Michael Carlon interviews Michael Carlon. Have I finally lost my mind? Should they come and take me to South 1 (the psychiatric ward of Stamford Hospital)? Don't judge me too quickly! In this episode I interview my cousin who also happens to have the same name as me; although he goes by Mick and I go by whatever name anyone in my family is willing to call me at any given time (unfortunately, my mother typically calls me Jimmy but that is another story). Mick Carlon has written two novels based on the lives of famous Jazz musicians; Riding on Duke's Train involves a fictionalized slice of Duke Ellington's life and was published in 2010. Mick's followup, Travels with Louis, was published in 2012 and involves a story around, you guessed it, Louis Armstrong. Musicians who played with both Ellington and Armstrong have reached out to Mick to let him know how closely he channeled the essence of each musician. Listen up as we discuss where Mick's love of Jazz came from, how he was able to capture and portray with empathy the racism that these musicians faced, and why he does not want to jump on the Zombie bandwagon. I believe that this episode pairs well with nice single malt scotch because, lets face it, Jazz and whiskey go together like the Pope and his ruby red shoes! If you have any feedback on this episode please send along to [email protected]. If you know someone who would appreciate it, please pass it along. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.