Six Count

Six Count hosted its first listening session with a small group of musicians in January. Dexter Moses, the featured guest, curated the following playlist for the evening: 

• “I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles,” by Charlie Parker and Jay McShann (1942)
• “Cherokee,” by Charlie Parker and Efferge Ware (1942 or 1943)
• “Bag’s Groove” (1953) and “Off Minor” (1947), by Bud Powell
• The Black Peril, by Soweto Kinch (2019)
  • Liberation Rag
  • Degeneration, Pt. 11 – The Disorder Within
  • Liberation’s Dawn
  • Black Friday
  • Homecoming
• “52nd Street Theme (Live),” by the Branford Marsalis Quartet (2014)
• “I Cover the Waterfront (Live),” by the Don Shirley Trio (1968)
• “All The Things You Are,” by Phineas Newborn Jr (1956)
• “I’ve Done My Work,” by Donald and Geraldine Gay (2001)
• “Sugar (Solo Piano – The Keystone Transcriptions),” by Teddy Wilson (1939-1940)
• “On a Turquoise Cloud,” by Duke Ellington (1948)

Listen to the playlist on Spotify. *Not all versions of the songs selected by Dexter are available on the music service.

The musician also shares about his debut album, New Perspective. He plans to begin recording in April. 

Dexter is a previous guest on Six Count. Listen to his episode from September 2023 on the under-appreciated influence of Don Byas on swing and bebop. 

More about the artist 

Dexter is a saxophonist, composer, and educator in Durham.

A double alumnus from North Carolina Central University (NCCU), Dexter holds a bachelor’s in jazz studies and master’s in jazz composition and arranging. On Wednesdays, he hosts Evening Jazz at WNCU 90.7 FM, the university’s jazz radio station, from 8:00 to 11:00 p.m.

Dexter teaches private lessons in saxophone, flute, and clarinet at the Russell Lacy Music school in Durham. 

(Episode art by Micah Haycraft)

Music credits

This season features the songs “Forged in Rhythm” and “Callous & Kind” by Keenan McKenzie & The Riffers (2017), used by Six Count with permission from the artist. 

Support the show

If you’d like to support Six Count for GivingTuesday, you can make a gift on DonorBox or Venmo @thexarawilde. Follow Six Count on Instagram at @sixcountpodcast and Xara Wilde on Facebook and Instagram @thexarawilde.

How to listen

You can find Six Count on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other listening app. The series also airs on taintradio.org, an online jazz radio station based in North Carolina, on Sundays at 6:00 p.m. and Fridays at 8:00 p.m. EST. 

Larry Q. Draughn is a percussionist and educator based in Greensboro, North Carolina. 

You can catch Larry next this Friday, January 26, at the Sharp Nine Gallery in Durham. The drummer will perform a double trio at 7:30 p.m. with Lynn Grissett on trumpet, Jason Foureman on bass, Steven Haines on bass, Devin Fuller on drums, and two special guests. Get tickets.

In addition to performing throughout the Triangle and beyond, Larry teaches at Brightwood Elementary School in Guilford County and directs the North Carolina Jazz Continuum Project. 

Larry has performed at the Notre Dame Collegiate Jazz Festival (South Bend, Indiana); the Ravinia Jazz Festival (Highland Park, Illinois); Jazz Port Townsend (Townsend, Washington); Detroit Jazz Festival (Detroit, Michigan); Newport Jazz Festival (Newport, Rhode Island); and the Fiji Jazz and Blues Festival (Port Denarau, Fiji), among others.

The drummer has recorded with the NCCU Jazz Ensemble, vocalist Lenora Helm Hammonds, Steve Haines, and Mondre Moffett, and he’s shared the stage with Branford Marsalis, Joey Calderazzo, and Nneena Freelon, to name a few. In 2012, his music was featured in ESPN’s “Free to Be” commercials in 2012 during the network’s Black History Month campaign.

The drummer holds a bachelor’s in classical percussion from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and a master’s in jazz studies from North Carolina Central University (NCCU). Larry is an alumnus (’07) of Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead, a two-week jazz residency performance and composition project administered through the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. He’s also studied at the Ravinia Steans Music Institute in Highland Park, Illinois. 

You can follow Larry on Instagram and YouTube. 

Music credits

A live recording of “Koko,” by the North Carolina Jazz Continuum, featuring Larry Q. Draughn on drums, Thomas Linger on piano, Lynn Grissett on trumpet, Kenny Phelps-McKeown on bass, and Dave Finucane on sax. The performance took place on March 25, 2016 at the Sharp Nine Gallery in Durham. 

This season features the songs “Forged in Rhythm” and “Callous & Kind” by Keenan McKenzie & The Riffers (2017), used by Six Count with permission from the artist. 

Support the show

If you’d like to support Six Count for GivingTuesday, you can make a gift on DonorBox or Venmo @thexarawilde. Follow Six Count on Instagram at @sixcountpodcast and Xara Wilde on Facebook and Instagram @thexarawilde.

How to listen

You can find Six Count on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other listening app. The series also airs on taintradio.org, an online jazz radio station based in North Carolina, on Sundays at 6:00 p.m. and Fridays at 8:00 p.m. EST. 

Cicely Mitchell is the co-owner of Missy Lane’s Assembly Room, Downtown Durham’s newest venue dedicated to jazz and other Black American Music (BAM). Cicely spoke with Six Count during the venue’s opening weekend on January 14, 2024. She shares reactions from the inaugural evening headlined by vocalist Lois Deloatch, her vision for the space as a hub for art and community, and what guests can expect. 

Miss Lane’s plans to put on three seasons of live programming per year, with each announced at least sixty days in advance. The venue also offers club memberships to receive early access to tickets, preferred seating, members-only events, and a “personalized hospitality concierge.”

The venue has partnered with Weldon Mills Distillery, Little Waves Coffee Roasters and Ninth Street Bakery, Duke Arts, and C7 Yoga. Missy Lane’s will serve as a coffee house and meeting space by day, serving java from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. 

On Fridays and Saturdays, Missy Lane’s will host Office Hours from 11:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. with a house DJ, Professor X. The DJ will play jazz, Afro beats, improv, and more, and the event will feature a percussion jam session.

Missy Lane’s is located on 310 E Main St, Suite 100. Free parking is available on weekends in a lot adjacent to the building, or in nearby decks.

Music credits

This episode features live recordings from Missy Lane’s opening night on January 13, 2024. That evening’s performances featured Lois Deloatch Gomes on vocals, Ernest Turner on piano, Butler Knowles on bass, and Donovan Cheatham on drums. 

This season features the songs “Forged in Rhythm” and “Callous & Kind” by Keenan McKenzie & The Riffers (2017), used by Six Count with permission from the artist. 

Support the show

If you’d like to support Six Count, you can make a gift on DonorBox or Venmo @thexarawilde. Follow Six Count on Instagram at @sixcountpodcast and Xara Wilde on Facebook and Instagram @thexarawilde.

How to listen

You can find Six Count on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other listening app. The series also airs on taintradio.org, an online jazz radio station based in North Carolina, on Sundays at 6:00 p.m. and Fridays at 8:00 p.m. EST.

If you love jazz and live in the Triangle, you know Al Strong. The two-time Grammy-nominated trumpet player, composer, recording artist, mentor, and educator spoke with Six Count at Duke University’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute on October 4, 2023. 

Al is the co-founder of the Art of Cool Project, a nonprofit that hosts a jazz education summer camp and the Art of Cool Music Festival. 

The Washington, D.C. native is a graduate of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, the only public high school in the Capitol that provides dual curriculum in college-preparatory academics and pre-professional arts training.

Al holds a bachelor’s degree in jazz studies from North Carolina Central University, where he leads the program’s trumpet studio, and a master’s in jazz performance and pedagogy from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois. 

The musician has performed internationally at the Montreal Jazz Festival in Canada, the North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands, and the Peru Jazz Festival in Lima, among others. His shows have headlined the Blue Note Jazz Festival and Winter Fest in New York City, as well as D.C.’s Blues Alley Jazz Festival.

Al’s career has included performances and recordings with Aretha Franklin, the Count Basie Orchestra, and the Hamiltones. He has also served as music director for the rapper Rakim, and performed with former rapper Eric Roberson (also known as Erro) and hip hop duo the Foreign Exchange.

Al and Six Count host and producer Xara Wilde were invited to speak at a class about jazz in the Triangle. The course’s instructor, Peter Burke, manages the local jazz blog Locavore Jazz. Thank you, Peter, for the opportunity! 

Music credits

This episode features a live recording of Al Strong performing with the Rebecca Kleinmann Latin Jazz Quintet at Beyu Caffee on January 7, 2023. The performers that evening included Rebecca Kleinmann on flutes and vocals, Stephen Anderson on keys, Andy Kleindienst on bass, Gastón Reggio on drums, and Brevan Hampden on congas and other percussion. 

This season features the songs “Forged in Rhythm” and “Callous & Kind” by Keenan McKenzie & The Riffers (2017), used by Six Count with permission from the artist. 

Support the show

If you’d like to support Six Count for GivingTuesday, you can make a gift on DonorBox or Venmo @thexarawilde. Follow Six Count on Instagram at @sixcountpodcast and Xara Wilde on Facebook and Instagram @thexarawilde.

How to listen

You can find Six Count on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other listening app. The series also airs on taintradio.org, an online jazz radio station based in North Carolina, on Sundays at 6:00 p.m. and Fridays at 8:00 p.m. EST. 

Happy One-Year Anniversary to the Six Count podcast in North Carolina! Since launching in fall 2022, we have: 

• interviewed twenty-three musicians for seventeen episodes
• partnered with an online jazz radio station based in North Carolina (taintradio.org)
• upgraded  our equipment 
• had first interview with a live audience
• collaborated with blogger Peter Burke of Locavore Jazz to co-host an episode

Thank you to our guests for joining the show and to our listeners! 

2022–2023 Six Count guests: 

• Andrew Berinson
• Paul Creel
• Donovan Cheatham
• Ellis Dyson
• Michael Pelz-Sherman
• Hal Goodtree
• Ittai Korman
• Theous Jones
• Joe MacPhail
• Rebecca Kleinmann
• Frankie Alexander
• Christian Tamburr
• Mark Wells
• Brad Linde
• Taha Arif
• Laura Windley
• Keenan McKenzie
• Angela Bingham
• Ernest Turner
• Gregg Gelb
• Kai Lance
• Dexter Moses

What will the next year bring? Let us know who you want to hear from on the Six Count podcast in 2024!

Support the show

If you’d like to support Six Count for GivingTuesday, you can make a gift on DonorBox or Venmo @thexarawilde. Follow Six Count on Instagram at @sixcountpodcast and Xara Wilde on Facebook and Instagram @thexarawilde.

How to listen

You can find Six Count on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other listening app! The series also airs on taintradio.org, an online jazz radio station based in North Carolina, on Sundays at 6:00 p.m. and Fridays at 8:00 p.m. EST. 

Music credit

This episode features a live recording of the song “Find Your Way,” by Thrio. The group performed at the Sharp 9 Gallery on September 23, 2022. We chose this song because Six Count’s first episode in North Carolina featured the group! We interviewed pianist Andrew Berinson, bassist Paul Creel, and drummer Donovan Cheatham before their show that evening. 

Joseph Silvers is the founder of the Hot Club of Raleigh, a jazz manouche band based in the City of Oaks. The group has performed at Watts & Ward and Young Hearts Distilling, among other establishments in the Triangle and beyond. 

On this episode, Joseph shares the story of when Jean-Jacques “Babik” Reinhardt, son of Django Reinhardt, performed with the Hot Club of North Carolina during a U.S. tour from France with the François Vola Group. 

François Vola, a French guitarist and composer, is the godson of Louis Vola, the bassist in Django Reinhardt’s original Quintette du Hot Club de France. François once lived in North Carolina before returning to France in the late nineties.

Griffin saw the François Vola Group with Babik play in Hickory and invited them to perform with his group. They accepted the invitation, performing at the Paisley Pineapple (now Natty Greene’s) in Greensboro for the Hot Club of North Carolina’s Monday night gig. 

For further reading, check out this 1997 review by the Washington Post on Vola and Reinhardt’s album “Old World New World.”

Early years

Joseph was born in Greensboro and grew up in rural Madison (Rockingham County, North Carolina) among tobacco farms. 

At five years old, Joseph’s grandfather gave him a three-quarter-size acoustic guitar from a thrift store, and he’s been playing ever since.

Joseph began learning the bass, and later the guitar, when he was eleven years old from Rex Griffin, founder of the Hot Club of North Carolina. Quickly advancing under Griffin’s mentorship, the musician picked up a Washburn guitar (also gifted by his grandfather), beginning his jazz manouche journey. 

When Joseph was fifteen, Griffin booked him for his first gig at Madison Dry Goods and Country Store on Murphy Street downtown. Just a year later, he was regularly subbing for Griffin’s rhythm guitarist in the Hot Club of North Carolina for their weekly gig at Tate Street Coffee House in Greensboro. 

While with the group, Joseph performed with Frank Vignola in the summer of 2009 for a tour that included stops in Greensboro, Raleigh, and Madison.

Griffin passed in 2021. 

Forming the Hot Club of Raleigh

After serving as a full-time band member for several years, Joseph established the Hot Club of Raleigh in 2018. 

The original members included Joseph, Steven Ray (who passed in 2018; may he rest in peace), Matt York on woodwinds, and Andy Powell on bass. The group now comprises Joseph and Andy, Devin Frazier on guitar, and previous Six Count guest Dexter Moses on woodwinds.

You can also find Joseph playing with Gallus Mag, a noise rock band, as well as with Hunter MacDermut at Lanza’s Cafe, Carrboro, on the last Sunday of each month. The duo will play next on November 26. 

Joseph holds a bachelor’s from North Carolina State University and a master’s from the University of Illinois, with both degrees in electrical engineering. 

If you’re interested in playing at a weekly jazz manouche jam, get in touch with organizer Richard Badu.

Music credits

This episode features the songs “Limehouse Blues” and “Troublant Bolero” by the Hot Club of Raleigh.

This season features the songs “Forged in Rhythm” and “Callous & Kind” by Keenan McKenzie & The Riffers (2017), used by Six Count with permission from the artist. 

How to listen

You can find Six Count on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other listening app! The series also airs on taintradio.org, an online jazz radio station based in North Carolina, on Sundays at 6:00 p.m. and Fridays at 8:00 p.m. EST. 

Support the show

If you’d like to support Six Count, you can make a gift on DonorBox or Venmo @thexarawilde. Follow Six Count on Instagram at @sixcountpodcast and Xara Wilde on Facebook and Instagram @thexarawilde.

Saxophonist Aaron Hill spoke with Six Count before moving back to the West Coast this past August. 

Aaron accepted a position as an assistant professor at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington. The musician will serve as director of big bands and applied saxophone in the university’s School of Music. 

On this episode, Aaron reflects on his many musical collaborations in the Triangle since moving to the area in 2007, including with pianist and bandleader Eric Hirsh; the Mint Julep Jazz Band (led by past Six Count guest Laura Windley); trumpeter, bandleader, and educator Jim Ketch; colleagues at North Carolina Central University (NCCU), the North Carolina Jazz Repertory Orchestra, and many others. He also shares about the jazz scene in Hawaii, where he lived for nearly a decade. 

The saxophonist has performed internationally in Canada, France, Germany, Greece, and Sweden, among others, as well as domestically in forty-eight states. He’s shared the stage with Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Branford Marsalis, and Joey Calderazzo, among many others.

The Washington native holds a master’s degree in jazz studies and jazz performance and composition from NCCU, as well as a doctorate of musical arts in saxophone performance from UNC Greensboro. In addition to teaching at NCCU, he has taught at N.C. State, UNC–Chapel Hill, UNC Pembroke, the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. 

Aaron joined the show a day before his farewell concert at Magnetic Sound Studios in Durham with the Eric Hirsh Quartet. 

Music credits

This episode features the songs “Somehow It Seems to Help” and “To Comfort a Shadow” from the album Distillation (2018), by Eric Hirsh featuring Aaron Hill.

This season features the songs “Forged in Rhythm” and “Callous & Kind” by Keenan McKenzie & The Riffers (2017), used by Six Count with permission from the artist. 

How to listen

You can find Six Count on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other listening app! The series also airs on taintradio.org, an online jazz radio station based in North Carolina, on Sundays at 6:00 p.m. and Fridays at 8:00 p.m. EST. 

Support the show

If you’d like to support Six Count, you can make a gift on DonorBox or Venmo @thexarawilde. Follow Six Count on Instagram at @sixcountpodcast and Xara Wilde on Facebookand Instagram @thexarawilde.

Dexter Moses is a saxophonist, composer, and educator in Durham. 

In addition to his own group, the Dexter Moses Quartet/Quintet, the musician has performed and recorded with Branford Marsalis, Delfeayo Marsalis & the Uptown Jazz Orchestra, Joey Calderazzo, and Nneena Freelon, among others.

A double alumnus from North Carolina Central University (NCCU), Dexter holds a bachelor’s in jazz studies and master’s in jazz composition and arranging. On Wednesdays, he hosts Evening Jazz at WNCU 90.7 FM, the university’s jazz radio station, from 8:00 to 11:00 p.m.

On this episode, Dexter shares about: 

• the life and legacy of the legendary saxophonist Dexter Gordon (to whom he dedicated his August show at the Sharp 9 Gallery in Durham);
• how listening to a bootleg recording of saxophonist Don Byas and bassist Slam Stewart inspired his master’s thesis at NCCU, which argued that Byas should be named among the founding fathers of bebop alongside saxophonist Charlie Parker;
• and negotiating the complexities of performing historic swing music today as a Black musician within the context of race and racism in the United States.

Further reading: Dexter mentions the longest musicians’ strike and recording ban in entertainment history, which took place from 1942 to 1944. Learn more about “The Day the Music Stopped.”

Dexter joined Six Count the day after being a featured artist of the Wednesday jazz jam hosted by drummer Taha Arif at Hayti Collective Kitchen and Cocktails in Durham. You can find out more about the weekly event, which takes place from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m., by listening to Taha’s episode (published in April 2023). 

Dexter teaches private lessons in saxophone, flute, and clarinet at the Russell Lacy Music school in Durham (and he’s accepting new students!).

Episode art credit: Micah Haycraft

Music credits

This episode features a live recording of “The Change,” by the Dexter Moses Quartet.

This season features the songs “Forged in Rhythm” and “Callous & Kind” by Keenan McKenzie & The Riffers (2017), used by Six Count with permission from the artist. 

How to listen

You can find Six Count on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other listening app! The series also airs on taintradio.org, an online jazz radio station based in North Carolina, on Sundays at 6:00 p.m. and Fridays at 8:00 p.m. EST. 

Support the show

If you’d like to support Six Count, you can make a gift on DonorBox or Venmo @thexarawilde. Follow Six Count on Instagram at @sixcountpodcast and Xara Wilde on Facebook and Instagram @thexarawilde.

Listen to the  Six Count podcast on taintradio.org, a noncommercial venue for independent producers. The online jazz radio station based in North Carolina presents music and music-related programming 24/7. 

Six Count airs on Sundays at 6:00 p.m. and Fridays at 8:00 p.m. EST.

Music credits

This episode features the song “Forged in Rhythm” by Keenan McKenzie & The Riffers (2017), used by Six Count with permission from the artist. 

How to listen

You can find Six Count on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other listening app! 

Support the show

If you’d like to support Six Count, you can make a gift on DonorBox or Venmo @thexarawilde. Follow Six Count on Instagram at @sixcountpodcast and Xara Wilde on Facebook and Instagram@thexarawilde.

North Carolina native Kai Lance is a guitarist and educator based in Chapel Hill.  

Kai will perform with the Mark Tipton Trio at the Sharp 9 Gallery in Durham on Saturday, August 19. The lineup: 

• Mark Tipton, trumpet
• Kai Lance, guitar
• George MacLaurin, piano
• Aaron Gross, bass
• Donovan Cheatham, drums 

Buy tickets for the show. 

Mark is a trumpeter, composer, and educator. The musician is pursuing a DMA (Doctor of Musical Arts) at the New England Conservatory in Boston, where he is a teaching fellow. Mark earned his bachelor’s from the Oberlin College and Conservatory in Oberlin, Ohio, and a MM (Master of Music) from the Mannes College of Music in New York City. 

Kai, also a student at the conservatory, shares about what to expect at the August show, as well as a never-going-to-be-the-same-again moment at a high school jazz camp in Louisville, Kentucky; his mentors from the Triangle’s jazz scene; and his aspirations as a musician. 

Follow Kai

• Instagram
• YouTube
• Bandcamp
• SoundCloud
• Facebook

Music credit

This episode features the songs “Seresta,” by Paquito D’Rivera (performed by Kai Lance) and “Lost Cause,” by Kai Lance.

This season features the songs “Forged in Rhythm” and “Callous & Kind” by Keenan McKenzie & The Riffers (2017), used by Six Count with permission from the artist. 

How to listen

You can find Six Count on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other listening app! The series also airs on taintradio.org, an online jazz radio station based in North Carolina, on Sundays at 6:00 p.m. and Fridays at 8:00 p.m. EST. 

Support the show

If you’d like to support Six Count, you can make a gift on DonorBox or Venmo @thexarawilde. Follow Six Count on Instagram at @sixcountpodcast and Xara Wilde on Facebookand Instagram @thexarawilde.

Gregg Gelb is a saxophonist and clarinetist, bandleader, and educator based in the Triangle. 

On this episode, the musician shares about his latest work with La Fiesta Latin Jazz Quintet, “The Latin Jazz Dance Suite,” which his group debuted at Magnetic Sound Studios in Durham on June 23. The quintet comprises Ramon Ortiz and Beverly Botsford on percussion, Steve Anderson on keys, and Andy Kleindienst on bass. 

Since moving to Raleigh in 1979, Gregg has collaborated with and formed an array of groups, including Group Sax, the Gregg Gelb Swing Band, the Second Line Stompers, and others.

An arranger and composer, he’s has written more than 250 charts for his eight-piece band and 50 charts for his big band. 

Gregg also mentors advanced student musicians as the director of the Triangle Youth Jazz Ensemble in Raleigh. Under his leadership the ensemble has been selected seven times to the finals of the Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival at Jazz at Lincoln Center.

In addition to teaching in public schools, Gregg has served as an interim assistant professor of jazz at Francis Marion University, UNC Greensboro, North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and institutions in the North Carolina Community Colleges System. 

The musician is now an adjunct jazz and classical music professor at Central Carolina Community College, and he teaches private lessons.

Follow Gregg: 

• Spotify
• Facebook
• Instagram

Music credit

This episode features the songs “New Normal,” from the album The Latin Jazz Pandemic Suite (2022) by La Fiesta Latin Jazz Quintet, and “Four D” from the album Road Trip (2016) by the Gregg Gelb Jazz Quartet, featuring Christopher Gelb on drums, Thomas Linger on piano, Charlton Provatas on bass, and Gregg Gelb on tenor sax. 

This season features the songs “Forged in Rhythm” and “Callous & Kind” by Keenan McKenzie & The Riffers (2017), used by Six Count with permission from the artist. 

How to listen

You can find Six Count on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other listening app! The series also airs on taintradio.org, an online jazz radio station based in North Carolina, on Sundays at 6:00 p.m. and Fridays at 8:00 p.m. EST. 

Support the show

If you’d like to support Six Count, you can make a gift on DonorBox or Venmo @thexarawilde. Follow Six Count on Instagram at @sixcountpodcast and Xara Wilde on Facebook and Instagram @thexarawilde.

Ernest Turner is a GRAMMY-nominated pianist, composer, and educator based in Durham. 

Ernest began learning the piano at the age of four from his mother. Since launching his professional career more than twenty years ago, the musician has performed with three of the Marsalis brothers (Delfeayo, Branford, and Jason), R&B artist John Legend, the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, saxophonist Stephen Riley and the late saxophonist Brian Horton, and many others in the Triangle.

The pianist shares about his conversational approach to performances to engage with and educate audiences, his philosophy on improvisation, incorporating spirituality into his music, reflections on fatherhood and his career, and more. 

He also offers his thoughts on the use of the word “jazz,” versus terms like “Black American Music” or “BAM,” as the jazz trumpeter Nicholas Payton has promoted since at least the early 2010s.

Ernest earned his bachelor’s degree in jazz studies from Loyola University and a master’s in jazz performance from the University of New Orleans. 

The pianist is an adjunct instructor at UNC Greensboro and a former faculty member in jazz piano at Eastern Carolina University (2006–2010). 

Follow Ernest:

• Facebook
• Spotify
• Apple Music
• Amazon
• YouTube
• Instagram

Ernest released the album Original Mind with saxophonist Stephen Riley in 2021 and My Americana in 2019.

Music credit

This episode features the songs “Return of Thanos,” from the album My Americana (2019), by Ernest Turner, and “Blessed Assurance” from the album Original Mind by Stephen Riley and Ernest Turner (2021).

This season features the songs “Forged in Rhythm” and “Callous & Kind” by Keenan McKenzie & The Riffers (2017), used by Six Count with permission from the artist. 

How to listen

You can find Six Count on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other listening app! The series also airs on taintradio.org, an online jazz radio station based in North Carolina, on Sundays at 6:00 p.m. and Fridays at 8:00 p.m. EST. 

Support the show

If you’d like to support Six Count, you can make a gift on DonorBox or Venmo @thexarawilde. Follow Six Count on Instagram at @sixcountpodcast and Xara Wilde on Facebook and Instagram @thexarawilde.

Angela Bingham is a jazz vocalist, voiceover actress, and podcast co-host. 

You can catch her next with the Jim Ketch Quintet on Friday, June 9, at the Sharp 9 Gallery in Durham. The show, entitled “There’s Lyrics for That,” will feature songs by Wayne Shorter, Freddie Hubbard, Jon Hendricks, and Thelonious Monk, among others. Buy tickets.

Who’s on:

• Angela Bingham, voice
• Jim Ketch, trumpet
• Andrew Berinson, piano*
• Kenny Phelps-McKeown, bass
• Donovan Cheatham, drums*
• Dexter Moses, saxophone

*Previous Six Count guest

This summer, Angela is leading jazz vocal performance workshops through the Durham Jazz Workshop (housed at the Sharp 9). The next workshop begins July 31. She also teaches private lessons for students and adults.

More about Angela 

Angela has lived in North Carolina since 2011, performing regularly at the Pimiento Tea Room in Holly Springs, the Umstead Hotel and Bond Brothers Eastside in Cary, and the O.Henry Hotel in Greensboro, to name a few. 

Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, she studied jazz under Roger Letson at De Anza College in Cupertino, California. The vocalist launched her professional jazz career in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the late nineties.

Outside of music, Angela is a voiceover artist specializing in e-learning, corporate narration, and commercial projects. A movie buff, she also co-hosts the movie-focused podcast Put Your Books Down with Natalie Sanderson. 

Music credit

This episode features the songs “Honeysuckle Rose” and “P.S. I Love You,” from the album The Night We Called It a Day, by Angela Bingham and David Halliday (2016), used by Six Count with permission from the artist. 

This season features the songs “Forged in Rhythm” and “Callous & Kind” by Keenan McKenzie & The Riffers (2017), used by Six Count with permission from the artist. 

How to listen

You can find Six Count on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other listening app! The series also airs on taintradio.org, an online jazz radio station based in North Carolina, on Sundays at 6:00 p.m. and Fridays at 8:00 p.m. EST. 

Support the show

If you’d like to support Six Count, you can make a gift on DonorBox or Venmo @thexarawilde. Follow Six Count on Instagram at @sixcountpodcast and Xara Wilde on Facebook and Instagram @thexarawilde.

Keenan McKenzie is a musician (saxophone and clarinet), composer, and educator based in Durham.

On this episode, Keenan shares about an upcoming recording project for his band, The Riffers, to produce the historic jazz group’s first full-length album. The Riffers will record at Magnetic Sound Studios, a new studio in the Lakewood neighborhood of Durham that specializes in acoustic music and vintage equipment. 

In addition to his own band, Keenan regularly travels throughout the United States for swing dance events with The Mint Julep Jazz Band featuring vocalist Laura Windley (a past Six Count guest), Michael Gamble & The Rhythm Serenaders, and The Jonathan Stout Orchestra. The musician has also performed in Italy, South Korea, Slovenia, and France. 

Around the Triangle, he also performs with the North Carolina Jazz Repertory Orchestra and with The Shakedown, a dance band for weddings and parties.

Keenan is the adjunct saxophone teacher at North Carolina State University. He received a bachelor of music in jazz studies from UNC Greensboro, followed by a master of music from North Carolina Central University. 

Finally, as a transcriber for Heritage Sounds, he’s worked to revive the repertoire of Chick Webb, Jimmie Lunceford, and Lionel Hampton. 

You can follow Keenan on Instagram and Facebook @keenanmckenziemusic, and you can find his music on Spotify, Bandcamp, and YouTube.

Run for the Roses event this May with Keenan, Xara at Raleigh’s premiere speakeasy

Join Keenan and Xara this spring at Watts & Ward’s Kentucky Derby party on Saturday, May 6! The show (from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m.) by Keenan McKenzie & The Riffers will feature Laura on vocals and dance performances by Xara. 

In addition to a viewing party of the 149th horse race, the Raleigh-based event will include craft cocktails, social dancing, and costume competitions. Derby attire required. 

Photo credit

Funderburg Films

Music credits

This episode features the songs “One O’Clock Jump” and “Yacht Club Swing,” from the album Forged in Rhythm (2017) by Keenan McKenzie.

This season features the songs “Forged in Rhythm” and “Callous & Kind” by Keenan McKenzie & The Riffers (2017), used by Six Count with permission from the artist.

How to listen

You can find Six Count on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other listening app! The series also airs on taintradio.org, an online jazz radio station based in North Carolina, on Sundays at 6:00 p.m. and Fridays at 8:00 p.m. EST.

Support the show

If you’d like to support Six Count, you can make a gift on DonorBox or Venmo @thexarawilde. Follow Six Count on Instagram at @sixcountpodcast and Xara Wilde on Facebook and Instagram @thexarawilde.

For Six Count’s first recording with a live audience, Laura Windley of the Mint Julep Jazz Band spoke with Xara Wilde about her latest album, Watch the Birdie, released in fall 2022. 

Laura shares about the recording process for the historic jazz band, converting the album into vinyl, and what’s next for the vocalist and bandleader. 

The event, hosted by Xara on February 18, was attended by area jazz musicians, Lindy Hop and Balboa dancers, and friends of Six Count before a swing dance through the Triangle Swing Dance Society. Thank you to Micah Haycraft for taking film photos throughout the evening and to everyone who came!

Specializing in jazz music from the 1920s–1940s, Mint Julep Jazz Band tours throughout the country for swing dances. Listen to Watch the Birdie on Bandcamp or Spotify.

You can follow Laura on Instagram or Facebook at @mintjulepjazzband and view upcoming shows on her website.

Run for the Roses event this May with Laura, Xara at Raleigh’s premiere speakeasy

Join Laura and Xara this spring at Watts & Ward’s Kentucky Derby party on Saturday, May 6! The show (from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m.) by Keenan McKenzie & The Riffers will feature Laura on vocals and dance performances by Xara. 

In addition to a viewing party of the 149th horse race, the Raleigh-based event will include craft cocktails and costume competitions. Derby attire required. 

Photo credit

Funderburg Films

Music credits

This episode features the songs “Watch the Birdie” and “Milkman, Keep Those Bottles Quiet,” from the album Watch the Birdie (2022) by the Mint Julep Jazz Band.

This season features the songs “Forged in Rhythm” and “Callous & Kind” by Keenan McKenzie & The Riffers (2017), used by Six Count with permission from the artist. 

How to listen

You can find Six Count on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other listening app! The series also airs on taintradio.org, an online jazz radio station based in North Carolina, on Sundays at 6:00 p.m. and Fridays at 8:00 p.m. EST.

Support the show

If you’d like to support Six Count, you can make a gift on DonorBox orVenmo @thexarawilde. Follow Six Count on Instagram at @sixcountpodcast and Xara Wilde on Facebook and Instagram @thexarawilde.

Beginning this spring, the Six Count podcast will stream on taintradio.org, a noncommercial venue for independent producers. The online jazz radio station based in North Carolina presents music and music-related programming 24/7. 

Six Count will air on Sundays at 6:00 p.m. and Fridays at 8:00 p.m. EST.

Thank you to Bob Rogers and Ben Boddie of taintradio for the opportunity! 

Music credits

This episode features the song “Forged in Rhythm” by Keenan McKenzie & The Riffers (2017), used by Six Count with permission from the artist. 

How to listen

You can find Six Count on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other listening app!

Support the show

If you’d like to support Six Count, you can make a gift on DonorBox or Venmo@thexarawilde. Follow Six Count on Instagram at @sixcountpodcast and Xara Wilde on Facebook and Instagram @thexarawilde.

Taha Arif spoke with host Xara Wilde outside the Hayti Collective Kitchen and Cocktails in Durham to share about the restaurant’s jazz jam on Wednesday evenings. The jam takes place from 8:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., and musicians of all levels are welcome. 

Weekly jazz jams in the Triangle 

Mondays

• Halo Trio at The Cave in Chapel Hill. 8:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. 

Tuesdays

• Drummer Bean Clemmons at KingFisher in downtown Durham. 9:00 to 11:30 p.m. 

Wednesdays

• Taha Arif and featured artists at Hayti Collective Kitchen and Cocktails in Durham. 8:30 to 11:30 p.m.

Thursdays

• Thrio at Bond Brothers Eastside in Cary. 8:00 to 11:00 p.m. 
• Patrick McGrew Trio at Pour Taproom in Durham. 8:00 to 10 p.m.
• Dorian Dotson, Kenny Phelps, and Andy Blair at Queeny’s in downtown Durham. 11 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. 

Know of another jam? Let us know. 

Fun fact about the Hayti Collective Kitchen and Cocktails: From Thursdays through Sundays, the restaurant turns into The Dankery, a late-night diner with wings, chicken tenders, shrimp, and fries. 

Music credits

This episode features a live recording of the jazz jam on March 1 with Taha Arif on drums, Chris Mills on bass, and Carlos Garcia on keys.

This season features the songs “Forged in Rhythm” and “Callous & Kind” byKeenan McKenzie & The Riffers (2017), used by Six Count with permission from the artist. 

How to listen

You can find Six Count on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other listening app! 

Support the show

If you’d like to support Six Count, you can make a gift on DonorBox or Venmo @thexarawilde. Follow Six Count on Instagram at @sixcountpodcast and Xara Wilde on Facebook and Instagram @thexarawilde.

Brad Linde is a tenor and soprano saxophonist based in Washington, D.C., where he’s known as “the capital city’s contemporary cool king” (Giovanni Russonello, Capitalbop).

The North Carolina native regularly performs at the Sharp Nine Gallery, the Cave, and other venues in the Triangle. 

Brad spoke with host Xara Wilde and guest co-host Peter Burke of Locavore Jazz in Carrboro a few hours before his performance at the Cave in Chapel Hill. The quartette (featuring Danny Grewen on trombone, Casey Toll on bass, and TJ Maiani on drums) paid tribute to Eli “Lucky” Thompson (1924–2005), a tenor and soprano saxophonist known for incorporating swing and bebop elements into his music. 

The interview also took place during the 46th Carolina Jazz Festival and 17th North Carolina Regional Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Festival (February 16–18, 2023) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Brad had just returned from the Elon Jazz Festival with Georgetown Day School, where he’s the director of jazz and creative music. 

Brad is the founder of the Bohemian Caverns Jazz Orchestra, a 17-piece big band. He studied music at Elon University and UNC–Chapel Hill for his bachelor’s, and he earned a Master of Music from the University of Maryland, College Park. 

(Episode photo by Joe Crocetta)

Music credits

This episode features the songs “Just One Of Those Things,” by the Brad Linde Ensemble with Lee Konitz (BRADLEE, 2021), and “Ball Poppin,’” by Brad Linde’s Team Players (Just the Tip: Swinging Songs by Team Players, 2022). 

This season features the songs “Forged in Rhythm” and “Callous & Kind” byKeenan McKenzie & The Riffers (2017), used by Six Count with permission from the artist. 

How to listen

You can find Six Count on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other listening app! 

Support the show

If you’d like to support Six Count, you can make a gift on DonorBox or Venmo @thexarawilde. Follow Six Count on Instagram at @sixcountpodcast and Xara Wilde on Facebook and Instagram @thexarawilde.

Mark Wells is a pianist and vocalist for Peter Lamb & the Wolves, among other bands in the Triangle. You can find the Wolves next on Sunday, March 5, at SideBar in downtown Cary from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Mark shares about the Benny Goodman Small Groups, the King of Swing’s original trio and quartet from the early 1940s. The pianist played a tribute performance at the Sharp Nine Gallery on February 4 led by clarinetist Keenan McKenzie, along with vibraphonist Brandon Mitchell, guitarist Chip Newton, bassist Butler Knowles, and drummer Daniel Faust. 

The musician also talks about the start of his career as a student at UNC–Chapel Hill, getting into the Lindy Hop scene through gigs along the east coast, and co-founding Peter Lamb & the Wolves. In addition to jazz, Mark is a principal class pianist for the Carolina Ballet.

You can often find Mark at the Pimiento Tea Room in Holly Springs for the restaurant’s live jazz series on Saturday evenings, with the Jim Ketch Swingtet, and with the Asheville-based band Queen Bee and the Honeylovers.

You can follow Mark on Instagram @mark.wells.music and Peter Lamb & the Wolves on Instagram @peterlambandthewolves or on Spotify. 

Mark graduated in 1998 from Carolina with a degree in psychology.

Photo credit

Funderburg Films

Music credits

This episode features the songs “Basin Street Blues,” by Peter Lamb & the Wolves (Carolina Tiger Milk, 2016) and “Where Did You Sleep Last Night,” by Peter Lamb & the Wolves (Live at Bond Brothers Eastside, Vol. 1, 2021). 

This season features the songs “Forged in Rhythm” and “Callous & Kind” by Keenan McKenzie & The Riffers (2017), used by Six Count with permission from the artist. 

How to listen

You can find Six Count on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other listening app!

Support the show

If you’d like to support Six Count, you can make a gift on DonorBox or Venmo @thexarawilde.

Christian Tamburr is a vibraphonist, pianist, composer, and arranger based in the Triangle. The musician joined Six Count to share about the Trio Legacy of Jazz Series at the Fuquay-Varina Arts Center happening this spring in Fuquay-Varina.

Christian also shares about his varied career so far, which has included touring with Julio Iglesias and Cirque du Soleil!

Upcoming events 

• Thursday, March 9, 2023: Swingin’ into Spring, with Kate McGarry and Keith Ganz, and the Christian Tamburr Quartet
• Thursday, April 13, 2023: The Sirens of Song, with Shana Tucker and the Christian Tamburr Trio

You can also catch Christian with the Keith Ganz Quartet at the Sharp Nine Gallery in Durham on Friday, February 24. Get tickets.

Christian has performed in more than 65 countries and at prestigious venues including the Lincoln Center in New York City; the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.; and the Newport Jazz Festival in Newport, Rhode Island.

A creative development consultant, Christina is also the CEO of Sonic Leadership, a company that helps corporate teams incorporate music into leadership and training presentations, and the artistic curator of The Acoustic Confidential, a boutique concert series for intimate venues worldwide.

Christian has worked as musical director and pianist for Julio Iglesias, Cirque du Soleil in Macau, China, Landau Eugene Murphy, and Penn & Teller, and he’s served as the the musical director, pianist, and arranger for Clint Holmes (a 2018 Grammy nominee) and Modern Warrior. 

Follow Christian on Spotify and Instagram.

Music credits

This episode features the songs “Norwegian Wood,” by Christian Tamburr, Takana Miyamoto, and Keita Ogawa (People Talk, 2020), and “Jazz Dreams,” by Christian Tamburr and Dominick Farinacci (The Awakening, 2020). 

This season features the songs “Forged in Rhythm” and “Callous & Kind” by Keenan McKenzie & The Riffers (2017), used by Six Count with permission from the artist. 

How to listen

You can find Six Count on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other listening app!

Support the show

If you’d like to support Six Count, you can make a gift on DonorBox or Venmo @thexarawilde.