Six Count

Larry Q. Draughn is a percussionist and educator based in Greensboro, North Carolina. You can catch Larry next this Friday, January 26, at the Sharp Nine Gallery in Durham. The drummer will perform a double trio at 7:30 p.m. with Lynn Grissett on trumpet, Jason Fourman on bass, Devin Fuller on drums, and two special guests. Get tickets. In addition to performing throughout the Triangle and beyond, Larry teaches at Brightwood Elementary School in Guilford County and directs the North Carolina Jazz Continuum Project.

Cicely Mitchell is the co-owner of Missy Lane’s Assembly Room, Downtown Durham’s newest venue dedicated to jazz and other Black American Music (BAM). Cicely spoke with Six Count during the venue’s opening weekend on January 14, 2024. She shares reactions from the inaugural evening headlined by vocalist Lois Deloatch, her vision for the space as a hub for art and community, and what guests can expect.

If you love jazz and live in the Triangle, you know Al Strong. The two-time Grammy-nominated trumpet player, composer, recording artist, mentor, and educator spoke with Six Count at Duke University’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute on October 4, 2023.

Happy One-Year Anniversary to the Six Count podcast in North Carolina! Since launching in fall 2022, we have: interviewed twenty-three musicians; partnered with an online jazz radio station based in North Carolina; upgraded our equipment; had our first interview with a live audience; and collaborated with blogger Peter Burke of Locavore Jazz to co-host an episode.

Joseph Silvers is the founder of the Hot Club of Raleigh, a jazz manouche band based in the City of Oaks. The group has performed at Watts & Ward and Young Hearts Distilling, among other establishments in the Triangle and beyond. On this episode, Joseph shares the story of when Jean-Jacques “Babik” Reinhardt, son of Django Reinhardt, performed with the Hot Club of North Carolina during a U.S. tour from France with the François Vola Group.

Saxophonist Aaron Hill spoke with Six Count before moving back to the West Coast this past August. Aaron accepted a position as an assistant professor at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington. The musician will serve as director of big bands and applied saxophone in the university’s School of Music. On this episode, Aaron reflects on his many musical collaborations in the Triangle since moving to the area in 2007, including with pianist and bandleader Eric Hirsh; the Mint Julep Jazz Band (led by past Six Count guest Laura Windley); trumpeter, bandleader, and educator Jim Ketch; colleagues at North Carolina Central University (NCCU), the North Carolina Jazz Repertory Orchestra, and many others. He also shares about the jazz scene in Hawaii, where he lived for nearly a decade.

Dexter Moses is a saxophonist, composer, and educator in Durham. On this episode, he shares about the life and legacy of the legendary saxophonist Dexter Gordon (to whom he dedicated his August show at the Sharp 9 Gallery in Durham); how listening to a bootleg recording of saxophonist Don Byas and bassist Slam Stewart inspired his master’s thesis at NCCU, which argued that Byas should be named among the founding fathers of bebop alongside saxophonist Charlie Parker; and negotiating the complexities of performing historic swing music today as a Black musician within the context of race and racism in the United States.

Listen to the Six Count podcast on taintradio.org, a noncommercial venue for independent producers. The online jazz radio station based in North Carolina presents music and music-related programming 24/7. Six Count airs on Sundays at 6:00 p.m. and Fridays at 8:00 p.m. EST.

North Carolina native Kai Lance is a guitarist and educator based in Chapel Hill. Kai will perform with the Mark Tipton Trio at the Sharp 9 Gallery in Durham on Saturday, August 19. Mark is a trumpeter, composer, and educator. The musician is pursuing a DMA (Doctor of Musical Arts) at the New England Conservatory in Boston, where he is a teaching fellow. Kai, also a student at the conservatory, shares about what to expect at the August show, as well as a never-going-to-be-the-same-again moment at a high school jazz camp in Louisville, Kentucky; his mentors from the Triangle’s jazz scene; and his aspirations as a musician.

Gregg Gelb is a saxophonist and clarinetist, bandleader, and educator based in the Triangle. On this episode, the musician shares about his latest work with La Fiesta Latin Jazz Quintet, “The Latin Jazz Dance Suite,” which his group debuted at Magnetic Sound Studios in Durham on June 23. The quintet comprises Ramon Ortiz and Beverly Botsford on percussion, Steve Anderson on keys, and Andy Kleindienst on bass. Since moving to Raleigh in 1979, Gregg has collaborated with and formed an array of groups, including Group Sax, the Gregg Gelb Swing Band, and the Second Line Stompers, among others.

Ernest Turner is a GRAMMY-nominated pianist, composer, and educator based in Durham. Ernest began learning the piano at the age of four from his mother. Since launching his professional career more than twenty years ago, the musician has performed with three of the Marsalis brothers (Delfeayo, Branford, and Jason), R&B artist John Legend, the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, saxophonist Stephen Riley and the late saxophonist Brian Horton, and many others in the Triangle. The pianist shares about his conversational approach to performances to engage with and educate audiences, his philosophy on improvisation, incorporating spirituality into his music, reflections on fatherhood and his career, and more.

Angela Bingham is a jazz vocalist, voiceover actress, and podcast co-host. Angela has lived in North Carolina since 2011, performing regularly at the Pimiento Tea Room in Holly Springs, the Umstead Hotel and Bond Brothers Eastside in Cary, and the O.Henry Hotel in Greensboro, to name a few. You can catch her next at the Sharp 9 Gallery in Durham with the Jim Ketch Quintet on Friday, June 9. Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, she studied jazz under Roger Letson at De Anza College in Cupertino, California. The vocalist launched her professional jazz career in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the late nineties.

Keenan McKenzie is a musician (saxophone and clarinet), composer, and educator based in Durham. On this episode, Keenan shares about an upcoming recording project for his band, The Riffers, to produce the historic jazz group’s first full-length album. The Riffers will record at Magnetic Sound Studios, a new studio in the Lakewood neighborhood of Durham that specializes in acoustic music and vintage equipment.

For Six Count’s first recording with a live audience, Laura Windley of the Mint Julep Jazz Band spoke with Xara Wilde about her latest album, Watch the Birdie, released in fall 2022. Laura shares about the recording process for the historic jazz band, converting the album into vinyl, and what’s next for the vocalist and bandleader.

Beginning this spring, the Six Count podcast will stream on taintradio.org, a noncommercial venue for independent producers. The online jazz radio station based in North Carolina presents music and music-related programming 24/7. Six Count will air on Sundays at 6:00 p.m. and Fridays at 8:00 p.m. Thank you to Bob Rogers and Ben Boddie of taintradio for the opportunity!

Taha Arif spoke with host Xara Wilde outside the Hayti Collective Kitchen and Cocktails in Durham to share about the restaurant’s jazz jam on Wednesday evenings. The jam takes place from 8:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., and musicians of all levels are welcome.

Brad Linde is a tenor and soprano saxophonist based in Washington, D.C., where he’s known as “the capital city’s contemporary cool king” (Giovanni Russonello, Capitalbop). Brad spoke with host Xara Wilde and guest co-host Peter Burke of Locavore Jazz in Carrboro a few hours before his performance at the Cave in Chapel Hill. The quartette (featuring Danny Grewen on trombone, Casey Toll on bass, and TJ Maiani on drums) paid tribute to Eli “Lucky” Thompson (1924–2005), a tenor and soprano saxophonist known for incorporating swing and bebop elements into his music.

Mark Wells is a pianist and vocalist for Peter Lamb & the Wolves, among other bands in the Triangle. Mark shares about the Benny Goodman Small Groups, the King of Swing’s original trio and quartet from the early 1940s. The musician also talks about the start of his career as a student at UNC–Chapel Hill, getting into the Lindy Hop scene through gigs along the east coast, and co-founding Peter Lamb & the Wolves. In addition to jazz, Mark is a principal class pianist for the Carolina Ballet.

Christian Tamburr is a vibraphonist, pianist, composer, and arranger based in the Triangle. The musician joined Six Count to share about the Trio Legacy of Jazz Series at the Fuquay-Varina Arts Center happening this spring in Fuquay-Varina. Christian also shares about his varied career so far, which has included touring with Julio Iglesias and Cirque du Soleil!

Al Strong shares with Six Count about the winter live music series he’s been curating on behalf of Beyu Caffe in Downtown Durham. The shows, at 7:00 and 9:00 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, will continue through February.

Vocalist Frankie Alexander grew up listening to her sister’s jazz records, but never thought she’d become a musician herself until her late twenties. A North Carolina native from Concord, Frankie was discovered by Baltimoreans Yusuf Salim (born Joseph Blair), a jazz pianist and composer, and Bus Brown, a vocalist and friend of Billie Holiday.

Jazz flutist Rebecca Kleinmann joined Six Count to share about her first year in North Carolina, which has included selling out her Durham debut show at the Sharp Nine Gallery; joining the women-led Brazilian band, Também; founding her own local Choro band, Noites Carolinas; reconnecting with her friend and colleague, Rahsaan Barber, a saxophonist and an assistant professor at the UNC Music Department; and her other collaborations with area musicians so far.

Ittai Korman (upright and electric bass), Theous Jones (drums and percussion), and Joe MacPhail (piano and keyboards) of DreamRoot joined Six Count in Durham. The trio released Leaf, the group’s second album, on October 28 at the NorthStar Church of the Arts.

Pianist Michael Pelz-Sherman and multi-instrumentalist Hal Goodtree joined Six Count at Chatham Street Records, an indie record label in Cary, North Carolina. The label supports local artists through artist management, fair-share royalty collection, music production, and distribution.

North Carolina native Ellis Dyson (of the band Ellis Dyson & The Shambles) joined Six Count just before a performance at The Cave in Chapel Hill. The show was the first gig on The Shambles’s short tour along the East Coast this October. The band is known for combining “old-time influences ranging from early New Orleans Jazz to Piedmont Murder Ballads.”Now based in New Orleans, Ellis shares about the group’s origin story from 2015 as a banjo and saxophone duo in “The Southern Slice of Heaven,” the role of storytelling and theatrics in his music, and what’s next for the Shambles.

Thrio is, you guessed it, a trio (“. . . because there’s three of them!”) featuring Andrew Berinson on piano, Donovan Cheatham on drums, and Paul Creel on bass. They released the group’s first album, Volume 1, in fall 2022. This interview was recorded on September 23, 2022, before Thrio’s performance at the Sharp Nine Gallery in Durham through the Durham Jazz Workshop (DJW).

For a special episode of Six Count, the women of Jazz Voices reunite. Peg Delaney, a pianist, composer and arranger, is responsible for forming the vocal group with Jody Shayne, Colleen Pratt and Teresa Broadwell.

Rod Ferrone is a tap dancer and vaudevillian now based in Upstate NY. After dropping out of college, Ferrone went on to lead a long-standing dance career in NYC. He eventually partnered up with Joe Orrach, a boxer-turned-tap-dancer.   On a park bench outside of McGeary’s Irish Pub in downtown Albany, Ferrone shares some of their most memorable performances, including a two-hour act where Gregory Hines made a surprise appearance.

William Kennedy is a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and journalist based in Averill Park, N.Y. As a reporter for Albany's Times Union, Kennedy interviewed Louis Armstrong at the Kenmore Hotel. He shares about this conversation with Satchmo as well as his other run-ins with jazz greats including Frank Sinatra at Carnegie Hall and Duke Ellington at a prom in Upstate N.Y.

Six Count caught up with pianist Wayne Hawkins at the Halfmoon Diner in Clifton Park, N.Y. Originally from Kansas City, Hawkins now plays in a variety of jazz styles around the Capital Region as well as composes and arranges music for films, commercials and recording artists. In showbiz, he’s collaborated with the movie stars Bruce Lee and Kristin Chenoweth, among others.

A Nazi rally in Madison Square Garden. A public concert by opera singer Marian Anderson at Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday. The World’s Fair in New York. All three events took place in 1939 and are at the center of crime novelist Frankie Bailey’s next novel. The historical thriller, “A Penny Struck by Lightning,” takes the reader into the world of jazz in New York City at the height of the Great Depression and on the cusp of World War II. The protagonist, a Pullman porter, is an undercover FBI agent whose investigation leads him into the city’s speakeasies and nightclubs (where he eventually bumps into Billie Holiday at the Café Society).

Hudson Valley-based musician Rich Syracuse spoke with host Xara Wilde following a gig with the Chuck Lamb Trio at Caffè Lena in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Drummer Jeff "Siege" Siegel and pianist Andre Peterson sat down with host Xara Wilde to chat briefly before a gig with bassist Ira Coleman at Grappa '72 in Albany, N.Y.

Graeme Francis is a percussionist who began playing jazz around the Capital Region four years ago after moving from San Antonio, Texas. Originally from Prince Edward Island, Canada, Francis has played with numerous chamber orchestras and ensembles, jazz bands and other musical groups across the country. Francis shares about his years working with Texas-based pianist Doc Watkins, including a performance at Carnegie Hall in New York City, how he balances teaching responsibilities with a busy gig schedule and other personal projects, and his transition to the Upstate New York jazz scene.

Vocalist Colleen Pratt performs in her four-piece band, “Colleen Pratt & Friends,” as well as a host of other jazz groups around the Capital Region. She is the daughter of musicians Helen and Norman Pratt and the niece of renowned jazz pianist and trombonist Bobby Pratt. Her uncle played with some of the biggest swing bands of the 1940s, regularly performing with Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, Sid Catlett and Roy Eldridge.   Pratt shares about spending summers going to jazz clubs in Manhattan, her experience as the opening act for comedian Bob Newhart at Proctor’s Theater and her take on the current jazz scene.

Drummer Tim Coakley performs with Skip Parsons’ Riverboat Jazz Band, a dixieland band (featured in our pilot episode!), as well as his own trio. He has played with jazz greats including Doc Cheatham, Vic Dickenson and Buddy Tate.

Joe Finn is a jazz guitarist playing in the post-bop style around Upstate New York. On this episode, Finn shares about teaching music lessons during the "Beatlemania" era of the 1960s, growing up with his father's vast record collection, and what it was like to start his professional jazz career by traveling across the United States and Canada during his twenties. Finn, who received his bachelor's in music from SUNY Plattsburgh, has played and studied with Roy Burns, James Spaulding, Jim Miller, Billy Hawkins and Kirk Nurock.

While visiting Galway, Ireland earlier this week, host Xara Wilde spoke with Alan Bramwell of Giants of Jazz Radio to share about the pilot season of Six Count. The station, based in Lancashire, England, will begin airing the show starting next Wednesday, Oct. 23. Episodes will broadcast on Wednesdays and Sundays at 11:30 a.m. EST (4:30 p.m. UK time).

Tyler Giroux is a valve trombone and piano player based in Troy, N.Y. He performs around the Capital Region with the Giroux Brothers (featuring his brother, Nate Giroux, on sax and clarinet), Alex Torres and His Latin Orchestra, the Dylan Perrillo Orchestra, Phil Allen's Concert Jazz Band, Bryan Brundige and the Piggly Wigglies, and Mike Jenkins and the Fat Ties, among others.

Peter Fisher is the owner and founder of Collar City Guitars, a guitar shop that specializes in repairs, sales and service on 199 4th Street in Troy, N.Y. The luthier and rhythm guitarist is also the founder of the Gypsy Jazz Jam, a free and open event that takes place on the third Tuesday of every month at the Ale House in Troy. Jam nights are from 7-9 p.m. (or until everyone is kicked out). All are welcome to participate or to simply enjoy the music. Fisher is a band member of the C.C. Vagabonds, along with guitarist Zack Cohen, violinist Colin McCoy and bassist Mike Jenkins. You can find the vagabonds at the Troy Farmers Market on River Street the first Saturday of every month from 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

Jeanine Ouderkirk is a vocalist based in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. On this episode, Ouderkirk shares how she came to pursue life as a professional jazz singer while in college, how she battles nerves before performing and what working as a vocalist is like near the home of the Saratoga Race Course. Ouderkirk received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from The Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam. Ouderkirk has also been a private music instructor for over 15 years, and teaches woodwinds (flute, clarinet and saxophone), piano and voice.

Zach Cohen is the guitarist for Le Bēt, an electro-swing band with roots in gypsy jazz, and swing and electronic music. On this episode, Cohen shares how he and clarinetist Jonathan Greene got the band started, what it was like to play with internationally-renowned guitarist Stephane Wrembel at WAMC’s The Linda, and about life as a professional musician in Upstate New York.

Skip Parsons is a clarinetist and bandleader for the Riverboat Jazz Band. Parsons and drummer Tom Brown formed the dixieland band in 1955. The group has been playing around the Capital Region ever since. On this episode, Parsons shares stories from being the main band for the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y., his decades-long stint at The Fountain (an Albany-based eatery and longtime haunt for area jazz lovers), and what it was like to have a surprise visit from Tony Bennett at a friend’s funeral. You can find the Riverboat Jazz Band at McGeary’s in Albany every second Monday of the month (7-9 p.m.).