Pablo Held Investigates

Pianist and composer Rasmus Sørensen joins Pablo Held to discuss dynamics, odd meters, their shared piano duties on a Sasha Berliner tour, and lessons learned from studying with Phil Markowitz. Other topics include harmonic progressions in Herbie Hancock’s “Textures”, comping ideas, transcription, what Rasmus loves about composing and his upcoming album project “You Liv...

Pianist & composer Kris Davis returns to the podcast to discuss the compositional process behind music from her latest albums “The Solastalgia Suite“ and “Run The Gauntlet“, practice methods, their favorite composers, and finding fresh ways to improvise. Other topics include working with Dave Holland, piano technique, preparing for a tour, and challenging musical co...

Saxophonist Walter Smith III joins Pablo Held to discuss working on articulation, Walter’s compositional process behind songs like “Seesaw“, “ACE“ and “A Brief Madness“ and lessons learned from jazz legends Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter and Roy Haynes. Other topics include learning standards like “I Should Care“, “Little Melonae“ or “Nothing Like You“, worki...

Pedal steel guitarist Ian McGimpsey joins Pablo Held to talk about his journey with the instrument, exploring its mechanics, tuning systems, and his unique approach to improvisation and harmony. Other topics include Ian’s composition ‘Etude #1’, arranging ‘Danny Boy’, and how Ian is documenting his creative process.

Trumpeter Alexandra Ridout joins Pablo Held for a conversation ahead of their upcoming tour together. They talk about playing sessions, learning standards, composing, and her thoughts about the flugelhorn. Other topics include Alexandra’s trumpet heroes, sitting in on gigs, being kind to yourself as a musician, performing with Artemis and Melissa Aldana, and the influen...