Famous Interviews & Neon Jazz with Joe Dimino

Matthew Johnson Interview | Jackie Robinson Real Gone, Baseball, Poetry & the Power of Story

neonjazzkc@gmail.com (Joe Dimino) — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 03:50:23 -0700

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series. On this episode, we talk with writer, poet, baseball historian, former sports journalist, and communications professional Matthew Johnson about his upcoming 2026 poetry collection, Jackie Robinson Real Gone, and the fascinating intersection of baseball, literature, history, faith, and the written word.

Matthew's love of poetry and baseball runs deep. His upcoming collection draws inspiration from the legendary Jackie Robinson, while reflecting the literary and cultural influences that have shaped his own voice as a writer.

Among his many professional pursuits, Matthew has worked as a freelance editor and served as a teaching assistant and tutor in American Literature and English Studies. He currently works in communications within higher education.

A native of New Rochelle, New York, and raised in Stratford, Connecticut, Matthew now calls Greensboro, North Carolina home.

His literary influences include some of America's most important writers and poets, including Langston Hughes, Jean Toomer, Carl Sandburg, Walt Whitman, and Mark Twain. His passion for baseball provides another powerful lens through which he explores American history, culture, identity, perseverance, and the human experience.

Faith also plays an important role in his creative life, informing the themes, values, and stories that emerge through his poetry and writing.

In this conversation, we explore Jackie Robinson Real Gone, the legacy of Jackie Robinson, Matthew's love of baseball, poetry as a form of storytelling, American literature, his career in journalism and communications, his literary influences, faith, and what drives him to keep writing.

This is a conversation about baseball, poetry, history, literature, faith, and the people and stories that continue to shape America.

If you love Jackie Robinson, baseball history, poetry, American literature, sports writing, or great personal stories, this is an interview worth spending some time with.

We cover all of this and more. Enjoy the interview.

More Matthew Johnson
Matthew Johnson Poetry — Official Website

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Leigh Pilzer Interview | Keep Holding On (2026) | Baritone Saxophone, Composition & Jazz

neonjazzkc@gmail.com (Joe Dimino) — Sun, 23 Aug 2026 08:02:01 -0700

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz Interview Series with Washington, DC–based baritone saxophonist, composer, and bandleader Leigh Pilzer.

On this episode, we dive into Leigh's compelling new 2026 album, Keep Holding On, released on Strange Woman Records. The project finds Pilzer exploring intimate trio and quartet settings, creating an environment where composition, improvisation, interaction, phrasing, and musical structure can breathe.

Leigh brings a distinctive compositional philosophy to the record. Rather than simply placing her baritone saxophone within an ensemble, she approaches instrument, composition, arrangement, and collaboration as one unified expressive system.

The result is music where every detail matters—from the shape of a melody and the architecture of an arrangement to the spontaneous interaction between musicians.

In this conversation, Leigh and Joe also explore what it means to create meaningful music in 2026 America, the evolving role of the jazz composer and bandleader, her approach to ensemble design, and the possibility of bringing her music to Kansas City in the near future.

Keep Holding On is a fascinating look at what can happen when composition, musicianship, improvisation, and ensemble chemistry become inseparable.

This is a conversation about the architecture of jazz—and the freedom that can emerge when great musicians know exactly when to follow the structure and when to break away from it.

Leigh Pilzer — Keep Holding On
https://leighpilzer.bandcamp.com/album/keep-holding-on

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Ransom Kong Interview | From Domestic Violence Recovery to Purpose, Love & Intentional Matchmaking

neonjazzkc@gmail.com (Joe Dimino) — Sat, 22 Aug 2026 08:20:31 -0700

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series. On this episode, we talk with Ransom Kong, a former perpetrator turned deliberate matchmaking expert and facilitator whose life's work has centered on helping men understand what lies beneath anger, violence, pain, and emotional disconnection.

For 27 years, Ransom has facilitated anger management and domestic violence groups involving court-mandated men—men who can be angry, defensive, in denial, and sometimes dangerous.

But through decades of this work, he began seeing something underneath the anger:

A man who is exhausted. A man who is hurting. A man who may still be capable of curiosity, connection, and love.

Ransom understands this journey personally. As a former perpetrator who broke his own cycle, he transformed his experience into a mission focused on helping other men develop the emotional awareness and skills necessary to change their lives.

That work has evolved into two platforms.

Purpose Over Pain serves men who are still in the middle of their struggle, helping them confront anger, pain, emotional patterns, and the behaviors that can damage themselves and the people around them.

His second platform, Tethered, is an intentional matchmaking community designed for people who have come through difficult experiences and are ready to build healthier, more meaningful relationships.

At the heart of Ransom's philosophy is emotional fluency—learning to identify what is actually running the show underneath anger.

In this powerful conversation, we explore anger, accountability, relationships, emotional intelligence, breaking destructive cycles, masculinity, love, personal transformation, and what it means to build a different future after confronting your past.

Ransom's story is ultimately about what happens when someone refuses to let their worst moments define the rest of their life.

It's a candid conversation about anger, violence, accountability, emotional awareness, relationships, love, and the possibility of genuine transformation.

More Ransom Kong
Purpose Over Pain

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Bob Bekian Interview | Hollywood Producer, Entrepreneur & Author of 10 Ways to Feel Better

neonjazzkc@gmail.com (Joe Dimino) — Sat, 22 Aug 2026 08:06:51 -0700

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series. On this episode, we talk with Entrepreneur, Hollywood Producer, Speaker & Author Bob Bekian, whose remarkable journey has taken him from the entertainment industry to a life dedicated to helping people feel better, live healthier, and rediscover a sense of purpose.

Bob is the author of 10 Ways to Feel Better, a practical guide built around a simple but powerful idea: small daily habits can create big results.

For 20 years, Bob worked as a Hollywood producer and entrepreneur, interacting with some of the most recognizable people in movies and entertainment. But behind the glamour, he noticed something that changed the way he viewed success.

Some of the most successful people he encountered were also unhappy, unfulfilled, and self-destructive.

That realization eventually became personal.

After experiencing a life-changing shift in his own identity, Bob decided to reinvent himself into the person he believed he could become. He immersed himself in health, emotional wellness, mindset strategies, personal growth, and faith, emerging with an entirely different outlook on life.

That transformation became a new mission.

Today, Bob uses his experience to encourage others to make small, intentional changes that can lead to greater satisfaction, gratitude, happiness, and emotional well-being.

In this conversation, we explore the Hollywood years, his personal identity shift, the realities behind outward success, and the everyday habits that can help people create a better life.

Bob's story is a powerful reminder that success isn't always measured by what you achieve—it can also be measured by how you feel while you're living your life.

From the Hollywood entertainment world to a deeply personal journey of reinvention, wellness, faith, and purpose, Bob shares how he went from searching for success to discovering a much more meaningful definition of what it means to feel better and live better.

From his base in Thousand Oaks, California, we get into quite a ride.

More Bob Bekian
Bob Bekian Official Website

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Jaime Elizondo Interview | Grey Cup Champion Coach, CEO Performance Engineer & Leadership Expert

neonjazzkc@gmail.com (Joe Dimino) — Sat, 22 Aug 2026 07:43:54 -0700

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series. On this episode, we talk with Grey Cup Champion Coach turned CEO Performance Engineer Jaime Elizondo.

Jaime spent 25 years coaching across the NFL, CFL, XFL, and NCAA, building a career around one central question: What separates good performance from elite performance?

His coaching journey reached a major milestone when he won a Grey Cup championship calling plays as offensive coordinator of the Ottawa Redblacks. He later became head coach of the Edmonton Elks, adding another chapter to an extraordinary career in professional football.

Today, Jaime takes everything he learned from the world of elite sports and applies it to CEOs, executive teams, business leaders, and elite athletes.

He is the creator of the 5 P's of Performance, author of The CRUSH-IT Formula, and a Certified High-Performance Coach. He also holds a law degree, bringing a unique combination of coaching, performance psychology, leadership, business, and strategic thinking to his work.

At the center of Jaime's philosophy is a powerful idea:
You never rise to the occasion. You fall to the level of your training.

Jaime's story is ultimately about taking the lessons of championship football and translating them into a system for people who need to perform when the stakes are high.

From football sidelines to the executive suite, this is a fascinating conversation about performance, preparation, leadership, discipline, resilience, and building systems that produce results.

It’s an incredible story. Tune in.

More Jaime Elizondo
Jaime Elizondo Official Website

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Gaylen A. Wilson Interview | Heart Transplant Survivor, Sobriety, Love & Reinvention

neonjazzkc@gmail.com (Joe Dimino) — Sat, 22 Aug 2026 07:40:05 -0700

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series. On this episode, we talk with Gaylen A. Wilson, Heart Transplant Survivor, 20-Year-Sober Former Alcoholic, Relationship Author, Relationship Coach, and Founder of The Monument Method Institute.

Gaylen's life has not been defined by one comeback.

It has been defined by a series of forced reinventions.

His journey has taken him through farm failure, a collapsed stockbroker career, alcoholism, sobriety, career disruption following 9/11, rebuilding his professional life as a computer repairman, and eventually becoming a successful field-service technician.

Then came the biggest crisis of his life.

In 2014, a virus attacked Gaylen's heart, leaving him in end-stage heart failure.

For the next three and a half years, Gaylen and his wife, Heather, lived through hospital rooms, fear, financial pressure, uncertainty, lost intimacy, disability, and the terrifying reality that without a heart transplant, Gaylen was going to die.

Then came June 19, 2018.

Gaylen sat Heather down and told her he believed he had only a few months left.

Approximately 30 minutes later, the transplant center called.

The following morning, Gaylen received a new heart.

What followed was not simply survival. It was another reinvention—and a profound exploration of love, relationships, sobriety, resilience, identity, intimacy, purpose, and what it means to be given another chance at life.

In this deeply personal conversation, Gaylen shares the entire journey and the lessons he has carried forward into his work as a relationship author and coach.

Gaylen's story is ultimately about more than a heart transplant.

It is about what happens when life repeatedly forces you to become someone new—and whether you have the courage to keep rebuilding.

From addiction and sobriety to career collapse, marriage, devastating illness, and ultimately a new heart, this is an extraordinary story of survival, love, resilience, reinvention, and hope.

We get into his whole inspiring and fascinating story.

More Gaylen A. Wilson
The Monument Method Institute

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Allison Philips Interview | FONT Music 2026 | Festival of New Trumpet Music & Jazz Trumpet

neonjazzkc@gmail.com (Joe Dimino) — Sat, 22 Aug 2026 06:38:45 -0700

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz Interview Series with Jazz Trumpeter & FONT Music Organizer Allison Philips. On this episode, we get deep into the roots, history, mission, and activities surrounding the Festival of New Trumpet Music (FONT Music)—one of the most adventurous and important organizations dedicated to expanding the possibilities of the trumpet in contemporary music.

Now entering its 24th season, FONT Music will take place September 14–20, 2026, with performances and educational events happening across New York City, Brooklyn, Jersey City, and online.

Founded in 2003 by legendary trumpeters Dave Douglas and Roy Campbell Jr., FONT Music has become the world's leading presenter dedicated exclusively to new trumpet music.

The festival brings together artists working across jazz, improvised music, contemporary composition, electronics, experimental music, and cross-disciplinary collaboration, creating a space where musicians can push the trumpet far beyond traditional boundaries.

In this conversation, Allison Philips takes us inside the story of FONT Music, its evolution, its community, and the incredible range of artists helping shape the future of the instrument.

The 2026 festival brings together an international community of established innovators and emerging voices, showcasing the extraordinary diversity of approaches being applied to the trumpet today.

A major centerpiece of this year's festival will be the presentation of the FONT Music Award of Recognition to legendary trumpeter, composer, educator, and cultural visionary Ahmed Abdullah on September 15 at The New School.

FONT Music is about more than a festival. It is about creating a community around experimentation, innovation, education, and the limitless possibilities of one of music's most powerful instruments.

From New York City to the international jazz community, this is a fascinating look at the people and ideas helping push trumpet music into the future.

Everything FONT Music Festival 2026
FONT Music Official Website

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Freddie Benedict Interview | Colours (2026) | Rising UK Jazz Vocalist, Composer & Arranger

neonjazzkc@gmail.com (Joe Dimino) — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 04:25:01 -0700

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz Interview Series with rising UK jazz vocalist, composer, and arranger Freddie Benedict.

On this episode, we dive into Freddie's 2026 debut single, Colours, and the remarkable musical journey that has taken him from the lockdown-era writing of an original song about first love to performances on some of the UK's most prestigious stages.

Freddie began his professional career as the lead male singer with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra, launching a path that has seen him perform throughout the UK at celebrated venues including Ronnie Scott's, The Ritz, The Savoy, and The Maine.

At the heart of this conversation is Colours, an original composition that uses the spectrum of colors and emotions to explore the highs and lows of first love through jazz and scat. Written during lockdown, the song captures both youthful emotion and Freddie's developing voice as a composer and performer.

His growing musical résumé includes coaching from jazz luminary Emma Smith and sharing the stage with legendary vocalist Jacqui Dankworth. Those experiences have helped shape an artist equally comfortable honoring the jazz tradition while developing his own contemporary sound.

This is a conversation about young jazz talent, songwriting, improvisation, first love, musical education, and finding your own voice within a great musical tradition.

Freddie Benedict is an artist with plenty of road ahead—and Colours offers an intriguing first glimpse at where that road may lead.

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/_freddiebenedict/?hl=en

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Camille Dunhill Interview | Romance Author, Love, Self-Discovery & Chasing Romance

neonjazzkc@gmail.com (Joe Dimino) — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 16:37:51 -0700

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series. On this episode, we talk with Romance Author Camille Dunhill about her books, her day job, her passions, her creative journey, and the complicated, fascinating search for love.

Camille's first book, Musings of a Romance Addict, began as a wild adventure that simply had to be written down. What may have started as a cautionary tale eventually evolved into something deeper—a story about romance, relationships, identity, desire, and the journey toward understanding oneself.

Her second book, Chasing Romance: A Journey of Heart and Discovery, follows Stacey, a woman shaped by emotional deprivation, strict family dynamics, romantic longing, and repeated attempts to define herself through love and desire.

Stacey is a true believer in romance—and she has spent much of her life searching for it.

Through Camille's writing, that search becomes an exploration of the ways our relationships, experiences, expectations, and emotional histories shape who we become.

In this conversation, we get into Camille's journey as an author, the inspiration behind her books, the realities of writing romance, the relationship between fiction and real life, and why the search for connection remains such a powerful human story.

Camille Dunhill's work explores an enduring question: What happens when our search for love becomes part of our search for ourselves?

It's a conversation about romance, relationships, identity, desire, storytelling, and the human need to connect.

More Camille Dunhill
Camille Dunhill Official Website

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Tom Cladis Interview | Fantasy Author, Adventurer, Alligator Wrestler & Living Without Limits

neonjazzkc@gmail.com (Joe Dimino) — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 16:36:17 -0700

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series. On this episode, we talk with Tom Cladis, Award-Winning Fantasy Author, Financial Planner, Adventurer, and former Flight Attendant—and a man who appears to have made a personal mission out of refusing to live an ordinary life.

What do handstands atop mountains, alligator wrestling, epic fantasy, financial planning, and international adventure have in common?

Tom Cladis.

Tom believes life is meant to be experienced—not merely managed.

Whether he's doing handstands at the Eiffel Tower, summiting mountain peaks, wrestling alligators, traveling the world, or creating epic fantasy adventures, Tom approaches life with curiosity, courage, imagination, and a willingness to push beyond conventional boundaries.

His story is as colorful as his personality. He describes himself as a free-thinker, writer, provocateur, Christian, thrill seeker, adventurer, warrior, and certified alligator wrestler who keeps his sail pointed toward the far horizon and thrives on the adventure ahead.

As an author, Tom has published the nonfiction book How To Lift Cars Off Your Face And Other Tips For Living Forever and the fiction title The Age Of Serpents And Scorpions.

In this conversation, we explore the intersection of adventure, storytelling, risk, curiosity, faith, fantasy, personal freedom, and living with intention.

Tom's philosophy is simple but powerful: don't just manage your life—go out and live it.

This is a fascinating conversation with a man whose adventures could easily sound like fiction—and whose fiction is fueled by a life that refuses to stay inside the lines.

From mountaintops to alligator wrestling to the worlds of epic fantasy, we cover it all.

More Tom Cladis
Tom Cladis Official Website

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Yoko Miwa & Mikayla Shirley Interview | The Midnight Hour (2026) | Boston Jazz Duo

neonjazzkc@gmail.com (Joe Dimino) — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 04:13:37 -0700

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz Interview Series with Boston-based pianist Yoko Miwa and vocalist Mikayla Shirley.

On this episode, we dive into their beautiful new 2026 debut album, The Midnight Hour—a recording born from late-night performances, intimate musical chemistry, and a shared love for great songs.

Last year, Yoko and Mikayla began performing together during The Mad Monkfish's Midnight Sessions in Cambridge, Massachusetts. What started as intimate duo performances gradually developed into a remarkable musical collaboration, creating what has become one of the Boston jazz scene's hidden treasures.

Their debut recording captures the atmosphere and spirit of those late-night sessions, showcasing two musicians who move effortlessly across musical boundaries.

The repertoire travels from jazz standards and Broadway songs to Brazilian music, classic pop, and contemporary songwriting. But rather than being defined by genre, the project is united by something much simpler—and much more powerful:

A great song.

Yoko Miwa and Mikayla Shirley bring their individual voices together in a setting that leaves plenty of room for intimacy, spontaneity, conversation, and musical discovery.

The Midnight Hour is a celebration of songs, atmosphere, musical chemistry, and the magic that can happen when two artists simply sit down together and listen to each other.

This is a wonderful conversation about the art of the duo, the Boston jazz community, and why sometimes the most powerful music happens long after the sun goes down.

Yoko Miwa & Mikayla Shirley — The Midnight Hour
https://store.spinneymedia.com/products/yoko-miwa-mikayla-shirley-the-midnight-hour-cd

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Danura Miriyagalla Interview | The Navigator's Pivot | Navigating Change, Purpose & Leadership

neonjazzkc@gmail.com (Joe Dimino) — Wed, 19 Aug 2026 15:14:28 -0700

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series. On this episode, we talk with Danura Miriyagalla, Author and International Development & Management Specialist whose remarkable career has taken him across Asia, Africa, Australia, the Pacific, and the United States.

His work sits at the intersection of research, creative practice, cross-cultural leadership, global experience, and personal transformation.

Those years of moving between countries, cultures, careers, and communities profoundly shaped the way Danura thinks about belonging, direction, identity, and change.

His book, The Navigator's Pivot, is a reflective guide for anyone navigating a major work-life transition.

Drawing on ancient seafaring wisdom, philosophy, lived global experience, and modern leadership practice, Danura explores how we can move through periods of uncertainty with greater clarity, calm, awareness, and purpose.

At the heart of the book is a powerful idea: every transition involves two movements—the Pivot and the Inflection.

The Pivot is about changing direction.

The Inflection is about understanding how that change reshapes the journey.

Together, they offer a different way of thinking about career transitions, personal reinvention, leadership, uncertainty, and the moments when the path ahead suddenly looks very different.

Danura's philosophy isn't about escaping life's storms.

It's about learning how to steer through them with grace—and discovering that somewhere within us, the compass may already be pointing home.

More Danura Miriyagalla & The Navigator's Pivot
Get The Navigator's Pivot
Danura Miriyagalla on LinkedIn

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Janette Burke Interview | Women's Leadership, Caregiving, Reinvention & Finding Your Voice

neonjazzkc@gmail.com (Joe Dimino) — Wed, 19 Aug 2026 15:03:00 -0700

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series. On this episode, we talk with Janette Burke, Women's Leadership Speaker, Media Personality, and TV Podcast Host who has reached an incredible 15.2 million women across 15 seasons of her own television podcast.

But behind the success is a deeply personal story about caregiving, capacity, identity, resilience, leadership, and reinvention.

When Janette's mother's health changed, everything changed.

She found herself rebuilding her entire business around a 20-hour maximum work week while quietly carrying the responsibilities and emotional weight of caregiving. She didn't walk away from her career or give up on her ambitions—but she had to become brutally honest about what she could actually carry.

That experience transformed the way she thinks about success.

Janette now speaks directly to women—particularly women over 40—who are holding families, careers, relationships, and other people together while simultaneously trying to figure out who they are becoming themselves.

Her message is about recognizing limits without surrendering ambition, embracing change without losing identity, and finding the courage to tell the truth about what life actually requires.

From her base in Toronto, Janette shares a story filled with truth, grit, vulnerability, resilience, and hope.

More Janette Burke:
Janette Burke Official Website

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Amber Weekes Interview | To Oscar with Love (2026) | Celebrating Oscar Brown Jr.

neonjazzkc@gmail.com (Joe Dimino) — Wed, 19 Aug 2026 04:22:03 -0700

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz Interview Series with acclaimed Los Angeles-based jazz singer Amber Weekes.

On this episode, we reconnect with Amber to explore her powerful new 2026 album, To Oscar with Love—a deeply personal tribute to the late, great Oscar Brown Jr., the legendary singer-songwriter, poet, storyteller, and Civil Rights activist.

For Amber, this project is much more than a tribute album. It represents the fulfillment of a musical destiny that began when she was a young girl and first heard Oscar Brown Jr.'s iconic song “The Snake” playing on the car radio during a family trip.

That moment sparked her imagination.

Oscar's music, personality, storytelling, wit, and unique ability to illuminate the lived experience of Black Americans stayed with Amber throughout her life. Nearly five decades later, she has turned that lifelong fascination into To Oscar with Love—a collection of Oscar Brown Jr.'s songs that demonstrates just how relevant his music and message remain today.

The album also arrives as part of the celebration surrounding Oscar Brown Jr.'s centennial, with October 10, 2026 marking what would have been his 100th birthday.

Amber and Joe also reconnect after previously speaking before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, making this a particularly meaningful return to the Neon Jazz program.

This is a conversation about jazz, history, storytelling, Black American culture, musical legacy, social consciousness, and the remarkable power of one artist's work to inspire another generation decades later.

Amber Weekes brings her own voice and perspective to Oscar Brown Jr.'s remarkable catalog, creating a tribute that is both deeply respectful and completely alive in the present.

Amber Weekes — To Oscar with Love
https://amberweekes.com/to-oscar-with-love/

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Bruce Babashan Interview | Leadership Reliability, Meet The Moment™ & High-Performance Teams

neonjazzkc@gmail.com (Joe Dimino) — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 16:26:31 -0700

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series. On this episode, we talk with Bruce Babashan, Keynote Speaker, Leadership Reliability Expert, and seasoned coach—and the creator of Meet The Moment™.

Bruce challenges a common assumption about leadership: that organizations succeed simply by developing exceptional leaders.

His philosophy takes the conversation one step further.

While leadership development is essential, Bruce argues that truly high-performing organizations also need to prepare for a fundamental reality: every leader is human.

Leaders face pressure, uncertainty, mistakes, adversity, unexpected challenges, and moments when preparation meets reality. Bruce's work focuses on helping organizations and individuals become more reliable when those moments arrive.

His career has given him an extraordinary perspective on leadership and performance. He served as a Practice President with one of the nation's largest retained executive search firms, advising and assessing senior leaders for major organizations including Paramount Studios, Jersey Films, and Wynn Resorts.

But Bruce's experience doesn't stop in the corporate world.

For more than three decades, he has also coached elite fighters, working with world champions, Olympians, and national teams. He spent years coaching high school football in one of Maryland's most successful programs as well.

That combination—executive leadership, elite athletics, coaching, performance, pressure, and human behavior—provides the foundation for his unique approach to leadership reliability.

This is a fascinating conversation about leadership, reliability, pressure, coaching, human performance, organizational culture, and what it really takes to perform when the moment arrives.

Bruce brings together lessons from the boardroom, the football field, and elite combat sports to make a compelling case for preparing people not just to lead—but to meet the moment when leadership is truly tested.

Official Website:
https://brucebabashan.com/

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NicoleYvette Interview | Say Yes (2026) | Jazz, Gospel Roots, Prince & Finding Her Voice

neonjazzkc@gmail.com (Joe Dimino) — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 16:52:29 -0700

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz Interview Series with acclaimed jazz vocalist and composer NicoleYvette.

On this episode, we dive into her powerful 2026 debut recording, Say Yes, and the remarkable life in music that led her to this moment.

Say Yes is a deeply personal and fully realized jazz statement—one that explores identity, faith, resilience, transformation, self-discovery, and the journey from the dark night of the soul to the dawn of the self.

NicoleYvette's debut features an extraordinary collection of artists, including Kurt Elling, Terri Lyne Carrington, Joel Ross, J. Ivy, Keyon Harrold, and Paul Cornish. The album was produced by three-time GRAMMY® Award winner Sara Gazarek, bringing together an exceptional group of musicians around NicoleYvette's distinctive artistic vision.

But Say Yes isn't simply about the impressive names surrounding the recording. At its heart is NicoleYvette's story—her gospel roots, her relationship with music, her love of Prince, and the experiences that shaped her voice as both a vocalist and composer.

The album feels like a lifetime of departures and arrivals, capturing the emotional process of leaving one version of yourself behind and stepping fully into another.

This is a conversation about jazz, soul, gospel, faith, Prince, personal transformation, and the courage it takes to finally say yes to yourself.

NicoleYvette's debut is more than an introduction—it is a declaration.

NicoleYvette Official Website:
https://nicoleyvettemusic.com/

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Luiza Girardello Interview | Brazilian Jazz, Cancer Survival, Immigration & Finding Her Voice

neonjazzkc@gmail.com (Joe Dimino) — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 16:50:34 -0700

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz Interview Series with award-winning Brooklyn-based singer and songwriter Luiza Girardello.

In this deeply personal conversation, we catch up with a young and rising artist whose music is shaped by a life lived between worlds. Born in Brazil, educated at Berklee College of Music in Boston, and now based in New York City, Luiza has spent much of her life navigating questions of identity, belonging, culture, and artistic expression.

Those experiences have become central to her music.

Luiza's sound draws from Brazilian rhythms, jazz, alternative rock, and contemporary songwriting, creating a musical identity that refuses to fit neatly into a single genre.

Her journey has also included an extraordinary personal challenge. Before earning international recognition by winning the Jazz/Blues category at the New England Songwriting Competition, Luiza survived an aggressive form of ovarian cancer that temporarily affected her coordination and voice and forced her to relearn how to sing.

Now in remission, she has transformed those experiences into music that reflects the perspective of a Brazilian immigrant, cancer survivor, educator, songwriter, and artist.

This is a conversation about music, identity, immigration, resilience, survival, creativity, and finding your voice after life forces you to begin again.

Luiza Girardello is an artist with a fascinating story—and her music reflects the complexity of a life lived across cultures, genres, and experiences.

Official Website:
https://www.luizagirardello.com/

The Home of Neon Jazz: http://theneonjazz.blogspot.com/

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Teri M. Brown Interview | Peg Unhinged, Midlife, Menopause, Divorce & Reinvention

neonjazzkc@gmail.com (Joe Dimino) — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 16:20:02 -0700

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series. On this episode, we reconnect with acclaimed writer and author Teri M. Brown, four years after our original conversation in 2022. A lot has happened since then—including the release of her newest novel, Peg Unhinged.

Teri returns to the show to talk about a story that is funny, raw, honest, and deeply relatable.

Meet Peg. She's good at a lot of things: selling beachfront homes, raising two kids, and holding her life together with duct tape and dark humor.

What she's not particularly good at? Menopause. Divorce. Or watching her soon-to-be ex-husband flirt with women half his age—especially when one of those women works in her office.

Peg Unhinged dives headfirst into the messy, hilarious, uncomfortable, and ultimately liberating territory of midlife, relationships, menopause, divorce, identity, reinvention, and discovering who you are when you finally stop trying to hold everything together.

In this return conversation, Teri and Joe explore the evolution of her writing, what has changed since their first interview, the inspiration behind Peg, and the realities of creating fiction around experiences that can feel both incredibly personal and universally recognizable.

Peg Unhinged is ultimately a story about letting go, starting over, embracing the messy middle of life, and becoming the person you've been underneath all the expectations.

Teri M. Brown Official Website:
https://www.terimbrown.com/

More Books / Reader Resources:
https://dl.bookfunnel.com/ttu1o27s6h

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Will Hammond Interview | Backward Brilliance, Future Vision, Business Innovation & Growth

neonjazzkc@gmail.com (Joe Dimino) — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 15:04:48 -0700

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series. On this episode, we talk with Will Hammond, founder of Backward Brilliance, a company built around an unconventional framework for leaders, entrepreneurs, and organizations that refuse to settle for the status quo.

Will's approach starts in a very different place than traditional problem-solving. Rather than beginning with today's challenges and making small, incremental improvements, he starts with a radical vision of the future and works relentlessly backward to determine what must happen in the present to make that vision a reality.

He doesn't simply solve business problems—he works to dismantle them, challenge assumptions, rethink systems, and identify the decisions and actions required to create meaningful transformation.

While many organizations focus on incremental gains, Will's work is centered on pursuing seismic growth, bold innovation, strategic thinking, and transformational change.

From his base in California, we get into his professional timeline, the vision behind Backward Brilliance, his unique approach to business strategy, and why starting with the future may be the key to building something truly different.

This is a fascinating conversation about business innovation, leadership, strategy, growth, vision, disruption, and the power of thinking differently about what is possible.

If you're an entrepreneur, founder, executive, business leader, or someone looking for a fresh perspective on how to approach difficult challenges, this conversation with Will offers plenty to think about.

Backward Brilliance:
https://backwardbrilliance.com/

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Lou Lachman Interview | Cult Survivor, Psychotherapist, Healing, Embodiment & Energy Work

neonjazzkc@gmail.com (Joe Dimino) — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 14:55:35 -0700

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series. On this episode, we talk with Lou Lachman, Life Coach in the United States, Psychotherapist in the United Kingdom, Facilitator, Trainer, and longtime teacher of awareness and energy practices.

For more than 30 years, Lou has taught tools designed to help therapists and clients develop greater awareness, peace, embodiment, and connection. Lou's professional work is deeply connected to a personal journey of healing.

Lou is a cult survivor, having been raised in a cult from infancy and remaining within that environment throughout childhood. Lou's experiences with neglect, abuse, trauma, and recovery ultimately became an integral part of a path toward becoming a therapist and helping others navigate their own healing journeys.

In this powerful conversation, Lou discusses how personal experience shaped a defined professional calling and how awareness-based practices can help people reconnect with themselves, their bodies, their emotions, and their sense of freedom.

Lou's philosophy is rooted in a powerful belief: “None of us is free until we are all free.”

We explore trauma recovery, embodiment, awareness, energy practices, therapy, personal transformation, and the lifelong process of reclaiming your sense of self.

Lou's story is a reminder that healing isn't simply about moving past the difficult parts of our lives—it can also become a source of wisdom, compassion, connection, and purpose.

Official Website:
http://www.loulachman.com

Lighten Saturday 2026 Workshop:
https://energycounselling.co.uk/event/lighten-saturday-2026/

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Tessa Crews Interview | Human-Centered Design, Sustainability, Creativity & Purpose

neonjazzkc@gmail.com (Joe Dimino) — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 05:21:26 -0700

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series. On this episode, we talk with Tessa Crews, Visual Designer, Communications & Brand Strategist, and TEDx Speaker who believes design can be a powerful force for positive change.

Tessa leads brand strategy for Georgetown University's Residential Living and Conference Services teams and has brought her perspective on creativity, sustainability, and human-centered design to major audiences—including the White House Forum for Climate Solutions.

Through her thought-provoking TEDx talk, “We Designed This Broken World. Now Let's Fix It,” Tessa challenges us to reconsider the systems and environments we create and asks an important question: What if we used human-centered design and creativity to intentionally build a better future?

Her work sits at the intersection of design, communications, sustainability, branding, creativity, and social impact. But this conversation goes beyond professional accomplishments.

We also explore intentional living, creative leadership, finding purpose, navigating life's challenges, and the ways our own experiences can shape how we approach the world and the problems we want to solve.

This is a fascinating conversation about creativity, design thinking, sustainability, leadership, purpose, communications, and the responsibility we have to intentionally shape the world around us.

Tessa brings an inspiring perspective on what happens when we stop accepting broken systems as inevitable—and start thinking creatively about how we can redesign them.

Official Website:
https://www.tessacrews.com/

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Dr. Lillian Emlet Interview | Transforming Healthcare, Physician Leadership & Executive Coaching

neonjazzkc@gmail.com (Joe Dimino) — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 04:35:38 -0700

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series. On this episode, we talk with Dr. Lillian Emlet, physician, executive coach, and founder of Transforming Healthcare Coaching®.

Lillian's work begins with a simple but powerful idea: when leaders are well, teams are well—and when teams are well, organizations are well. She believes meaningful change in healthcare culture happens one person at a time.

What makes Lillian's perspective unique is that she isn't coaching healthcare leaders from the sidelines. She is a practicing critical care and emergency physician, working in the same high-stakes, high-pressure environments as the clinicians and leaders she coaches.

She understands the realities of healthcare leadership because she lives them.

Through Transforming Healthcare Coaching®, Lillian works with clinicians, physicians, executives, and healthcare organizations through one-on-one executive coaching, Systemic Team Coaching®, and her medTHRIVE® group coaching program.

Her work focuses on helping healthcare professionals develop stronger leadership skills while creating healthier, more sustainable teams and organizational cultures.

This is a fascinating conversation about healthcare leadership, physician wellbeing, organizational culture, executive coaching, teamwork, resilience, and what it takes to create meaningful change in one of the world's most demanding professional environments.

Lillian brings the rare perspective of someone who is both inside the healthcare system and actively working to transform it.

Transforming Healthcare Coaching®:
https://transforminghealthcarecoaching.com/

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Laura Richards Interview | Narcissistic Abuse, Midlife Healing & Married to a “Nice” Guy

neonjazzkc@gmail.com (Joe Dimino) — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 04:26:55 -0700

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series. On this episode, we talk with Laura Richards—podcaster, speaker, bestselling author, coach, and advocate dedicated to helping women in midlife heal after difficult relationships and reclaim their lives.

Through her global podcast, That's Where I'm At, and her bestselling book Married To A "Nice" Guy: Getting Over Narcissistic Abuse, Laura shares her deeply personal journey of recovery following a 32-year marriage to a narcissist.

Laura's work shines a light on the often confusing dynamics of narcissistic abuse, particularly when unhealthy behavior can be hidden behind the image of someone who appears charming, caring, or like the proverbial "nice guy."

Her mission is straightforward but powerful: to help women recognize that they are not alone, that their experiences matter, and that healing and rebuilding are possible.

We get into Laura's personal story, what she learned throughout her recovery, the challenges of healing in midlife, and how she transformed a painful chapter of her life into a mission to help others.

This is a powerful conversation about relationships, self-discovery, healing, resilience, boundaries, and finding yourself again after a difficult chapter.

If you or someone you know has struggled to understand a complicated relationship or is trying to rebuild life after emotional abuse, Laura's story offers an important message: you are not alone, and your story isn't over.

That's Where I'm At Podcast:
https://www.thatswhereimatpodcast.com/

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Wendy J. Swift Interview | A Dream Life, Marriage, Shame, Loss & Finding Self-Possession

neonjazzkc@gmail.com (Joe Dimino) — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 04:18:19 -0700

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series. On this episode, we talk with former educator and author Wendy J. Swift, whose powerful memoir A Dream Life explores marriage, motherhood, loss, shame, denial, social mobility, and the difficult journey toward reclaiming your own identity.

Wendy's story is rooted in an extraordinary chapter of her life. After her then-husband began serving a prison sentence in the 1990s for a white-collar crime, Wendy suddenly became solely responsible for supporting her three young daughters while navigating the emotional and social consequences of incarceration.

Her memoir examines the complicated reality of trying to hold a family together while confronting loss, uncertainty, shame, denial, and the collapse of a life that once appeared secure.

At the heart of A Dream Life is Wendy's deeply personal exploration of her search for validation through marriage, motherhood, and social mobility—and what happened when that carefully constructed dream began to unravel.

But this is ultimately a story of transformation and self-discovery. Wendy examines the consequences of denial while exploring the restorative power of self-possession, honesty, resilience, and finding the strength to build a life on your own terms.

Wendy is also an accomplished essayist whose work has appeared in HuffPost, Memoir Magazine, Brevity Blog, and other publications. In 2006, she received the Press Club of Long Island Award for her essay “Ritter's Pond,” and in 2022, she received an Honorable Mention from the Connecticut Press Club for “The Sentencing.”

This is an intimate conversation about family, identity, marriage, motherhood, consequences, resilience, and the courage it takes to reclaim your own life.

Official Website:
https://www.wendyswift.com/

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Dr. JonRobert Tartaglione Interview | The Psychology of Influence, Persuasion & Human Behavior

neonjazzkc@gmail.com (Joe Dimino) — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 04:09:24 -0700

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series. On this episode, we talk with Dr. JonRobert Tartaglione, Cambridge Ph.D., psychologist, behavioral scientist, Founder & CEO of Influence 51, and a world-renowned expert on the psychology of influence.

From his base in London, Dr. Tartaglione takes us through an engaging journey from his Rhode Island roots to a career spent studying and teaching the science behind how people think, behave, communicate, persuade, and make decisions.

Through Influence 51, he works with clients around the globe on persuasion, strategic communication, behavioral science, leadership, and influence. His work explores one of the most fascinating questions in human behavior: How do we actually influence the way people think, behave, and choose?

We also explore the seminal moments that shaped his professional life, his academic journey, the psychology behind influence and persuasion, and what leaders, communicators, entrepreneurs, and organizations can learn from behavioral science.

This is a fascinating conversation about influence, persuasion, psychology, behavioral science, communication, leadership, and the forces that shape human decision-making.

Influence 51:
https://www.influence51.com/

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Famous Interviews & Neon Jazz with Joe Dimino

Matthew Johnson Interview | Jackie Robinson Real Gone, Baseball, Poetry & the Power of Story

More Matthew JohnsonMatthew Johnson Poetry — Official Website

Leigh Pilzer Interview | Keep Holding On (2026) | Baritone Saxophone, Composition & Jazz

Ransom Kong Interview | From Domestic Violence Recovery to Purpose, Love & Intentional Matchmaking

More Ransom KongPurpose Over Pain

Bob Bekian Interview | Hollywood Producer, Entrepreneur & Author of 10 Ways to Feel Better

More Bob BekianBob Bekian Official Website

Jaime Elizondo Interview | Grey Cup Champion Coach, CEO Performance Engineer & Leadership Expert

More Jaime ElizondoJaime Elizondo Official Website

Gaylen A. Wilson Interview | Heart Transplant Survivor, Sobriety, Love & Reinvention

More Gaylen A. WilsonThe Monument Method Institute

Allison Philips Interview | FONT Music 2026 | Festival of New Trumpet Music & Jazz Trumpet

Everything FONT Music Festival 2026FONT Music Official Website

Freddie Benedict Interview | Colours (2026) | Rising UK Jazz Vocalist, Composer & Arranger

Camille Dunhill Interview | Romance Author, Love, Self-Discovery & Chasing Romance

Tom Cladis Interview | Fantasy Author, Adventurer, Alligator Wrestler & Living Without Limits

More Tom CladisTom Cladis Official Website

Yoko Miwa & Mikayla Shirley Interview | The Midnight Hour (2026) | Boston Jazz Duo

Danura Miriyagalla Interview | The Navigator's Pivot | Navigating Change, Purpose & Leadership

More Danura Miriyagalla & The Navigator's PivotGet *The Navigator's Pivot*Danura Miriyagalla on LinkedIn

Janette Burke Interview | Women's Leadership, Caregiving, Reinvention & Finding Your Voice

More Janette Burke:Janette Burke Official Website

Amber Weekes Interview | To Oscar with Love (2026) | Celebrating Oscar Brown Jr.

Amber Weekes — To Oscar with Lovehttps://amberweekes.com/to-oscar-with-love/

Bruce Babashan Interview | Leadership Reliability, Meet The Moment™ & High-Performance Teams

NicoleYvette Interview | Say Yes (2026) | Jazz, Gospel Roots, Prince & Finding Her Voice

Luiza Girardello Interview | Brazilian Jazz, Cancer Survival, Immigration & Finding Her Voice

Teri M. Brown Interview | Peg Unhinged, Midlife, Menopause, Divorce & Reinvention

Will Hammond Interview | Backward Brilliance, Future Vision, Business Innovation & Growth

Lou Lachman Interview | Cult Survivor, Psychotherapist, Healing, Embodiment & Energy Work

Tessa Crews Interview | Human-Centered Design, Sustainability, Creativity & Purpose

Dr. Lillian Emlet Interview | Transforming Healthcare, Physician Leadership & Executive Coaching

Laura Richards Interview | Narcissistic Abuse, Midlife Healing & Married to a “Nice” Guy

Wendy J. Swift Interview | A Dream Life, Marriage, Shame, Loss & Finding Self-Possession

Dr. JonRobert Tartaglione Interview | The Psychology of Influence, Persuasion & Human Behavior

More Matthew Johnson
Matthew Johnson Poetry — Official Website

More Ransom Kong
Purpose Over Pain

More Bob Bekian
Bob Bekian Official Website

More Jaime Elizondo
Jaime Elizondo Official Website

More Gaylen A. Wilson
The Monument Method Institute

Everything FONT Music Festival 2026
FONT Music Official Website

More Tom Cladis
Tom Cladis Official Website

More Danura Miriyagalla & The Navigator's Pivot
Get The Navigator's Pivot
Danura Miriyagalla on LinkedIn

More Janette Burke:
Janette Burke Official Website

Amber Weekes — To Oscar with Love
https://amberweekes.com/to-oscar-with-love/