My guest today is Bassist Mike Boone. Patriarch of the Philly Jazz Scene, mentor to all, and one of the greatest musical minds I've ever come across. Originally from New York City, he moved to Philadelphia in 1983, after attending the Eastman School of music and touring with Ben Vereen and Buddy Rich. Mike is the top call in Philadelphia on both electric and upright bass, and is the torch-bearer of the Philly Jazz tradition. He has just released and re-released several amazing albums on bandcamp featuring the legendary Sid Simmons, Uri Caine, Byron Landham, and Mekhi Boone. https://mikeboone1.bandcamp.com/

Hailey Brinnel is a trombonist, vocalist, and educator based in Philadelphia.  At the age of 12 she began performing throughout New England with her father Dave Brinnel.  Now she has performed at prestigious venues around the world, independently having played with artists such as Sherrie Maricle and the DIVA Jazz Orchestra, Ingrid Jensen, Anat Cohen, Pell, and Charles Neville. Hailey is currently on faculty at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia,  and works independently as a guest clinician to bring jazz education to classrooms throughout the city. This year has also marked her debut as a leader with two single releases of her arrangements of the standards "Easy to Love" and "Orange Colored Sky" <https://www.haileybrinnel.com

My guest today is Andy Bianco, guitarist, educator and composer based in Brooklyn. Originally from Pittsburgh, he graduated from Berklee College of Music before moving to NYC. His new album "NYC Stories" featuring George Burton and Wayne Escoffery is out on Outside in Music. In our conversation we talked about a wide range of topics including: moving to bigger scene, solo guitar concepts, composing, building a band and much more.

My guest today is saxophonist Yesseh Furaha-Ali. He is one of Philadelphia's most in demand players whether he is holding it down with Omar's Hat at their World Café Live Residency or touring the world with Laurin Talese Yesseh brings a diversity of musical styles and master level story-telling to any situation. In our conversation, we talked about his five favorite albums of all time, dealing with the quarantine, staying positive, future projects and much more.

My guest today is Nick Finzer; Trombonist, Educator, and founder of the NYC based record label Outside in Music. Famed trombonist and mentor Wycliffe Gordon called Finzer “a new voice [in] the pantheon of upcoming trombone greats in the making”. An accomplished educator, Finzer is the Assistant Professor of Jazz Trombone at the legendary University of North Texas, and serves as the Artistic Director and co-founder of the Institute for Creative Music. His latest album "Cast of Characters" (Outside in Music) is a masterfully developed thematic work that builds into something bigger than the sum of it's parts. www.nickfinzermusic.com

Tom Moon is a saxophonist and music writer based in Philadelphia. Alumnus of the University of Miami and veteran of the Maynard Ferguson Orchestra, he put his career as a musician on hold to focus on music journalism. He was the resident music critic at the Philadelphia Inquirer from 1988 to 2004 and has contributed to other publications Rolling Stone, GQ, Blender, and Spin, as well as NPR's 'All Things Considered'. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller 1000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die (Workman Publishing), and a contributor to other books including The Final Four of Everything. In the years after the Inquirer, Moon has refocused his career as a musician, becoming a staple of the Philadelphia Jazz Scene. His current project, 'Ensemble Novo', is inspired by the music made in Brazil during the 1960s and early 70s. www.ensemblenovo.com

Originally from Chicago, trumpeter, educator and composer Elliot Bild got his undergraduate degree from Western Michigan University and his Masters Degree from Temple University where he studied with John Swana, Terell Stafford and Dick Oatts. Recently, he has performed with the great Philadelphia Bassist Mike Boone at Smalls Jazz Club in NYC as well as the 2019 Philadelphia Center City Jazz Festival, as part of his new working Quintet. He has also performed with Orrin Evans and the Captain Black Big Band, Don Braden, John Swana, Duane Eubanks, Tim Warfield, Randy Brecker, Dave Ballou, Avery Sharpe, Mike DiRubbo, Zaccai and Luques Curtis, Behn Gillece, and Pablo Batista. Elliot is currently one of the most in demand freelance trumpeters in the Philadelphia area, performing at such venues as Chris’s Jazz Cafe, South Jazz Kitchen, Smalls Jazz Club, Time, The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Clifford Brown Jazz Festival, Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, Litchfield Jazz Festival among others. Elliot just finished recording his debut live record, with his band 'The Zone', which will be out in 2020.

Saxophonist Joshua Lee is a graduate of Temple University's Boyer College of Music, and is the Managing and Co-Artistic Director of Jazz Lives Philadelphia. Joshua brings experience gained from performing throughout the east coast with The Count Basie Orchestra, The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Jazz Orchestra of Philadelphia, and many more. He leads projects of his own including Josh Lee and the Family, The Life Brass Band, and the Jazz Lives Philadelphia Big Band. Joshua is devoted to bringing his love of jazz to the masses—young and old alike.

Terell Stafford has been hailed as “one of the great players of our time, a fabulous trumpet player” by piano legend McCoy Tyner. Stafford is recognized as an incredibly gifted and versatile player, he combines a deep love of melody with his own brand of spirited and adventurous lyricism. Stafford’s exceptionally expressive and well defined musical talent allows him to dance in and around the rich trumpet tradition of his predecessors while making his own inroads. Stafford is the Director of Jazz Studies and Chair of Instrumental Studies at Temple University, founder and band leader of the Terell Stafford Quintet, and Managing and Artistic Director of the Jazz Orchestra of Philadelphia (JOP). Stafford is renowned in the jazz world as an educator, performer and leader and has received countless award nominations and accolades. http://www.terellstafford.com/

Mike Bond is one of my favorite pianists on the New York scene today. He has performed with Savion Glover, Conrad Herwig, Joe Magnarelli and Duane Eubanks, to name a few, and is a featured sideman on guitarist Jean Chaumont’s debut album “The Beauty Of Differences” which received a 4 star review in Downbeat Magazine. ​As a leader, Bond has performed at Smalls and Mezzrow, as well as the Central Jersey Jazz Festival, the Canadian Music Festival in Toronto, and the New York City Winter Jazz Festival. He’s music director at the non-denominational Jacob’s Well Church in New Brunswick, N.J., and is a Community Advisory Board member for the award winning jazz station 88.3 WBGO. Bond’s debut recording, ‘The Honorable Ones’, produced by legendary pianist Orrin Evans: features Steve Wilson: alto saxophone; Josh Evans: trumpet; Ben Wolfe: bass; Anwar Marshall: drums + guests Gene Shinozaki: Claudia Acuña: Maya Holliday. The album release will be celebrated on Feb. 24th at Exuberance in Philadelphia and Feb. 27 at Small’s in NYC. www.mikebondmusic.com