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A brief update from Eamonn... The final three episodes from Season 1 of the podcast will be uploaded as soon as possible. You can learn more about Season 2 from: https://www.talkmodepodcast.com/podcast And please spread the word! Eamonn

Drummer-bandleader David Lyttle speaks of growing up near Belfast in the 1980s, playing the Uilleann pipes as a child, working with Joe Lovano et al, establishing the Lyte label, discovering Andreas Varady, his trips to China and undertaking a US coast-to-coast tour that included performances in Area 51 and outside Art Blakey’s old Pittsburgh address…

In the concluding part of Ronan Guilfoyle's interview, the bassist-composer discusses working with Dave Liebman, Kenny Werner, Larry Coryell, Kenny Wheeler, Julian Arguelles, Rick Peckham, Sonny Fortune and his own son, Chris; speaks of his studies with Dave Holland at Banff; and his efforts to establish the first jazz performance degree in Ireland... Listen to Part 1 of this conversation in Episode #45

Jazz musician, composer and educator Ronan Guilfoyle speaks of the the impact of hearing recordings by Monk, Mingus and The Mahavishnu Orchestra; the steep learning curve of working with players on the Irish scene like Dick Buckley and Louis Stewart; and, above all, the key role his own father played in developing Ronan's musical sensibility... The concluding part of this interview follows in Episode #46  

Singer-songwriter Lili Añel speaks of her move from Spanish Harlem to Philadephia, growing up with a twin sister who's also into music, recording her debut for Palmetto Records in 1994, the recently-released retrospective - “In Spirit” - on Winding Way Records and the new album that she’s in the process of completing…

Today's guest is a freelance reed-player who lives in Dartmoor (a remote moorland located in the southwest of England). Chris Caldwell's travels have taken him to London's West End for productions like "Cats", and as far afield as North Korea. As a member of The Delta Saxophone Quartet, he's interpreted David Bowie's music from the Berlin years, as well as reinventions of Soft Machine's repertoire. His latest project, "Coracle of Life" - a duet recording with flautist Susie Hodder-Williams - was inspired by the sculptures of André Wallace...

Trombonist-cum-singer Nils Landgren plays R’n’B, funk and jazz. He's enjoyed a career in and outside his native Sweden since signing to the ACT imprint in the mid-1990s. It’s an association that continues to this day: on his forthcoming release, Nils is joined by label stablemates Michael Wollny, Lars Danielsson and Wolfgang Haffner…

Recently, Professor Tommy Smith was awarded an O.B.E. for services to education and jazz music. At 17, he left the Berklee College of Music to tour with Gary Burton. Soon afterwards, Smith recorded his debut CD for Blue Note. After returning to Scotland, he founded (and currently directs) the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra. He also established the jazz curriculum at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow. His record label, Spartacus Records, has released - amongst others - one of Smith's favourite sax-players, fellow Scotsman, the late Bobby Wellins...

Pianist/composer Dave Stapleton runs Edition Records, a label with a back catalogue of over 100 albums; is a founder member of Slowly Rolling Camera, a trio + guests unit that released its third CD, “Juniper”, last summer; and a graduate of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, where he was mentored by Keith Tippett. Stapleton is also a big fan of Nordic music in general, and Finnish jazz, in particular…

Pianist/composer Gwilym Simcock's latest solo CD "Near And Now" is shortly due out on ACT Music. Last year, this busiest of jazz musicians collaborated with singer Kizzy Crawford and Sinfonia Cymru on the "Birdsong" project. He tours with the Pat Metheny Group, regularly performs with reed-player Tim Garland and is in great demand - along with Mike Walker, Steve Swallow and Adam Nussabaum - as one of The Impossible Gentlemen.  Welsh-born Simcock also explains why, whenever he does get a break in his schedule, he heads for Berlin…

Dexter Gordon was influenced by Lester Young and in turn influenced John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins. The tenor sax-player enjoyed an upswing in popularity late in his career, following an Academy Award nomination for his acting performance in “Round Midnight”, a movie that’s notable for its use of real jazz musicians playing live in Dexter’s fictional backing band (among them, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Freddie Hubbard, John McLaughlin and Tony Williams). Dexter is also the subject of a recent biography, "Sophisticated Giant", written by today’s guest, his widow Maxine Gordon…

American singer René Marie reveals how she quickly came to sign recording contracts with the Maxjazz and Motéma labels. She also speaks about her one-woman show “Slut Energy Theory”, her one-to-one online vocal therapy sessions Slam! and her four favourite female jazz singers… Part 1 is available in #Episode 36.

Grammy-nominated René Marie speaks about the joy music has always brought to her and how, after merely singing in the home for over 20 years, she was persuaded to leave the day job by a brother and a son… Part 2 of this conversation will be available in #Episode 37.

Zurich keyboard player-cum-composer Nik Bartsch speaks about playing solo piano, leading the ensemble Ronin, taking part in 35-hour concerts with Mobile, founding the Ronin Rhythm Records label and running the club Exil… Part 1 is available in Episode #34.

ECM recording artist Nik Bartsch speaks of his early interest in drums, the differences between Japan and his native Switzerland, the importance of practising the non-violent martial art Aikido, and the influence of composers like Stravinksy, Feldman and Thelonious Monk on his approach to composition… Part 2 to follow in #Episode 35.

Norwegian jazz guitarist and independent record label owner Knut Mikalsen was studying Engineering in Edinburgh when he chanced upon, and was quickly mesmerised by the playing of, Louis Stewart on BBC radio. Three years later, Knut unexpectedly met his hero in a small venue in distant Tromsø…

Havana-born Ignacio Berroa followed in his father's footsteps to formally study violin as a child, before switching his attentions to percussion. After defecting to the US in 1980, Berroa quickly found himself playing drums in the Dizzy Gillespie Quartet. The move didn't come without complications, however...

A second call to Chris McNulty finds her in Perth, settling in to a new composer's residency. The singer from Melbourne, a long-time resident of New York, also speaks about her latest album "Eternal" and using a funding platform to posthumously release recordings made by her late son, the hip hop artist known as Chap One... Part 1 is available as Episode #30.

Chris McNulty became a fixture on the New York jazz scene after relocating to the US in 1988 (with her young son in tow). Eamonn catches up with the singer/composer, following her return home to Australia. Today, Chris discusses her favourite jazz recordings and authoring “Vocal As Complete Musician”, an educational e- and print book that uses a system of tetrachords as a basis for improvising and ear training...   Part 1 of 2 (the concluding part follows in Episode #31).

Trumpeter and flugelhorn player Bryan Corbett was raised in a small village near Hereford, in the west of England, before taking a music degree at university in Liverpool. He leads his own jazz quartet and has worked, as a sideman, with acid jazz outfits US3 and, most recently, The Brand New Heavies. On today's podcast, he speaks about a mystery illness that proved to be - quite literally - as important as life and death...