Andy Lykens

Innovating and operating through growth

Music Lessons

Music Lessons Podcast #005: Listening to Your Inner Voice with Abraham Alexander

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Music Lessons is a podcast where we explore the analogous principles of music and growth by interviewing top musicians. In this episode, my guest is Tina Schlieske, the Minnesota native who’s amazing live performances are a must-see.

Abraham Alexander is a Greek-born singer-songwriter with West African roots. As a child, he moved to Ft. Worth Texas where a knee-injury sidelined a burgeoning soccer career. By happenstance, he picked up a guitar and has been touring non-stop, while his new album SEA/SONS is making waves in AAA radio. He’s recently toured with The Lumineers, Lucius, Mavis Staples, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Ani DiFranco, Shakey Graves and Gary Clark Jr.

Abraham Alexander heads out on his first headline tour across the U.S. this fall, kicking off October 13 in Austin with stops in New York City, Los Angeles, Denver and more. See here for a complete list of Abraham Alexander tour dates. You can also find him on Instagram, YouTube, and even more via his website. His new album SEA/SONS is available on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, and wherever you stream music.

Abraham and I had a great conversation about his path from Greece to the US, and how listening to his inner voice became instructive for him as he move through his journey to the debut of his album SEA/SONS. We talk about his approach to music and how it mirrors his experience as a soccer player, and get deep into the weeds on how he put his team together in the Dallas Fort-Worth community of songwriters.

Please enjoy my conversation with Abraham Alexander!

You can also listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Acast, Amazon Music, and on other podcast platforms.

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Music Lessons Podcast: #002 Active Listening with Gretchen Parlato

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Music Lessons is my podcast where we explore the analogous principles of music and growth by interviewing top musicians. In this episode, my guest is Gretchen Parlato:

Gretchen Parlato has been described as having a voice like honey, with a captivating style that fuses elements of jazz, Brazilian, and African rhythms, and a touch of pop and electronic influences that create a sound that is entirely her own. Personally, she is one of my favorite vocalists to listen to with her impeccable phrasing, emotive storytelling, and collaborative spirit. Parlato has become a visionary in the contemporary jazz scene. Her 2021 album Flor hit #1 on the iTunes Jazz chart and received a Grammy nomination, was #3 in the Jazzwise Critics Poll, #5 for best album from Jazzwise in 2021, and #5 on The Guardian’s Top 10 jazz albums for 2021. She has worked with some of the biggest names in jazz, like Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Esperanza Spalding, and many, many more. You can find all things about Gretchen at GretchenParlato.com.

Gretchen’s newest album Lean In, a collaboration with her long-time friend Lionel Loueke, comes out May 19th.

Find Gretchen Parlato & Lionel Loueke’s NEW album Lean In here (vinyl too), or listen on:

In this episode, Gretchen and I talk about her background, where inspiration strikes and her way of getting her work into the world, and a great deep dive on musicology. Plus, we hear about her new album Lean In with long-time friend & collaborator Lionel Loueke.

Please enjoy!

You can also listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Acast, Amazon Music, Stitcher and other podcast platforms.

Have a favorite snippet? Let me know on Twitter!

Show Notes: Music Lessons Podcast: #002 Active Listening with Gretchen Parlato [Read more…] about Music Lessons Podcast: #002 Active Listening with Gretchen Parlato