Neon Jazz Interviews

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz Interview Series with award-winning Brooklyn-based singer and songwriter Luiza Girardello.
In this deeply personal conversation, we catch up with a young and rising artist whose music is shaped by a life lived between worlds. Born in Brazil, educated at Berklee College of Music in Boston, and now based in New York City, Luiza has spent much of her life navigating questions of identity, belonging, culture, and artistic expression.
Those experiences have become central to her music.
Luiza's sound draws from Brazilian rhythms, jazz, alternative rock, and contemporary songwriting, creating a musical identity that refuses to fit neatly into a single genre.
Her journey has also included an extraordinary personal challenge. Before earning international recognition by winning the Jazz/Blues category at the New England Songwriting Competition, Luiza survived an aggressive form of ovarian cancer that temporarily affected her coordination and voice and forced her to relearn how to sing.
Now in remission, she has transformed those experiences into music that reflects the perspective of a Brazilian immigrant, cancer survivor, educator, songwriter, and artist.
This is a conversation about music, identity, immigration, resilience, survival, creativity, and finding your voice after life forces you to begin again.
Luiza Girardello is an artist with a fascinating story—and her music reflects the complexity of a life lived across cultures, genres, and experiences.
Official Website:
https://www.luizagirardello.com/
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Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz Interview Series with acclaimed jazz vocalist Jonathan Karrant.
In this special conversation, we dive into Jonathan's powerful 2026 album, Full Circle, a deeply personal collaboration with Grammy-winning jazz vocalist and pianist Diane Schuur.
The album represents far more than a collection of songs. It is a celebration of friendship, mentorship, musical legacy, and the passing of the torch from one generation of jazz artists to the next.
Jonathan and Diane have shared a close friendship and deep musical connection for many years. Diane's influence and mentorship have played an important role in Jonathan's artistic journey, and following her retirement from touring and live performance, Jonathan was inspired to honor their relationship and her extraordinary contribution to jazz through this project.
Full Circle becomes an especially meaningful recording because it represents a symbolic moment in both artists' careers. It celebrates Diane's legacy while highlighting her belief in Jonathan as one of the next generation of jazz vocalists.
The project also carries profound historical significance as Diane Schuur's final studio recording, making this collaboration an especially poignant chapter in her remarkable career.
Jonathan Karrant has become a regular and much-loved voice around these Neon Jazz parts, and this conversation offers a fascinating look at the personal relationships, musical traditions, and artistic connections that keep jazz moving forward.
Full Circle is ultimately a story about where jazz has been, where it is going, and what happens when an iconic artist passes her wisdom and musical spirit to someone she believes in deeply.
Jonathan Karrant Official Website:
https://www.jonathankarrant.com/
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Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Venezuelan-born jazz saxophonist, composer, singer, producer, and arranger Rafael Greco. In this episode, we take a deep dive into his compelling new 2026 album, Verses Under My Shadow, his love of jazz, his Venezuelan roots, and an extraordinary career in music.
Released by Blue Canoe Records in April 2026, Verses Under My Shadow is Rafael's sophomore release for the label and features a remarkable cast of musicians, including Dave Weckl, Vinnie Colaiuta, Jimmy Haslip, Anton Fig, Scott Kinsey, Charles Altura, Luisito Quintero, Mark Ferber, and others.
The album moves through a fascinating blend of contemporary jazz, Afro-Latin rhythms, groove, experimental textures, vocals, electronics, percussion, and deeply personal storytelling. Across its 12 tracks, Rafael draws inspiration from literature, family, memory, friendship, loss, humor, history, and the world around him.
Born in Maracaibo, Venezuela, Rafael graduated from the prestigious José Luis Paz Conservatory and was an integral member of the National Youth Orchestra of his home state of Zulia. After moving to Caracas in 1988, he continued his advanced musical studies with masters including Gerry Weil, Álvaro Cordero, and Olegario Díaz.
Rafael went on to enjoy a distinguished career with Guaco, Venezuela's influential, multi-Latin Grammy-winning group. For decades, he toured internationally with the band, bringing the unique rhythmic spirit and musical perspective of Venezuela to audiences around the world.
In this wide-ranging conversation, we explore Venezuelan jazz, Latin jazz, Afro-Latin rhythms, composition, saxophone, vocals, production, arranging, Guaco, world music, touring, creativity, storytelling, and the inspiration behind Verses Under My Shadow.
It's a fascinating journey through Venezuelan music, jazz, literature, memory, and a lifetime spent creating across borders.
Get the Album
Rafael Greco — Verses Under My Shadow | Blue Canoe Records
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Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Nigerian-born, New York-based artist Lawrence Udeigwe, a fascinating musician, composer, vocalist, pianist, mathematician, educator, and interdisciplinary thinker.
In this episode, we dive into his remarkable new 2026 album, Four Lemmas, and the extraordinary intersection of jazz, mathematics, neuroscience, music, teaching, perception, identity, and human expression.
Four Lemmas is an eight-track concept project built around mathematical ideas including orthogonality, sparse matrices, local maxima, and stable equilibrium. Rather than simply translating mathematics into music, Udeigwe uses these structures as lenses through which to explore emotion, identity, perception, clarity, independence, growth, and meaning.
Udeigwe's artistic and academic worlds are deeply connected. He works as a Professor of Mathematics at Manhattan University, while his creative life encompasses music, composition, vocals, piano, keyboards, writing, performance, and interdisciplinary exploration. His work is guided by the idea that structure shapes perception—and perception becomes expression.
On Four Lemmas, Lawrence performs alongside Steph Clement and Wayne Tucker on trumpet, Josh Green on drums, and Rade Bema on bass, with mixing and mastering by Dave Darlington. The album brings together modern jazz, soul, African influences, groove, poetry, and mathematical concepts into a singular musical vision.
In this wide-ranging conversation, we explore jazz and mathematics, music and neuroscience, Nigerian musical influences, composition, creativity, teaching, cognition, philosophy, identity, improvisation, perception, and the creative thinking behind Four Lemmas.
It's a fascinating journey through the mind of an artist who refuses to put music and intellectual inquiry into separate boxes.
Get the Album & Learn More
Lawrence Udeigwe — Official Music & Website
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Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with acclaimed Bay Area jazz guitarist and composer George Cotsirilos. In this episode, we take a deep dive into his remarkable career and his beautiful new 2026 album, In The Wee Hours.
On his seventh recording, George returns to the intimate sound of solo nylon-string jazz guitar, bringing beloved jazz standards and two original compositions to life with patience, warmth, subtlety, and extraordinary depth.
Recorded largely in unedited first takes over several years, In The Wee Hours captures the spontaneous character and emotional honesty of George's playing. Rather than relying on elaborate production, the album allows the guitar, the compositions, and the spaces between the notes to tell the story.
Originally from Chicago, George has been an important part of the San Francisco Bay Area jazz community for many years. His extensive career has placed him alongside an extraordinary range of musicians, from Bay Area jazz fixtures such as Mark Levine to internationally celebrated artists including blues legend Etta James and jazz icon Pharoah Sanders.
In this fascinating conversation, George and Joe Dimino explore solo jazz guitar, nylon-string guitar, jazz standards, original compositions, improvisation, recording techniques, first-take performances, the San Francisco jazz scene, Chicago roots, Etta James, Pharoah Sanders, Mark Levine, and the evolution of a lifelong musical voice.
In The Wee Hours is an intimate portrait of an artist who understands that sometimes the most powerful musical statement comes from simplicity, space, and letting the music breathe.
It's a story you need to hear. Dig this interview with George Cotsirilos!
More George Cotsirilos:
George Cotsirilos Official Website
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