Pablo Held Investigates

Ben Solomon is an incredible saxophonist who I first heard through the music of the late Wallace Roney. I was immediately struck by his sound, the energy and his love for the music. In fact, that was the only note I wrote down prior to this interview: Love. You can often tell when people are … Continue reading Ben Solomon

I had been admiring Melissa Aldana’s playing and music for many years, when I suddenly received a message from her, saying that she really liked the podcast. I was flattered and amazed that she would reach out to me. We made plans to do an interview and here it is! We talked about learning from … Continue reading Melissa Aldana

Master drummer Jochen Rueckert is a personal hero of mine. I’ve been checking him out since my teenage years, when I discovered Achim Kaufmann’s “Weave”, Paul Heller’s “Kaleidoskop” & Jochen’s own “Introduction”, three massively influential records for me. He is an outstanding drummer and a great guy who always speaks his mind, and this conversation … Continue reading Jochen Rueckert

I still remember when I first heard Kurt Rosenwinkel’s epic album “The Next Step”. In the early 2000s I was visiting my guitar friend Riaz Khabirpour in his apartment in Amsterdam. When he went out to practice, I stayed in his place, going through his record collection. I can still tap into the feeling I … Continue reading Kurt Rosenwinkel

What a pleasure it was to talk to composer/arranger/pianist/accordionist Gil Goldstein! I’ve been in awe of his work with Michael Brecker, Milton Nascimento, Jim Hall, Wallace Roney and of course his own music (check out his album “Under Rouseau’s Moon”). Furthermore, his book “Jazz Composer’s Companion” was a great help to me, especially because of … Continue reading Gil Goldstein

Sometimes you can’t predict in which direction an interview will go. When I spoke with Laura Mvula we didn’t nerd out about theoretical stuff. In the beginning you can notice me wanting to go in this direction. But instead we get something much deeper and more meaningful: Laura opened up about her life as an … Continue reading Laura Mvula

Ralph Towner is my hero. He’s a musical pioneer, a poetic and lyrical storyteller, always searching for something new, a giant of jazz & improvised music. I have childhood memories of listening to his records in my parents collection — His duo recording with Gary Peacock “Oracle” always comes to mind. So do his solo … Continue reading Ralph Towner

Scott Colley is an amazing musician. He always serves the music in a very engaging and creative way, never letting his incredible facility on the instrument getting the best of him. This is one of the many things I admire about him, so naturally I am glad I could talk to him about that. We … Continue reading Scott Colley

I heard about Mike Gibbs through my good friend Sebastian Gille, who invited Mike to arrange his music for a special project with the NDR Bigband. I was amazed by Mike’s writing right away. Everything he does sounds so rich and full yet very open at the same time. He’s a true master who has … Continue reading Mike Gibbs

When Larry Goldings told me that “we should do another podcast where we talk about our classical influences”, I was beyond excited. In this 3-hour conversation about our musical upbringings and influences we also play a lot of piano for each other. As you can imagine, this is exactly what I was dreaming of all … Continue reading Larry Goldings… again!

Pablo Held talking about the creation of his solo album “Embracing You”. Supported by NICA artist development, a program funded by

Percussionist & composer Marilyn Mazur is like a magician. Through her imaginative playing and her rich palette of sounds she casts spells on the music, her bandmates and us as listeners. When I listen to her I feel transported into places that I didn’t know existed and that’s something I’m fascinated by. How does one … Continue reading Marilyn Mazur

Kevin Hays is one of my absolute favorite piano players, period! The first time I saw him live was in 1996 on a concert of John Scofield‘s Quiet Band and this made a deep impression on me. I’ve been following Kevin’s playing very closely since then. Out of his own records “Andalucia”, “Seventh Sense”,“El Matador” … Continue reading Kevin Hays

Master drummer Peter Erskine is on so many of my all-time favorite recordings that it’s almost ridiculous! I love everything that he’s done with Weather Report, Jaco Pastorius, Joni Mitchell, John Abercrombie, Joe Henderson, Marc Johnson, Vince Mendoza, Kenny Wheeler, Michael Brecker and SO many more! Of course, let’s not forget his own records!! Especially … Continue reading Peter Erskine

Sam Amidon is one of the most open minded artists I know. Right away I was struck not only by his beautiful music, I was also amazed by the vast range of things he welcomes into his world. Every Sam Amidon album is a winner. They build on top of each other and yet each … Continue reading Sam Amidon

My dear friend and trio colleague Jonas Burgwinkel and I went into the studio to talk about the recording process of my first-ever album Forest Of Oblivion.  It was pure time-travel and I stayed in nostalgia-mode for the following days, reminiscing about the past and our journey as a trio. As I often tell, it’s … Continue reading Forest Of Oblivion (Audio Commentary)

I had been following Johanna’s playing for quite a while, ever since my buddy Robert Landfermann told me to check her out. – If you don’t know Johanna’s music yet, a great place to start is her album “Schumann Kaleidoskop” , where she interprets Robert Schumann’s music in her very own adventurous ways. To me … Continue reading Johanna Summer

This interview with bassist Doug Weiss took place after our first concert together in June 2020 at the Green Room in Köln. Such cool way to get to know each other: After a rehearsal and dinner, we played a concert and had this conversation in front of a live audience. Right from the start I … Continue reading Doug Weiss

Marcus Gilmore is one of the most influential drummers of our time. The first time I heard him was on Gonzalo Rubalcaba’s “Avatar” record and I was drawn to his rhythmical world right away. I got to play with Marcus in Chris Potter’s quartet back in 2015 and the feeling of playing with him is something … Continue reading Marcus Gilmore

I first heard Chris Potter’s music sometime in my teenage years. I immediately became a fan, trying to get all his records as a leader and as a sideman. There’s always something to learn from Chris’ playing… in a way I always feel encouraged to work on something after I’ve listened to him. Especially his … Continue reading Chris Potter