This week, I talk with saxophonist John Ellis and playwright Andy Bragen about their newest collaborative work titled Mobro. The Mobro 4000 was a trash barge that traveled internationally looking for a place to dump its contents. John and Andy used this as a jumping off point and wrote a 75 minute through-composed, narrative driven suite of music about the journey. They do their best to tell me how they define this ambitious project. We talk about how Andy uses the metaphors of trash and seagulls in these songs to tell a bigger story and why John decided to work with this many musicians. We find out that the processes of being a creative musician and creative playwright are not that different from each other. Finally, we try to get to the bottom of who actually named the Mobro 4000.
If you like what you hear, please Subscribe in iTunes and give us feedback. That will help us out tremendously. Also, feel free to email me with any suggestions or questions. Thank you for listening!
For the first time ever, I interviewed an entire band. At least, three fourths of a band. I sat down with Kenny Warren, Patrick Breiner, and Will McEvoy of ZhirtZ n ZkinZ. They recently released their debut album on Sulde Records. We drank some beer and got real. We talked about recording the album in Maine, why it took two years to release, and playing music for the people. Also, Kenny tells the Maine joke.
If you like what you hear, please Subscribe in iTunes and give us feedback. That will help us out tremendously. Also, feel free to email me with any suggestions or questions. Thank you for listening!
For our 25th episode, I'm happy to feature Mike McGinnis. Mike is primarily known as a clarinetist nowadays although he also sounds great on the saxophone. We talk about what led him to focus on the clarinet, the tradition of being an anti-traditionalist, and being a silo enthusiast. We also talk about his two most recent releases. The first is called Road*Trip which features Bill Smith’s great piece titled "Concerto for Clarinet and Combo” and a suite of his own. The second is called The Ängsudden Song Cycle which is a collaboration with poet and artist MuKha that features vocalist Kyoko Kitamura and an all wooden ensemble.
If you like what you hear, please Subscribe in iTunes and give us feedback. That will help us out tremendously. Also, feel free to email me with any suggestions or questions. Thank you for listening!
There is a good chance that Matt Otto is one of the best saxophonists that you have never heard. He grew up in California but has since lived in Japan, Indiana, Boston, New York, Los Angeles, and now Kansas City. We talk about his aunt being a rodie for Don Cherry, performing acid jazz in Japan, playing free jazz with Rashid Bakr, and what it feels like to own a house. Matt’s story is strange and incredibly interesting and his music is incredible. Please check this episode out!
If you like what you hear, please Subscribe in iTunes and give us feedback. That will help us out tremendously. Also, feel free to email me with any suggestions or questions. Thank you for listening!
The show this week features the great bassist and composer Ben Allison. He recently released a record on his own for the first time titled The Stars Look Very Different Today. We talk about a lot of interesting things including how Dungeons and Dragons relates to jazz music, Dick Cheney, and why he streams his music on his own website instead of Spotify. Also, we get his candid take on why Star Trek is better than Star Wars.
If you like what you hear, please Subscribe in iTunes and give us feedback. That will help us out tremendously. Also, feel free to email me with any suggestions or questions. Thank you for listening!
I traveled back to Kansas City and did a few interviews while I was there. The first was with trumpeter Hermon Mehari of Diverse. They just released their sophomore album album titled Our Journey. We talk about the evolution of the band, collaborating with artists in varying musical styles, and his love of opera.
If you like what you hear, please Subscribe in iTunes and give us feedback. That will help us out tremendously. Also, feel free to email me with any suggestions or questions. Thank you for listening!
Baritone Saxophonist Josh Sinton drops by to talk about his Steve Lacy cover band Ideal Bread and their new DOUBLE ALBUM titled Beating the Teens. Josh talks about the concept of albums, BLUES music and playing soulfully, and how this Ideal Bread record is different than the first two.
Please, Subscribe in iTunes and give us feedback. That will help us out tremendously. Also, feel free to email me with any suggestions or questions. Thank you for listening!
Elsa Nilsson is a Swedish flute player who just put out her new album Already There Yet. We talk about her king, the darkness of Swedish folk music, and how a flute player gets into playing improvised music these days. Her band is playing a show at the Blue NoteTHIS FRIDAY. Go check them out!
Please, Subscribe in iTunes and give us feedback. That will help us out tremendously. Also, feel free to email me with any suggestions or questions. Thank you for listening!
Kenny Warren has a new album coming out called Laila and Smitty that might surprise you if you only know him as a badass trumpet player. He wrote some lyrics and decided to sing them in a band that combines his love of country and folk music with his more avant-grade sensibilities. We talk about his folk inspirations for this record, Colorado and it’s lineage of trumpet players, and being a sideman in a number of bands including Slavic Soul Party and The Walkmen. Also, Kenny tells about how he snuck into the Super Bowl this year.
If you like Kenny’s music, he will be playing a record (that’s right, vinyl) release show at Littlefield on Friday, May 9th at 7:00 PM. Please go! Also, you can download Your Well as part of the Wing Walker Music Spring 2014 Mixtape with a bunch of other great artists. It’s totally free!
Please, Subscribe in iTunes and give us feedback. That will help us out tremendously. Also, feel free to email me with any suggestions or questions. Thank you for listening!
Jas Walton is a busy man. He just back from playing the Music of William Onyeabor with a bunch of insane musicians as a part of a series of concerts thrown by Luaka Bop (a label run by David Byrne.) in London. We talk about the insane number of bands he is currently playing with and what it means to switch roles in the different groups. We hear some music from the afrobeat band Emefe, the marching band Asphalt Orchestra, and the Mason Jar Music House Band. We also get into the benefits of learning music by ear, listening to music with your eyes, and Sonic Butter. This is a good episode!
Please, Subscribe in iTunes and give us feedback. That will help us out tremendously. Also, feel free to e-mail me at drew@wingwalkermusic.com with any suggestions or questions. Thank you for listening!
This week, I talk with saxophonist John Ellis and playwright Andy Bragen about their newest collaborative work titled Mobro. The Mobro 4000 was a trash barge that traveled internationally looking for a place to dump its contents. John and Andy used this as a jumping off point and wrote a 75 minute through-composed, narrative driven suite of music about the journey. They do their best to tell me how they define this ambitious project. We talk about how Andy uses the metaphors of trash and seagulls in these songs to tell a bigger story and why John decided to work with this many musicians. We find out that the processes of being a creative musician and creative playwright are not that different from each other. Finally, we try to get to the bottom of who actually named the Mobro 4000.
For the first time ever, I interviewed an entire band. At least, three fourths of a band. I sat down with Kenny Warren, Patrick Breiner, and Will McEvoy of 
There is a good chance that Matt Otto is one of the best saxophonists that you have never heard. He grew up in California but has since lived in Japan, Indiana, Boston, New York, Los Angeles, and now Kansas City. We talk about his aunt being a rodie for Don Cherry, performing acid jazz in Japan, playing free jazz with Rashid Bakr, and what it feels like to own a house. Matt’s story is strange and incredibly interesting and his music is incredible. Please check this episode out!
I traveled back to Kansas City and did a few interviews while I was there. The first was with trumpeter Hermon Mehari of 
Baritone Saxophonist 
