Matthew Johnson Interview | Jackie Robinson Real Gone, Baseball, Poetry & the Power of Story

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series. On this episode, we talk with writer, poet, baseball historian, former sports journalist, and communications professional Matthew Johnson about his upcoming 2026 poetry collection, Jackie Robinson Real Gone, and the fascinating intersection of baseball, literature, history, faith, and the written word.

Matthew's love of poetry and baseball runs deep. His upcoming collection draws inspiration from the legendary Jackie Robinson, while reflecting the literary and cultural influences that have shaped his own voice as a writer.

Among his many professional pursuits, Matthew has worked as a freelance editor and served as a teaching assistant and tutor in American Literature and English Studies. He currently works in communications within higher education.

A native of New Rochelle, New York, and raised in Stratford, Connecticut, Matthew now calls Greensboro, North Carolina home.

His literary influences include some of America's most important writers and poets, including Langston Hughes, Jean Toomer, Carl Sandburg, Walt Whitman, and Mark Twain. His passion for baseball provides another powerful lens through which he explores American history, culture, identity, perseverance, and the human experience.

Faith also plays an important role in his creative life, informing the themes, values, and stories that emerge through his poetry and writing.

In this conversation, we explore Jackie Robinson Real Gone, the legacy of Jackie Robinson, Matthew's love of baseball, poetry as a form of storytelling, American literature, his career in journalism and communications, his literary influences, faith, and what drives him to keep writing.

This is a conversation about baseball, poetry, history, literature, faith, and the people and stories that continue to shape America.

If you love Jackie Robinson, baseball history, poetry, American literature, sports writing, or great personal stories, this is an interview worth spending some time with.

We cover all of this and more. Enjoy the interview.

More Matthew Johnson
Matthew Johnson Poetry — Official Website

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Michel Gentile & Rob Garcia Interview | Light of Day & Sizzle Ensemble | Neon Jazz

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz Interview Series with Brooklyn-based jazz flutist/composer Michel Gentile and drummer/composer Rob Garcia as we explore two exciting new 2026 albums from Connection Works Records.

Released worldwide on May 29, 2026, these two recordings offer different perspectives on contemporary jazz while sharing a deep commitment to composition, improvisation, collaboration, and creative exploration.

First up is Light of Day by Michel Gentile FLOW—Gentile's debut recording as a leader. The project features Gentile on flute, alto flute, bass flute, and piccolo, joined by Michael McGinnis on clarinet, Jacob Garchik on trombone, Chris Lightcap on bass, and Tom Rainey on drums. The music moves between carefully constructed compositions and open-ended improvisation, creating an adventurous chamber-jazz sound filled with texture and interaction.

Then we get into **Rob Garcia's Sizzle Ensemble, a new group featuring Garcia on drums with Noah Preminger on tenor saxophone, Shane Endsley on trumpet, Gary Versace on piano/electric piano, and Kim Cass on bass. The album combines Garcia's original compositions with inventive interpretations of music by artists including Thelonious Monk, Marcus Miller, and Herbie Hancock.

Both artists are deeply connected to Connection Works, the Brooklyn artist-run nonprofit they co-direct with pianist/composer Daniel Kelly. The organization has been supporting new jazz and creative music in Brooklyn since 2007.

In this conversation, we explore the creative thinking behind both albums, the Brooklyn jazz community, composition and improvisation, building ensembles, the relationship between structure and freedom, and what it means to create adventurous jazz in 2026.

It's a special dual-album conversation with two important voices in the Brooklyn jazz community—and two musicians who continue to push their music forward through collaboration, curiosity, and fearless creativity.

Get the Albums
Connection Works Records — Michel Gentile & Rob Garcia releases

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Leigh Pilzer Interview | Keep Holding On (2026) | Baritone Saxophone, Composition & Jazz

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz Interview Series with Washington, DC–based baritone saxophonist, composer, and bandleader Leigh Pilzer.

On this episode, we dive into Leigh's compelling new 2026 album, Keep Holding On, released on Strange Woman Records. The project finds Pilzer exploring intimate trio and quartet settings, creating an environment where composition, improvisation, interaction, phrasing, and musical structure can breathe.

Leigh brings a distinctive compositional philosophy to the record. Rather than simply placing her baritone saxophone within an ensemble, she approaches instrument, composition, arrangement, and collaboration as one unified expressive system.

The result is music where every detail matters—from the shape of a melody and the architecture of an arrangement to the spontaneous interaction between musicians.

In this conversation, Leigh and Joe also explore what it means to create meaningful music in 2026 America, the evolving role of the jazz composer and bandleader, her approach to ensemble design, and the possibility of bringing her music to Kansas City in the near future.

Keep Holding On is a fascinating look at what can happen when composition, musicianship, improvisation, and ensemble chemistry become inseparable.

This is a conversation about the architecture of jazz—and the freedom that can emerge when great musicians know exactly when to follow the structure and when to break away from it.

Leigh Pilzer — Keep Holding On
https://leighpilzer.bandcamp.com/album/keep-holding-on

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Ransom Kong Interview | From Domestic Violence Recovery to Purpose, Love & Intentional Matchmaking

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series. On this episode, we talk with Ransom Kong, a former perpetrator turned deliberate matchmaking expert and facilitator whose life's work has centered on helping men understand what lies beneath anger, violence, pain, and emotional disconnection.

For 27 years, Ransom has facilitated anger management and domestic violence groups involving court-mandated men—men who can be angry, defensive, in denial, and sometimes dangerous.

But through decades of this work, he began seeing something underneath the anger:

A man who is exhausted. A man who is hurting. A man who may still be capable of curiosity, connection, and love.

Ransom understands this journey personally. As a former perpetrator who broke his own cycle, he transformed his experience into a mission focused on helping other men develop the emotional awareness and skills necessary to change their lives.

That work has evolved into two platforms.

Purpose Over Pain serves men who are still in the middle of their struggle, helping them confront anger, pain, emotional patterns, and the behaviors that can damage themselves and the people around them.

His second platform, Tethered, is an intentional matchmaking community designed for people who have come through difficult experiences and are ready to build healthier, more meaningful relationships.

At the heart of Ransom's philosophy is emotional fluency—learning to identify what is actually running the show underneath anger.

In this powerful conversation, we explore anger, accountability, relationships, emotional intelligence, breaking destructive cycles, masculinity, love, personal transformation, and what it means to build a different future after confronting your past. 

Ransom's story is ultimately about what happens when someone refuses to let their worst moments define the rest of their life.

It's a candid conversation about anger, violence, accountability, emotional awareness, relationships, love, and the possibility of genuine transformation.

More Ransom Kong
Purpose Over Pain

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Bob Bekian Interview | Hollywood Producer, Entrepreneur & Author of 10 Ways to Feel Better

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series. On this episode, we talk with Entrepreneur, Hollywood Producer, Speaker & Author Bob Bekian, whose remarkable journey has taken him from the entertainment industry to a life dedicated to helping people feel better, live healthier, and rediscover a sense of purpose.

Bob is the author of 10 Ways to Feel Better, a practical guide built around a simple but powerful idea: small daily habits can create big results.

For 20 years, Bob worked as a Hollywood producer and entrepreneur, interacting with some of the most recognizable people in movies and entertainment. But behind the glamour, he noticed something that changed the way he viewed success.

Some of the most successful people he encountered were also unhappy, unfulfilled, and self-destructive.

That realization eventually became personal.

After experiencing a life-changing shift in his own identity, Bob decided to reinvent himself into the person he believed he could become. He immersed himself in health, emotional wellness, mindset strategies, personal growth, and faith, emerging with an entirely different outlook on life.

That transformation became a new mission.

Today, Bob uses his experience to encourage others to make small, intentional changes that can lead to greater satisfaction, gratitude, happiness, and emotional well-being.

In this conversation, we explore the Hollywood years, his personal identity shift, the realities behind outward success, and the everyday habits that can help people create a better life.

Bob's story is a powerful reminder that success isn't always measured by what you achieve—it can also be measured by how you feel while you're living your life.

From the Hollywood entertainment world to a deeply personal journey of reinvention, wellness, faith, and purpose, Bob shares how he went from searching for success to discovering a much more meaningful definition of what it means to feel better and live better.

From his base in Thousand Oaks, California, we get into quite a ride.

More Bob Bekian
Bob Bekian Official Website

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Jaime Elizondo Interview | Grey Cup Champion Coach, CEO Performance Engineer & Leadership Expert

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series. On this episode, we talk with Grey Cup Champion Coach turned CEO Performance Engineer Jaime Elizondo.

Jaime spent 25 years coaching across the NFL, CFL, XFL, and NCAA, building a career around one central question: What separates good performance from elite performance?

His coaching journey reached a major milestone when he won a Grey Cup championship calling plays as offensive coordinator of the Ottawa Redblacks. He later became head coach of the Edmonton Elks, adding another chapter to an extraordinary career in professional football.

Today, Jaime takes everything he learned from the world of elite sports and applies it to CEOs, executive teams, business leaders, and elite athletes.

He is the creator of the 5 P's of Performance, author of The CRUSH-IT Formula, and a Certified High-Performance Coach. He also holds a law degree, bringing a unique combination of coaching, performance psychology, leadership, business, and strategic thinking to his work.

At the center of Jaime's philosophy is a powerful idea:
You never rise to the occasion. You fall to the level of your training.

Jaime's story is ultimately about taking the lessons of championship football and translating them into a system for people who need to perform when the stakes are high.

From football sidelines to the executive suite, this is a fascinating conversation about performance, preparation, leadership, discipline, resilience, and building systems that produce results.

It’s an incredible story. Tune in.

More Jaime Elizondo
Jaime Elizondo Official Website

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Gaylen A. Wilson Interview | Heart Transplant Survivor, Sobriety, Love & Reinvention

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series. On this episode, we talk with Gaylen A. Wilson, Heart Transplant Survivor, 20-Year-Sober Former Alcoholic, Relationship Author, Relationship Coach, and Founder of The Monument Method Institute.

Gaylen's life has not been defined by one comeback.

It has been defined by a series of forced reinventions.

His journey has taken him through farm failure, a collapsed stockbroker career, alcoholism, sobriety, career disruption following 9/11, rebuilding his professional life as a computer repairman, and eventually becoming a successful field-service technician.

Then came the biggest crisis of his life.

In 2014, a virus attacked Gaylen's heart, leaving him in end-stage heart failure.

For the next three and a half years, Gaylen and his wife, Heather, lived through hospital rooms, fear, financial pressure, uncertainty, lost intimacy, disability, and the terrifying reality that without a heart transplant, Gaylen was going to die.

Then came June 19, 2018.

Gaylen sat Heather down and told her he believed he had only a few months left.

Approximately 30 minutes later, the transplant center called.

The following morning, Gaylen received a new heart.

What followed was not simply survival. It was another reinvention—and a profound exploration of love, relationships, sobriety, resilience, identity, intimacy, purpose, and what it means to be given another chance at life.

In this deeply personal conversation, Gaylen shares the entire journey and the lessons he has carried forward into his work as a relationship author and coach.

Gaylen's story is ultimately about more than a heart transplant.

It is about what happens when life repeatedly forces you to become someone new—and whether you have the courage to keep rebuilding.

From addiction and sobriety to career collapse, marriage, devastating illness, and ultimately a new heart, this is an extraordinary story of survival, love, resilience, reinvention, and hope.

We get into his whole inspiring and fascinating story.

More Gaylen A. Wilson
The Monument Method Institute

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Allison Philips Interview | FONT Music 2026 | Festival of New Trumpet Music & Jazz Trumpet

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz Interview Series with Jazz Trumpeter & FONT Music Organizer Allison Philips. On this episode, we get deep into the roots, history, mission, and activities surrounding the Festival of New Trumpet Music (FONT Music)—one of the most adventurous and important organizations dedicated to expanding the possibilities of the trumpet in contemporary music.

Now entering its 24th season, FONT Music will take place September 14–20, 2026, with performances and educational events happening across New York City, Brooklyn, Jersey City, and online.

Founded in 2003 by legendary trumpeters Dave Douglas and Roy Campbell Jr., FONT Music has become the world's leading presenter dedicated exclusively to new trumpet music.

The festival brings together artists working across jazz, improvised music, contemporary composition, electronics, experimental music, and cross-disciplinary collaboration, creating a space where musicians can push the trumpet far beyond traditional boundaries.

In this conversation, Allison Philips takes us inside the story of FONT Music, its evolution, its community, and the incredible range of artists helping shape the future of the instrument.

The 2026 festival brings together an international community of established innovators and emerging voices, showcasing the extraordinary diversity of approaches being applied to the trumpet today.

A major centerpiece of this year's festival will be the presentation of the FONT Music Award of Recognition to legendary trumpeter, composer, educator, and cultural visionary Ahmed Abdullah on September 15 at The New School.

FONT Music is about more than a festival. It is about creating a community around experimentation, innovation, education, and the limitless possibilities of one of music's most powerful instruments.

From New York City to the international jazz community, this is a fascinating look at the people and ideas helping push trumpet music into the future.

Everything FONT Music Festival 2026
FONT Music Official Website

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Freddie Benedict Interview | Colours (2026) | Rising UK Jazz Vocalist, Composer & Arranger

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz Interview Series with rising UK jazz vocalist, composer, and arranger Freddie Benedict.

On this episode, we dive into Freddie's 2026 debut single, Colours, and the remarkable musical journey that has taken him from the lockdown-era writing of an original song about first love to performances on some of the UK's most prestigious stages.

Freddie began his professional career as the lead male singer with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra, launching a path that has seen him perform throughout the UK at celebrated venues including Ronnie Scott's, The Ritz, The Savoy, and The Maine.

At the heart of this conversation is Colours, an original composition that uses the spectrum of colors and emotions to explore the highs and lows of first love through jazz and scat. Written during lockdown, the song captures both youthful emotion and Freddie's developing voice as a composer and performer.

His growing musical résumé includes coaching from jazz luminary Emma Smith and sharing the stage with legendary vocalist Jacqui Dankworth. Those experiences have helped shape an artist equally comfortable honoring the jazz tradition while developing his own contemporary sound.

This is a conversation about young jazz talent, songwriting, improvisation, first love, musical education, and finding your own voice within a great musical tradition.

Freddie Benedict is an artist with plenty of road ahead—and Colours offers an intriguing first glimpse at where that road may lead.

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/_freddiebenedict/?hl=en

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Camille Dunhill Interview | Romance Author, Love, Self-Discovery & Chasing Romance

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series. On this episode, we talk with Romance Author Camille Dunhill about her books, her day job, her passions, her creative journey, and the complicated, fascinating search for love.

Camille's first book, Musings of a Romance Addict, began as a wild adventure that simply had to be written down. What may have started as a cautionary tale eventually evolved into something deeper—a story about romance, relationships, identity, desire, and the journey toward understanding oneself.

Her second book, Chasing Romance: A Journey of Heart and Discovery, follows Stacey, a woman shaped by emotional deprivation, strict family dynamics, romantic longing, and repeated attempts to define herself through love and desire.

Stacey is a true believer in romance—and she has spent much of her life searching for it.

Through Camille's writing, that search becomes an exploration of the ways our relationships, experiences, expectations, and emotional histories shape who we become.

In this conversation, we get into Camille's journey as an author, the inspiration behind her books, the realities of writing romance, the relationship between fiction and real life, and why the search for connection remains such a powerful human story.

Camille Dunhill's work explores an enduring question: What happens when our search for love becomes part of our search for ourselves?

It's a conversation about romance, relationships, identity, desire, storytelling, and the human need to connect.

More Camille Dunhill
Camille Dunhill Official Website

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Tom Cladis Interview | Fantasy Author, Adventurer, Alligator Wrestler & Living Without Limits

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series. On this episode, we talk with Tom Cladis, Award-Winning Fantasy Author, Financial Planner, Adventurer, and former Flight Attendant—and a man who appears to have made a personal mission out of refusing to live an ordinary life.

What do handstands atop mountains, alligator wrestling, epic fantasy, financial planning, and international adventure have in common?

Tom Cladis.

Tom believes life is meant to be experienced—not merely managed.

Whether he's doing handstands at the Eiffel Tower, summiting mountain peaks, wrestling alligators, traveling the world, or creating epic fantasy adventures, Tom approaches life with curiosity, courage, imagination, and a willingness to push beyond conventional boundaries.

His story is as colorful as his personality. He describes himself as a free-thinker, writer, provocateur, Christian, thrill seeker, adventurer, warrior, and certified alligator wrestler who keeps his sail pointed toward the far horizon and thrives on the adventure ahead.

As an author, Tom has published the nonfiction book How To Lift Cars Off Your Face And Other Tips For Living Forever and the fiction title The Age Of Serpents And Scorpions.

In this conversation, we explore the intersection of adventure, storytelling, risk, curiosity, faith, fantasy, personal freedom, and living with intention.

Tom's philosophy is simple but powerful: don't just manage your life—go out and live it.

This is a fascinating conversation with a man whose adventures could easily sound like fiction—and whose fiction is fueled by a life that refuses to stay inside the lines.

From mountaintops to alligator wrestling to the worlds of epic fantasy, we cover it all.

More Tom Cladis
Tom Cladis Official Website

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Yoko Miwa & Mikayla Shirley Interview | The Midnight Hour (2026) | Boston Jazz Duo

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz Interview Series with Boston-based pianist Yoko Miwa and vocalist Mikayla Shirley.

On this episode, we dive into their beautiful new 2026 debut album, The Midnight Hour—a recording born from late-night performances, intimate musical chemistry, and a shared love for great songs.

Last year, Yoko and Mikayla began performing together during The Mad Monkfish's Midnight Sessions in Cambridge, Massachusetts. What started as intimate duo performances gradually developed into a remarkable musical collaboration, creating what has become one of the Boston jazz scene's hidden treasures.

Their debut recording captures the atmosphere and spirit of those late-night sessions, showcasing two musicians who move effortlessly across musical boundaries.

The repertoire travels from jazz standards and Broadway songs to Brazilian music, classic pop, and contemporary songwriting. But rather than being defined by genre, the project is united by something much simpler—and much more powerful:

A great song.

Yoko Miwa and Mikayla Shirley bring their individual voices together in a setting that leaves plenty of room for intimacy, spontaneity, conversation, and musical discovery.

The Midnight Hour is a celebration of songs, atmosphere, musical chemistry, and the magic that can happen when two artists simply sit down together and listen to each other.

This is a wonderful conversation about the art of the duo, the Boston jazz community, and why sometimes the most powerful music happens long after the sun goes down.

Yoko Miwa & Mikayla Shirley — The Midnight Hour
https://store.spinneymedia.com/products/yoko-miwa-mikayla-shirley-the-midnight-hour-cd 

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Danura Miriyagalla Interview | The Navigator's Pivot | Navigating Change, Purpose & Leadership

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series. On this episode, we talk with Danura Miriyagalla, Author and International Development & Management Specialist whose remarkable career has taken him across Asia, Africa, Australia, the Pacific, and the United States.

His work sits at the intersection of research, creative practice, cross-cultural leadership, global experience, and personal transformation.

Those years of moving between countries, cultures, careers, and communities profoundly shaped the way Danura thinks about belonging, direction, identity, and change.

His book, The Navigator's Pivot, is a reflective guide for anyone navigating a major work-life transition.

Drawing on ancient seafaring wisdom, philosophy, lived global experience, and modern leadership practice, Danura explores how we can move through periods of uncertainty with greater clarity, calm, awareness, and purpose.

At the heart of the book is a powerful idea: every transition involves two movements—the Pivot and the Inflection.

The Pivot is about changing direction.

The Inflection is about understanding how that change reshapes the journey.

Together, they offer a different way of thinking about career transitions, personal reinvention, leadership, uncertainty, and the moments when the path ahead suddenly looks very different.

Danura's philosophy isn't about escaping life's storms.

It's about learning how to steer through them with grace—and discovering that somewhere within us, the compass may already be pointing home.

More Danura Miriyagalla & The Navigator's Pivot
Get *The Navigator's Pivot*
Danura Miriyagalla on LinkedIn

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