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PODCAST

Songs & Stories

Backstage Bay Area

Backstage Bay Area is an exclusive podcast that explores San Francisco’s jazz music scene in depth. It features intimate interviews with emerging and established artists. The program also offers a unique glimpse into the artists" creative processes, inspirations, and upcoming projects.

music music interviews

All Episodes

00:24:29

Echoes & Inspirations: Melissa Aldana’s Jazz Journey

Songs & Stories ·

2025/12/30

Show Notes:In this episode of Backstage Bay Area, host Steve Roby sits down with Grammy-nominated saxophonist and composer Melissa Aldana. As the first female instrumentalist and first South American to win the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition, Melissa shares her remarkable journey from Santiago, Chile, to the global jazz stage.Highlights:• Melissa discusses her early influences, including her family’s musical legacy and the pivotal moment she switched to tenor sax after

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00:36:51

Sasha Berliner at SFJAZZ: A Homecoming That Charts...

Songs & Stories ·

2025/12/22

Episode: Sasha Berliner at SFJAZZ — Recontextualizing the VibraphoneIn this episode, we welcome San Francisco native Sasha Berliner, a vibraphonist, composer, and producer whose work serves as a spectral map of contemporary music. Berliner has emerged as a primary voice in the New York scene by deconstructing the traditional boundaries of her instrument, blending a rigorous jazz foundation with the kinetic, "genre-blurring" spirit of the Bay Area.We discuss her journey from rock drumming

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00:29:42

Adam Shulman: A Charlie Brown Christmas & Beyond

Songs & Stories ·

2025/12/14

Episode SummaryIn this festive episode, Steve Roby chats with acclaimed pianist, composer, and educator Adam Shulman, a key figure in the San Francisco jazz scene since 2002. Known for his work as a sideman with artists like Paula West, Stefon Harris, and Miguel Zenón, as well as for his own original albums, Adam shares insights into his musical journey and the timeless magic of Vince Guaraldi’s “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” Key Topics & HighlightsA Holiday Tradition: Adam shares his yearly

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00:21:02

Michael Mayo: Grammy Nominations, "Fly" (Deluxe), and...

Songs & Stories ·

2025/12/13

Episode Summary: In this episode of Backstage Bay Area, host Steve Roby sits down with vocalist and composer Michael Mayo to discuss his whirlwind year. Fresh off two Grammy nominations—Best Jazz Vocal Album for Fly and Best Jazz Performance for "Four"—Michael opens up about the surreal moment he got the news in Paris. We dive into his viral NPR Tiny Desk Concert, his philosophy on using looper pedals versus acoustic arrangements,and his deep musical lineage. Michael also previews his

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00:20:34

Sachal Vasandani: Best Life Now, Stripped Back

Songs & Stories ·

2025/12/03

Episode Description: In this episode of Backstage Bay Area, host Steven Roby sits down with vocalist and songwriter Sachal Vasandani. Known for a voice that critics call "transfixing," Sachal has collaborated with everyone from Wynton Marsalis to Bobby McFerrin.Sachal discusses his latest project, Best Life Now, and the surprising journey of taking that album—originally produced with deep grooves by drummer Nate Smith—and stripping it back to its raw, acoustic essentials. We dive into his

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00:30:18

The Klezmatics: 40 Years of Revolutionary Joy

Songs & Stories ·

2025/12/01

Episode Description: In this episode of Backstage Bay Area, host Steven Roby sits down with Frank London, trumpeter and founding member of the Grammy Award-winning band The Klezmatics.For four decades, The Klezmatics have been the world’s leading voice in blending traditional Yiddish roots with the energy of punk, jazz, and gospel. Frank shares stories from the band’s origins in New York’s gritty East Village scene of the 1980s and discusses their landmark collaboration with the Woody Guthrie

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00:29:29

Anat Cohen’s Musical Evolution & 50th Birthday...

Songs & Stories ·

2025/11/27

Episode Summary: In this episode of Backstage Bay Area, Steven Roby sits down with Grammy-nominated clarinetist and saxophonist Anat Cohen. Known for her expressive virtuosity and infectious charisma, Anat is bringing a massive milestone celebration to San Francisco.We discuss her upcoming "50th Birthday Celebration" at SFJAZZ (December 11-12), a career-spanning residency featuring her intimate "Quartetinho" ensemble and her expansive 10-piece "Tentet." Anat opens up

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00:23:39

Mads Tolling: Nordic Folklore Meets American Jazz

Songs & Stories ·

2025/11/26

Episode Summary: This week on Backstage Bay Area, host Steve Roby welcomes two-time Grammy Award-winning violinist Mads Tolling. Known for his work with the Turtle Island Quartet, Stanley Clarke, and Bob Weir, Mads is shifting gears this season to share a piece of his Danish childhood in San Francisco.Mads takes us inside his project, Cool Yule: A Nordic Holiday Celebration, a "love letter" to his upbringing in Copenhagen. We explore the concept of "hygge," compare the structured

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00:26:34

Stefon Harris on Soul, Sound, and Harmony in Motion

Songs & Stories ·

2025/11/21

Episode Summary:Vibraphonist, composer, and educator Stefon Harris joins Backstage Bay Area before his November 29 double bill with trumpeter Theo Croker at SFJAZZ’s Miner Auditorium. Harris discusses the spiritual roots of his sound, the ideas behind his new album Sonic Creed Volume Two: Life Signs, and why he believes harmony can be felt as vividly as rhythm. He also shares how his Harmony Cloud app is transforming the way musicians hear and respond to chords in real time.About Stefon

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00:30:23

Ben Folds on Keeping Art Alive and SFJAZZ holiday shows

Songs & Stories ·

2025/11/18

In this episode of Backstage Bay Area, host Steve Roby interviews Ben Folds, the pianist, songwriter, and arts advocate who has spent three decades balancing sharp, story-driven pop songs with orchestral ambition. Fresh off the release of Ben Folds Live with the National Symphony Orchestra and deep into his work on the new holiday album Sleigher, Folds discusses what it means to keep art alive in a noisy, distracted culture.The conversation shifts from his years at the Kennedy Center to the details

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00:29:02

Three Visitors Trio Debuts New Album

Songs & Stories ·

2025/11/09

Show Description: In this episode of Backstage Bay Area, host Steve Roby interviews pianist and composer Edward Simon to discuss the trio Three Visitors, a deeply collaborative project with bassist Scott Colley and drummer Brian Blade. This trio consists of three composers writing for one another, built on a long history, shared language, and deliberate listening. We talk about how the group developed from their New York connections in the 1990s, how the new album on GroundUP Music was created with

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00:26:58

Sarah Wilson Brings Incandescence to Berkeley

Songs & Stories ·

2025/11/06

Episode DescriptionIn this episode, Steven Roby talks with Bay Area trumpeter and composer Sarah Wilson about her luminous new album Incandescence and the creative path that led her from political puppet theater to leading an all-woman horn line in a brass-forward Bay Area ensemble. Wilson explains how visual art, community-based performance, and New Orleans street energy shaped the music on Incandescence, and why she wants audiences to experience the album as one immersive arc at her upcoming

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00:34:14

RJAM: New Visions at the Lab

Songs & Stories ·

2025/10/31

Episode SummaryExecutive Director and co‑founder of SFCM’s Roots, Jazz & American Music (RJAM) program, Jason Hainsworth, joins Steve to talk about how the Side‑By‑Side model turns the Joe Henderson Lab into a working classroom. We explore mentorship in real time, why original student music matters, and what audiences can expect from RJAM’s *Side‑By‑Side: New Visions* performance at the Lab.GuestJason Hainsworth — Executive Director & Co‑Founder, RJAM (San Francisco Conservatory of

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00:20:10

SFJAZZ Collective: Native Dancer Preview

Songs & Stories ·

2025/10/30

Episode summaryMusic Director and saxophonist Chris Potter joins Backstage Bay Area to preview the SFJAZZ Collective’s tribute to Wayne Shorter’s Native Dancer. We talk about why this album matters, how the Collective reimagined its songs for today’s band, Potter’s personal encounter with Shorter, and what new music is on deck.What you’ll hear• Why Native Dancer remains a living blueprint for jazz–Brazilian exchange• How the Collective divided up arrangements and found fresh angles on classics like

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00:20:59

Gerald Albright: Groove, Melody, Momentum Ahead

Songs & Stories ·

2025/10/29

Episode logline:Saxophonist—and bassist—Gerald Albright talks origin stories, the punch and polish behind “Living My Best Life,” why the title cut “Full Throttle” opens up onstage, and what listeners can expect when his band hits Oakland.About our guestA pillar of contemporary jazz with decades of touring and studio work, Gerald Albright writes and produces with a rhythm-section mindset. He came up on saxophone in South Central Los Angeles, later added bass guitar, and now releases music

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00:20:43

Caity Gyorgy Brings Strings to Swing

Songs & Stories ·

2025/10/29

Canadian vocalist-composer Caity Gyorgy joins Steve for a conversation about craft, collaboration, and why swing still feels newly minted when the writing is sharp and the band listens hard. Known for quicksilver phrasing and original tunes that travel between club intimacy and orchestral sheen, Gyorgy traces the path from early influences to her new string-driven project and previews her San Francisco debut at the Joe Henderson Lab.What you’ll hear• How Caity discovered jazz and shaped her sound

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00:18:37

Las Cafeteras’ Night of Living Memory

Songs & Stories ·

2025/10/27

Episode SummaryHector Flores of Las Cafeteras joins Steve to talk about Hasta La Muerte, the group’s Day of the Dead production arriving at SFJAZZ. He traces the band’s East L.A. activist roots, how son jarocho meets hip-hop and spoken word, and why participation—dancing, singing, dressing up—turns a concert into a communal ritual. Hector shares how Cocosparked a new wave of writing, why La Catrina becomes “La Santa de los Muertos,” and how a reimagined La Llorona story reframes grief as love.Hector

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00:24:58

Between Soul and Swing: Nicolas Bearde’s Jarreau,...

Songs & Stories ·

2025/10/21

Podcast: Backstage Bay AreaHost: Steve RobyGuests: Nicolas Bearde (vocals) with special guest Tammy L. Hall (piano)Bay Area vocalist Nicolas Bearde joins Backstage Bay Area to talk about his Al Jarreau celebration at the Joe Henderson Lab. We trace his path from early R&B roots and Motown radio to a mature jazz voice shaped onstage with Bobby McFerrin—and how that journey informs a show that treats Jarreau’s music as a living language. Nicolas shares insights on two signature tracks from his

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00:29:15

Freedom, Community, and Jazz: KCSM’s 60 Years on the Air

Songs & Stories ·

2025/10/18

Episode overviewKCSM 91.1 FM has been a lifeline for Bay Area jazz for six decades. Station Manager Dr. Robert Franklin joins Steve to talk about the station’s live-curated sound, its massive library and preservation work, and the new documentary celebrating KCSM’s history and community impact.Dr. Robert “Bob” Franklin — Station Manager, KCSM 91.1 FM; Executive Producer of KCSM: 60 Years of Broadcasting and Jazz.KCSM is one of the nation’s last full-time jazz stations. Its curator-driven

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00:34:10

Amaro Freitas on Enchantment, Ancestry, and the...

Songs & Stories ·

2025/10/10

Backstage Bay Area – Episode with Amaro FreitasGuest: Amaro Freitas, acclaimed Brazilian jazz pianist and composerHost: Steve RobyEpisode Highlights:Introduction to Amaro Freitas, his Afro-Brazilian roots, and his unique approach to jazz piano.Amaro discusses his musical beginnings in Brazil, learning piano in church, and the influence of family and local musicians.Deep dive into Amaro’s rhythmic style, blending African, Brazilian, and jazz traditions.Influences: Amaro shares how Chick Corea and

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312 results

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