Allan Harris Interview | Swingin’ Love Songs & the Story Behind His 2026 Jazz Release

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with acclaimed Jazz Vocalist, Guitarist & Songwriter Allan Harris on his remarkable 2026 release Swingin’ Love Songs.

More than two decades after it was originally recorded, Allan Harris brings this extraordinary collection of previously unreleased music into the world. What began with sessions in Miami eventually returned to New York, where Allan completely reimagined the material with a stellar cast of world-class jazz musicians.

The result is a fascinating bridge between the past and present, preserving a remarkable chapter of Allan's musical journey that nearly disappeared into the vaults of jazz history.

In this conversation, Allan takes us behind the making of Swingin’ Love Songs, the story of rediscovering and reshaping these recordings, his evolution as a vocalist, guitarist and songwriter, getting through the COVID era, and the long musical road that brought this project back to life.

We get into jazz, songwriting, recording, perseverance, reinvention, New York, Miami, and the power of finally letting music that has been waiting for its moment be heard.

Dig this interview.

Get the Album
Allan Harris — Swingin’ Love Songs

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Rebecca Chamian Ribaudo Interview | Crossing Division Street, Chicago History & American Identity

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series. On this episode, we talk with Chicago-based writer and storyteller Rebecca Chamian Ribaudo about her debut novel, Crossing Division Street, coming September 26, 2026, along with her life, career, creative inspiration, and the stories that shaped her as a writer.

At the heart of Crossing Division Street is a powerful question: What happens when personal principles collide with family heritage?

Spanning four generations and two timelines, the novel explores loyalty, betrayal, redemption, inheritance, identity, family, and the complicated ways history continues to shape the present.

But beneath the fictional story is a largely overlooked chapter of Chicago history—the intertwined experiences of Italian immigrants, Black American migrants, and the generations that followed in a changing mixed-race neighborhood once known as Little Sicily, Little Hell, and later Cabrini-Green.

Rebecca brings those worlds together through a story designed to make readers think about race, identity, heritage, immigration, assimilation, family loyalty, cultural memory, and what it means to inherit both the strengths and contradictions of previous generations.

While fiction has always been a passion, Rebecca's professional career has centered on brand development, storytelling, communications, and writing for organizations ranging from Fortune 500 companies to nonprofits.

She has also remained active in organizations and initiatives supporting freedom of expression, civil liberties, intellectual freedom, women's freedoms around the world, and the Harvard alumni community.

In this conversation, we explore the inspiration behind Crossing Division Street, Chicago's layered history, Italian-American identity, Black migration, family heritage, generational conflict, storytelling, writing a debut novel, and the complicated American story that emerges when different communities live, struggle, grow, and change side by side. 

Crossing Division Street ultimately asks readers to wrestle with one of America's oldest—and still deeply relevant—questions: How do we honor where we came from while deciding who we want to become?

It's a fascinating story about family, Chicago, immigration, race, heritage, identity, and the complicated inheritance of American history.

Enjoy this story and interview.

More Rebecca Chamian Ribaudo
Rebecca Chamian Ribaudo on LinkedIn
Crossing Division Street on Amazon

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Leslie Lopez Interview | Infertility, Donor Conception, Surrogacy & Building Family Differently

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series. On this episode, we talk with Mothers in Arms Podcast Host and Advocate for Accessible Third-Party Reproduction Leslie Lopez about infertility, donor conception, gestational surrogacy, solo motherhood, family building, identity, resilience, and creating community around experiences that can often feel incredibly isolating.

Leslie spent six years working with California Fertility Partners before embarking on her own deeply personal journey to build a family as an independent mother through donor conception and gestational surrogacy.

That experience became much more than a personal story. It helped shape her commitment to creating honest, compassionate conversations around infertility, third-party reproduction, egg donation, surrogacy, non-traditional family structures, and the emotional realities of becoming a parent outside of traditional pathways.

Through her work and the Mothers in Arms podcast, Leslie is helping create space for people to talk openly about the complicated realities of fertility and family building—without shame, stigma, or the feeling that they have to navigate the journey alone.

In this conversation, we explore the emotional dimensions of infertility, the mental and social challenges of fertility journeys, donor conception, gestational surrogacy, egg donation, solo parenting, non-traditional families, motherhood, identity, resilience, community, and making fertility options more accessible and less isolating.

Leslie's story offers an important look at what happens when a deeply personal experience becomes a mission to help others feel seen, understood, supported, and less alone.

This is a conversation about family, motherhood, resilience, reproductive choices, community, and the many different ways people create the families they dream of.

She has quite a story that is creating a solid community at large. Enjoy this interview.

Tune Into Mothers in Arms
Mothers in Arms Podcast on Apple Podcasts

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Ted Yang Interview | AI-Powered Peak Performance, Leadership & the Future of Work

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series. On this episode, we talk with seasoned entrepreneur, author, MIT engineer, speaker, and business leader Ted Yang about artificial intelligence, peak performance, leadership, entrepreneurship, learning, and the future of human potential.

Ted is the author of Ageless Peak Performance: The Playbook for AI-Powered Excellence, a practical guide for experienced professionals, leaders, and ambitious strivers who want to use AI as cognitive leverage—not as a replacement for human thinking, but as a powerful tool for thinking better, learning faster, executing more effectively, and sustaining excellence over the long term.

His background gives him a unique perspective on the rapidly changing AI landscape. An MIT engineer and entrepreneur, Ted is a former finance executive who has worked with firms including Bridgewater and Citadel, a worldwide speaker, and the founder of more than 12 companies and nonprofits. He also serves as a Regent for Higher Education in Connecticut.

Rather than approaching AI purely from a technical perspective, Ted focuses on the human side of the equation: How do we use technology to amplify judgment, creativity, learning, decision-making, productivity, and performance?

In this conversation, we explore AI and productivity, cognitive leverage, peak performance, leadership, entrepreneurship, lifelong learning, professional reinvention, human potential, artificial intelligence, business strategy, and how experienced professionals can remain effective and relevant in an increasingly AI-powered world.

Ted's story is also a fascinating journey through engineering, finance, entrepreneurship, education, leadership, and the rapidly evolving world of artificial intelligence.

How can experienced professionals use AI without losing the human judgment and experience that made them successful in the first place? And what happens when technology becomes a genuine partner in how we think, learn, and work?

It’s quite a story. Tune in.

More Ted Yang
Ageless Peak Performance — Official Website

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Zen Zadravec Interview | New Paradigm, Detroit Jazz & a Life in Contemporary Jazz

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz Interview Series with Detroit-based jazz pianist, bandleader, composer, and educator Zen Zadravec.

We caught up with Zen to explore his new 2026 album, New Paradigm, and a remarkable musical career that has taken him across continents and through decades of contemporary jazz.

With a rich international career as a bandleader, collaborator, and educator, Zadravec has developed a distinctive voice rooted in the belief that music is more than sound—it is a form of creative communication, an expressive language shaped by human experience, connection, and a deeply humanistic perspective.

Throughout his career, Zen has performed and collaborated with some of the most respected figures in the international jazz community, including Ron Carter, Louis Hayes, Sean Jones, Steve Turre, and many others.

Today, he leads two original projects that showcase different dimensions of his musical vision: the Zen Zadravec Quintet and the fusion-oriented ensemble Human Revolution.

In this conversation, we get into New Paradigm, Zen's international journey, his Detroit roots, the philosophy behind his music, collaboration, improvisation, education, and the continuing evolution of jazz in the modern world.

Zen Zadravec's story is one of musical exploration, international collaboration, education, and a lifelong commitment to using jazz as a language of human expression.

From Detroit to stages around the world, his work continues to connect tradition with innovation while exploring where contemporary jazz can go next.

Listen to New Paradigm
Zen Zadravec — *New Paradigm* on Apple Music

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Elke Scholz Interview | Anxiety Warrior, Loving Your Life & Finding Emotional Freedom

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series. On this episode, we talk with Author, Registered Psychotherapist, Expressive Art Consultant/Educator & EMDR Therapist Elke Scholz about anxiety, emotional freedom, creative healing, psychotherapy, self-discovery, and finding more energy and vitality in everyday life.

Elke Scholz is the author of the 3rd edition of Loving Your Life, an internationally available book filled with more than 40 creative exercises designed to help readers explore their emotions, mindset, relationships, and personal well-being. The book is available in both e-book and paperback formats, is teen-friendly, and has also been translated into German.

She has also created Anxiety Warrior, Vol. 1 and Anxiety Warrior, Vol. 2, offering practical tools for people navigating anxiety and working toward greater emotional freedom.

One of the most compelling parts of Elke's approach is that she doesn't present anxiety as something she simply teaches about—she openly manages her own anxiety and believes that effective strategies should be accessible, practical, and easy to use.

As an Energy Rich Vitality Specialist, Elke also focuses on living with passion, energy, and a deeper sense of vitality. Her work extends into new offerings including her “Energy Rich” webinar and a series of audio meditations designed to help people reconnect with themselves and cultivate greater well-being. 

In this conversation, we explore anxiety management, emotional health, psychotherapy, EMDR therapy, expressive arts, creative exercises, self-awareness, emotional freedom, vitality, meditation, personal growth, and the importance of loving the life you're actually living.

This is an honest and uplifting conversation about learning to work with anxiety, discovering practical tools for emotional freedom, and creating a life filled with more passion, energy, creativity, and meaning.

From her base in Canada, we get into it all. Enjoy this interview.

More Elke Scholz
Loving Your Life — Official Website

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Alicia Dupree Interview | The Busy Woman’s Blueprint, Consistency & Reclaiming Your Goals

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series. On this episode, we talk with Master Certified Consistency Coach and creator of The Busy Woman’s Blueprint, Alicia Dupree, about helping busy, overwhelmed women finally stop putting themselves last—and start following through on the goals they've been talking about for years.

For working mothers and women juggling careers, families, relationships, responsibilities, and countless competing priorities, personal goals can easily become the thing that gets pushed to tomorrow.

Alicia Dupree believes it doesn't have to be that way.

With a background in coaching, leadership, and wellness, Alicia specializes in helping women create realistic systems, habits, routines, and strategies that actually fit their lives. Her approach isn't about adding another complicated productivity system to an already overloaded schedule. It's about creating consistency in a way that feels sustainable, practical, honest, and achievable.

Through The Busy Woman's Blueprint, she helps women move from overwhelm and good intentions to meaningful action and follow-through.

In this conversation, we explore consistency, goal setting, productivity, time management, self-care, working motherhood, leadership, wellness, overcoming overwhelm, building sustainable habits, and how women can make progress without feeling like personal growth has become another full-time job.

This is a conversation about making progress realistic, building consistency without perfection, and helping busy women create lives where their own goals finally have a place at the table.

We get into the whole story. Enjoy this interview.

More Alicia Dupree
Alicia Dupree — Official Website

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