Close Enough for Jazz

We take a moment to look inward at Birch Grove Media and preview two massive upcoming releases dropping before the end of 2026: Face's Fall 2009 and Bear Skinner's Unobtainium. We preview the highly anticipated Bear Skinner lineup (Ryan Clackner, Trevor Lagrange, Nick Jost, and Jason Nazary) and look back 17 years to unearth the explosive Face time capsule (Alan Bjorklund, David Schnug, Andrew Carrico, Matt Scollante, Pascal Niggenkemper, and Cody Brown). We explore the physical production of these 180-gram vinyl records, discussing why the tangible details—like included posters, liner notes by Carlos Homs and Josh Lopes, and vinyl-exclusive bonus tracks—matt...

We sit down with scat singer and physicist Lorin Benedict to explore his highly unique vocal improvisations and what it’s like to start a serious music career at age 31. Lorin explains the extra-musical origins of his nonsense-syllable language and why he treats his voice like a horn, drawing inspiration from instrumental giants. He shares hilarious insights into his own self-awareness, discussing why he proudly displays a negative Jazz Times review on his website, and reflects on how his intense listening habits were shaped by a childhood surrounded by Cleveland Orchestra musicians. We also dive into how Steve Coleman co...

We take a break from our regular programming for a deep exploration into the fascinating world of Swiss pianist, composer, and "cultural entrepreneur" Nik Bärtsch. In this episode, Lindsay reviews his conceptual book, Listening: Music, Movement, Mind, co-authored with his wife Andrea Pfisterer (a fourth Dan Aikido teacher and biologist). We explore the profound intersections between music, martial arts, and nature, breaking down Bärtsch’s concept of "Ritual Groove Music" and how he translates the "Zen beginner's mind" into his compositional process. We also look at the history of his long-running Swiss ensembles, Mobile and Ronin, and his...

We open the vault for another installment of our Blind Pig series, traveling back to October 16, 2014, for a rare bootleg of Matt Brewer's group Mythology live at ShapeShifter Lab in Gowanus, Brooklyn. In this episode, we revisit the night of Brewer's record release gig and analyze how the live quintet lineup—featuring Brewer on bass, Steve Lehman on alto, Mark Shim on tenor, David Virelles on piano, and Gerald Cleaver on drums—delivered a raw, guitar-less take on the compositions from his debut album as a leader. We explore the unique acoustic environment of ShapeShifter Lab, founded by Matthew Garr...

We sit down with incredibly prolific drummer James Paul Nadien to explore his packed gig schedule, ranging from free improvisation and brutal death metal to holding down the drum chair for The Flying Luttenbachers. James talks about his recent trip to China playing the Tomorrow Festival with Weasel Walter, detailing the stressful visa process and the dedicated audience waiting for them in Shenzhen. We go deep into his thoughts on the "uncanny valley" effect of hearing AI-generated music, and why he believes physical media like CDs and cassettes are essential, tangible tools for unplugging from social media addiction. We...

We sit down with composer and saxophonist Anna Webber to explore her disciplined compositional process and look ahead to her upcoming nonet album, It's Easier to Imagine the End of the World. Anna explains how she maintains a daily composition practice by avoiding time crunches, relying on pencil and paper, and utilizing "rogue cop police walls" to combat writer's block. We dive into her strategies for writing difficult "etudes" designed to challenge heavy-hitting musicians, and the financial realities of co-leading a big band with Angela Morris. We also reflect on her time studying in Berlin with John Hollenbeck and...

We sit down with trumpeter Kenny Warren to explore the boundless possibilities of modern improvisation and the magic of trusting your instincts on the bandstand. Kenny opens up about his deep connection to free improvisation, describing it as a childlike state of uninhibited play, and details how he turns off his "inner critic" during esoteric sessions. We reflect on his formative years in the Denver scene with the legendary Ron Miles, his "jazz prog rock" roots with JP Schlegelmilch, and the collaborative strength of their current project, Slow Tiger. Kenny also shares his thoughts on the process of mixing...

We open the vault for another installment of our Blind Pig series, traveling back 20 years to September 15, 2006, for a rare bootleg of the Ralph Alessi Quartet live at Layla Lounge. In this episode, we revisit a nostalgic set at the Williamsburg Jazz Festival featuring Ralph Alessi on trumpet, Brad Shepik on guitar, Scott Colley on bass, and a 26-year-old Tyshawn Sorey on drums. We reflect on the vibrant, pre-condo Brooklyn loft scene of the mid-2000s, exploring the history of lost venues and the grassroots origins of the Williamsburg Jazz Festival. We also unpack what these heavyweight musicians were...

This episode features saxophonist Aaron Burnett to explore his evolution into "Jazztronica," discussing everything from auditioning for Wynton Marsalis over the phone to building a custom digital pedalboard in Ableton. We examine his unique compositional process, which he describes as "downloading" full melodies from his dreams—a method that helped him write his upcoming swinging, nostalgic album Archangel at just 21 years old. Aaron breaks down his boundary-pushing group The Big Machine and details his use of audio-to-MIDI pitch followers to manipulate his saxophone sound. We also discuss his experiences touring with powerhouse vocalists like Esperanza Spalding and Corinne Bailey Ra...

We sit down with highly in-demand bassist Chris Tordini to discuss his unique approach to the instrument, from his early days playing South Jersey bookstores to holding down the bass chair on Broadway. Chris shares the story of how he unexpectedly came to author two instructional books for Mel Bay, and why his early background in piano helped him seamlessly transition between guitar, electric bass, and upright bass. We talk about his formative years building a DIY jazz scene in South Jersey, how he navigates the New York gig economy using his trusty "two out of three" rule, and...

We open the vault for another installment of our Blind Pig series, traveling back to August 24, 2011, for a rare recording of the Steve Lehman Trio featuring Carlos Homs at The Stone. In this episode, we revisit a blazing set featuring Steve Lehman on alto, Carlos Homs on keys, Chris Tordini on bass, and Damion Reid on drums, listening to a massive wall-of-sound take on Jackie McLean's "Mr. E", a lightning-fast run of Lehman's original "Curse Fraction" and more. Beyond the music, we explore the history and rules of The Stone under John Zorn's direction, including the strict "no bathroom...

Julie Maniscalco sits down to explore the logistical nightmares and creative triumphs of managing an 18-piece jazz orchestra in New York City. We discuss her writing process, contrasting the exposed nature of small group writing to the lush, vibrant colors of a big band, drawing on influences ranging from Tower of Power to Maria Schneider and Arturo O'Farrill. Julie shares the surreal experience of premiering three original pieces at Carnegie Hall—Songbird for Hoyt, Medusa, and Ripple Effect—and explains how writing within strict frameworks actually fuels her creativity. We also shine a spotlight on the often-overlooked Staten Island jazz...

We sit down with bassist and composer Pascal Niggenkemper to explore his fascinating approach to the "augmented bass" and look back on our early days together in the 2009 Brooklyn loft scene. Pascal explains how he uses external motors and octophonic settings to create an immersive, ASMR-like experience that places the listener directly inside the instrument. We then discuss his recent large-scale project, the Tuvalu Ensemble, commissioned for the SWR NEWJazz Meeting 2024, which featured eight musicians and a 360-degree audience experience surrounded by vibrating sound curtains. We also trace the recurring theme of water in his work, from his Astghik...

We explore the dystopian reality of tech companies destroying physical media to train their AI models and what this terrifying trend could mean for the future of the music industry. In this episode, we discuss the alarming revelation that Anthropic, the company behind Claude, has been purchasing physical books, chopping off their spines, and destroying them to ingest their data. We examine the "first-sale doctrine" loophole, recent reports from 404 Media about bulk-buying pre-2022 literature, and Lindsay compares this aggressive consumption of physical history to the "firemen" in Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451. Shifting to our own industry, we analyze the Capitol...

We record through a tornado warning to explore the global crisis facing live music venues, from the Live Nation antitrust lawsuit to the tragic closure of historic jazz clubs. In this episode, we break down the current state of music venues by analyzing the "ladder" of the live music industry. We discuss the recent Department of Justice antitrust ruling against Live Nation and Ticketmaster, before moving down the ladder to look at the devastating squeeze on mid-sized venues—the "missing middle"—and the recent closures of spaces like the Music Hall of Williamsburg, Highline Ballroom, and Stanhope House. Finally, we d...

We open the vault for the second installment of our Blind Pig series, traveling back 14 years to July 23, 2012, for a rare bootleg recording of Nicolas Letman-Burtinovic's Bomb X. Captured on an iPod left on the floor of the Brooklyn venue Sycamore, this unreleased set features an incredible lineup with Michael Attias on saxophone, Art Hirahara on piano, and Tyshawn Sorey on drums. We unpack the context of this performance—which shared a bill with Alan's band, Smirk—and reflect on what these heavyweights were up to in 2012, from Letman-Burtinovic's extended arco techniques to Tyshawn Sorey's prestigious ICE fellowship.

We step back to the gritty 2009 Brooklyn loft scene to announce the upcoming Birch Grove Media vinyl release of Fall 2009 by Alan's acoustic avant-garde band, Face. In this episode, we explore the origins of the group, tracking their evolution from high school friendships to playing lost Brooklyn venues like Goodbye Blue Monday and Evening Time Place. Alan breaks down the cast of characters, including the late Andrew Carrico, David Schnug, Pascal Niggenkemper, Cody Brown, and vocalist Matt Scollante—whose intense, yelling spoken-word performance at The Stone gave this album an explicit warning. We also take a clinical look at th...

We unearth a 41-year-old time capsule from the first edition of OPtion Magazine that accurately predicted the rise of AI in music. We review a 1985 article by computer scientist Eric Mueller, who envisioned "interactive works" where AI reacts to live human improvisation and "distributed works" that use dial-up phone lines to connect musicians and computers in a massive feedback loop. The conversation traces Mueller's impressive background—from developing the DAYDREAMER program at UCLA to his work on IBM's Watson—and contrasts his highly experimental, avant-garde vision of AI with the style-cloning algorithms of today. We also discuss the LISP prog...

To celebrate America's 250th birthday, we explore the wild stories of three legendary jazz musicians whose time in the US military permanently altered their musical paths. We start the conversation with Albert Ayler, who spent his Cold War deployment in France testing out his early free-jazz concepts on GI’s and civilians alike, eventually carrying those twisted military marches into his own quintets. Next, we look at John Coltrane’s strategic enlistment into the Navy to avoid the Army infantry, a move that led to his first public recordings at Pearl Harbor. Finally, we recount Henry Threadgill’s harrowing experi...

We open the vault to launch "The Blind Pig," a new ongoing series featuring rare, unreleased bootleg recordings of legendary live performances. To kick things off, we go back exactly 22 years to June 25, 2004, at the Village Vanguard for the JVC Jazz Festival. The featured recording captures Uri Caine’s "Blue Wail" project, featuring Greg Osby, Drew Gress, and Ben Perowsky. We explore the context of the 2004 jazz scene while listening to the MiniDisc audio capture, and reflect on the era. 

Note: Please go find and enjoy the music of Uri Caine, Greg Osby, Drew Gress, and Ben...

This week we take a step back to reintroduce the mission of Birch Grove Media and provide a behind the scenes tour of the studio driving the podcast. They detail their decade of experience in the industry, explaining the technical workflow of their sister company, Podfuel. The conversation transitions into a critique of AI editing tools, detailing why algorithmic cuts destroy conversational nuance and why human editors remain essential for quality short-form content. They also explore the podcast's role as a scene-building tool to support upcoming record releases and avant-garde musicians.

00:00 - Reintroducing...

Keyboardist and producer Carlos Homs sits down with Lindsay to trace his journey from the highly intellectual avant-garde jazz scene back to his roots in hip-hop production. Carlos shares stories from his time in the NJPAC Jazz for Teens program, watching a young Tyshawn Sorey play out-of-this-world piano, and cutting his teeth with heavyweights like Peter Evans and Steve Lehman. The conversation unpacks how Lehman’s Sélébéyone project and the psychotic work ethic of super-producer Cirkut pushed Carlos to team up with bassist Brady Watt and eventually work out of DJ Premier’s studio. They also tackle...

Drummer and composer Danny Sher sits down to discuss the tug-of-war between highly intellectualized composition and raw emotion. Danny breaks down his desire to dodge "accounting jazz" and write music that forces the audience to feel the rhythm before they can analyze it. Tracing his wild musical evolution, Danny shares hilarious early memories of acting as a "Dog Star Commander" mascot for Manchild, getting humbled at early sessions, and watching a young Tyshawn Sorey casually drum in 15. Danny explains his strategy for writing "jazz disguised as rock" with Horse Torso, navigating the brutal polyrhythms of Atomic Pigeons, and pivoting...

In this Special Edition episode, Lindsay and Alan tackle the massive disruption of Artificial Intelligence in music. They break down the controversy surrounding the first AI-generated Billboard charting artist, the fierce pushback from working musicians, and the surreal "uncanny valley" of algorithmic audio. Shifting to the jazz ecosystem, they analyze new tech like Neural Audio Synthesis and Stefon Harris’s Harmony Cloud, before subjecting themselves to some truly horrific Suno AI generations attempting to mimic modern jazz artists.

Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro: Going in blind on AI

01:13 - Meet Xania Monet: The first AI...

Guitarist and composer Josh Lopes opens up about the intersection of classical chamber music discipline and underground experimentation. He walks through the collaborative history of Dither, the psychology of working directly under John Zorn, translating Laurie Spiegel’s planetary orbit tracking data to fretted instruments, and how an iPad mechanical failure turned a performance at the Stone into a living nightmare.

Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro

00:25 - From Rhode Island to the Avant-Garde Scene

01:46 - Euphoniums, Marching Band, and Transferring Schools

03:44 - William Paterson University and the "Bossa Nova" Trap

Drummer Sam Ospovat discusses his technical evolution and the historical weight of performing with masters like Cecil Taylor. He breaks down the differences between the New York and Nordic music communities, the creation of his project Blight Music in a Brooklyn warehouse, and the discipline required to maintain a creative voice across different continents.

Timestamps:

Alan and Lindsay Bjorklund explore the decade-long journey of the album Not Your Grandfather’s Jazz featuring Tyshawn Sorey, Matt Mitchell, Jeremy Viner, Travis Reuter, and Kim Cass. They break down the band history of Smirk, the process of recording world-class improvisers at GSI Studios, and why they chose to build an independent platform for creative music.

Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro: Reflecting on the label’s first release

01:00 - The origins of Smirk (2011 at Ibeam)

02:00 - Smirk vs. Face: Electric and Acoustic quintets

04:14 - Expanding to a sextet with Matt...

Bassist Kevin Scott shares lessons from the road and the technical secrets of playing "out" while keeping the pocket. From touring with Gov't Mule to the manifestation stories that led to playing with his idols, Kevin discusses the necessity of artistic sacrifice and the "Dancing Poodle" analogy that defines the industry landscape.

Timestamps:

00:00 - The reality of the professional music environment

00:26 - Touring with a "Raccoon Ambassador"

03:49 - Tour Hacks: Bus etiquette and sideman logistics

08:34 - Maintaining health and gym routines on the road

09:53 - Resonant...

Alan and Lindsay Bjorklund join Matt Scollante to explore the intensive process of recording the new Bear Skinner album, Unobtainium. They discuss the technical challenge of live tracking during a snowstorm, the discipline of creating original audio patches, and the infrastructure required to document high-level creative music.

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Keyboardist Trevor Lagrange joins the show to discuss the evolution of his creative voice and the necessity of visual entertainment in live music. He breaks down the history of the Brooklyn loft scene, the influence of his classical training, and the mental tools he uses to master the advanced rhythms of the Bear Skinner project.

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Matt Scollante interviews Alan Bjorklund on the technical and philosophical evolution of the producer's role in creative music. Alan breaks down the high-level vision for Birch Grove Media, his specific audio choices for the band Smirk, and the expansive influences that shape the label's identity.

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Alan & Lindsay Bjorklund and Ryan Clackner gather in Knoxville to review a weekend of live performance. They discuss the importance of "play" in improvised sets, the local venues that support the scene, and the long-awaited reunion duo of Ryan Clackner and Tyshawn Sorey.

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Bassist Nick Jost joins Lindsay to discuss his "prepped-for-anything" mindset and the reality of the creative music scene. He breaks down his roots in St. Louis, his technical tools for learning odd meters, and why the best music comes from leaving your ego at the door.

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Alan and Lindsay break down the move from New York City to their new headquarters in Blairstown, NJ. They discuss the "obsessive" process of building a professional-grade home studio, the difficulty of booking bands in the city post-2022, and the local history of the Delaware Water Gap.

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Guitarist Ryan Clackner joins the show to discuss why jazz guitar often fails to harness the true power of the electric instrument. From the "incestuous" habits of guitar players to the soul-crushing influence of academia, Ryan breaks down what’s wrong with the scene today—and why he had to move to the "Bermuda Triangle of Appalachia" to find his own voice.

Timestamps:

01:30 - The "Sound Riddle": From Holdsworth to Scofield

03:49 - The hurdle of "straight-ahead" proficiency

11:10 - How the "classical sickness" infected jazz

16:46 - From eighth-grade Meta...

In the debut episode, founders Alan and Lindsay discuss why they decided to "choose themselves" and launch Birch Grove Media. They break down the importance of physical media, the roles of a creative director versus a label manager, and why their podcast won't sound like your typical "soothing" NPR jazz show.

Timestamps: