A Podcast That Will Change the Way You Listen to Jazz

What is your podcast, LINER NOTES about?

A few years ago, in a conversation with a colleague of mine after a gig, we realized that our generation gleaned much of our knowledge of the history of jazz music from reading the liner notes off the backs of LPs.

This made me think of my students who, while they have fluid access to more recordings than they could ever possibly listen to, often know little about the musicians who play on the recordings, why the recordings were created, or what they are about.

In the era of iTunes and Spotify, the liner notes that provide this information are not easily available when downloading a recording and LINER NOTES is my response to this void of knowledge.

Why did you want to create this podcast?

Utilizing my understanding of the musicians’ life as only another musician can, I conceived of this podcast to serve as a tool to fill in some of the gaps in this lack of knowledge.

Additionally, it is my desire that LINER NOTES will provide an artist with a platform to speak about their process and reveal the humanity behind their music.

I look forward to curating nuanced conversations that offer insight into America’s musical treasure and make connections between the artist and listener.

This has been several years in the making. An initial demo in the form of a high-end video proved impractical to lift, but continually looking for funding and time, I decided to focus my energies into creating this podcast and simply throw it out there; a humble attempt to connect people.

I have several interviews in the can and plan to release them monthly. My hope is that LINER NOTES will introduce you to new artists and allow you to know familiar artists in a new way, as well as to prompt you to support the artists interviewed.

Who will be on this podcast? Is it just you or will there be special guests?

The first episode’s guest is Mike Rodriguez. The next episodes will feature Jon Cowherd, Arturo O’Farrill, Alan Ferber, and Rogerio Boccato with more to come.

When will the podcast be schedules? Weekly/Monthly?

A new episode of LINER NOTES will be released every month.

Where can people find LINER NOTES?

You can find it on the podcast's main website.

It's also available on iTunes and Spotify.

About David Bixler

Alto saxophonist, composer, and educator David Bixler has recently embarked on an artistic reemergence with the release of three new recordings: In the Face of Chaos (2019) with Bixler, Boccato, Cowherd, and Sturm, Blended Lineage (2020) with the Bixtet, and Inside the Grief (2020) with trio incognito. A new recording featuring music inspired by the poetry of Langston Hughes is scheduled for later this year.

After moving to NYC thirty years ago, Bixler cut his teeth touring the world with the big bands of Lionel Hampton and Toshiko Akioshi. He later joined the Chico O’Farrill Afro-Cuban Big Band, with whom he played a decade-long residency of Sunday evenings at Birdland and won a LATIN GRAMMY for the recording, Final Night at Birdland. However, a traumatic brain injury suffered by his youngest son necessitated a shift in Bixler’s priorities during the last decade—a period in which his family devoted much of its energy to the care of its youngest member. Because of this new lens, Bixler’s repurposed creative approach is evident in his most recent output. Read more about David Bixler.