Ariadne Trujillo Durand is a powerhouse Cuban-born, Grammy nominated, virtuoso pianist and singer, one of the world’s leading Latin Jazz musicians. She began performing at age 14 with Cuba's top symphonic orchestras. She’s worked with Paul Simon, Paquito D’Rivera, Wynton Marsalis and Esperanza Spalding. Her vocal technique ranges from opera to jazz. This past March she released her first solo album, “Legacy”, along with a live performance at Lincoln Center with her 10 piece orchestra. My feature...
Aug 20, 2025•35 min•Ep. 596
Giora Schmidt is a virtuoso American-Israeli violinist. He has appeared as a soloist with many prominent symphony orchestras around the globe including the Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland and Philadelphia symphonies and the Toronto, Vancouver and Israel Philharmonics. He has performed at Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center and The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. He has collaborated with Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman. And he even performed on an airplane! My featured song is “Fishin’” fea...
Aug 18, 2025•46 min•Ep. 595
Martin Porter and David Goggin are the authors of “Buzz Me In: Inside The Record Plant Studios”, which chronicles the history of the famous Record Plant recording studios. This studio was the hit factory of the 1970s, where Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen, the Eagles, Prince and many others recorded. In 1976 alone the studio recorded three #1 albums. At the same time the studio was also known for the extreme debauchery which took place there - sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll. They provi...
Aug 16, 2025•32 min•Ep. 594
Julian Schwarz is a Grammy nominated cellist. He’s won several competitions. He made his concert debut at 11. He made his U.S. touring debut with the Moscow State Radio Orchestra. He’s toured China as a recitalist. He performs frequently with his wife, pianist Marisa Bournaki. He’s a founding member of the New York touring ensemble “Frisson” and was recently appointed the newest core member of the Olmos Ensemble. My featured song is “Spring Dance” from the album of the same name by my band Proje...
Aug 15, 2025•26 min•Ep. 593
Andrew Gerle and DJ Salisbury are musical theater stars. They operate as a team. They develop the story together. DJ writes the book and Andrew contributes the music and lyrics. And they share thoughts and ideas with each other. Andrew has served as musical director and pianist for Jennifer Holliday, Brian Stokes Mitchell and Leslie Uggams. DJ’s background is as a director and choreographer with over 120 shows to his credit. New album: Whisper Darkly. My featured song is “Juliet Dances” from the...
Aug 14, 2025•35 min•Ep. 592
Chris Walden is a 7x Grammy nominated, German-born, composer, arranger and conductor. He’s scored more than 40 feature and TV films. He’s written more than 1,500 orchestral and big band arrangements for artists including Michael Buble, Aretha Franklin, Paul McCartney, SEAL, Stevie Wonder, Rihanna, Barbra Streisand and Josh Groban, and orchestras like the Chicago Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Boston Pops. He’s worked with top producers David Foster, Tommy LiPuma and Phil Ramone. ...
Aug 13, 2025•44 min•Ep. 591
Laurence Juber is an extraordinary, Superstar British guitarist and 2x Grammy winner. He played for three years with Paul McCartney in Wings, Paul’s post-Beatles band in the ‘70s and ‘80s. His first project after graduating from college was working with George Martin, the Beatles’ producer, on an album for Cleo Laine. He also worked with Charles Aznavour. He played on the soundtrack of the film “The Spy Who Loved Me”. He played on the soundtrack for TV shows like “Happy Days” and “Family Ties”. ...
Aug 11, 2025•47 min•Ep. 590
This is a Tribute episode to Allan Sherman, one of the greatest song parodists who ever lived. He emerged from nowhere in the early 1960s to become one of the biggest selling musical artists in the pre-Beatles era. His album, “My Son, The Folksinger”, released in 1962, shot to the top of the charts, and became the fastest selling record of its time. It captured the entire country. His next album, “My Son, The Nut”, featured his biggest hit, “Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah”, about a boy writing home ...
Aug 09, 2025•11 min•Ep. 589
Asta Bria is a Lithuanian-born Pop Star and Virtuoso Violinist. She grew up under a Communist regime in Vilnius, Lithuania, only able to catch snippets of Western pop music on the radio. Her journey led her to freedom in the UK after the fall of Communism in Lithuania. My featured song is my reimagined version of “Free” by the band Phish, from the album The PGS Experience by my band Project Grand Slam. Spotify link . ------------------------------------------ The Follow Your Dream Podcast: Top 1...
Aug 08, 2025•34 min•Ep. 588
Carl Miller is the author of the book “Backstage Chronicles”, about his long career as a tour manager for Cat Stevens and many others including Ginger Baker, Uriah Heep, Iron Maiden and even the Kirov Ballet. A fascinating discussion of the backstage antics of the rock stars. My featured song is my version of Skip James’ “I’m So Glad” popularized by Cream in the mid-’60s, from the album The PGS Experience by my band Project Grand Slam. Spotify link . ------------------------------------------ Th...
Aug 07, 2025•32 min•Ep. 587
Claudia Acuna is an exquisite Chilean jazz singer. She is a Latin Grammy Nominee and an npr Tiny Desk Concert artist. She blends South American folk music with Jazz and World Music. She’s collaborated with stars like Branford Marsalis, George Benson, Kenny Barron and Herbie Hancock. She’s released five albums, and was the first Latin American vocalist to be signed by a major record label. My featured song is my version of Miles Davis’s “All Blues” sung by the late, great Jon Lucien, from my 1994...
Aug 06, 2025•38 min•Ep. 586
I call Tracy Silverman “The Jimi Hendrix of the violin”. He’s no ordinary violinist. He plays a 6 string electric violin with loops and pedals and effects. He plays everything from violin concertos to rock, jazz and hip hop, and that included Hendrix and Miles Davis. He’s performed with the jazz group Turtle Island String Quartet, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Chicago Symphony, and he’s played at Carnegie Hall and the Royal Albert Hall. He’s been featured on npr and on A Prairie Home Comp...
Aug 04, 2025•36 min•Ep. 585
This is a Tribute episode to Tom Lehrer, who passed away last week at age 97. For anyone unfamiliar with him and his music, he was a brilliant musical satirist who wrote incredibly clever, interesting and topical songs in the 1950s and 1960s. He was not a full-time musician. His true love was mathematics and he was employed for years as a professor at Harvard and MIT. Periodically, however, he emerged to perform and record several albums of his songs. He was trained as a classical pianist. All o...
Aug 02, 2025•6 min•Ep. 584
Juancho Herrera is a World Music star. He’s a Latin Grammy nominated guitarist, producer, singer-songwriter and vocalist. His background is Colombian and Venezuelan. His music combines Latin, world music, jazz, blues, African and electronica. He’s performed in Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, US, Spain, France, Hungary and Venezuela. And at major venues such as the Kennedy Center, the Blue Note and Symphony Space. He’s worked with stars like Claudia Acuna, Branford Marsalis, the Chieftains and Arturo ...
Aug 01, 2025•33 min•Ep. 583
Martha Kato is an acclaimed Japanese jazz pianist, composer and arranger. She’s performed at all the major jazz clubs including the Blue Note, Dizzy’s and Smalls. She;s released two celebrated albums. And she’s won a whole bunch of honors and awards. My featured song is “March Of The Diplomats” from the album Trippin by my band Project Grand Slam. Spotify link . ------------------------------------------ The Follow Your Dream Podcast: Top 1% of all podcasts with Listeners in 200 countries! Click...
Jul 31, 2025•28 min•Ep. 582
Lucas Richman is a Grammy winning composer and conductor. He’s the Music Director for the Bangor Symphony Orchestra and previously for the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra. His work spans classical music, ballet and opera, film scores and pop music. His film conducting includes “As Good As It Gets” and “The Manchurian Candidate”. As a composer his works have been performed by over two hundred orchestras across the United States. My featured song is “Trippin” from the album of the same name by my ban...
Jul 30, 2025•38 min•Ep. 581
Scott Bernard is a sensational Nashville-based guitarist and vocalist. He’s performed with Kenny Loggins for 17 years as guitarist and background vocalist, and as musical director for the past 7 years. Recently, he’s also appeared with Kansas, the classic rock band, And he’s deep into Christian music too. My featured song is “Ma Petite Fleur” from the album Spring Dance by my band Project Grand Slam. Spotify link . ------------------------------------------ The Follow Your Dream Podcast: Top 1% ...
Jul 29, 2025•33 min•Ep. 580
Magos Herrera is the extraordinary 2x Grammy nominated Mexican jazz singer-songwriter, activist and educator. She’s known for her vocal improvisation and for combining contemporary jazz with Ibero-American melodies and rhythms. She’s released 11 albums including “Aire” her latest. She’s performed at top venues like Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, the Montreux Jazz Festival and the Montreal Jazz Festival. Forbes has named her “One of the most creative Mexicans”. And she serves ...
Jul 28, 2025•36 min•Ep. 579
This is an Encore Presentation of my May 2022 interview with Chuck Rainey, one of the greatest electric bassists of all time and studio musician extraordinaire. He’s played on over a thousand recording sessions resulting in so many hit records. He’s revered for his legendary work in the ‘60s and ‘70s with artists like Aretha Franklin, Steely Dan, The Jackson 5, Roberta Flack and Quincy Jones. He talks about all of these artists as well as Donnie Hathaway, Carly Simon, Motown, Gabor Szabo and oth...
Jul 26, 2025•45 min•Ep. 578
Alexa Constantine is an L.A.-based collaborative pianist. She’s the pianist in Take3, the phenomenal classical crossover trio. She’s also a staff pianist at UCLA. And she is the accompanist in the National Trumpet Competition. My featured song is “Stinger” from my 1996 album Prisoners Of Love by The Robert Miller Group. Spotify link . ------------------------------------------ The Follow Your Dream Podcast: Top 1% of all podcasts with Listeners in 200 countries! Click here for All Episodes Click...
Jul 25, 2025•34 min•Ep. 577
Steve Beck is a virtuoso classical pianist known for his brilliant technique and wide-ranging repertoire. He has performed with the New York Philharmonic and the National Symphony among others. He’s a regular at the Mostly Mozart Festival and at Bargemusic, where each Christmas Eve he performs Bach’s Goldberg Variations. And he also performs all 32 Beethoven piano sonatas in a single day. My featured song is “African Nights (for Chick)”. ------------------------------------------ The Follow Your...
Jul 24, 2025•26 min•Ep. 576
Marshall Terrill is a celebrated author of more than 30 books covering Hollywood, Sports, Music and Murder. They include biographies of Steve McQueen, Elvis, Johnny Cash, basketball legend “Pistol” Pete Maravich, boxers Ken Norton and Earnie Shavers, and music stars like Ruth Pointer of the Pointer Sisters and Laurence Juber, who played with Paul McCartney in Wings. He’s known as the premier biographer of Steve McQueen. His newest biography is of Jay Sebring, one of the Manson family’s victims M...
Jul 23, 2025•35 min•Ep. 575
THIS SPECIAL EPISODE introduces “WHAT’S UP!”, my new compilation album featuring 10 of my recent singles. The songs run the gamut from instrumentals to a few vocals, and they cross genres from Jazz to Rock to Pop and Fusion. This episode features excerpts from the songs. “Rough Rider” captures a cool, 1960s, Spaghetti Western kind of vibe. You can almost picture Clint Eastwood giving it to the bad guys. “Day At The Races” is a fun, upbeat number that reflects the thrills and chills of the racetr...
Jul 21, 2025•9 min•Ep. 574
This is an Encore Presentation of my July 2024 interview with Steve Gadd, World Class Drummer who has played and/or toured with a Who’s Who of Superstars including James Taylor, Paul Simon, Eric Clapton, Chick Corea, Frank Sinatra and Luciano Pavoratti. He’s played on countless hit records including Paul Simon’s “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover” and “Late In The Evening” and Steely Dan’s “Aja”. My featured song is my version of Chick Corea’s “Sea Journey” from my debut 1994 album Miles Behind. Spoti...
Jul 19, 2025•35 min•Ep. 573
Bruce Wolosoff is an acclaimed American pianist and composer known for his integration of classical, jazz and blues. He likes to compose in response to visual art. His music has been performed by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and many others, and his compositions span ballet, opera, chamber and orchestral music. My featured song is my version of the Thelonious Monk classic “Well, You Needn’t” from the album Miles Behind by The Robert Miller Group. Spotify link . -------------------...
Jul 18, 2025•38 min•Ep. 572
George Meyer is a Nashville born Bluegrass fiddler and classical violinist and composer. He’s equally at home playing classical music and fiddle music. He’s toured with Sam Bush. He’s performed at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, the 92nd St. Y and at many other venues. And he’s got new music upcoming with the U.S. Army Strings. My featured song is “Five To Six” from the album Prisoners Of Love by The Robert Miller Group. Spotify link . ------------------------------------------ The Follow Your...
Jul 17, 2025•36 min•Ep. 571
Andrew Constantine is a renowned British classical conductor who is celebrated for his powerful artistry and passionate interpretations. He’s the Music Director of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic and the Reading Symphony Orchestra. He has conducted major orchestras across Europe and the United States, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony and the BBC Philharmonic. My featured song is my reimagined instrumental version of “You Really Got Me” by The Kinks from the album The Quee...
Jul 16, 2025•38 min•Ep. 570
David Bedford and Andrew Phillips are Beatles experts and the authors of “WHAT IF?”, which discusses a number of hypothetical scenarios where The Beatles story could have turned out very differently. Some events would have had minor consequences, but other events could have been catastrophic and changed everything. David hails from Liverpool. He was born in the Dingle, the same area of the city as Ringo. David is the preeminent Beatles tour guide and expert. He previously was a guest on this pod...
Jul 14, 2025•44 min•Ep. 569
This is an Encore Presentation of my October 2021 interview with Joey Dee, star of Joey Dee and the Starlighters. Joey wrote and sang “The Peppermint Twist”, a #1 song in 1962 that became part of the worldwide “twist” dance craze phenomenon. He and the band were the house band at The Peppermint Lounge in NYC, where people lined up each night to get in to rub elbows with the stars of that era including Jackie Kennedy, Judy Garland and John Wayne. The list of famous musicians who played with Joey ...
Jul 13, 2025•43 min•Ep. 568
This is an Encore Presentation of my December 2024 interview with Musical Superstar Christian McBride. He’s a renowned Bassist, Composer, Arranger and 8x Grammy Winner. His playing covers Jazz, R&B, Pop, Hip Hop and Classical. He’s performed or recorded with just about everyone including Freddie Hubbard, McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, Chick Corea, Paul McCartney and James Brown. He leads several bands and he’s the Artistic Director of the Newport Jazz Festival. My featured song is...
Jul 11, 2025•39 min•Ep. 567
