The Buzz: The JJA Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Jazz criticism has always operated in close quarters: small rooms, tight communities, artists who become sources and sometimes friends. That proximity is part of what makes the writing worth reading. It's also what makes the ethics complicated.

This episode explores that tension. The guests have significant experience between them navigating exactly these questions, and the conversation goes to some candid places, including a few confessions that probably took some time to make.

Featuring:

• Rick Mitchell
• Hannah Edgar
• Paul de Barros

Support for The JJA comes in part from the Jazz Foundation of America, providing emergency assistance, healthcare, and performance opportunities to performers, composers and others in need; Connecting jazz, blues, and roots musicians facing crisis with housing support, pro bono medical care, and paid work through nearly 750 community concerts across 17 states. Saving blues, jazz, and roots one musician at a time. jazzfoundation.org.

Don’t miss new episodes of The Buzz. Make sure you follow us wherever you listen to podcasts. 

For more from the Jazz Journalists Association, go to JJANews.org.

JJA Board Member Andrew Gilbert hosts a discussion with Steve Smith (Substack “Night After Night,” former Time Out New York music editor) and Chrys Roney (editor in chief and publisher of Hot House Jazz Magazine) about the past, present, and future of jazz listings. 

Inspired by Gabriel Kahane’s Atlantic essay “A Love Letter to Music Listings,” they recall how outlets like the Village Voice, the New York Times, The New Yorker, and Time Out New York once provided expansive calendars that helped audiences discover scenes, neighborhoods, and emerging artists. They describe the decline of print and mainstream media listings, the labor-intensive nature of curating accurate calendars, and how even insiders still miss shows. 

The conversation contrasts journalistic authority and “crit picks” with transaction-driven event discovery platforms, discusses the need for trusted curators to sift through thousands of gigs, and explores evolving models such as nonprofit-supported listings, presenter-fed CMS tools, Instagram-based calendars, micro-subscriptions, and Hot House’s efforts to preserve its 45-year archive and develop a beta “JazzGPT” product.

Explore:

• A Love Letter to Music Listings (paywalled)
• Andrew Gilbert
• Hot House Jazz
• Steve Smith's Night After Night

A special 'thank you' to Terri Hinte for her help in making this episode happen. 

Support for The JJA comes in part from the Jazz Foundation of America, providing emergency assistance, healthcare, and performance opportunities to performers, composers and others in need; Connecting jazz, blues, and roots musicians facing crisis with housing support, pro bono medical care, and paid work through nearly 750 community concerts across 17 states. Saving blues, jazz, and roots one musician at a time. jazzfoundation.org.

Don’t miss new episodes of The Buzz. Make sure you follow us wherever you listen to podcasts. 

For more from the Jazz Journalists Association, go to JJANews.org.

Join host Michael Ambrosino as he speaks with three veteran jazz publicists—Ann Braithwaite (Braithwaite & Katz Communications), Lydia Liebman (Lydia Liebman Promotions), and Matt Merewitz (Fully Altered Media)—about the evolving nature of jazz promotion. 

The group discusses how they build relationships between artists and audiences, adapt to media fragmentation, create engaging content in the age of AI, and measure success in their campaigns. 

These industry insiders share candid insights about the challenges of breaking through the noise and connecting jazz artists with listeners in today's digital world, while revealing the passionate commitment that keeps them going in an increasingly complex promotional landscape.

Support for The JJA comes in part from the Jazz Foundation of America, providing emergency assistance, healthcare, and performance opportunities to performers, composers and others in need; Connecting jazz, blues, and roots musicians facing crisis with housing support, pro bono medical care, and paid work through nearly 750 community concerts across 17 states. Saving blues, jazz, and roots one musician at a time. jazzfoundation.org.

Don’t miss new episodes of The Buzz. Make sure you follow us wherever you listen to podcasts. 

For more from the Jazz Journalists Association, go to JJANews.org.

The 2025 JJA Awards just dropped, and in this special episode The Buzz is breaking down the winners in some of the leading categories. 

Host Lawrence Peryer is joined by guests Neil Tesser and Mark Ruffin to discuss lifetime achievements, standout performers, and why some names keep winning year after year.

Both guests bring unique perspectives - Mark from his years as a writer and radio programmer and personality, Neil from his work as a critic and broadcaster who's earned his own lifetime achievement award.

The full list of 2025 JJA Awards is available online at jjajazzawards.org.

Support for The JJA comes in part from the Jazz Foundation of America, providing emergency assistance, healthcare, and performance opportunities to performers, composers and others in need; Connecting jazz, blues, and roots musicians facing crisis with housing support, pro bono medical care, and paid work through nearly 750 community concerts across 17 states. Saving blues, jazz, and roots one musician at a time. jazzfoundation.org.

Don’t miss new episodes of The Buzz. Make sure you follow us wherever you listen to podcasts. 

For more from the Jazz Journalists Association, go to JJANews.org.

Three accomplished jazz authors share their journeys from traditional publishing to successful independent careers. Join host Lawrence Peryer as Debbie Burke, Steve Cerra, and Rick Mitchell reveal the tools, economics, and creative freedom they've found in self-publishing. Learn how these writers are reshaping the jazz book world by taking control of their work - from manuscript to marketing. 

Whether you are a jazz enthusiast or an aspiring author, this conversation offers valuable insights into turning passion projects into world-class publishing ventures.

Topics include: creative control vs. traditional publishing, royalty structures, marketing strategies, production challenges, and the advantages of independence in specialized fields of writing.

Support for The JJA comes in part from the Jazz Foundation of America, providing emergency assistance, healthcare, and performance opportunities to performers, composers and others in need; Connecting jazz, blues, and roots musicians facing crisis with housing support, pro bono medical care, and paid work through nearly 750 community concerts across 17 states. Saving blues, jazz, and roots one musician at a time. jazzfoundation.org.

Don’t miss new episodes of The Buzz. Make sure you follow us wherever you listen to podcasts. 

For more from the Jazz Journalists Association, go to JJANews.org.

This conversation between JJA members Bob Blumenthal, Ricky Ricciardi, and Fumi Tomita explores how jazz research has evolved through digital transformation. 

Ricciardi describes his journey researching Louis Armstrong's career, moving from physical archives and interviews for his first book to primarily digital resources like newspaper databases, digitized periodicals, and ancestry records for subsequent works. 

Tomita discusses researching early jazz by using both traditional sources and digital archives, explaining how this allowed him to rediscover overlooked musicians and challenge established narratives. 

Both authors share their detective work in reconciling conflicting historical accounts and discuss the revelations that emerged during their research—Ricciardi finding consistency in Armstrong's artistic approach throughout his career, and Tomita discovering early jazz's experimental nature and influence on free jazz.

The conversation highlights valuable resources for jazz researchers, including newspaper and periodical databases, digitized oral histories from various institutions, and Archive.org's extensive collection. The guests discuss areas needing fresh research and emphasize how digital access has democratized jazz research, allowing deeper investigation into the music's complex evolution without leaving one's home.

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Support for The JJA comes in part from the Jazz Foundation of America, providing emergency assistance, healthcare, and performance opportunities to performers, composers and others in need; Connecting jazz, blues, and roots musicians facing crisis with housing support, pro bono medical care, and paid work through nearly 750 community concerts across 17 states. Saving blues, jazz, and roots one musician at a time. jazzfoundation.org.

Don’t miss new episodes of The Buzz. Make sure you follow us wherever you listen to podcasts. 

For more from the Jazz Journalists Association, go to JJANews.org.

Tomas Peña, jazz journalist of breadth with unique ties to his Puerto Rican heritage, and José Massó, best known as a Boston broadcaster (and Jazz Hero) who takes a multi-media approach to full communication of the arts in life -- speak to JJA member Michael Ambrosino, producer of Los Olvidados, a radio documentary about Pan-Latin influences on jazz. 

Support for The JJA comes in part from the Jazz Foundation of America, providing emergency assistance, healthcare, and performance opportunities to performers, composers and others in need; Connecting jazz, blues, and roots musicians facing crisis with housing support, pro bono medical care, and paid work through nearly 750 community concerts across 17 states. Saving blues, jazz, and roots one musician at a time. jazzfoundation.org.

Don’t miss new episodes of The Buzz. Make sure you follow us wherever you listen to podcasts. 

For more from the Jazz Journalists Association, go to JJANews.org.

Will Friedwald does it all -- books on Sinatra, Nat "King" Cole, jazz vocalists and the Great American Songbook; articles in publications including the Wall Street Journal; his own broadcasting platform and Substack, Slouching Towards Birdland. He speaks as winner of the 2024 JJA Jazz Award for Lifetime Achievement in Jazz Journalism to Chicago-based writer, broadcaster and JJA board member and Neil Tesser.

Support for The JJA comes in part from the Jazz Foundation of America, providing emergency assistance, healthcare, and performance opportunities to performers, composers and others in need; Connecting jazz, blues, and roots musicians facing crisis with housing support, pro bono medical care, and paid work through nearly 750 community concerts across 17 states. Saving blues, jazz, and roots one musician at a time. jazzfoundation.org.

Don’t miss new episodes of The Buzz. Make sure you follow us wherever you listen to podcasts. 

For more from the Jazz Journalists Association, go to JJANews.org.

Playing The Changes: Jazz in An African University and On the Road is the account by Catherine and Darius Brubeck (daughter-in-law and son of Dave Brubeck) of their 25-year sojourn in South Africa, where they expanded the jazz landscape, establishing a music program at University of KwaZulu-Natal. Todd S. Jenkins interviews the couple in this latest Author's Series episode of The Buzz: The Podcast of the Jazz Journalists Association.

Support for The JJA comes in part from the Jazz Foundation of America, providing emergency assistance, healthcare, and performance opportunities to performers, composers and others in need; Connecting jazz, blues, and roots musicians facing crisis with housing support, pro bono medical care, and paid work through nearly 750 community concerts across 17 states. Saving blues, jazz, and roots one musician at a time. jazzfoundation.org.

Don’t miss new episodes of The Buzz. Make sure you follow us wherever you listen to podcasts. 

For more from the Jazz Journalists Association, go to JJANews.org.

The Jazz Omnibus: 21st-Century Photos and Writings by Members of the Jazz Journalists Association is a 600-page anthology published in hardcover, paperback and ebook editions by Cymbal Press. In this edition of The Buzz, Lawrence Peryer interviews the team that put it together -- editor David Adler, copy chief Terri Hinte, editorial advisor and JJA president Howard Mandel, and Cymbal Press principal Gary Stager about the intentions and processes behind creation of a volume representing two decades of experts' jazz coverage, meant to endure and enlighten for years to come. 

Support for The JJA comes in part from the Jazz Foundation of America, providing emergency assistance, healthcare, and performance opportunities to performers, composers and others in need; Connecting jazz, blues, and roots musicians facing crisis with housing support, pro bono medical care, and paid work through nearly 750 community concerts across 17 states. Saving blues, jazz, and roots one musician at a time. jazzfoundation.org.

Don’t miss new episodes of The Buzz. Make sure you follow us wherever you listen to podcasts. 

For more from the Jazz Journalists Association, go to JJANews.org.