Bill Nace and David Watson discuss improvising ‘On Bats’ on taishōgoto and Highland bagpipes, their shared fascination with Lou Reed’s ‘Metal Machine Music,’ and why neither of them enjoys naming a finished piece.

On ‘Transcend,’ his second record with the GIFTS quintet, Dave Douglas reflects on Ellington’s Sacred Concerts, the slab paintings of Jack Whitten, and the moment Booker Little broke the dam for a generation of trumpeter-composers.

The Seattle-based duo of Anne Tong and Bryce Barsten speak about their new album ‘Dim Sum & Then Some,’ the band that began as a Mandarin lesson, their DIY aesthetic, and the unexpected resonance their music carries for Chinese American audiences.

The synthesizer pioneer behind TONTO, Stevie Wonder’s classic run, and DEVO’s ‘Freedom of Choice’ reflects on a life spent as the man behind the curtain in his new memoir, ‘Shaping Sounds.’

The French artist and Shelter Press founder discusses her live score for Les yeux sans visage, the trial of Gisèle Pelicot, improvisation as a form of survival, and the politics of touring the US in 2025.

Saxophonist Alden Hellmuth talks about her album Tether, writing for two bassists, studying with Herbie Hancock, and trusting her band to be free.

Trumpeter Dave Douglas on his album Transcend, Booker Little, Jack Whitten, and the creative discipline of not knowing.

Ora Cogan discusses her Sacred Bones debut, protest music, collective activism, and the shifting meaning of “Katie Cruel” over a decade.

VP Records engineer Billy Polo on restoring reggae’s rarest tapes, archiving Jamaican music history, and the art of mastering for digital.

Dutch composer Stephen Emmer discusses Asymmetrical Dot, Indonesian heritage, hearing loss, and four decades of learning which clichés to reject.