Don Vappie is perhaps best known as a virtuosic banjo player, but he is also a gifted guitarist, bassist, singer, teacher, and composer. He is fluent in funk, contemporary jazz – indeed, most genres of the day – but his heart lies with the traditional New Orleans music he c... Read more

Byron Asher is an adventurous composer and talented saxophonist and clarinetist “working at the intersection of broadly experimental composition and jazz and improvised music.” He’s been compared to Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon, and Ornette Coleman, and fronts the experimen... Read more

Brad Walker is one of the city’s – no, make that the country’s – most in-demand sax players. Whether he is leading the horn section for Sturgill Simpson at the Grammy Awards, backing up Anders Osborne, or jamming at a New Orleans jazz club, Walker’s energetic, soaring and t... Read more

BC (Brian) Coogan is a versatile, highly regarded keyboardist, comfortable covering the New Orleans – make that entire contemporary - songbook on organ, electronic keyboard, and the piano. His solo outings find him in some of the Crescent City’s best listening rooms, includ... Read more

Astral Project, with its original all-star roster and 40-plus-year history, easily ranks as New Orleans’ premier modern jazz ensemble. Founded in 1978 by saxophonist Tony Dagradi, the group also includes seven-string guitar whiz Steve Masakowski, the impeccable drummer John... Read more

Amina Scott is a dynamic electric and acoustic jazz bassist who leads her own quartet and her fusion band, PHYRA, in addition to serving as the primary bassist for the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra and the DeeDee Bridgewater Big Band.  She lays down solid grooves on the club s... Read more

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If you'd like to contact Charles by email, send a brief note to showhosts@wwoz.org, and be sure to include the name of the host you are sending to.  We'll forward your note to the show host. Remember that our hosts are volunteers, so response times may vary. FYI, we do this... Read more