Media Room Live! With Mary Kouyoumdjian And Alan PiersonToday I spoke with composer Mary Kouyoumdjian and conductor Alan Pierson about Paper Pianos, a sonic documentary exploring the lives of refugees. We discussed human migration, multimedia art, and I struggled pronouncing Mary’s last name. The Paper Pianos album (above) will be released tomorrow at Cantaloupe Music. Click above for an excerpt.Media Room Live! With Amber WeekesNext week I will speak with jazz vocalist Amber Weekes about the release of her album To Oscar with Love, celebrating the birth centenary of singer, composer, and civil rights activist Oscar Brown, Jr.Above is the single “Afro Blue.”Media Room - The Arts in Real Life is reader-supported, AI-free, quality arts writing. If it is of value to you, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mediaroom.substack.com/subscribe

Media Room Live! With Dušan Bogdanović And Duo Goni-PerrettaToday I had a wonderful conversation with composer Dušan Bogdanović, who was in Geneva, along with Antigoni Goni and Eleonara Perretta who joined us from Naples. We discussed Duo Goni-Perretta’s recording of Dušan’s music in their new album Music Gardens of the World. You can read Media Room’s review here. Media Room Live! With Mary KouyoumdjianJoin Media Room Live! next week, Thursday, August 6, 2026, for my interview with composer Mary Kouyoumdjia. We will discuss Paper Pianos (2024 Pulitzer Prize in Music Finalist) a musical documentary exploring the lives of refugees. Media Room - The Arts in Real Life is reader-supported, AI-free, quality arts writing. If it is of value to you, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mediaroom.substack.com/subscribe

Watch my interview with Satoko Fujii, a Japanese pianist, accordionist and composer. On July 10 released Satoko Fujii’s Bunker Ulmenwall Orchestra (below), a recently discovered 2014 recording that lay hidden in the archive of concert producer Wolfgand Gross.On August 7 the Satoko Fujii Orchestra Kobe will release After The Storm (below), composed the Covid pandemic. This fall she will release three recordings with the Satoko Fujii Orchestra, Satoko Fujii Orchestra Berlin (September 4), Satoko Fujii Orchestra Nagoya (October 2), and Satoko Fujii Orchestra Tokyo (November 6). We had a fascinating discussion about improvisation, genre labels, and she recalled when Tower Records once put one of her recordings in the “J-pop” section. She said she might audition some dancers. Media Room Live! With Duo Goni-PerrettaJoin me next week, Thursday, July 30, when I will interview Antigoni Goni and Eleonora Perretta of the Duo Goni-Perretta. You can read Media Room’s review of their recent recording Music Gardens of the World here. Media Room - The Arts in Real Life is reader-supported, AI-free, quality arts writing. If it is of value to you, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mediaroom.substack.com/subscribe

I hope you enjoy this reading of Media Room's review of Gone.Cover image: Eve Myles (Detective Annie Cassidy). James Pardon/BritBox This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mediaroom.substack.com/subscribe

Watch my interview with Charlotte Hu, a Taiwanese classical pianist who recently released Goyescas. Charlotte talks about her musical childhood in Taiwan, Philadelphia, and New York and why she wanted to tell Enrique Granados’ tragic story of the majo. Media Room Live! With Satoko FujiiSatoko Fujii is a Japanese pianist, accordionist and composer. She is best known for her work in avant-garde jazz, but on July 10 released Satoko Fujii’s Bunker Ulmenwall Orchestra (above), a newly discovered 2014 recording that lay hidden in the archive of concert producer Wolfgand Gross.On August 7 the Satoko Fujii Orchestra Kobe will release After The Storm (above), composed the Covid pandemic. Below is the Satoko Fujii Quartet performing “Burning Wick” from the 2025 album of the same name. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mediaroom.substack.com/subscribe

Bill EvansBill Evans (1929-1980) is a towering figure. His unique style derived from early modern, musical impressionism and helped define the jazz trio format. Evans’ collaborations with Tony Bennett remains the standard for voice and piano and — as Fred Hersch mentioned in our recent interview — his duo recordings with Jim Hall are iconic for that instrumentation. Evans’ music means a great deal to me, and I wrote about it in one of my first jazz essays, “Alexa Is My Collective Unconscious.”Randy Ingram’s Sound Within: A Celebration Of Bill EvansTomorrow, Ingram and Chill Tone Records will release Sound Within: A Celebration of Bill Evans, featuring Evans trio alumni Joe La Barbera (drums) and Rufus Reid (bass).You can listen and purchase here. On August 12, 2026, Randy Ingram Trio feat. Rufus Reid and Joe La Barbera will host a record release party at The Pocket in New York City.Randy and I talked about Evans, his music, and the upcoming album. Media Room Live! With Charlotte Hu As regular listeners may recall, my June 18 interview with Charlotte Hu about her album Goyescas was postponed after lighting strikes blew a transformer a few feet from my office. Charlotte graciously rescheduled and our interview will be broadcast at Media Room Live! July 16.Media Room - The Arts in Real Life is reader-supported, AI-free, quality arts writing. If it is of value to you, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mediaroom.substack.com/subscribe

Watch my fascinating conversation with Emilie-Claire Barlow, above. Her album La Plus Belle Saison was released in February and she will be performing at Birdland three nights next week, July 9-11. We talked about her musical childhood, the history of Quebecois music, and her new recording. Below is “Dans Les Rues De Quebec.”Media Room Live! With Randy IngramNext week, July 9, I will speak with jazz pianist Randy Ingram. The next day, Ingram and Chill Tone Records will release Sound Within: A Celebration of Bill Evans, featuring Evans trio alumni Joe La Barbera (drums) and Rufus Reid (bass).Media Room - The Arts in Real Life is reader-supported, AI-free, quality arts writing. If it is of value to you, please consider becoming a paid subscriber... This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mediaroom.substack.com/subscribe

In the 1970s, Esther, an American woman mourning her mother, received a letter that sets her on a journey to uncover a hidden chapter of her family’s history. With the help of Zayde, a university professor with secrets of his own, she began searching for a woman who lived decades earlier in British Mandate Palestine.The woman is Yehudit, whose arrival in a settlers’ village in the 1930s entangled the lives of three men: a widowed father, an idealistic farmer and a cattle trader. By tying together the threads that bind past and present, Esther and Zayde discover a shocking truth.Based on the novel The Loves of Judith by Meir Shalev, the film is directed by Guido Chiesa and stars Mili Avital (Stargate), Ori Pfeffer (Hacksaw Ridge, Munich), Moni Moshonov (Late Marriage, America), Menashe Noy (Gett, Tehran), Ana Ularu (Andor), Marc Rissmann (Game of Thrones) and Alban Ukaj (Quo Vadis, Aida?).Guido and I had a fascinating discussion about why wanted to tell the story and the challenges he faced bringing it to the screen.For The Love Of A Woman was released in theaters today (Friday, June 26). Click here for theaters in your area. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mediaroom.substack.com/subscribe

My interview with Matthew Detrick, Founder of the Apollo Chamber Players, didn’t go off live, and I hope those who were in queue will accept our sincere apologies. The recorded interview is above.We talked about the great city of Houston, the development of contemporary classical music, and the Houston Astros signal stealing controversy of ten years ago about which — if I’m being honest — it seems I still have some unresolved feelings. Their new album We The People (above) will be released July 3, 2026. Click here for more information.Media Room Live! With Emilie-Claire BarlowJoin me next week, July 2, 2026, for my interview with Canadian jazz singer Emilie-Claire Barlow. She released La Plus Belle Saison in February, but only in Canada because it’s all in French. She will be appearing at Birdland in New York, July 9-11.She and Damien Robitaille play us out with “Quelles sont les chances?”Quelles sont les chances, qu’on se croise dans la rue? (What are the chances of us crossing paths in the street? ) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mediaroom.substack.com/subscribe

Today, I was joined at Media Room Live! by Stella Heath, leader of The Billie Holiday Project. We talked about her career as an actress before becoming a musician, The Billie Holiday Project, and its recently released For Billie. We also discussed Lady Day’s iconic “Strange Fruit” (below) and the current, retrograde movement of civil rights in America. I mentioned the Equal Justice Initiative’s Memorial For Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama which, I respectfully suggest, every American should visit. Thanks to Stella for joining me. Media Room Live! With Charlotte HuOn June 18 I will speak with Charlotte Hu whose album Goyescas was released June 5.A cornerstone of Spanish piano literature, Enrique Granados’ (1867-1916) Goyescas was inspired by the paintings of Francisco Goya (above). This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mediaroom.substack.com/subscribe