Rez Abbasi's Acoustic Meditation on Loss and Impermanence
Three decades into his career, Abbasi returns to acoustic guitar for 'Sound Remains,' processing personal loss while questioning what it means to let go in both music and life.
Jazz
We Are Floating in Space — Jane Ira Bloom's Jazz Odyssey
Saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom's album 'Songs in Space' brings together her pioneering approach to surround sound jazz, a vision of music in zero gravity, and a belief that silence gives the brain time to process music moving through dimensions.
Sean Imboden Finds Community Beyond the Big Band
The saxophonist and composer left Broadway's steady income to lead a seventeen-piece ensemble in Indianapolis. His latest album, 'Communal Heart,' proves that creative independence can flourish outside traditional industry expectations.
Heavy Tonal — Lingyuan Yang's Harmonic Friction
On 'Cursed Month,' the young composer uses microtonal intervals to create intensity without relying on volume or overdrive. As Yang explains, "Heaviness comes from the playing itself, not just the sound."
Bangs of Convenience — Gustavo Cortiñas Drums For Climate Action
The Mexican-born, Chicago-based drummer discusses his album 'The Crisis Knows No Borders,' his philosophy on small daily sacrifices, and why convenience keeps getting in the way of saving the world.
Stephan Thelen Warms Up to Musical Mathematics
On the album Worlds in Collision, the mathematician-turned-musician fragments voices and field recordings according to the same geometric principles that govern his guitar compositions.
Web Web's Blueprint for Spontaneous Kosmische Jazz
Roberto Di Gioia of the German jazz collective Web Web explains his philosophy of treating music "like a newborn baby," and why, when recording their sixth album, 'Plexus Plexus,' less preparation led to deeper focus.
Speaking from the Soul — Brittany Davis on 'Black Thunder'
How the Seattle-based poet and keyboardist found her true voice through improvisation, plus Pearl Jam's Stone Gossard explains why Davis's talent helped revive his independent label after twenty years.
Fragments of Revelation — A Lost Conversation with Matthew Shipp & Ivo Perelman
A technical failure erased the interview, but the spiritual dimensions of 'Armageddon Flower,' Shipp and Perelman's forty-sixth collaboration together, prove more durable than digital memory.
Kinan Azmeh Takes the Sound of Syria's Streets on a World Tour
The Damascus-born clarinetist discusses his philosophy of musical freedom, the power of long-term collaboration, and how his latest release, 'Live in Berlin,' captures nearly two decades of creative partnership with his CityBand quartet.
Disappearing Act — Tal Yahalom's Generous Guitar Moves
The composer behind 'Mirror Image' talks about challenging guitar-hero expectations, finding inspiration in Argentine rhythms, and why the best band leaders sometimes disappear into the music.
For Stefan Hegerat the Song Never Remains the Same
The stef.in mastermind talks about his latest album 'Icterus II,' why he's against Spotify, and how Toronto's underground scene shaped his genre-defying approach to composition.