Improv Exchange Podcast

Episode #118: Benjamin Lapidus

Benjamin Lapidus is a Grammy-nominated musician who has performed and recorded throughout the world as a bandleader and supporting musician playing guitar, Cuban tres, Puerto Rican cuatro, touch style/tapping instruments (Warr guitar and Chapman Stick), as well as organ. As a scholar, he has published widely on Latin music, and he is a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY, and The Graduate Center.

Since the 1990s, Lapidus has performed and/or recorded Cuban tres, Puerto Rican cuatro, guitar, voice, and other instruments on film soundtracks, video games, television commercials, and albums with some of the most notable musicians in Latin music and jazz. Some of these collaborations include performances and/or recordings with Andy and Jerry González, Ibrahim Ferrer (Buena Vista Social Club), Pío Leyva (Buena Vista Social Club), Manuel “Puntillita” Alicea (Buena Vista Social Club), Bobby Carcassés, Orlando “Cachaíto” López, Juan Pablo Torres, NEA Jazz Master Cándido Camero, Larry Harlow, Ruben Blades, Típica 73, John “Dandy” Rodríguez, David Oquendo, Xiomara Laugart, Nicky Marrero, Nelson González, Carlos Abadie, Los Hacheros, Pedrito Martínez, Roman Díaz, Paul Carlon, Adonis Puentes, Pablo Menéndez, Bobby Sanabria, Ralph Irizarry, Charlie Sepulveda, Luis Marín, Humberto Ramírez, Harvie S., Hiram “El Pavo” Remón, Gene Jefferson, Frank Anderson, Enid Lowe, Jared Gold, Greg Glassman, Bobby Harden, Brian Lynch, Mark Weinstein, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Larry Goldings, Chico Álvarez, Alfredo “Chocolate” Armenteros, Emilio Barretto, Eddie Zervigón, José Fajardo, Rudy Calzado, Los Afortunados, Jose Conde, Kaori and Yuko Fujii, Roberto Rodríguez, Maurice El Medioni, Michael Torsone, and many others.

As the leader of the Latin jazz group, Sonido Isleño (founded in 1996), he has performed throughout North and South America, Europe, and the Caribbean while releasing five internationally acclaimed albums of his original compositions. In 2007, Lapidus served as musical director and arranger for Garota de Ipanema(JVC/Victor Japan) with Kaori Fujii and toured Japan twice. In 2008, he recorded Herencia Judía and in 2014, he released his eighth album as a leader, Ochósi Blues. Blues for Ochún (2023) is his ninth album as a leader. As a composer, Lapidus’ music has been recorded by groups in Cuba and Japan and has been featured in documentaries and television. In 2015, Latin Jazz USA awarded Lapidus a lifetime achievement award for his contributions to Afro-Latin music. In 2015, he wrote the liner notes, contributed an original composition, sang, and played electric guitar and Cuban tres on Andy González's Grammy™-nominated album, Entre Colegas.

As profiled on the 2023 television show, Shades of Us (https://youtu.be/I_xMYUtgAhA), Benjamin Lapidus was born in Hershey, PA in 1972 to first-generation Brooklynites and the family moved almost 15 times before returning to New York City when Lapidus was 14. Trained in piano from a young age, he moved through a variety of instruments including trumpet and bass before concentrating on the guitar. Lapidus was exposed to music by his grandmother and his father, who played in Latin and jazz bands in the Catskills in the 1950s. Through his father’s record collection and stories of his father’s visits with his Latin American relatives, the seeds of Latin music were planted. Yet it wasn’t until the 1980s that the youngest Lapidus became immersed in Latin music when he moved to a predominantly Latin neighborhood in New York City, where numerous important musicians also resided. Living a block away from Mikel’s jazz club, Lapidus still has vivid memories of practicing in Mario Rivera’s house or seeing Mario Bauzá walk down the street. Deciding he needed a complete musical education, Lapidus earned two degrees from Oberlin Conservatory and Oberlin College, becoming one of the program’s first jazz guitar graduates. In 1994, Lapidus started to play the Puerto Rican cuatro and Cuban tres. After leading his own quartet at festivals and clubs throughout Europe and winning a grant to study briefly with Steve Lacy in Paris, he returned to the U.S. and worked with Joe McPhee, Joe Giardullo, Tani Tabal, Thomas Workman, and other creative improvisers.

At the same time, Lapidus began performing with Larry Harlow, Alex Torres, and other Latin music luminaries in New York and Puerto Rico. Lapidus earned a Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology at the CUNY Graduate Center in 2002. His travels to Cuba acquainted him with distant relatives and grounded him in the music of Eastern Cuba. He has taught guitar and Cuban tres at the New School and popular music of the Caribbean, Latin music in New York, and world music at Queens College and John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY. Today, Lapidus is a professor in the Department of art and Music at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and on the Doctoral Faculty of the Graduate Center, CUNY. In addition, he has served as scholar-in-residence with the New York Center for Jungian Studies and the Jewish Museum during several humanitarian missions to the Jewish communities of Cuba between 2004-2016. In 2008, Lapidus published the first-ever book on the Eastern Cuban musical genre changüí called Origins of Cuban Music and Dance: Changüí (Scarecrow Press). He has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, translations, and presented papers at international conferences on Cuban music, Puerto Rican music, Latin jazz, and improvisation. He has also written liner notes for a number of recordings. In 2013, Lapidus won a prestigious National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) fellowship for his critically acclaimed book New York and the International Sound of Latin Music, 1940-1990 (University Press of Mississippi, 2021). With endorsements from Rubén Blades, Ilán Stavins, and other prominent academics around the world, this ground-breaking book has been featured on BBC 3 Music Matters, NPR’s Afropop, and Alt. Latino shows as well as the Miami International Book Fair and countless news outlets. The book maintains its bestseller ranking in Amazon’s top 20 salsa books since its release. In this episode, Benjamin shares his background, education, and musical journey.

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Episode #117: Alan Bartus

He was born in Lucenec on February 22, 2001, and comes from a family of musicians (father Stefan- an established Jazz Artist). Alan's talent began to manifest in his early childhood. As a four- year- old he began attending piano lessons at the Art School in Lucenec. During this period he has his first diploma in a regional piano competition. After moving with his family to Austria's Neusiedl am See in 2012, he started to study at the local music school. In a short period of time, he was selected among the top students in Burgenland, allowing him to participate regularly in master classes with the best pedagogues and performing artists. He has held several public concerts in the framework of Piano Academy Oberschützen.

Since 2014 he has attended the Church Conservatory in Bratislava, where he was admitted as an extraordinary student to the class of Mgr.Art Andrea Balešová ArtD. Under her leadership, he participates in a number of international competitions and he has had successes- Brno 2015-3rd prize, Eisenstadt 2016 – 2nd prize, Kamenice nad Lipou 2016 -1st prize, MILANO 2017 -3rd prize. In the year 2018, he began his studies at the MUK University Vienna jazz piano with Professor Oliver Kent.

In addition to studying jazz and classical piano, Alan is dedicated to improvisation and composition. He has had his first valuable experience at Jazz stages with professional artists. Some time ago, he was auditioning at the Vienna Festival. He was chosen among the finalists.

A festival performance with legends of Austrian Jazz was the best start for him. Alan recorded already three different albums- Nina Berglova Inou Krajinou, New Faces of Slovak Jazz, and Alan&Stefan Bartus Trio Connectivity. He is currently preparing to release his debut album, which he recorded with the legendary Gregory Hutchinson, Kornel Fekete Kovács, and his father Stefan Pista Bartus.

2017 Alan wins further achievements in the Jazz region-with his Trio(J.Valíček, M.Štubniak) he becomes the absolute winner of the Jazz Start Up competition and in the New Face of the Slovak Jazz Competition and he has got the Convincing Instrumental Performance Award. This success gave him opportunities to preset music with his Trio at Bratislava Jazz Days Festival, Top Jazz Fest, Jazz Fest Trencin(Jazz pod Hradom) Liptov Jazz Fest, etc.. 2022 he is winning the solo piano competition Excellence Piano Awards with Grand Prix Majestic Excellence Award and Piano Solo Professional Gold Award.

In the same year, he is the winner of the prestigious Austrian Ö1 Jazz Prize and is accepted to one of the best jazz schools in the world, the Manhattan School of Music in New York. In 2022, Alan also earned a collaboration with living American jazz legend, saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi, with whom he toured and recorded an album in the Lukáš Oravec Quintet. Alan has also recorded and toured with the respected New York saxophonist, Tim Armacost. In 2023 he is winning the Artedea Jazz Competition with his duo Bartuš&Widauer Experiment. In this episode, Alan shares his background, education, and musical journey.

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Episode #116: Brandee Younger

The sonically innovative harpist, Brandee Younger, is revolutionizing the harp for the digital era. Over the past fifteen years, she has worked relentlessly to stretch boundaries and limitations for harpists.  In 2022, she made history by becoming the first black woman to be nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition. That same year, she was also nominated for an NAACP Image Award. Ever-expanding as an artist, she has worked with cultural icons including Common, Lauryn Hill, John Legend, and Moses Sumney.  

Her current album, Brand New Life, builds on her already rich oeuvre and cements the harp’s place in pop culture.  As the title of the album suggests, Brand New Life is about forging new paths–artistic, personal, political, and spiritual. On this album, Younger salutes her musical foremother, the trailblazing harpist Dorothy Ashby, while also speaking to the sentiments of more recent generations. “We're bringing new life to Dorothy Ashby’s popular and previously unreleased compositions. We're creating new life…for the instrument,” Younger said. Brand New Life is an album about living fully, in neon bright color.

In March of 2022, Younger flew to Chicago and began recording Brand New Life in the home studio of her long-time collaborator and friend, Makaya McCraven, who produced and played drums on the album. In the Windy City, Younger hoped to harness some of Ashby’s funky energy from a recording she did there nearly five decades before. Younger gathered artists who have had a sense of kinship with Ashby; from the internationally-lauded neo-soul bassist/vocalist/rapper Meshell Ndegeocello to her long-time bassist Rashaan Carter, plus the legendary rapper and producer Pete Rock and the talented contemporary producer 9th Wonder.

The latter producers introduced hip-hop and R&B listeners to Ashby in the 1990s and early 2000s via slick samples. Pete Rock and CL Smooth’s 1992 release, “For Pete’s Sake,” samples Ashby’s 1968 hit “Come Live With Me.” 9th Wonder’s remix of singer Amerie’s 2003 R&B classic “Why Don’t We Fall in Love,” also includes a Dorothy Ashby sample from “Come Live With Me.” With Younger’s solo rendition of this heavily sampled song on Brand New Life, she builds a sonic bridge between generations. “I wanted everyone on the record to have a special connection to Dorothy [Ashby]," she said.  For the project, Younger also recorded a number of Ashby’s compositions that were never recorded before, alongside Ashby fan favorites and Younger originals. 

The emotional complexity of the album is stunningly captured in the title track, “Brand New Life,” an original co-written by Younger and singer, Mumu Fresh. “This love is so deep, time and space couldn’t keep you away from me,” Mumu Fresh sings. Younger’s playing paints lush details over Mumu Fresh’s smooth vocals leaving nothing to be sonically desired. Against the backdrop of current social issues–climate change, racism, health disparities, and women’s rights–the song speaks to a desire that many people have for change, for something new in the world. “Brand New Life'' reaches listeners at the level of the human.

Love is a subtle but insistent thread throughout the album. The opening track, “You’re a Girl For One Man Only,” is a previously unrecorded Dorothy Ashby composition. Sonically, it is tender and evocative of a first kiss or the early seasons of a new romance. Younger recalls the original song's lyrics’ more traditional message of romantic longing that we still hear in popular music today. Boy chases girl. Girl succumbs. In Younger’s version, there is a sense of agency and exploration. Younger creates a mesmerizing atmosphere. In the second half of the track, we are met with a delicate dance between Joel Ross on vibraphone and Younger on harp, the two instruments pining through the melody. 

Brand New Life is part of her steadfast efforts to amplify the contributions of black women harpists and to keep their legacies alive.  Her care for and attention to Dorothy Ashby as a musical ancestor has been consistent throughout her career. Akin to the popular hashtag, #CiteBlackWomen, which demands consumers credit and recognizes black women for their intellectual labor, Younger urges us to recognize Ashby’s contribution to the American songbook. The album is part of a larger project of recognizing not only the history of innovators of the distinguished harp – a history that places Ashby and Younger together on a continuum – but also the presence of everyday black women. 

“Running Game” was an obscure seven-inch single release originally entitled “Double Talkin’” and featured Ashby on piano. In the song’s intro, we hear what sounds like a casual conversation at a black women’s beauty salon or at a social gathering of sorts where women freely share advice and observations on life with one another. The voices in the intro are of Younger’s mother and aunt. Younger set up listeners by reading the lyrics from Ashby’s original.

“Every man I meet is double talkin'. "Where did the good men go?” The women candidly respond to the song lyrics. One says, “As far as the game, men have been running game since day one.” The track leads into, “Running Game,” a ballad with inflections of Negro spirituals and the blues.  Here, Younger’s expressivity on her instrument is incomparable. As the strings (arranged by DeSean Jones) hum behind her, the “double-talking” gold-digging man comes into full view. “Running Game” ends on a note of optimism, of marching forward despite life’s struggles. 

Younger was born and raised in Hempstead, New York. As a teen in the early 1990s, she bopped to the beats of artists like LL Cool J, Queen Latifah, and Busta Rhymes. Among these hip-hop greats, she discovered Ashby’s music by way of hip-hop legend Pete Rock. She began playing harp at the age of eleven and eventually enrolled at the Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford in Connecticut where she studied classical music. It was through the encouragement of legendary saxophonist Jackie McLean that she made her first foray into jazz with the harp. 

Hearing Ashby for the first time made her envision new possibilities for herself as a harpist. “She was covering all of these popular tunes and soundtracks [of the time] and I wanted to do that. She's playing pop, jazz, and everyone’s sampling her–DJ Premier, Pete Rock, J. Dilla. Hearing, then seeing her as a Black Woman, while I'm this random little isolated black girl playing the harp by myself was everything to me.” Younger forged her way with a small but mighty group of black women harpists as examples—Sarah Lawrence from her hometown, Ann Hobson-Pilot, Dorothy Ashby, and Alice Coltrane—who were consistent sources of inspiration.

In 2006, after graduating from Hartt School, Younger went on to develop a name for herself on the jazz and commercial recording scene in New York City. To date, her performance roster is fierce. As a side-woman, she has played alongside jazz icons such as Pharoah Sanders, Ravi Coltrane, Jack DeJohnette, and Reggie Workman. Younger’s commitment to carrying the torch can also be seen through her work as a performer and educator.

In 2008, she earned a Master of Music from New York University’s Steinhardt School. During this time, she began to work seriously as an educator. She has been a guest faculty and lecturer at numerous universities including but not limited to Berklee College of Music, Princeton University, Howard University, and Tulane University. Currently, she serves as a teaching artist faculty at New York University and The New School.   

In 2020, Younger was named winner of the DownBeat Critics Poll in the category of "Rising Star" harpist. Her work as a side woman is evidence of Younger’s undeniable presence in the sound of contemporary jazz today. In recent years, she has appeared on albums by Lakecia Benjamin, Robert Glasper, Jeremy Pelt, The Baylor Project, and Makaya McCraven, just to name a few. In addition to her contributions as a side-woman, Younger’s commitment to honoring the legacy of black women harpists can be seen through her curatorial work. She has curated a number of performances dedicated to honoring the work of Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane. This work speaks to her dedication as a purveyor of black music and history. In this episode, Brandee shares her background, education, and musical journey.

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Episode #115: Andrey Chmut

Andrey Chmut is a Ukrainian saxophonist, composer, and producer. Andrey works with Bob James, Jamala, Candy Dulfer,  Dave Koz, Julio Iglesias Jr, Andrius Mamontovas, Igor Zakus, Tina Karol, Valery Stepanov, Eric Moore, and many other artists.  The song Moving Forward from the album "Smoothability", which was recorded with American jazz pianist and producer Grammy Winner Bob James, became a top song on the American radio giant Sirius XM and lasted more than a year in rotation.  Andrey Chmut debut album "Smoothability", which was also released on Skytown Records (LA) was included in the top 10 Ukrainian albums of the year according to the Aprize 2019 award from Radio Aristocrats and 4 position for top 100 Best Smooth Jazz Albums (Amazon).

During 2022 Andrey travel around the world with support concerts in Ukraine At the beginning of 2023, Andrey was invited to the Bob James Quartet and went on a US tour.  James and Chmut are working on a joint album that will be presented to the general public in 2024. In this episode, Andrey shares his background, education, and musical journey.

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Episode #114: Dominic Miller

Guitarist Dominic Miller is a highly regarded pop, classical, and jazz-influenced player, best known for his long association with Sting. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1960, Miller spent his first ten years living in South America, where his father worked for Johnson Wax. Around age ten, he moved back to the United States with his family, settling in Racine, Wisconsin. By age 15 he had picked up the guitar and played in various bands during high school. Later, he studied at London's Guildhall School of Music, where he made his first forays into the U.K. music scene and befriended artists like violinist Nigel Kennedy and Level 42 keyboardist Mike Lindup. From the late '80s onward, Miller was an in-demand performer, touring and/or recording with such acts as Level 42, World Party, King Swamp, the Pretenders, Phil Collins, Branford Marsalis, and many others.

Beginning with 1991's The Soul Cages, Miller began a fruitful working relationship with Sting. He has appeared on almost all of Sting's albums since the '90s, including Ten Summoner's Tales, Mercury Falling, Brand New Day, All This Time, Sacred Love, If on a Winter's Night, and more. He has also made significant contributions to albums by Chris Botti, Vinnie Colaiuta, Kim Richey, Ronan Keating, LeAnn Rimes, and many others.

As a solo artist, Miller debuted with First Touch in 1995, followed by Second Nature in 1999. These albums showcased his adept technique and inclination toward evocative instrumentals. He has delivered a steady stream of solo efforts since then, including 2002's New Dawn with Neil Stacey, 2004's classical-themed Shapes, and 2008's In a Dream with Peter Kater. He has also delivered a handful of eclectic efforts for the Q-Rious label, including 2010's November; 2014's Ad Hoc; and 2016's collaboration with Manolito Simonet, Hecho en Cuba. In 2017, Miller made his ECM debut with the atmospheric Silent Light. A second ECM release, Absinthe, followed by 2019 and 2023 a third ECM release, Vagabond. In this episode, Dominic shares his background, education, and musical journey. 

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Episode #113: Cheryl Ann Spencer

Cheryl Ann Spencer is a Singaporean jazz pianist specializing in classical and modern jazz.  Aside from a banking and finance degree, she has a second degree in Jazz Music from the LaSalle College of Arts. She is pursuing classical composition and piano pedagogy at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music at the National University of Singapore. She majored in jazz piano under her principal study teacher Mr. Kerong Chok at La Salle,. Cheryl reconnects with her first love in music and draws inspiration from the vibrant jazz community around the world including Kenny Barron, Mc Coy Tyner, Oscar Peterson, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, and Chok Kerong.

Cheryl grew up in a music-centered family. Her late father, Mr. Teo Chin Huat, was a pianist/ music educator previously from the Vienna Conservatory. Cheryl's natural love and inclination towards music was evident at a young age as she developed a great ear and could play the right notes on any musical instrument despite not having formal training. Since she was young, she has played in numerous school events and chapel services as teachers appreciate her ease and confidence in playing the piano.

A mother of two children, Cheryl took a break from work when her children were born in the last decade. Motherhood gives her great joy and inspiration to create music. Since then, she took up her second degree in Jazz Music and formed the 'Evolution Quartet band with Tamagoh (drums), Fabian Lee (Double Bass) and Cheryl Ann Spencer (piano), and Rit Xu ( Flute).

Cheryl has performed at Esplanade Recital Studio, Maduro, Blu Jazz, Harry's Bar at Boat Quay, and British High Commissioner's Fundraising Dinner at Nassim Road. She recently held her personal recital concert at the LaSalle College of Arts. In this episode, Cheryl shares her background, education, and musical journey.

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Episode #112: Clarie Victoria Roberts

Claire Victoria Roberts is a composer, vocalist, and violinist, who blurs the boundaries of jazz, contemporary, and singer-songwriter genres. She collaborates, as an artist, with musicians from classical, jazz, and folk spheres, drawing upon her diverse influences and melding styles together: through improvised vocals, contemporary classical timbres, and melody-driven compositions.

Her work has been performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Psappha Ensemble, cellist Oliver Coates, Opra Cymru, Uproar Ensemble, Solem Quartet, and The Carice Singers. She has collaborated as a violinist and improvising vocalist with Camden Symphony Orchestra, Sherman Theatre, New Voices Choir, Morley Arts Festival, Aberystwyth Arts Festival, and Sherman Theatre. As a composer, she has been commissioned by Cheltenham Festival, Presteigne Festival, MusicFest, and the Wigmore Hall.

As a jazz vocalist, Claire has performed at festivals across the UK and abroad including Brecon jazz, Marsden jazz, and Begues jazz (Cataluna). 2021 saw the release of her E.P. 'NOIR', alongside the Treske Quartet, interpreting the melancholy, cynical lyrics of her chosen jazz and chanson material.

Claire won the Welsh Music Guild's Young Composer award in 2022, was awarded a Jerwood Arts composer award in 2021, is the Winner of a Royal Philharmonic Society Composition Prize 2019-2020, as well as 2017 winner of the Mathias Composition prize, and 2019 winner of a Francis Chagrin award. She has been broadcast on Radio 3, Radio Wales, and Radio Cymru. In this episode, Claire shares her background, education, and musical journey.

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Episode #111: Branford Marsalis

After four decades in the international spotlight, the achievements of saxophonist Branford Marsalis continue to grow. From his initial recognition as a young jazz lion, he has expanded his vision as an instrumentalist, composer, bandleader, and educator, crossing stylistic boundaries while maintaining unwavering creative integrity. In the process, he has become a multi-award-winning artist with three Grammys, a citation by the National Endowment for the Arts as a Jazz Master, and an avatar of contemporary artistic excellence.

Growing up in the rich environment of New Orleans as the oldest son of pianist and educator, the late Ellis Marsalis, Branford was drawn to music along with siblings Wynton, Delfeayo, and Jason. The Branford Marsalis Quartet, formed in 1986, remains his primary means of expression. In its virtually uninterrupted three-plus decades of existence, the Quartet has established a rare breadth of stylistic range as demonstrated on the band’s latest release: The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul. 

Branford has not confined his music to the jazz quartet context. A frequent soloist with classical ensembles, Branford has become increasingly sought after as a featured soloist with acclaimed orchestras worldwide, performing works by composers such as Copeland, Debussy, Glazunov, Ibert, Mahler, Milhaud, Rorem, Vaughan Williams and Villa-Lobos. And his legendary guest performances with the Grateful Dead and collaborations with Sting have made him a fan favorite in the pop arena.

His work on Broadway has garnered a Drama Desk Award and Tony nominations for the acclaimed revivals of Children of a Lesser God, Fences, and A Raisin in the Sun. His screen credits include original music composed for: Spike Lee’s Mo’ Better Blues, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks starring Oprah Winfrey and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom starring Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman. Ma Rainey is the Netflix film adaptation of two-time Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson’s play, produced by Denzel Washington and released in December 2020.

Branford has also shared his knowledge as an educator, forming extended teaching relationships at Michigan State, San Francisco State, and North Carolina Central Universities and conducting workshops at sites throughout the United States and the world.

After the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina, Branford and friend Harry Connick, Jr. conceived of “Musicians’ Village,” a residential community in the Upper Ninth Ward of New Orleans. The centerpiece of the Village is the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music, honoring Branford’s father. The Center uses music as the focal point of a holistic strategy to build a healthy community and to deliver a broad range of services to underserved children, youth, and musicians from neighborhoods battling poverty and social injustice. In this episode, Branford shares his background, education, and musical journey.

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Episode #110: Josh Feldstein

Josh Feldstein founded The Verve Jazz Ensemble in 2006 as a band that paid homage to the past while vehemently establishing newer, younger audiences for the vintage sound of Hard Bop-inspired jazz.  Josh has studied extensively with drumming legend John Riley and the amazing Joe Morello, Josh’s additional drumming influences include Art Blakey, Max Roach, Philly Joe Jones, Buddy Rich, and Peter Erskine.

Josh has recorded 8 records with the VJE, including the band’s #1 JazzWeek radio chart album, “Connect The Dots.”  His newest VJE album, “All In,” is now being played on US and global internet radio, and will be released commercially on Spotify and all streaming platforms on May 26th.

Josh Feldstein was born in Manhattan and received his degree from Queens College, City University of New York.  As a child, Josh began studying drums at age 11. After a drum instructor one day told him that his drumming style “reminded him of Gene Krupa” (whom Josh had never heard of at the time), Josh immersed himself in the recordings of the legendary "Sing, Sing, Sing" soloist. "I listened to all the big bands, from Benny Goodman to Count Basie to Duke Ellington and everything in between,” Josh said.  "I knew immediately it was jazz drumming for me!” In this episode, Josh shares his background, education, and musical journey.

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Episode #109: Brent Vaartstra

Brent Vaartstra is a professional jazz musician, author, podcaster, and jazz coach living in New York City. He is the director of the internationally renowned jazz education company Learn Jazz Standards, which helps musicians of all instruments level up their jazz playing without the overwhelm.

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