The Stereo Image
Join host Mike Jones as he discusses music in the lives of creative and interesting people! Mike talks 1-on-1 with the various people he has met as a jazz pianist and music director for Penn & Teller. Music plays a part in how creative people are inspired, whether someone is an accomplished musician or just listened to their favorite album on repeat in school. With humor and curiosity, Mike talks music with some fascinating people!
Episodes
This week Jonesy sits down with the great Skip Heller: composer, guitarist, bandleader, arranger, and one of the most restlessly curious musicians you will ever meet. Skip grew up in Philadelphia a few blocks from Dizzy Gillespie's old house, never took a real music lesson, and built a life in music that runs from bebop to rockabilly to exotica.
They get into his new Dizzy Gillespie project with his band Voodoo 5, why joy is the fu...
This week Jonesy sits down with Michael Jackson: photographer, musician, writer, visual artist, and the guy with his finger on the pulse of every jazz event in Chicago. From playing saxophone at London’s Royal Festival Hall as a kid to graduate school at the School of the Art Institute, from iconic Downbeat shoots to late nights at the Green Mill, Michael has done a bit of everything, and he still never stops.
They dig into ...
Alex Frank grew up in the room while the music was being made. The son of an LA film composer, he was a kid at recording sessions who traded the clarinet for an upright the moment he heard Ray Brown. Now he's the musical director of Jeff Goldblum's jazz band and one of the most in-demand bassists working the drummerless-trio tradition that ran from Nat Cole to Oscar Peterson. He joins host Mike Jones for a conversation about where ...
Welcome to The Stereo Image, a lighthearted look at how music fits into the lives of creative and interesting people.
Hosted by jazz pianist and Penn & Teller music director Mike Jones, this show trades rigid music theory for great storytelling. Each episode features fascinating guests sharing their wildest musical memories, unexpected histories, and the songs that soundtracked their lives. From backstage antics to personal dee...
Joe Alterman fell for jazz at his dad's backyard barbecues: Wes Montgomery and Oscar Peterson over the steaks. He's spent his life chasing that same high. A 37-year-old pianist from Atlanta, Alterman talks with Mike Jones about coming up through an internship at the Blue Note, where his first assignment was keeping McCoy Tyner company for two hours, and how that hustle turned into friendships with his heroes.
He tells the story of ...
For thirty years, if something happened on a Las Vegas stage, John Katsilometes was probably in the room. The entertainment columnist behind "The Kats Report" at the Las Vegas Review-Journal joins host Mike Jones for a conversation about a career built without a journalism degree. From covering the Tyson–Holyfield "bite night" as a young sports writer to becoming the last man standing in a beat that used to belong to Norm Cla...
Mark Masters writes for the kind of jazz ensemble that barely exists anymore... and most of the time, the finished music ends up in a box in his garage. A composer and arranger on the Capri label alongside host Mike Jones, Masters has spent decades building ambitious large-group records around the voices he loves: Steely Dan reimagined, tributes to Sam Rivers and Billy Harper, a date with Art Baron, the last trombonist Duke Ellingt...
The man who won Lenny Bruce a pardon four decades after his death turns out to be a tuba player who came to jazz through Dave Brubeck. Robert Corn-Revere has spent more than 40 years as a First Amendment attorney, and on this episode he and Mike Jones trade the law for the record store: classic rock, the ritual of dropping eight bucks on an album, and why the music of that era still fills the same bar he drank in back in college.
T...
Violinist, violist, composer, producer, and world's first LED string ensemble founder Michelle Jones joins The Stereo Image for a wide-ranging conversation about a remarkable career built on versatility and relationships. Michelle shares the story behind her orchestration work on Maluma's "Botero" (recorded under NDA on Halloween, now with over 4 million streams), the debut of the Robert Kerr Ensemble at Carnegie Hall, and Violectr...
This week we explore the journey of Rob Zabrecky. From indie music and the 90's LA scene to magic to his unique performance style. Mike and Rob discuss his latest project, the Zabrecky Hour, and the thought and creativity that went into it.
Check out his special, The Zabrecky Hour, on Amazon.
On this episode of The Stereo Image, Sarah Lowe - performer and resident director with Spiegel World - shares her journey from Mamma Mia and Jersey Boys to starring in Absinthe and directing The Party. She talks about choreographing Showgirls, co-creating the Apple Sisters, and life on the Las Vegas Strip.
Sarah also reflects on her Hollywood lineage as Ruby Keeler's granddaughter, balancing a busy performing career with family lif...
This episode of The Stereo Image features world-renowned pianist Olga Kern discussing her musical upbringing, life on tour, and teaching at the Manhattan School of Music.
Olga shares stories about winning major competitions, her family’s musical lineage, a vivid dream of Rachmaninoff, and why studying a composer’s life matters. She also talks about the power of live performance and her upcoming concert schedule.
Host Mike talks with composer Jeff Beal about his wide-ranging career — from jazz trumpet and early breakthrough with Pollock to TV and film work like House of Cards and Monk. They discuss Beal’s current projects, including his piano etudes, a new choral work premiered by the LA Master Chorale, a Rod Serling documentary score, and his upcoming world premiere of a new score for Fritz Lang’s Metropolis.
The conversa...
This week we are so excited to have the phenomenal conductor, Leonard Slatkin! Leonard is an icon of the classical music world but he grew up surrounded by jazz giants and Hollywood legends. Not many people can say that Frank Sinatra tucked him in as a child!
This episode marks 1 year of The Stereo Image! To celebrate, we recorded this in person at Mike's Las Vegas home.
Learn more about Leonard:
Glenn Alai joins the Stereo Image to trace his lifelong love of variety entertainment — from growing up on TV specials and Atlantic City shows to studying casino entertainment at UNLV and building the Penn & Teller organization into a Las Vegas mainstay.
He shares backstage stories, career-defining moments, and how he helped bring vintage performers and modern magicians like Piff into the mainstream, reflecting on decades...
“They didn’t let anyone sit in at Bradley’s unless you were Bill Evans!”
This week we continue our conversation with Judy Carmichael as she recalls leaving Disneyland, moving to New York, and breaking into the jazz world. She shares encounters with legends like Roy Eldridge and Tommy Flanagan, the pivotal "Handful of Keys" moment, and how determination and talent won her respect.
Judy also reflects on career...
"There is a time when you just have to say 'LAYOUT'!"
This week on The Stereo Image, Judy Carmichael, celebrated stride pianist, joins Mike to discuss her musical journey—from discovering vintage player pianos and Count Basie recordings to early gigs, mentors like Dave McKenna, and studying the greats by ear rather than transcription.
They explore performing solo, accompanying herself, the importance of listening and mentorsh...
Our latest guest is Céline Peterson, daughter of legendary jazz pianist Oscar Peterson. Céline and Mike talk about the importance of fair treatment and appreciation for artists. Céline shares her experiences managing artists and the impact of social media on music careers, while also reflecting on her upbringing in a musical family.
More info for this episode:
This week, Mike chats with Randy Pitchford. Randy owns Gearbox Software which produces the Borderlands game series among others. He is incredibly smart and insightful. Mike and Randy talk about the creative music kids are making these days and how it relates to the music earlier generations created. Randy grew up in a musical family and plays the piano himself. But that’s not all! Randy is also an accomplished magician and pe...
We are so excited to have Eric Mingus on this week’s episode! In fact, that Mike stammers through the first part of the episode because he’s so excited! Luckily he gets past that and he and Eric have a wonderful discussion about his own recent projects and a little about growing up as a member of jazz royalty with his dad Charles Mingus. Note: Occasionally you hear some dogs in the background. Eric was...
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