriously. You’ll catch her often making highly entertaining and humorous jabs at her own craft on stage or posts on her social platforms parodying overly serious jazz musicians, overplayed Christmas music, or social media trends.

Aubrey attained the #1 Billboard spot for contemporary jazz with the Dave Koz & the Summer Horns album, "From A to Z," alongside the success of her own album "Where the Sunshine is Expensive." Aubrey's musical footprint can be traced from Seattle to Boston to LA, and now Austin, TX, where she continues to captivate audiences with her extraordinary vocals and unmatched Jazz finesse.

A seasoned performer, Aubrey Logan has toured extensively with her band across Europe and the US, performing her music to students and fans alike through engaging clinics and performances at various institutions. Her musical prowess has also led her to collaborate with symphonies and orchestras nationwide, with both her original compositions and covers being brought to life by esteemed orchestras like the Seattle Symphony, Boston Pops, and Cincinnati Symphony.

In a recent heartwarming ode to motherhood, Aubrey is gearing up to release a single in honor of Mother's Day, reflecting her newest role as a mom. Looking ahead, she is also currently immersed in creating her debut big band album set to be unveiled in late 2024, promising yet another dimension of her artistry to be enjoyed by music enthusiasts worldwide. Exuding lively youthfulness mingled with veteran musical maturity, Aubrey has a voice that seamlessly weaves through her songs with raw and natural elegance.

Episode #166: Yaron Herman

Yaron Herman is a celebrated French-Israeli jazz pianist and composer, widely recognized for his innovative approach to the piano and his ability to blend jazz with influences from classical music, world music, and pop. Born on July 12, 1981, in Tel Aviv, Israel, he initially pursued a career in basketball before an injury led him to the piano at the age of 16. Within just a few years, Herman’s prodigious talent catapulted him into the international music scene.

After studying at the prestigious Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music in Israel, Yaron moved to Paris, where his career flourished. At 21, he released his debut album, Takes 2 to Know 1, and has since built an impressive discography of critically acclaimed works, including A Time for Everything (2007), Follow the White Rabbit (2010), and Alter Ego (2012). His 2017 album Y showcased his adventurous spirit, fusing jazz with electronic and popular music elements.