"I would just make people more open-minded. I would want people to be more receptive to new music, and ask that they be willing to challenge their own ideals. I feel that the music industry has gotten stagnant, and I believe this basic notion of shaking things up would help change that for the better."

Ryan Slatko: Black & White Jazz Keys…

"Music is after all a community thing - expression, friendships and joy. Work hard, but don't be too serious and always be nice to your peers and grateful that you can do this - playing music."

Assaf Kehati: Jazz & Velour Dreams

Assaf Kehati is a Brooklynite jazz guitarist and composer. He is dedicated to his craft, has a keen sense of style,…

"I think music on a whole has the power to distract, to uplift, to enlighten, to soothe. It’s so amazing. I’m happy to be a conduit of that light and sound."

Kellylee Evans: Jazz With Soul

Six albums deep and Juno Award winner Kellylee Evans is still shaking it up on Come On, her latest Decca album. The stylistic connoisseur has tackled everything…

"Jazz is definitely a specific genre and sound but something I love to do is cross genres by mixing various sounds. Jazz as a genre has definitely broadened over the past 50 years."

Maya Rae: A New Jazz Star Is Born

Vancouver-based, 17 year-old singer, musician and composer, Maya Rae, is an incredibly gifted artist with a soul that belies her age.…

“It can be challenging and also fulfilling. Women have always been a force in music. More people are beginning to acknowledge it.”

Chanda Rule: Like Water Music

Vocalist, writer and sacred community curator Chanda Rule brings the energy and discipline of a performer to the leading of music and story in ways that encourage all people to use their…

"Jazz in itself may have a more ambiguous history than other styles, because it is a product of so many social y and cultural and economically different ingredients."

Martin Zenker:

Music Emotions & Jazz Feelings

Martin Zenker was born in Munich and has been a freelance bassist…

"Music reflects very much the culture of a place, like the language, the way people speak."

Anton Mühlhofer: Cubanton

Austrian musician/bandleader Anton (Toni) Mühlhofer, studied Classical Percussion at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, Drums (Jazz) at the Conservatory of Vienna and further studies at the Berklee College of…

"Jazz is fun and exciting music, and the literature about it should be the same. Some of the people writing dense, academic books nowadays on jazz have lost touch with the fun in the music—maybe that’s required for them to get credentials and tenure. But it’s said to see boring writing on such enjoyable music."

Ted Gioia: All About The Jazz…

"I'll probably be showing my age but I miss a great songs and great albums the most. I'm particularly drawn to the 70s in terms of everything driven from a black perspective. The great musicians, movies, fashion and sports stars that came out of that period… whether that's the Afro hairstyle, Muhammad Ali, Stevie Wonder or Viv Richards."

Andrew John: Music From The Soul…

“Jazz has always been in the middle of racial political, spiritual, and socio-cultural struggles. Jazz in my opinion is the most inclusive form of music that exist. Jazz also offers a very unique and particular way of freedom of expression, which has been from it beginning a powerful tool for musicians all around the world to express their views about everything such as, social inequality, racial and gender discrimination, cultural differences,…

"African American music, Art and literature all tell the story of black people’s journey from then being taken from Africa, enslaved though present day. Black art and literature are an integral part of telling the American story in an honest way."

Wayne Escoffery: Rising Jazz Star

Downbeat Critics Poll Winner and Grammy Award winning tenor…

"Jazz is a black artist music. There are monumental messages in the history of the music. The artists behind these sounds stand tall over the history of the world. Jazz always has reaction and perspective on the days events. Jazz is always going to be an important part of the changing world we live in."

Martel Chapman: The Art of Jazz

Heavily…

"I want my music to affect people emotionally in a deep way, and to make them think as well. I also like to make people appreciate the full potential of the diatonic harmonica, and hopefully play well enough to be asked to come back."

Howard Levy: Notes From The Heart

Multiple Grammy- Award Winner Howard Levy is an acknowledged master of the…

"Jazz was born out of the Blues as well. They just widened the harmonic structure and put a different swing on it. But the basis for everything that became jazz is Blues."

Mindi Abair: Jazz-elicious & Funk-bulous

Mindi Abair is one of the most recognizable saxophonists on the music scene today. In a career that spans eight solo albums and…

Chris Stassinopoulos: Light In The Dark 

Versatile Greek musician, Chris Stassinopoulos is one of the pioneers of the European Prog Rock & Jazz Fusion music scene of 1970s. Chris was born in Athens Greece at 1951. He's drummer, pianist, keyboardist and composer. Shared the stage and recorded with AXIS, ZAO, CLEAR LIGHT, CATHERINE LARA, FRANCIS MOZE (ex GONG, MAGMA), JANNICK TOP (ex MAGMA), JOEL…

"It seems, I could be wrong, but that the Blues are better appreciated outside of America. If that’s true, I’d like to see that turn around."

Lawrence Lebo: Old School Girl

Daughter of a Sears & Roebuck shoe salesman, Lawrence grew up in a suburb of Los Angeles, far away from the entertainment industry. She worked into the business the hard…

"What I have learned about myself and my relation to other people is that overtime I deal with specific personalities and not with a socio-cultural small or big circle of human beings."

Sakis Papadimitriou: Piano Voices

“Piano Voices” (To Pikap / Heathen Natives, 2018) is the latest work of Sakis Papadimitriou, one of the greatest Greek…

"Art is the "spoonful of 'sugar'" which helps the "'medicine' go down." Always has been. Society learns about the world through Art. A very effective means of delivering messages. Can be used for good or evil, but it has done a lot of good."

Chandra Washington: Artistic Expressions

Writer, Vocalist, Performance Poet, Percussionist, and Dancer…

"I learn about creativity and not to be afraid to make mistakes some of the greatest mistakes make good music... and Melodies means. Also with the blues is a feeling."

Grant Calvin Weston: Rhythm & Melody

American drummer Grant Calvin Weston (aka Old Man Jenkins) was born June 6, 1959 in Philadelphia, PA. He became interested in…

"Jazz and blues music and culture has opened numerous windows of realization for me. It’s been a conduit for spirituality, compassion, creativity, altruism and hope. Through my involvement, I learned to obtain the discipline required to express myself creatively on the drums and in my writing. Growing as a musician is a fascinating journey that continues to teach me invaluable lessons."

Bob Holz:…