The Gifts of Improvising podcast | Listen online for free

12 episodes

Open Letter To Billy Kreutzmann (Oteil Burbridge, Papa Mali, Jay Lane, Billy Strings)
05/24/2025 | 57 mins.
Open Letter To Billy Kreutzmann (Oteil Burbridge, Papa Mali, Jay Lane, Billy Strings)
Episode 11: The Genius of Kreutzmann (Daniel Donato, Andrew Barr, Jason Hann, Jeff Franca)
05/15/2025 | 31 mins.
Reed discusses the genius of drummer Bill Kreutzmann with sometime-teammates Daniel Donato, Andrew Barr, Jason Hann, and Jeff Franca in Part One of this two-part episode.
Episode 10: A Complete Unknown, Nathan Moore + Jeremy Korpas
04/02/2025 | 43 mins.
Reed sees "A Complete Unknown" and needs to talk about it, so he reaches out to Virginia songwriter Nathan Moore, New Orleans Musicologist Jeremy Korpas, and even Reed's next door neighbor Jane! And we hear an incredible improvised rendition of "It's Alright Ma, I'm Only Bleeding"
Episode 9: Adam MacDougall / Steve Kimock / Giulio Xavier Cetto
03/26/2025 | 44 mins.
Reed talks improvisation and Bob Dylan with guitar guru Steve Kimock and keyboard wizard Adam MacDougall, and we hear a tragic tale of injury and resilience from The Jazz Thug. We also talk to bass player extraordinaire Giulio Xavier Cetto.
Episode 8: Brian Haas and Jason Smart
03/19/2025 | 58 mins.
Reed gets real about breakups, reconciliations, and optimism with pianist Brian Haas and drummer Jason Smart (aka the Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey), and some of Brian's trash talk gets bleeped.

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About The Gifts of Improvising

We all love improvised music, but are we in danger of becoming musical re-enactors of the past? Are we celebrating continued creativity, or are we celebrating nostalgic acting? Musician Reed Mathis draws on 30 years of relationships to creatives of every stripe in a series of musical conversations, exploring together the hope in the new, and the fear of the new, often through the lens of Bob Dylan's stellar example. We need the Gifts of Improvising!

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