Neon Jazz Interviews

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series. We talk with Toronto jazz vocalist, composer, and arranger Alex Samaras about his 2025 Juno-nominated album Alex Samaras Meets Judy Garland and his remarkable journey in the music world.

As a child, Alex spent hours in the basement of his family home singing along to Judy Garland recordings. The intensity and emotional power of Judy Garland left a permanent imprint — and this album fulfills a lifelong artistic dream.

Known for his extraordinary vocal range and fearless genre-blending approach, Alex pushes vocal jazz beyond traditional boundaries. His work seamlessly incorporates classical, world music, and contemporary influences, creating a sound that is both deeply personal and boldly innovative.

In this conversation, we explore:


The making of Alex Samaras Meets Judy Garland


Reinterpreting iconic repertoire through jazz


Vocal range, technique, and artistic risk


Genre fusion in modern vocal jazz


The emotional legacy of Judy Garland


The Canadian jazz scene and global influence

This is a heartfelt and visionary tribute that feels like a dream realized.

🎶 Get the album:https://tryal1.bandcamp.com/album/alex-samaras-meets-judy-garland-3

Subscribe to Neon Jazz for more interviews with today’s leading jazz voices and innovators.

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Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series. We talk with jazz trumpeter and composer Dave Douglas during a historic blizzard in New York about his powerful 2026 album Transcend, out April 24, 2026 via Greenleaf Music.

This new release continues Douglas’ deep exploration of legacy, spirituality, and ensemble innovation. The album features his all-star GIFTS Quintet, including DownBeat Artist of the Year tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis, members of the Oscar-nominated post-rock trio Son Lux — guitarist Rafiq Bhatia and drummer Ian Chang — along with cellist and MacArthur “Genius” Fellow Tomeka Reid.

Blending electronics, lyricism, chamber textures, and high-energy interplay, Transcend stands as a spiritual and contemporary response to the landmark Sacred Concerts of Duke Ellington, performed between 1965–1973 and widely regarded as the spiritual culmination of Ellington’s career.

In this conversation, we explore:


The making of Transcend


Spiritual jazz in modern America


Ensemble innovation & cross-genre collaboration


The influence of Duke Ellington’s Sacred Concerts


The GIFTS Quintet’s sonic architecture


Jazz legacy in 2026

This is modern jazz at its most urgent and transcendent — needed now more than ever.

🎺 Get the album: https://davedouglas.bandcamp.com/album/transcend

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Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz Interview Series featuring UK pianist Paul Edis and San Francisco-based vocalist Noa Levy.

We dive into their 2026 album Portrait in Evans, out March 20, 2026 via Dot Time Records—a lyrical reimagining of the music of Bill Evans. Rather than simply interpreting Evans’ compositions as standards repertoire, the duo transforms some of his most harmonically rich material into storytelling vehicles—placing the human voice at the emotional center of Evans’ sound world.

Developed through live performance and touring, Portrait in Evans highlights their deep musical connection, expressive nuance, and sophisticated interplay. In this conversation, we explore their history as collaborators, their approach to lyric writing, Evans’ lasting influence on modern jazz, and how they reshape his legacy for contemporary audiences.

🎹 If you love Bill Evans, vocal jazz, piano trios, modern jazz reinterpretations, and artist interviews — this episode is for you.

🎧 Listen to the album:https://hypeddit.com/noalevypauledistrio/portraitinevans

More Paul Edis:https://www.pauledis.co.uk/bio

More Noa Levy:https://noalevylive.com/

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Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz Interview Series with NYC-based jazz trumpeter and composer Glenn Makos. We caught up with this seasoned New York player to talk about his new 2025 CD Arrowsic, released on Stop Time Records, and his lifelong journey through the world of jazz.

Inspired by Glenn’s passion for coffee roasting, Arrowsic reflects the distinctive flavors of beans sourced from around the globe. As he explored the unique regional characteristics of different coffees, those nuances found their way into his compositions—resulting in a richly textured album where aroma, rhythm, and melody intersect.

Over the years, Glenn has performed at many of New York City’s premier jazz venues, building a reputation as a thoughtful composer and dynamic trumpeter deeply rooted in the tradition while pushing forward creatively. In this in-depth conversation, we dive into the inspiration behind the record, the intersection of art and everyday ritual, and a life dedicated to jazz.

🎺 If you love modern jazz, trumpet masters, behind-the-scenes album stories, and artist interviews — this one is for you.

More on Glenn Makos:https://www.glennmakos.com/ 

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Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz Interview Series featuring cultural historian, educator, and author John Gennari.

We dive into his 2025 book The Jazz Barn: Music Inn, the Berkshires, and the Place of Jazz in American Life.

Dr. Gennari is a Professor of English and Critical Race and Ethnic Studies at the University of Vermont and an American Studies–trained U.S. cultural historian specializing in jazz and popular music, race and ethnicity, Italian American culture, food, sports, and cultural criticism. He is also the author of the 2017 book Flavor and Soul: Italian America at Its African American Edge.

In this conversation, we explore how a small New England town — Lenox, Massachusetts — became an unlikely home for jazz in the 1950s. The Jazz Barn chronicles the story of the Music Inn in the Berkshire Hills, where a barn, icehouse, and greenhouse were transformed into a groundbreaking cultural hub for performances, seminars, and cross-cultural exchange.

Set against the backdrop of McCarthyism, the civil rights movement, the Afro-Caribbean diaspora, and postwar tourism, this story challenges assumptions about race and place, art and geography, and the relationship between rural landscapes and urban jazz culture.

This is an essential conversation for anyone interested in jazz history, American cultural studies, race and music, and the evolution of jazz in America.

📚 Get John Gennari’s books here:https://www.amazon.com/stores/John-Gennari/author/B001HD13RS?ref=ap_rdr&shoppingPortalEnabled=true&ccs_id=ccd9f68d-c8af-4cc6-8fd6-2eb7952af8ca

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