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The Tonearm

The Tonearm

Written by: Lawrence Peryer
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 The people and ideas moving culture forward. With host Lawrence Peryer.

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Episodes
  • Caroline Davis: The Saxophone Reimagined in the Fallows

    Caroline Davis: The Saxophone Reimagined in the Fallows
    May 3 2026
    Today, we're putting The Tonearm's needle on Caroline Davis, a saxophonist and composer based in New York.Her new album, Fallows, just came out on Ropeadope Records. Caroline made it alone during a residency in Ucross, Wyoming - improvising and recording in a cabin, using prepared saxophone techniques and a unique little instrument called an Organelle to process and build sounds she'd never put to tape before. The result is twelve tracks that use the saxophone as raw material rather than a lead voice.We talk about how that music got made, what it means to deliberately avoid the sound of your own instrument, and Caroline's work teaching music inside Sing Sing prison.(The musical excerpts heard in the interview are from Caroline Davis’s album Fallows )—Dig DeeperArtist and AlbumVisit Caroline Davis at carolinedavis.orgPurchase Caroline Davis's Fallows from Ropeadope Records, Bandcamp, or Qobuz, and listen on your streaming platform of choiceLabel and ResidencyRopeadope RecordsUcross Foundation — the Wyoming artist residency where Fallows was recordedCivitella Ranieri Foundation — the Italian residency Caroline attended in 2025Tulu Bayar — Turkish artist who made the paper artwork for Fallows (please verify link)Instruments and TechnologyThe Organelle — Critter & Guitari — the hardware synthesizer/processor central to FallowsORAC by Technobear — Patchstorage — the community-built patch framework Caroline used on the recordCollaborators, Influences, and ReferencesSteve Lacy — soprano saxophonist (1934–2004), honored in the track "Lacy Steve"Geri Allen — pianist and mentor; "Barbara Allen (for Geri)" closes the albumThích Nhất Hạnh — Vietnamese Buddhist monk; a sample of his voice appears on "She Know She Is Water"Connie Crothers — pianist from the Lennie Tristano lineage; a sample of her playing appears on "Cloudburst"Lee Konitz — Caroline's teacher; alto saxophonist (1927–2020)Sam Newsome — soprano saxophonist; prepared saxophone pioneer cited by Caroline as a major influenceChristine Abdelnour — French experimental alto saxophonist; a formative reference for prepared saxophone techniqueAnna Webber — saxophonist and composer, cited for her work with venting vocabularyJames Falzone — clarinetist whose solo tour performance is discussed in the episodeKris Davis — pianist and founder of Pyroclastic Records; cited as a touchstone for prepared pianoSylvie Courvoisier — pianist cited for her prepared piano work (please verify link)Qasim Naqvi — New York-based composer and modular synthesist; a frequent collaboratorLabels and Organizations — Current ListeningOut of Your Head Records — Adam Hopkins's artist-run label; praised in the episodePyroclastic Records — Kris Davis's artist-run label; praised in the episodeAdvocacy and JusticeMusicambia — the organization through which Caroline teaches music at Sing Sing Prison and other facilitiesFREER Records — nonprofit label for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated musicians; Caroline is on the boardKeith LaMar — keithlamar.org — death row prisoner in Ohio whose execution is scheduled for January 13, 2027; wrongfully convicted per advocatesJalil Muntaqim — political prisoner (Black Panther Party) with whom Caroline corresponded; released from prison in 2020The New School — Jazz & Gender course — co-taught by Caroline Davis and Sarah Elizabeth Charles—Dig into this episode's complete show notes at podcast.thetonearm.com—• Did you enjoy this episode? Please share it with a friend! You can also rate The Tonearm ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. • Subscribe! Be the first to check out each new episode of The Tonearm in your podcast app of choice. • Looking for more? Visit podcast.thetonearm.com for bonus content, web-only interviews + features, and the Talk Of The Tonearm email newsletter. You can also follow us on Bluesky, Mastodon, YouTube, and LinkedIn. • Be sure to bookmark our online magazine, The Tonearm! → thetonearm.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    49 mins
  • Miho Hazama: The Conductor Who Leads with Love

    Miho Hazama: The Conductor Who Leads with Love
    Apr 26 2026
    Today, we’re putting The Tonearm's needle on composer and chief conductor of the Danish Radio Big Band, Miho Hazama.Miho grew up inside the Yamaha music education system in her native Japan. She moved to New York to study jazz composition at the Manhattan School of Music under Jim McNeely and has spent her career as one of the most distinctive voices in large-ensemble writing. Her work includes her own chamber jazz group m_unit, conducting posts with the Metropole Orkest and the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, and a BBC Proms debut last year.This week, she released Frames, her fourth album on Edition Records with the Danish Radio Big Band. The album draws on the musical language of the conductors who led that band across its decades of existence, including McNeely, who passed away last year. It's a project with significant weight behind it.(The musical excerpts heard in the interview are from Miho Hazama's album Frames)—Dig Deeper• Artist and Album:Visit Miho Hazama at mihohazama.com and follow her on Instagram, Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/mihohazamamusic/), and YouTubePurchase Miho Hazama's Frames from Edition Records, Bandcamp, or Qobuz, and listen on your streaming platform of choiceListen to m_unit: Beyond Orbits, Hazama's most recent album with her New York ensemble, on Bandcamp• Danish Radio Big Band and Its History:Danish Radio Big Band — Wikipedia overview of the band's history and chief conductorsDanish Radio Big Band performance archive on YouTubeIb Glindemann — founding bandleader and inspiration for Frames composition "The Pioneer's Quest"Palle Mikkelborg — Danish trumpeter and composer; former Danish Radio Big Band leader; Hazama cites him as a compositional influence on FramesThad Jones — American trumpeter and composer who led the Danish Radio Big Band in the late 1970s• Jim McNeely:Jim McNeely official website — composer, pianist, and Hazama's mentor at the Manhattan School of MusicJim McNeely — WikipediaPianist-Composer Jim McNeely: 1949–2025 — DownBeat obituaryVanguard Jazz Orchestra — the ensemble McNeely served as composer-in-residence, performing weekly at the Village Vanguard• Educational Institutions:Manhattan School of Music — where Hazama earned her master's degree in jazz compositionKunitachi College of Music — where Hazama studied classical composition in TokyoYamaha Music Foundation — the educational organization whose nationwide network of schools supported Hazama's early musical development across Japan• Composers Who Shaped Hazama's Voice:Maria Schneider — one of the jazz composers Hazama discovered in college that redirected her toward jazzMetropole Orkest — the Netherlands-based pop and jazz orchestra for which Hazama serves as permanent guest conductor• Musical References and Concepts:George Russell — the American jazz composer and theorist Hazama imagines as a collaborator for the Frames composition "The Pioneer's Quest"Third Stream — the mid-twentieth-century movement blending jazz and classical idioms, associated with Ib Glindemann's programming at the Danish Radio Big Band—- Dig into this episode's complete show notes at podcast.thetonearm.com—• Did you enjoy this episode? Please share it with a friend! You can also rate The Tonearm ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. • Subscribe! Be the first to check out each new episode of The Tonearm in your podcast app of choice. • Looking for more? Visit podcast.thetonearm.com for bonus content, web-only interviews + features, and the Talk Of The Tonearm email newsletter. You can also follow us on Bluesky, Mastodon, YouTube, and LinkedIn. • Be sure to bookmark our online magazine, The Tonearm! → thetonearm.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    51 mins
  • Tomeka Reid: The Low Seat, the Long Haul, and 'dance! skip! hop!'

    Tomeka Reid: The Low Seat, the Long Haul, and 'dance! skip! hop!'
    Apr 19 2026
    Today, The Tonearm’s needle drops on cellist and composer Tomeka Reid.Tomeka Reid has spent the last decade building one of the most distinctive voices in creative music. The New York Times called her a "New Jazz Power Source." She's a MacArthur Fellow, a founder of the Chicago Jazz String Summit, and a key collaborator with Anthony Braxton, Roscoe Mitchell, and Craig Taborn, among many others.Her quartet with guitarist Mary Halvorson, bassist Jason Roebke, and drummer Tomas Fujiwara just released dance! skip! hop! on Out of Your Head Records. It's their fourth album together, and it shows what twelve years of shared language sounds like: tight, playful, and willing to take chances. She also appears on Dream Archives, Craig Taborn's ECM debut with this instrumentation, recorded in New Haven, Connecticut and out earlier this year.We talked about the cello's role in jazz, how family history shapes her work, and what it means to lead a band that's been together long enough to surprise itself.(The musical excerpts heard in the interview are from The Tomeka Reid Quartet's album dance! skip! hop!)—Dig DeeperArtist and AlbumVisit Tomeka Reid at tomekareid.com and follow her on Instagram and FacebookPurchase The Tomeka Reid Quartet's dance! skip! hop! from Out Of Your Head Records, Bandcamp, or Qobuz, and listen on your streaming platform of choiceOut Of Your Head Records — Tomeka's label for dance! skip! hop!Tomeka Reid — MacArthur Foundation Fellow (2022)Quartet MembersJason Roebke — bass, cassetteMary Halvorson — guitarTomas Fujiwara — drumsRelated Albums and Projects3+3 — Tomeka Reid Quartet (Cuneiform, 2024) — the quartet's previous albumDream Archives — Craig Taborn, Tomeka Reid, Ches Smith (ECM, 2026) — Tomeka's ECM debutHear in Now — co-led trio with Mazz Swift and Silvia BolognesiOrganizations and FestivalsAssociation for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) — the Chicago collective central to Tomeka's artistic developmentChicago Jazz String Summit — Tomeka's annual festival, founded 2013, dedicated to improvising string playersMusical References and InfluencesAbdul Wadud — jazz cellist and major influence on Tomeka's approach to the instrumentStuff Smith — pioneering jazz violinist; referenced in discussion of CJSS repertoireGinger Smock — jazz violinist mentioned in the context of overlooked string player composersDiedre Murray — jazz cellist and composer; referenced alongside Stuff SmithHistorical ReferencesRock Springs massacre (1885) — the violent attack on Chinese miners in Rock Springs, Wyoming, which Tomeka mentions in the context of her grandmother's family history in the regionFred Anderson — Chicago jazz saxophonist and founder of the Velvet Lounge, where Tomeka met mentor Clarence JamesThe Velvet Lounge, Chicago — legendary South Side jazz venue where Tomeka came up (verify whether Wikipedia article exists under this exact title)—Dig into this episode's complete show notes at podcast.thetonearm.com—• Did you enjoy this episode? Please share it with a friend! You can also rate The Tonearm ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. • Subscribe! Be the first to check out each new episode of The Tonearm in your podcast app of choice. • Looking for more? Visit podcast.thetonearm.com for bonus content, web-only interviews + features, and the Talk Of The Tonearm email newsletter. You can also follow us on Bluesky, Mastodon, YouTube, and LinkedIn. • Be sure to bookmark our online magazine, The Tonearm! → thetonearm.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Show More Show Less
    53 mins
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