David Schroeder on Sonny Rollins, Jazz Wisdom, Podcasting & 2026 Album A Kind of Gentle Light

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with jazz professor, musician, author, interviewer, and podcast host David Schroeder. We are honored to welcome David back to the show to discuss his moving new 2026 album A Kind of Gentle Light along with his fascinating work interviewing some of the most important figures in jazz history. Following a landmark year spent in intimate conversations with 95-year-old jazz icon Sonny Rollins, the families of Duke Ellington and Stan Getz, and the inner circle of David Sanborn, this NYU Professor of Jazz Studies continues to bridge music, storytelling, history, and humanity in powerful ways. A Kind of Gentle Light offers a deeply meditative and emotionally resonant musical dialogue centered on compassion, reflection, and shared human experience. The album features David’s expressive work on chromatic harmonica, bass flute, and the Mongolian ever buree — a rare and hypnotic instrument he mastered during time spent performing in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Joining him is acclaimed Italian pianist Antonio Figura, helping shape an album filled with beauty, atmosphere, and emotional depth. In this interview, we discuss jazz history, improvisation, podcasting, storytelling, education, world music influences, composition, spirituality in music, modern jazz, and the inspiration behind A Kind of Gentle Light. We cover a wide range of fascinating territory on this memorable rendezvous on Neon Jazz. Dig this conversation. Listen to the album:https://music.apple.com/us/album/kind-and-gentle-light/1867658291https://open.spotify.com/track/4PEnGGyEP5vzYTFA3eOVg0?si=cdd4c0ab7aa44313&nd=1&dlsi=dcb35b5ed889404a For More Neon Jazz: Shows via MixCloud: https://www.mixcloud.com/neonjazzkc/Subscribe via Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/user/neonjazzkcSubscribe via iTunes/Apple - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/famous-interviews-joe-dimino/id546432639?mt=2 The Home of Neon Jazz:http://theneonjazz.blogspot.com/ Contribute to Neon Jazz via PayPal:                    https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=ER  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.