Travis Knapp has just released his 5th album The Same Sun Rises. These are songs that celebrate life, with all it’s ups and downs. Travis has been making music for most of his life. He is also a farmer and lover of nature. Travis lives close to the earth, which informs his world view, and his art. Travis is a gentle person and it comes through in h…

Mark S. Winfield has led an interesting life so far, with a career as a CPA behind him he is now spending his time through-hiking, writing, and making music. Mark is also a life-long community volunteer. Mark is part of The Leopold Trio, a Jazz group, and he’s working on a sequel to his book The Stones of Great Bear Lake. Mark also has a YouTube Ch…

D.D. Jackson is an Emmy Award and Juno Award winning composer and an inspired pianist and educator. In this new album Poetry Project he has set to music poems from Canadian Poets, adding dimension to the words, creating space for listeners to more deeply experience the words of the Poets. Bringing together wonderful vocalists and musicians, this re…

N’Faly Kouyaté, Johnny Khalsi, and Saran (Sandra Werner) of Afro Celt Sound System join Baruch to share the new record OVA and to talk about Simon Emmerson, one of the founders of Afro Celt, who died in 2023. Afro Celt Sound System has made an indelible mark on the world of music with great songs, massive hits like Release with Sinead O’Connor and …

Moira Smiley returns to Paradigms to share her current work The Rhizome Project a collection of mostly old traditional songs with a few new compositions. Moira is examining issues of grief, care, and connection, while also exploring the musical emotional space of a string quartet. The music is poignant and spare. Moira Smiley is touring. Look for h…

Perla Batalla is a singer and songwriter. She lives in a small town with her husband and daughter, where, when not touring, she engages with her community bringing art to children. Perla sang with Leonard Cohen for many years, on records and in concerts. She’s just released her second Cohen tribute A Letter to Leonard Cohen Tribute to a Friend a co…

Angelina Llongueras returns to Paradigms to discuss her latest creative work, politics, but mainly to remember her younger brother Josep Maria Llongueras, musician, mentor to younger musicians, and a lover of life. Most recently Angelina performed the Percy Bysshe Shelley poem The Mask of Anarchy at the San Francisco Public Library, and she’s writt…

Réginald Policard is a Pianist and Composer in the Jazz genre, but that doesn’t begin to describe his music. He is from Haiti, and is fluent in the rhythms and melodies of the Caribbean, as well as being influenced by and playing with numerous Jazz greats. The new record Boarding Pass is his 17th album since 1989. Réginald and Baruch discuss the mu…

Dengue Fever is celebrating 20 years as a band with their new album Ting Mong. The band was on hiatus until 2019 when they reconvened, exploring new music, and then the Covid pandemic. The result is this new record. “In Cambodian culture, a Ting Mong is an effigy of protection, a scarecrow-like figure usually placed at the entrance of a village or …

Teni Rane sings original songs about life. They offer us an opportunity to connect our lives with each other in a musically beautiful and unassuming way. The lyrics, the musicianship, the singing, all create a homey feel that is calm, introspective, traveling through the ups and downs of life. Teni is a member of Folk Alliance International, an org…

Neil Adler grew up with musician parents. Music has always been part of his life. He’s played and studied with masters of his craft, teaches, and has just released Emi’s Song, a record featuring original compositions, with Neil playing piano and harmonica, Jeff Buenz on 6-string bass, and drummer Akira Tana, and Carlitos Medrano on congas. The musi…

Mariah Parker has coined the phrase Indo Latin Jazz to describe the musical fusion she is inspired to create. A lifelong pianist, Mariah’s compositions are inspired by relationship with the muse; rhythms, experiences, and occasionally a complete piece shows up in her imagination. The new record Windows Through Time is inspired by, and offers listen…

Okaidja Afroso is a Ghanaian artist who has just released the second installment in his Ancient Africa Wisdom Trilogy. It’s called ÀBÒR ÉDIŃ which means Melanin Earth Garden in the Gãdangmé language. The first record came out in 2022, JAKU MUMOR which means Ancestral Spirit. The third record will come in 2025. Gãdangmé language is in the family…

Ganesh Rajagopalan, the celebrated violinist, has been making music his whole life, on his own and with his brother Kumaresh. In 2023 he celebrated 50 years of being a professional musician both with Ganesh Kumaresh and with Shakti. He has an extensive catalog of albums, and tours regularly. Yugma is Ganesh’s latest project. This piece, an original…

Alex Martin has created an album, songs made from the poetry of his father Michael Martin. It’s called Appalachian Fall: The Song-Poems of Michael Martin. Michael Martin lived on a mountain and wrote poems. He was called “the foremost meditative poet of Appalachia” by former North Carolina Poet Laureate Shelby Stephenson. Alex Martin is a guitarist…

Natalie Spears lives in Colorado where she listens to birds, to the land, and is inspired to create music. Her latest record is Hymn of Wild Things, a collection of original songs about connecting with nature, and about grief; personal grief and the transpersonal grief a person can feel for the world. This music brings together old-timey Appalachia…

Eljuri returns to Paradigms to talk about her free Concerts for Democracy starting July 13 in Riis Park, Chicago, sponsored by the International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago. Here is the entire Tour schedule so far. More dates may be added. Eljuri is partnering with HeadCount.org, SpreadTheVote.org and Every Vote Counts to provide information …

John Kruth has been exploring and innovating musically since he was a child. He is a multi-instrumentalist who plays mandolin, flute, sitar, guitar, banjo, the list goes on. John has written five books about music and musicians, including Bright Moments – The Life and Legacy of Rahsaan Roland Kirk Check out some of John Kruth’s past musical project…

Itamar Erez and Hamin Honari are friends who have played music together for years. They have collaborated on this new album Migrant Voices to bring attention to an issue and to celebrate the creativity in their friendship. Both Itamar and Hamin are accomplished musicians, this being Itamar’s second time as a guest on Paradigms. The new music is cle…

Dan Loomis is a Jazz Bassist from New York. He is also an inspired person of conscience and humility. His new record Revolutions is a ceremony, an homage to some of the great revolutionaries; Fransisco de Miranda of Venezuela, Toussaint Louverture of Haiti, Simón Bolivar of Venezuela, José Antonio Páez of Venezuela, Jacques Dessalines of Haiti, …

Jo Beth Young writes and sings with a deep ethereal palate of sounds and colors. Her new record Broken Spells is a sonic kaleidoscope, with songs that evoke transformation and mystery, vocals and instrumentation which defy gravity. On the new record Jo Beth is writer, performer, arranger, producer, and mixing engineer, so the sound of this record i…

Maetar is Itai Disraeli on bass, Hagai Lev-Shalem Izraeli on horns, and Richard Fultineer on percussion. Each player is an established musician in their own right and with other bands. As a trio they have released a double album Love Dub and The Abstract One Drop, 21 tracks of music that is really an event to listen to. The conversation between Bar…

Steven Gellman is an award winning songwriter, a self-taught musician, and a performer. He performs in musical venues and also in homes for the elderly. His songs are smart poignant warm poetically, musically sophisticated and very accessible. The new record All You Need is a very enjoyable listen that will make you think and feel. This is Steven’s…

Andy Milne is a two-time Juno Award winning Pianist and composer. He has studied and played with Oscar Peterson, played in Steve Coleman’s bands, performed with Cassandra Wilson, to name just a few. Andy composes soundtrack for film and TV, and teaches full time at the University of Michigan. The new record Time Will Tell is 10 tracks of music expr…

Brenda Earle Stokes is a pianist, singer, and composer from Canada. Currently living in New York City, Brenda’s new record is Motherhood, an homage to, and inside-view of, motherhood. The songs are both amusing and serious, offering both release and insight into some of the challenges faced by mothers across boundaries of culture and time. Brenda a…

Sarah Jerrom is a composer and a singer. Her latest project is Magpie, a Suite in 8 movements that takes the listener into a mythic story of Jerrom’s creation. The music is complex, powerfully melodic, performed by players of great skill and talent. The inspiration is the grief of miscarriage, pregnancy loss. The topic is one which is often avoided…

Diane Coll returns to Paradigms to share her new album Old Ghosts, a collection of original songs exploring themes of coming to terms and letting go. Diane is exploring her songwriting and musicianship with a calm kind of passion, bringing in more instruments, vocally adventurous; the poetry is personal and there is even some whimsy. This record is…

David First with his band New Party Systems, and Yvette Massoudi, have collaborated on a song Next of Kin which is a call for Peace. David First has been writing songs and making music since he was a teenager, finding his way as a young adult to the experimental music scene in New York. He works with a number of bands including New Party Systems an…

Michael Gaulden returns to Paradigms to share his new book for children Hello Neighbor! which addresses the issue of homelessness. In his new book Michael explains homelessness, homeless encampments, and more, by anthropomorphizing cats as the main characters and going on a tour of a city where there are homeless “cats.” The book is beautifully ill…

Chris McKhool and Marc Meriläinen, along with many others, have just collaborated on a powerful new record Indigenous Collaborations with Sultans of String Walking Through the Fire. The songs and music are inspired by the experiences of Indigenous people in Canada, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and Indigenous culture and tradition. The c…

Nick Justice, originally from the Bronx, has been playing music since he was a kid. He’s been part of the San Diego cow punk music scene for decades, as a solo artist, with a band, and as a sideman. Nick writes about the human condition. Informed by his own life, and what he sees, Nick tells stories about real people, with a little artistic license…

Denin Slage-Koch is a Jazz Guitarist, Composer, Arranger and Professor at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. His new album is It Comes In Waves which is a collection of mostly original compositions with one outstanding cover. Denin is one of those people whose life is completely intertwined with his instrument. He talks about the role of music …

Amy Wagenfeld is an Occupational Therapist. She works as a design consultant, educator, researcher, and author. She is a faculty member in the Boston University Post-Professional Occupational Therapy Doctoral program and Principal of Amy Wagenfeld Design. Amy’s love of nature led her to the realization that nature is healing, restorative, and can b…

Scott Free has been composing and performing music for decades. He was inducted into the City of Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame in 2010 for his political work. Scott runs a queer Indie Radio Station Alt Q Radio. The new record Songs to Fight Oppression is a collection of protest songs. If you’ve protested in the US in the last 3 decades, some…

Caroline Lavelle is a musican through and through; a cellist who plays with people like Peter Gabriel, Radiohead, Mary Black, The Chieftains, and many others. Caroline regularly records and tours with Loreena McKennitt. Caroline’s most recent solo album is The Raven. Recorded in a caravan in a meadow overlooking the sea in North Cornwall, these son…

Bernard O’neill has been working on the Syriana project for many years, with numerous iterations of the music being released to the public, most recently as a benefit for Syria, a country torn by war and violence both from within and from without. Syriana 1325 is the new record, which goes further both musically and in terms of telling the story of…

Saïd Tichiti has been making music for most of his life. Born in Morocco, he’s been living in Hungary for 25 years, resulting in a musical amalgam bringing together North African rhythms in the Gnawa tradition, with Amazigh and Hassani influences. The Baltic region has rich musical traditions which come into the mix with Hungarian inspirations and …

Diva Jazz Orchestra celebrates their 30th Anniversary with the release of the record Diva Jazz Orchestra “30” recorded live at Dizzy’s Club. Baruch is joined by bandleader Sherrie Maricle and some of her bandmates; Jennifer Krupa on Trombone, Jami Dauber on Trumpet, Noriko Ueda on Bass, Scheila Gonzalez on Saxophone, and Kellin Hanas on Trumpet. Th…

Allison Au‘s new record Migrations is a suite of music that is an homage migrants. Commissioned by the Royal Conservatory of Music in 2019, inspired by the stories of her grandparents from Eastern Europe and from Asia, Allison has created an epic musical poem which is comprised of her original compositions, combined with poetry by celebrated poets …

George Mann returns to Paradigms fresh off an Australian tour, to share his new record This Chain, a collection of original songs and a few songs written by treasured friends. George has been involved with the labor movement and playing folk music for many years. He plays over 200 gigs a year, many in Veteran’s Homes and Homes for the elderly. The …

Muriel Mwamba is an award-winning singer-songwriter from Zambia. Her new record Lesa Alomfwa is a celebration of her faith and determination. Years in the making, with songs inspired by her life experiences, this album is Muriel’s first album, with hopefully more to come! Bringing together African, Brazilian and Jazz musical colors, this music can …

Gino Jevdjevic is a musician from Bosnia whose band is Kultur Shock. Darek Mazzone is from Poland,, and his record label is Old Age Recording Co. They are long time friends and colleagues, and together they have just produced a new Kultur Shock album Acoustic Live. Kultur Shock has been making music for decades and has many albums. They are a punk …

Yungchen Lhamo is from Tibet. She has resided in the United States for 30 years. Yungchen has been celebrated on the international music scene since the mid 1990’s. Recently she toured Australia with Peter Gabriel. Yungchen Lhamo’s seventh album is One Drop of Kindness, a song cycle of beautiful music which offers listeners a journey from wherever …

Carrie Newcomer‘s album A Great Wild Mercy is a heartwarming foray into a world of possibilities and hope, while acknowledging the challenges of life. The painful aspects of reality are not candy-coated in Newcomer’s stories, but beauty and aliveness are celebrated. The use of imagery and sense memory in her songs is crafted beautifully. Welcomed b…

During the holiday season people get new toys, engage in winter sports, and party; all activities which can lead to injury. This episode is intended to help people understand and prevent Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), a sort of “TBI 101.” Dr. Alexis Peterson works at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a researcher. She is curren…

Oz Noy moved to New York City as a child, and now he’s a working musician, touring and recording. He plays Jazz Guitar with a distinctly bluesy flavor. The Oz Noy Trio includes Dennis Chambers on drums and Jimmy Haslip on bass. Their new album Triple Play is really good music. Oz shares some of his story and his process. He’s a very down to Earth p…

Accomplished musical masters Sean Harkness, Samite Mulondo, and Shem Guibbory are K U M A R A. When they play together the musical experience is deeply resonant, transcending emotion, reaching the listener. In conversation with Baruch you can hear the enthusiasm and engage with the intentions these three exude.They have a vision of playing music to…

World Beyond War is a non-profit organization dedicated to ending war and violence. Marc Eliot Stein first volunteered for World Beyond War in 2017 and has since become the Technology Director, managing websites, podcast and other technological aspects of promoting this mission. The organization provides anti-war organizing, workshops, and the podc…

Grupo Los Santos is getting ready to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the band! Their new record is Santos 4, a lively collaboration between 4 good friends who know each other well enough to be playful and experimental in their music co-creations. Pete Smith, David Ambrosio, Max Pollack, and William “Beaver” Bausch are always working on new music.…

John Reed returns to Paradigms to share his new record Elevation, a group of songs which directly address the current state and activities of humanity. John pulls no punches in his call for people to see and respond to the world around them. He is joined on this album by Matt Steady and Jo Beth Young, who bring their musicianship, brilliant and hau…