Trumpeter Riley Mulherkar is very much a man of his moment, and also mindful of the echoes from the past. His album Riley is one of the most innovative, creative explorations in the space between yesterday and tomorrow that I have heard in a long time. Here he talks about his diverse career as a collaborator, music presenter, composer, and now solo artist, and how thinking of jazz as a family tree helped him to find his place in the music. 

Singer-songwriter Jesse Harris on Paper Flower, his most recent album recorded in Paris with American and French musicians, his approach to songwriting (“writer's block is a choice”) and production, taking things as they come, confession versus craft, venturing into the unconscious, and whether it is his fate to work with female artists.

Guitarist Ella Feingold on her personal and musical rebirth, the importance of rhythm (“I don’t want to impress anyone I just want to make people feel good”), inverted tuning, orchestration, transphobia, and why she hopes to be the Mister Rogers of funk guitar.

Paula Cole on her early success, dreaming big, her life and career, the power of “the beginner’s mind”, the distinction between being an artist and an entertainer, the feeling of being pregnant with song, speaking for those who cannot speak, navigating a life in the music business, learning from young people, and her new album, Lo. 

Ben Sidran on his most recent record, Rainmaker, the stories behind the songs, his belief in the power of humor to help survive adverse situations, how Philip Roth’s retirement from writing affected him, whether or not he thinks retirement is truly possible for an artist, if this is in fact his last record, and what French rapper MC Solaar has to do with any of it.

Shabaka Hutchings on growing up between England and Barbados, his shift away from saxophone to wooden flutes, his new record Perceive its beauty, Acknowledge its Grace, the job of the artist, and why this is the right moment to make more patient music. 

Singer Jose James on his new record 1978, his professional and personal journey, the unique demands of being a jazz singer today, why he believes good art should be transformative, how he stays healthy, the creative challenges brought on by happiness and whether or not one needs to suffer in order to make good art. 

Vocal group säje on their journey - from a weekend retreat in Palm Springs to the release of their first full length album and its subsequent Grammy nomination for Best Arrangement Instruments and Vocals with Jacob Collier for “In The Wee Small Hours of the Morning”, collective lyric writing, managing logistics and juggling four schedules, the emotional space that feminine energy allows, and discovering who they are in public.

Bassist Will Lee was featured in episode 1 of The Third Story back in 2014. For this tenth anniversary episode, he returns to talk about his career since leaving The Late Show with David Letterman (he was the bass player on both of Letterman’s TV shows starting in 1982), why “music is our boss”, and how he likes to keep things exciting. 

Also featured: Amanda Sidran on living with a podcaster. 

Trumpeter Keyon Harrold on his record Foreverland, how a series of losses in his life ultimately led him to make “something beautiful, something positive, something inspiring,” and his reflections on the early days of his career as part of a community of like minded musicians who were “always open.”

Singer songwriter Lau Noah on her artful life, the journey that led her out of Spain and onto the world stage, how struggling with agoraphobia as a teenager helped her to become an artist, why adversity creates community, her adventures in babysitting, being comfortable as the “odd one” in any situation, and making her new record A Dos.

Ani DiFranco on how she sees her work today (“my job is connecting with people”), her early career (“it was relentless”), avoiding being labeled or boxed in (“I feel like a survivor of labels”), her idea of success (“successful artists are not necessarily the best selling”), raising children in an era of performative identity, practicing revolutionary love and why it’s easier to tell the truth than to hide yourself.

Guitarist, composer, engineer brad allen williams on his album œconomy and the creative process that he used to make it. Also a bit of Memphis music history, a meditation on the merits of music with “layered emotions”, a conversation about relationship between suffering and art, connecting the threads of noise rock and bebop, specialization vs broad knowledge, the value of vulnerability in music, and why he doesn’t capitalize his name.

Engineer, producer and label owner Pete Min about his early development on the east coast, how moving to Los Angeles gave him the space to reinvent himself musically, starting his Colorfield Records label and its “sculpted chaos” approach.

Clyde and Gracie Lawrence on the overnight success that was a decade in the making, running their band like a business, taking matters into their own hands, writing songs with “epic messaging and specificity”, and how their experience as an independent touring band led to real meaningful change in the music industry.

Pianist Joey Alexander on his journey out of Bali and onto the bandstand, what it was like for him to be thrust into the limelight at a young age (he was 10 when he started), what he hopes for the future, and his new record Continuance.

Bassist and composer Todd Sickafoose on his multifaceted career, working on the hit Broadway musical Hadestown and the process of putting together a Broadway show, working with Ani DiFranco, his new record Bear Proof, releasing music in today’s world, why bass players make good producers, and how a skin cancer diagnosis influenced his life personally and professionally.

Alan Lightman is a physicist, writer (of novels, essays, memoir and science texts), and social entrepreneur. For this unusual episode, his interview served as inspiration for an original song. Made in collaboration with the Podsongs podcast, this conversation covers his career at the intersection of science and humanities, mortality, success, the cosmos, technology, consciousness, writing fiction, embracing ambiguity, out of body experiences, and the idea that there are no answers to profound questions.

Drummer Greg Hutchinson on growing up in Brooklyn, playing drums as a boy, his mentors, the importance of personal style and of friendship among musicians, his next phase (“this is Hutch 3.0”) his favorite drummers, and his new album Da Bang.

John “J.R.” Robinson is one of the most recorded drummers in history. Here he talks about growing up in Iowa, falling in love with “groove music”, his incredible career, the stories behind some of his most celebrated recordings, what it means to have “contemporary time”, and his new band SRT.