The Upside of Jazz
- Episodes
- 42
- Released
- weekly
- Latest episode
- Nov 7, 2026
About the podcast
Atlanta-based jazz pianist Joe Alterman expresses his deep appreciation of jazz and swing in his performances and compositions. Now he shares that love of jazz on The Upside of Jazz, celebrating the legendary performers of jazz and exploring what makes the music so timeless and endearing to listeners.
Episodes 42
Ramsey Lewis - "Life is good"
With hits like “The In Crowd,” “Wade in the Water,” and “Sun Goddess,” three Grammy Awards, and more than 80 albums, Ramsey Lewis brought his unmistakable piano sound to generations of listeners. He was also …
Show notes
With hits like “The In Crowd,” “Wade in the Water,” and “Sun Goddess,” three Grammy Awards, and more than 80 albums, Ramsey Lewis brought his unmistakable piano sound to generations of listeners. He was also one of Joe Alterman’s dearest friends and mentors. Through personal stories and treasured voicemails from Ramsey himself, Joe remembers the music, humor, generosity, and wisdom of a jazz icon.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Pianists Mike Jones & Jon Regen
Joe talks with pianists Mike Jones and Jon Regen about learning from their heroes, finding their own voices, and building musical lives that took them places they never expected. First, Mike Jones discusses his …
Show notes
Joe talks with pianists Mike Jones and Jon Regen about learning from their heroes, finding their own voices, and building musical lives that took them places they never expected.
First, Mike Jones discusses his latest album, “Mike Jones with Strings,” his longtime gig with Penn & Teller in Las Vegas, his friendship with Dave McKenna, and the nerves —and
encouragement—that come with playing for your musical heroes.Then, Jon Regen talks about his new album, “Live in London,” how studying with Kenny Barron and touring with Jimmy Scott helped him bridge his love of jazz and pop, and how his curiosity led him into songwriting, editing Keyboard magazine, and programming music at The Django in New York.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Pianist Bob James - "You can never be second place to yourself"
Bob James joins Joe to talk about his life playing piano. They discuss how, at 86 years old, James is still enthusiastic about playing music and enjoying new talent, the range of his work from the traditional …
Show notes
Bob James joins Joe to talk about his life playing piano. They discuss how, at 86 years old, James is still enthusiastic about playing music and enjoying new talent, the range of his work from the traditional to more avant-garde, and his time as pianist and music director for Sarah Vaughan.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Erroll Garner and the Sound of an Orchestra Smiling
Erroll Garner could make one piano sound like an entire orchestra and make even his fellow musicians wonder how he did it. This week, we celebrate the imagination, swing, and generosity behind his unmistakable …
Show notes
Erroll Garner could make one piano sound like an entire orchestra and make even his fellow musicians wonder how he did it. This week, we celebrate the imagination, swing, and generosity behind his unmistakable sound, with stories of a pianist who never stopped surprising himself or his listeners.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Comedian Jeff Garlin - "Sonny Rollins had just as much influence on me as Richard Pryor""
Joe has a conversation with comedian and actor, Jeff Garlin about Garlin's career as well as his love of jazz and how it influences his comedy. They also discuss the parallels between the two art forms, from …
Show notes
Joe has a conversation with comedian and actor, Jeff Garlin about Garlin's career as well as his love of jazz and how it influences his comedy. They also discuss the parallels between the two art forms, from improvising in front of a live audience to finding your own musical or comedic voice.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Béla Fleck & Ryan Keberle
Joe talks with banjo legend Béla Fleck about his album "My Bluegrass Heart," first being inspired by the music of Chick Corea and then getting to work with him, as well as where the music inside him comes from …
Show notes
Joe talks with banjo legend Béla Fleck about his album "My Bluegrass Heart," first being inspired by the music of Chick Corea and then getting to work with him, as well as where the music inside him comes from.
Joe also chats with trombonist Ryan Keberle about Ryan Keberle's Collectiv do Brasil's upcoming album, "Here is Donato!," the trombone's status within jazz, and Ryan's exploration of Brazilian music via the instrument.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Diane Schuur, Jonathan Karrant & Mark Isham
Pianist and singer Diane Schuur and singer Jonathan Karrant have a conversation with Joe about Schuur's career, recording music together, and Karrant's latest album, "Full Circle," which is a tribute to Schuur …
Show notes
Pianist and singer Diane Schuur and singer Jonathan Karrant have a conversation with Joe about Schuur's career, recording music together, and Karrant's latest album, "Full Circle," which is a tribute to Schuur.
Then, Joe sits down with trumpeter and film score composer Mark Isham to talk about how composing for film differs from writing songs for an album, how music and art can be joyful and still be considered art, plus "At The Carousel Club," Isham's new EP.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Producer and Bassist David Robaire - "The artist has to love it"
Producer/bassist/artistic director at Sam First Records, David Robaire, and Joe talk about going from bassist to leading a label, how David thinks about taking a live performance and putting it on vinyl, and …
Show notes
Producer/bassist/artistic director at Sam First Records, David Robaire, and Joe talk about going from bassist to leading a label, how David thinks about taking a live performance and putting it on vinyl, and the ways in which a label can develop a very specific identity while offering a variety of music.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Bassist Bill Crow - "I'm still figuring stuff out"
Joe and bassist Bill Crow talk about the 98-year-old's lifetime spent in and around jazz. Crow talks about gathering stories from the jazz scene to write his monthly column for Allegro, which Crow wrapped up …
Show notes
Joe and bassist Bill Crow talk about the 98-year-old's lifetime spent in and around jazz. Crow talks about gathering stories from the jazz scene to write his monthly column for Allegro, which Crow wrapped up after 43 years in April, turning those stories into several books, including "Jazz Anecdotes," and spending time listening and playing in legendary clubs like the Village Vanguard and Birdland.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Comedian Robert Klein, Part 2
In the second episode featuring comedian Robert Klein, he and Joe continue their conversation about jazz and comedy, Klein remembers a special breakfast with Groucho Marx, and reflects on what it's like to go …
Show notes
In the second episode featuring comedian Robert Klein, he and Joe continue their conversation about jazz and comedy, Klein remembers a special breakfast with Groucho Marx, and reflects on what it's like to go from the one looking up to older comedians, to new comedians looking up to you.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Comedian Robert Klein, Part 1
In the first of two episodes featuring the comedy legend, Joe and Robert Klein get together to talk about Klein's career in comedy. Despite not being a musician, Klein explains how improvisation in comedy is …
Show notes
In the first of two episodes featuring the comedy legend, Joe and Robert Klein get together to talk about Klein's career in comedy. Despite not being a musician, Klein explains how improvisation in comedy is not so different from improv in jazz, opening for jazz greats like Sarah Vaughan and The Modern Jazz Quartet, as well as his relationship with comedian Rodney Dangerfield.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Kelly Peterson - "He was always looking to the next thing"
Joe has a conversation with Kelly Peterson, whose husband was Oscar Peterson, about the legendary pianist. Peterson shares the story of how she and Oscar built a life together, some of his more underappreciated …
Show notes
Joe has a conversation with Kelly Peterson, whose husband was Oscar Peterson, about the legendary pianist. Peterson shares the story of how she and Oscar built a life together, some of his more underappreciated skills as a pianist, as well as developing the new box set of previously unreleased recordings of Oscar Peterson playing live all from around the world, aptly titled "World Tour."
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Pianist John Beasley - "There is no clear cut path"
Joe and pianist John Beasley have a chat about Beasley's new album, Invisible Piano, which was inspired by a tour of an art museum in Stuttgart, Germany, how he found musical inspiration in non-musical art …
Show notes
Joe and pianist John Beasley have a chat about Beasley's new album, Invisible Piano, which was inspired by a tour of an art museum in Stuttgart, Germany, how he found musical inspiration in non-musical art forms, his time playing alongside Miles Davis, and how spiritual practice and practicing music are both rooted in trying to improve.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Larry Goldings - "That makes the challenge of being myself harder"
Joe talks with pianist and organist Larry Goldings about finding his own sound while playing a range of styles with a variety of people, "Rhombus," Goldings's new album with guitarist Peter Bernstein and …
Show notes
Joe talks with pianist and organist Larry Goldings about finding his own sound while playing a range of styles with a variety of people, "Rhombus," Goldings's new album with guitarist Peter Bernstein and drummer Bill Stewart, and how being able to listen back to a recording of yourself is both a blessing and a curse.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Luther S. Allison - "It's a gift to be able to love this"
Joe and pianist/drummer Luther S. Allison sit down for a discussion about exploring jazz by learning how to play different instruments, how the places you live shape the kind of music you play, and how the hope …
Show notes
Joe and pianist/drummer Luther S. Allison sit down for a discussion about exploring jazz by learning how to play different instruments, how the places you live shape the kind of music you play, and how the hope he finds in jazz is through its connection to the history of the United States.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Tia Fuller and Shamie Fuller-Royston - "We've always embraced all types of genres"
Pianist Tia Fuller and saxophonist Shamie Fuller-Royston have a chat with Joe about playing music as a family when they were kids and now together as adults, their latest album, "Dynasty, Vol. 2," and how, as …
Show notes
Pianist Tia Fuller and saxophonist Shamie Fuller-Royston have a chat with Joe about playing music as a family when they were kids and now together as adults, their latest album, "Dynasty, Vol. 2," and how, as long as the music is good, they embrace all genres.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Harry Connick, Jr. on Finding Your Own Sound
Joe sits down for a conversation with pianist, singer, actor, bandleader, and author, Harry Connick, Jr. to talk about learning piano from James Booker and Ellis Marsalis in New Orleans, musical influences, and …
Show notes
Joe sits down for a conversation with pianist, singer, actor, bandleader, and author, Harry Connick, Jr. to talk about learning piano from James Booker and Ellis Marsalis in New Orleans, musical influences, and the importance of accepting what one has to offer when looking for your own sound.
If you’re listening in Atlanta, catch Harry Connick, Jr. in concert at Chastain Park on July 11 at 8 p.m.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Louis Armstrong & America's Voice
To celebrate the United States’ 250th, Joe Alterman explores the remarkable story of Louis Armstrong — how America found its voice in him, how he became one of its greatest ambassadors to the world, and why …
Show notes
To celebrate the United States’ 250th, Joe Alterman explores the remarkable story of Louis Armstrong — how America found its voice in him, how he became one of its greatest ambassadors to the world, and why that voice continues to resonate today.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Business Behind the Notes
Joe explores the important, prolific, and complicated relationship between Jewish immigrants and Black musicians — and how their intersecting stories helped give birth to the American music business and shape …
Show notes
Joe explores the important, prolific, and complicated relationship between Jewish immigrants and Black musicians — and how their intersecting stories helped give birth to the American music business and shape what Americans listened to throughout the 20th century.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Sound Between the Notes
Joe shares the history of how the sounds of Jewish and Black communities came together and ended up shaping the sound of American music.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Matt White - "For me, it's connection"
In the next episode of The Upside of Jazz featuring artists out of the South, Joe has a conversation with Columbia, South Carolina native, trumpeter, composer, and educator Matt White about how music swings …
Show notes
In the next episode of The Upside of Jazz featuring artists out of the South, Joe has a conversation with Columbia, South Carolina native, trumpeter, composer, and educator Matt White about how music swings just a little differently from city to city, his latest album of Dolly Parton songs, "Matt White's Dolly," and how the care put into learning jazz empowers musicians to learn any kind of music.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sarah Sharp - "It's almost mythology, it's so universal"
In the first of two episodes featuring artists out of the South, Joe talks with Austin, Texas-based vocalist Sarah Sharp about sitting down and listening to multiple versions of the same song to learn how …
Show notes
In the first of two episodes featuring artists out of the South, Joe talks with Austin, Texas-based vocalist Sarah Sharp about sitting down and listening to multiple versions of the same song to learn how nuanced different artists' interpretations can be, the jazz scene in Austin, and her new album, "Déjà Vu."
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
An Interview with Sonny Rollins
This week we revisit one of Sonny Rollins's final interviews recorded in October 2025, when Joe Alterman sat down for a conversation with the Saxophone Colossus himself. Sonny Rollins passed away on May 25 …
Show notes
This week we revisit one of Sonny Rollins's final interviews recorded in October 2025, when Joe Alterman sat down for a conversation with the Saxophone Colossus himself.
Sonny Rollins passed away on May 25, 2026.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sean Mason - "There was something about jazz that pulled me"
Joe and pianist Sean Mason get together for a chat in which Sean explains why he believes the 20s are the most underrated jazz era, making the piano dance, and how Sean didn't feel like himself in the fullest …
Show notes
Joe and pianist Sean Mason get together for a chat in which Sean explains why he believes the 20s are the most underrated jazz era, making the piano dance, and how Sean didn't feel like himself in the fullest sense until he started playing jazz.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Bobby Broom - "It is who I am"
Joe and guitarist Bobby Broom talk about his latest album featuring Sonny Rollins' compositions, "Notes of Thanks," 16-year-old Broom getting his start alongside Sonny Rollins, and making a career in jazz in …
Show notes
Joe and guitarist Bobby Broom talk about his latest album featuring Sonny Rollins' compositions, "Notes of Thanks," 16-year-old Broom getting his start alongside Sonny Rollins, and making a career in jazz in Chicago instead of New York City.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Finding the Humor in Jazz
Joe looks behind the serious face that jazz sometimes puts on and uncovers a world of silliness, both on and off the stage.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Julie Benko and Jason Yeager - "I find my spirituality in the doing of the theater"
Host Joe Atlerman invites Julie Benko and Jason Yeager to the show to talk about finding spirituality in music and theater, how to define Jewish music, and traditions built on questioning and listening.See …
Show notes
Host Joe Atlerman invites Julie Benko and Jason Yeager to the show to talk about finding spirituality in music and theater, how to define Jewish music, and traditions built on questioning and listening.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Charles Tolliver - "Each note has a declaration"
Joe Alterman and trumpeter Charles Tolliver chat about revisiting Tolliver's debut album as band leader, "Right Now... And Then," for its recent remixing and reissue, knowing he was going to be a trumpet player …
Show notes
Joe Alterman and trumpeter Charles Tolliver chat about revisiting Tolliver's debut album as band leader, "Right Now... And Then," for its recent remixing and reissue, knowing he was going to be a trumpet player no matter what, and "rumbling" through improvisation.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Pat Metheny - "I tend to think of music as just one thing"
Guitarist Pat Metheny joins Joe Alterman to share his thoughts on being a musician in a time of AI, how he developed his understanding of playing an instrument, and how sometimes the music finds us instead of …
Show notes
Guitarist Pat Metheny joins Joe Alterman to share his thoughts on being a musician in a time of AI, how he developed his understanding of playing an instrument, and how sometimes the music finds us instead of the other way around.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
John Pizzarelli - "Communication is so key to what the music's about"
Guitarist/Vocalist John Pizzarelli and host Joe Alterman sit down to talk about Pizzarelli's career — including growing up and working alongside his father, jazz guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli — learning not just …
Show notes
Guitarist/Vocalist John Pizzarelli and host Joe Alterman sit down to talk about Pizzarelli's career — including growing up and working alongside his father, jazz guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli — learning not just how to play guitar but entertain, and his new Tony Bennett tribute album, "Dear Mr. Bennett."
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
These are the latest 40 of 42 episodes. You’ll find older episodes in the podcast’s feed.
Similar podcasts
More Arts podcasts
Is this your podcast?
Confirm it with an entry in your feed: you get a code here, add it as podcast:txt to the channel of your feed, and we check it. Your podcast is then shown as “verified” on SoundNode.