The Afternoon Cruise

Vocalist extraordinaire Samara Joy is coming to the Ordway on Saturday September 14. During a break in her schedule Samara Joy connected with Sean McPherson to discuss her technique for picking songs, her quick rise to become one of the biggest names in the world of jazz and her love of ensemble singing. Full interview: […] […]

Celebrated reed player and composer Alan Braufman has a new album out, called Infinite Love, Infinite Tears. In conjunction with the release, he connected with Jazz88’s Christian Fritz to revisit his fascinating career–from his blossoming as a player in the early 1970s, to his stints with the Psychedelic Furs, Carla Bley, and others, and his […] […]

Lucia Sarmiento is a local artist who recently released a single titled “Look Up,” which features her incredible saxophone skills. To me, this song perfectly encapsulates the nature of curiosity and wonder. You can hear her genuine joy for creating music and how that’s expressed in “Look Up.” She has an obvious talent at integrating […] […]

The Neighborhood Quartet has been a beneath-the-radar Twin Cities mainstay for years, providing their sound on stages all across the metro. I was elated when I found out they were taking the step into commercially releasing an album, and when I heard the tune “Hey Fellas,” I knew they had found their stride. The tune […] […]

From the Desk of Sean McPherson: Mischief is an under appreciated emotion to conjure in music. Blues music does mischief great, maybe the best. Mischievous jazz is a close second and “DONKEY” from The Early Planets’ debut record captures that for me. From note one, you can tell that all three players are listening, reactive […] […]

Bassist Anthony Cox joined Jazz88’s Sean McPherson to discuss Charles Mingus and Paul Chambers on their birthday (April 22). As a fellow bass player Cox shared the influence these icons of the instrument had on his development as a bass player, including how catching a live performance from Charles Mingus shaped Cox’s decision to pursue […] […]

More than any other hip-hop producer, J. Dilla, born James Yancey February 7, 1974, has impacted how jazz musicians write and play today. His famously “drunken” drum programming, his singular approach to harmonization and his bass playing have all become part of the lexicon of modern jazz. To mark what would be Dilla’s 50th birthday […] […]

Saint Paul Peterson is a funk ambassador, gifted vocalist, bassist and a curator of the Funk Friday series. He’s been a member of The Family and The Time and he’s been a recognized fixture in the music world on an international level for decades. Saint Paul is bringing his online series, Funk Friday, onto the […] […]

Jazz88 celebrates the birthday of Jim Hall, born this day in 1930 in Buffalo, New York. Hall was widely admired for his harmonic acumen, his understated guitar style and his distinctive compositional voice. While he admired guitar innovators like Charlie Christian and Barney Kessel, he was largely inspired by horn players like Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young. After morving to Los Angeles […] […]

The celebrated Twin Cities vocalist Kathleen Johnson is back onstage this weekend at the Capri Theater this weekend (November 4 and 5th) for Blue Gardenia. The show features three singers, Johnson, Thomasina Petrus and Patricia Lacy. The trio is navigating the songbooks of Etta James, Billie Holiday and Phyllis Hyman. Kathleen Johnson took the time […] […]

Jazz88 offers so much more than a streaming service ever can by connecting you to the world of jazz. With the support of our listeners, we’re able to present live events, capturing world-class talent from resident and touring artists, all year long. During our Fall Drive, we will be sharing full live concerts from our […] […]

Braxton Haulcy (above; R), Executive Director at St. Paul’s WalkerWest Music Academy, and Ernest Bisong (above; L), a WalkerWest instructor and curator for the newest installment of their long-running Rondo Community Music Series, stopped by the Jazz88 studios to discuss this annual musical community event, how it comes together, and the different ways you can […] […]

In anticipation of the upcoming Zorn @ 70 event at the Walker Art Center this Saturday (Sept. 9), Jazz88’s Sean McPherson sat down with Philip Bither, Senior Curator of Performing Arts at the Walker, to highlight some tracks from John Zorn’s vast catalog, and to talk about Zorn’s significance in the musical world. Listen: Portions […] […]

Local artists Katia Cardenas and Lucia Sarmiento are both instructors of a new program at WalkerWest Music Academy called the “Women in Jazz Initiative.” The first combo of players from the program are playing on Saturday, June 24 at the Twin Cities Jazz Festival (7:30pm set at the MPSVoices Future of Jazz Stage in the […] […]

Ernest Bisong, an accomplished violinist based out of the Twin Cities, swung through the Jazz88 studios to talk about the role of violin in jazz music and to discuss his upcoming summer camp for young violinists at Walker West Music Academy. Listen:   This interview originally aired June 5, 2023 on The Afternoon Cruise. This […] […]

Chadwick ‘Niles’ Phillips, founder & CEO of The Avant Garde entertainment production company, stopped by the Jazz88 studios to discuss his involvement with ComMUSICation, a program founded in 2013 to provide high-quality after school music programs accessible to youth. The group is celebrating their 10th anniversary on Sunday, May 21 at the Ordway in St. […] […]

Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist, Karrin Allyson, hopped aboard The Afternoon Cruise to talk about her upcoming show at the Dakota on Tuesday, May 16. She’s preparing for a new album centered on the music of Brazil, and she’s bringing some collaborators along, including Brazilian singer and guitarist, Rosa Passos. Listen:   This interview originally aired May […] […]

While he was in Minneapolis, Christian McBride was nice enough to connect with Sean from The Afternoon Cruise to discuss his upcoming performances in the Twin Cities, his love and support for all things jazz, and his work on Jazz Night in America. Listen to the interview here: Portions of this interview originally aired March […] […]

This year, Jazz88 is sharing space with the team from iHeart Media, including KFAN, while our North Minneapolis studios and offices are undergoing renovations. Turns out, these sports people also know their music, and we’ve received a couple of thoughtful jazz gifts from Mr. Paul Allen. His gifts have been welcome, thoughtful, and, most importantly, […] […]

This Just In is Jazz88’s weekly celebration of new releases. It hits the airwaves every Friday at Noon and this week we are diving into Terri Lynn Carrington’s latest release, New Standards Volume 1. For her latest effort Carrington worked with purpose at every turn, working up material exclusively from women composers and drawing in an […] […]

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The Minnesota-based music icon, Nachito Herrera, hopped on the phone with Jazz88’s Sean McPherson to discuss his upcoming performance at The Ordway. He’ll be playing with a 7-piece band featuring the cream of the crop from the Cuban music scene. Enjoy the conversation about what concert-goers can expect from the show. […]

The Minnesota jazz legend and Jazz88 broadcaster, Butch Thompson, passed away on Sunday, 8/14/22. Below, is audio of a tribute to Butch from the 8/16/22 Afternoon Cruise with Tony Balluff (Southside Aces) and Sean McPherson (Jazz88). […]

Julius Collins, the vocalist for Dr. Mambo’s Combo and a fixture in the Twin Cities music scene, stopped by The Afternoon Cruise to talk about the shows that the Combo will be a part of this weekend over at the Capri. Check out the conversation in advance of their shows on Saturday and Sunday at […] […]