The Playful Musician – Détails, épisodes et analyse

I’m grateful to be sitting down once again with Martin Majkut, Music Director of both the Rogue Valley Symphony in Oregon and the Queens Symphony Orchestra in New York. We haven’t spoken since 2020, and there’s much to catch up on.

We geek out over Beethoven's 5th Symphony and the ongoing debate about its proper tempo. Martin shares how fatherhood has transformed him as both a person and a conductor, explaining why becoming a father later in life has been ideal for him. We also delve into the aftermath of the pandemic and how it has positively changed both him and the makeup of his orchestra. This conversation, like all my discussions with Martin, is delightful. You'll come away with wisdom to apply to your own path in life and an intimate look at this wonderful composer.

Caity is a two-time Juno Award-winning vocalist from Canada, known for her remarkable musical talent and relentless work ethic. Her voice has an instrumental quality that can hold its own against any saxophone on an improvisational riff. Gyorgy has performed at jazz clubs and festivals across Canada, Mexico, Japan, and the United States, collaborating and recording with incredible musicians, including Christine Jensen, Pat LaBarbera, Jocelyn Gould, Ira Coleman, Bryn Roberts, and Joe LaBarbera, to name a few.

Join us as we discuss her ambitious project of transposing 31 songs in 30 days, her ability to write music that feels as if it emerged organically from the 1950s, and how she has honed her writing and improvisational skills to stand out as a young jazz vocalist you'll want to keep an eye on. We also talk about her newly released album Hello! How Are You?, where she brings her joyful spirit and playfulness to these new tracks, and what's next for her career.

Joanna Wallfisch is a London born vocalist/composer, hailing from generations of musicians. A multi-instrumentalist, she plays the guitar, ukulele, charango, piano, flute, and is a master in the art of live vocal looping. Her music is at once, hypnotic, and genre defying.

We sat down right before her newest album, now released, All in Time dropped. This latest is a collection of songs, with “no particular theme, but an overarching sense of purpose”. About allowing herself to be more patient, “it’s all at once about nothing and everything”. The second track, Killer Whale, will pull your skin away from your bones, calling you like a siren, to the sea. 

Music in her family has been more than a career, it was a means of survival. She tells the harrowing story of her grandmother, a survivor of Auschwitz. As a young teen she preserved her life by playing the cello in the orchestra at the camp. “If it weren’t for music, none of us would exist.”

A lively listen as we discuss endurance, in sport, in music, motherhood, and life.  

Purchase Joanna’s book The Great Song Cycle

Watch Joanna’s documentary The Great Song Cycle, Down Under

Kat Eaton has a voice dripping with deep, sultry tones and a pen that cuts through both light hearted topical themes and heavy social issues with equal parts soul and finesse. From drunk-dialing your ex to the persecution and attacks on the LGBTQAI+ community, Kat is the relevant, progressive musician we are all searching for. Truly an artist for the modern times. Kat has toured the UK/EU and sold out multiple headline shows in London, co-writing with the likes of Caro Emerald, Ruby Turner, and Roberta Campos; breaking through to distant territories via the national radio airwaves of Holland, Belgium, Brazil, France, and Italy. Kat’s voice is a rich jewel in the music scene.

Kat shares how with her first exposure to blues and soul, at the age of ten, she knew she wanted to create the visceral, full body experience she felt in the music.  As a very shy kid, Eaton created an alter ego to embody the confidence she needed, to become the performer she is today. From winning a Battle of the Bands, to playing pubs, Kat and I discuss how the ability to remain objective about her performance and talent, opened doors to a full life of songwriting, performance, and composition. Her new album, Honestly dropped Friday last, March 22nd. 

The Playful Musician is back with a new season and you won’t want to miss it. 

Our host Steve Davidson will chat with musicians of every ilk; diving into the background, practice rituals, and origin stories of each guest. Discover talented, inspiring artists as you are introduced to them for the first time or hear stories regaled from your favorite performers and legends of our era.

With Davidson’s captivating interview style he deftly pulls out intimate stories and candid moments you’ll not hear anywhere else.  

So sit back and tune in as you deep dive into the personal world of professional musicians and what makes them tick.

Multi award-winning Canadian singer-songwriter, pianist and CBC Music national radio host Laila Biali returns to the Playful Musician to talk about her brand new recording Your Requests. This recording is the result of her deep connection to her fans and their "requests" for songs for her to record. Bringin new imagning's and fresh ideas these jazz standards, Your Request is a joyful, breath of fresh air!

A delightful and insightful conversation with Toronto based vocalist, composer and teacher Nicky Schrire. Our conversation centers mostly around her new album Nowhere Girl which arrives on June 9, 2023 wherever you get your music! We talk about the long, ten-year build up to this album, working with producer Oded Lev-Ari, how things transpire in the studio and what musical adventures she has planned for the rest of the year. You can find out more about the album and about Nicky at nickyschrire.com.

 Dr. Otis Murphy is professor of Saxophone at the prestigious Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington Indiana. Otis has the distinction of being the youngest faculty ever appointed to the Jacobs School of Music, having obtained his position at the tender age of 28.

Otis was a student of Classical Saxophone icon Eugene Rousseau and received a Fulbright Fellowship to study in France with  french saxophonist Jean-Yves Fourmeau.

In our conversation we spoke about his trajectory towards becoming a professional musician. How he got started on the saxophone,  what a big influence his father was and the sacrifices his family made so he could, as a teenager, travel to Athens Georgia to study with Dr. Kenneth Fischer at the University of Georgia. Otis also shared what it was like as a freshman at Georgia to be playing with Doctoral Students in a saxophone quartet, which included fellow Playful Musician guest Rhett Bender. 

Otis also talked about what is was like teaching former classmates, his teaching style, the importance of music in his family. His wife and 6 children all are musicians! He shares about the importance of tone and intonation, how he and his students practice the five T’s and the challenge of switching between playing A440 in the US and A442 in other countries.

Brett Detar is a Los Angeles based singer, songwriter, film composer, producer and super creative guy. He's made a name for himself with his band The Juliana Theory which he co-founded when he was just 19. Brett has also made an impact on the big screen, composing for the films The Devil Inside and Wer.

Brett Shares about his start with songwriting at age six, how he approaches creativity, what it's like to score for a major motion picture and you'll get to hear a bit of his just released single Playback 99, off the EP, Still The Same Kids Part I!

Pittsburgh Trombonist Reggie Watkins has always had a knack for music. He has come a long way from learning how to play the piano at six. Born and raised in West Virginia and spending years in Pittsburgh, Reggie was exposed to musical influences that would later turn him into an internationally-recognized performer, pianist, arranger, and composer. Leveraging  his experience fronting a quarter on a cruise ship, he then served as trombonist and musical director for trumpeter and band leader Maynard Ferguson. From there he went on to tour and record with  Jason Mraz from 2008 to 2013. He has shared the stage with many great artists from various genres including Aretha Franklin, Dave Matthews, Dianne Shuur, Jose Feliciano, Willie Nelson, Arturo Sandoval, Trombone Shorty, The Temptations, and the O’Jays. He is also a member of the Grammy-nominated Orrin Evans’ Captain Black Big Band. 

He joins us in this episode to talk about his epiphany moment with jazz, his music education and influences, his early cruise ship gigs, his years touring with the Maynard Ferguson band and Jason Mraz, his practice routine, and the honor of playing at Aretha Franklin’s funeral.