The music of professional harmonica jazz musician, bandleader, composer, and educator, Yvonnick Prené , is both unique and innovative.

A transplant from France, Yvonnick is now based in the greater New York City area. He made his professional debut in France in 2007. But it wasn’t until moving to the Big Apple that Yvonnick had that “wake-up call” to really learn the art of jazz by furthering his educational pursuits, immersing himself in the New York jazz scene, and eventually honing his chops to become the widely recognized and skilled band leader he is today.

This fascinating musician has now released seven albums as leader, including his latest project , a duo recording with piano virtuoso Geoffrey Keezer, called “Jobim's World.”

In this episode, we take a look at the compelling backstory behind Yvonnick’s musical journey, and hear samples of his most recent and exquisite new release on Sunnyside Records.

As a part of our “Catching Up With” series, I recently re-connected with Azerbaijani-born, New York-based pianist/composer Amina Figarova, and her musical collaborator partner and husband, the exceptional flutist Bart Platteau. This dynamic duo has recorded more than more than a dozen albums, and have travelled the world performing at jazz festivals and engagements, all of which has led to a diverse body of work filled with rich influences from their global experiences.

Even though Amina and Bart are deeply rooted in the U.S., it’s been their travels - and most notably their visits to South Africa - that brought them to their latest album release. Amina was inspired to compose and create “Suite for Africa” through her experiences working with students during her travels. However, it was a chance encounter on a rescheduled flight with the Matsiko World Orphan Choir, an ensemble of orphaned and at risk children from war-ravaged Liberia, that brought the stirring piece fully to life.

In this episode we talk with Amina and Bart about the fascinating backstory of this album’s development and how a chance meeting on a flight from Brussels to New York became the icing on the cake for this musical project.

Jacqui Naylor is not an easy artist to categorize. Naylor is known for a technique she coined, “acoustic smashing,” There are times when she performs straight-ahead vocal jazz, but at other times she favors more of an alternative and diverse approach. Her groove-based vocals and smoky sound have a subtle, intimate quality that conveys the emotional depth of a song without resorting to vocal pyrotechnics.

Very jazz-friendly but far from a rigid jazz purist, Jacqui brings a long list of influences to her work — influences ranging from Billie Holiday, June Christy, and Nina Simone to Tracy Chapman, Natalie Merchant, Carole King, and Sheryl Crow. That is an unlikely combination of influences, certainly, but it is one that works well for Jacqui, who has used all of them to fashion a personal, recognizable style of her own.

Our conversation is as far-reaching as her smoky, alto vocal style. We discuss everything from studying Jazz as a side gig while obtaining her marketing degree, to a stint in New York’s fashion industry; starting a fan-based virtual project during pandemic called Home2Home where she and her husband wrote more than 200 compositions, to having her subscribers decide which songs should be recorded - a practice that Jacqui feels is critical to how she presents music today.

All of this is intertwined with sample songs, including those from her latest release, ‘Treasures of the Heart,’ the title of which is a story all its own.