About this episode
This past year was another stellar year for the podcast. I aired 260 episodes, mainly interviews with famous and amazing musicians and other creatives, but also Special Episodes featuring my new musical works, tribute episodes, and Encore episodes.As I’ve done in the past, I’ve put together a Highlights Show featuring some of the best excerpts from ten of the episodes. Ann Hampton Callaway is one of the greatest stars of Broadway, Television, concerts and recording. Among her many other accomplishments she wrote and sang the theme song to “The Nanny” TV show. She talks about getting that assignment.
Michael Shrieve was the longtime drummer for Santana, one of the greatest bands of the modern era. They were one of the biggest stars of Woodstock, and Michael’s drum solo in “Soul Sacrifice” literally stole the show. He talks about the rumor that the band was high on psychedelics during that memorable performance.
Arturo Sandoval is one of the greatest jazz trumpeters of all time. He grew up in Cuba and had to defect to come to the U.S. He talks about how Dizzy Gillespie was instrumental in getting him and his bandmates out of Cuba and their first gig in the U.S.
Jeffrey Biegel is an acclaimed Grammy winning concert pianist. He’s a good friend of Neil Sedaka, the legendary pop star and composer. He tells the story about how Neil informed his piano teacher at Juilliard about his first pop hit.
Dave Eggar is a 5x Grammy nominated rock star cellist who played on Coldplay’s massive hit, “Viva La Vida”. He tells the story about meeting Chris Martin of Coldplay for the first time.
Giora Schmidt is a virtuoso American-Israeli violinist. He tells the story of what happened when he flew on a commuter plane and there was no room in the overhead for his very expensive concert violin.
Ivor Davis is a renowned journalist, investigative reporter and author. He tells what it was like to travel with and cover The Beatles on their 1964 tour of America.
Benny Benack III is a spectacular young trumpet player and vocalist who has performed all over the world. He tells about playing wedding gigs when he was first starting out.
Lucy Kaplansky is a folk music star and singer-songwriter. She talks about her loyal fans and their demographic.
Billy Cobham is one of the greatest drummers of the modern era. He played in the Mahavishnu Orchestra, one of the most heralded bands of the jazz fusion era. He talks about the band’s first gig.
So that’s it. Our 2025 Highlights Show. Stay tuned for more great episodes.
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