Jazz Trumpeter & Composer Dave Douglas on the 2026 Album Transcend

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series. We talk with jazz trumpeter and composer Dave Douglas during a historic blizzard in New York about his powerful 2026 album Transcend, out April 24, 2026 via Greenleaf Music.

This new release continues Douglas’ deep exploration of legacy, spirituality, and ensemble innovation. The album features his all-star GIFTS Quintet, including DownBeat Artist of the Year tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis, members of the Oscar-nominated post-rock trio Son Lux — guitarist Rafiq Bhatia and drummer Ian Chang — along with cellist and MacArthur “Genius” Fellow Tomeka Reid.

Blending electronics, lyricism, chamber textures, and high-energy interplay, Transcend stands as a spiritual and contemporary response to the landmark Sacred Concerts of Duke Ellington, performed between 1965–1973 and widely regarded as the spiritual culmination of Ellington’s career.

In this conversation, we explore:

• The making of Transcend

• Spiritual jazz in modern America

• Ensemble innovation & cross-genre collaboration

• The influence of Duke Ellington’s Sacred Concerts

• The GIFTS Quintet’s sonic architecture

• Jazz legacy in 2026

This is modern jazz at its most urgent and transcendent — needed now more than ever.

🎺 Get the album: https://davedouglas.bandcamp.com/album/transcend

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International Communication Strategist, Human Intelligence (HUMINT) Expert & Executive Coach Don Weber

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series. On this episode, we talk with International Communication Strategist, Human Intelligence (HUMINT) Expert, and Executive Coach Don Weber. He teaches CEOs and highly influential leaders how to communicate with clarity, confidence, and strategic impact.

But it wasn’t always this way.

As a teenager growing up in Prairie Village, Kansas, Don struggled with deep insecurity. Watching others navigate life with ease, he set out at 19 on a personal development journey to master communication, psychology, and influence.

Over the years, he studied the work of masters including Tony Robbins, Brian Tracy, Les Brown, Wayne Dyer, and Richard Bandler, applying powerful communication frameworks across public and private sectors around the world.

 In this conversation, we explore:

• Executive communication strategies

• Human Intelligence (HUMINT) in leadership

• Influence psychology for CEOs

• Overcoming insecurity through skill mastery

• Persuasion, confidence, and stage presence

• Communication as a strategic advantage

From Kansas to California and beyond, Don shares a journey of transformation and leadership insight that will resonate with executives, entrepreneurs, speakers, and anyone seeking influence with integrity.

🔗 More Don: http://drwebercoaching.com/homepage

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Build a Joyful Business Without Burnout | Roberta Ravella Interview | Famous Interviews

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series. On this episode, we talk with Speaker, Strategist, and Founder of The Joy Experiment, Roberta Ravella. She helps ambitious women align their energy, values, and business growth — without sacrificing themselves in the process.

With two decades of experience in trust-based marketing and energetic alignment, Roberta guides entrepreneurs out of hustle culture, overwhelm, and burnout into clarity, ease, and resonance. Her work empowers women to build businesses that are profitable, values-driven, and joyful from the inside out.

In this inspiring conversation, we explore:

• How to build a values-based business

• Escaping hustle culture without losing momentum

• Trust-based marketing vs. fear-based selling

• Energetic alignment in entrepreneurship

• Women in leadership and sustainable growth

• Creating success that feels good — not just looks good

From her base in Florida, Roberta shares a joy-filled journey that will resonate with founders, coaches, creatives, and purpose-driven entrepreneurs everywhere.

🔗 More Roberta: https://thejoyexperiment.live/

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Marriage on the Brink? | Veronica L. Nabizadeh on Divorce, Clarity & Staying or Leaving | Famous Interviews

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series. On this episode, we talk with Author, Attorney, and Divorce Mediator Veronica L. Nabizadeh, Esq., known as The Battle-Weary Wife Whisperer. She helps women find clarity when their marriage feels painful, confusing, or stuck.

After nearly losing her own 25-year marriage, Veronica developed the Stop, Drop, and Roll, Baby!® Technique — a powerful emotional regulation and clarity framework that guides wives through the stay-or-go decision with dignity and confidence.

Her upcoming book, Don’t Throw in the Towel Yet!, offers a roadmap for women whose husbands refuse therapy, blending legal insight, relational wisdom, and deep emotional truth.

From her base in Florida, we explore:

• How to decide whether to stay or leave a marriage

• Emotional regulation during marital conflict

• What to do when your spouse refuses counseling

• Divorce mediation vs. courtroom battle

• Protecting yourself legally and emotionally

• Rebuilding confidence during relationship crisis

This conversation is essential for women navigating marital uncertainty, high-conflict relationships, or the crossroads of divorce and reconciliation.

🔗 More Veronica: https://marriagerelationshiprestart.com/

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UK-based Strategy Advisor & Leadership Coach Rashmir Balasubramaniam

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series. On this episode, we talk with UK-based Strategy Advisor and Leadership Coach Rashmir Balasubramaniam. With more than 30 years of experience advising leaders at organizations including the Gates Foundation, Nesta, and the NHS, she helps change makers move from extractive performance to regenerative impact.

Originally from Sri Lanka and having lived in Africa, Rashmir brings a global perspective to leadership transformation. Her work bridges ancient wisdom, contemplative practice, systems thinking, and deep inner development to unlock regenerative leadership and creativity inside organizations and complex systems.

In this powerful conversation, we explore:

• Regenerative leadership vs extractive performance

• Systems change and organizational transformation

• Inner work as a leadership strategy

• Creativity in complex environments

• Global leadership insights from Sri Lanka, Africa & the UK

• Working with institutions like the Gates Foundation, Nesta & the NHS

This interview is essential viewing for executives, founders, nonprofit leaders, coaches, and anyone interested in sustainable leadership and systems transformation.

🔗 More on Rashmir: https://www.rashmir.net/

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UK Pianist Paul Edis & San Francisco-based Vocalist Noa Levy on Bill Evans & More

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz Interview Series featuring UK pianist Paul Edis and San Francisco-based vocalist Noa Levy.

We dive into their 2026 album Portrait in Evans, out March 20, 2026 via Dot Time Records—a lyrical reimagining of the music of Bill Evans. Rather than simply interpreting Evans’ compositions as standards repertoire, the duo transforms some of his most harmonically rich material into storytelling vehicles—placing the human voice at the emotional center of Evans’ sound world.

Developed through live performance and touring, Portrait in Evans highlights their deep musical connection, expressive nuance, and sophisticated interplay. In this conversation, we explore their history as collaborators, their approach to lyric writing, Evans’ lasting influence on modern jazz, and how they reshape his legacy for contemporary audiences.

🎹 If you love Bill Evans, vocal jazz, piano trios, modern jazz reinterpretations, and artist interviews — this episode is for you.

🎧 Listen to the album:
https://hypeddit.com/noalevypauledistrio/portraitinevans

More Paul Edis:
https://www.pauledis.co.uk/bio

More Noa Levy:
https://noalevylive.com/

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John Hampsey Interview – Award-Winning Professor on Soda Lake (2025) & Kaufman’s Hill | Famous Interviews

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series. On this episode, we talk with award-winning professor and distinguished author John Hampsey.

Dr. Hampsey is a Professor of Romantic and Classical Literature at California Polytechnic State University, where he received the University Distinguished Teaching Award. Earlier in his career, he taught at Boston University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

His acclaimed memoir Kaufman's Hill was called the “best book written on American boyhood in decades” by historian Howard Zinn. In 2025, he completed an international book tour for his latest release, Soda Lake, further cementing his reputation as a powerful literary voice.

Over the course of his career, Hampsey has published more than thirty stories and essays in prestigious literary journals and magazines. Born in Pittsburgh, his life story and literary journey are as compelling as the works he writes.

In this conversation, we explore literature, teaching, memoir writing, American identity, and the creative process behind his celebrated books.

All Things John Hampsey:

https://www.johnchampsey.com/ 

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