Episode
Carlos Homs and the Psychotic Work Ethic Behind Music Production
- Podcast
- Close Enough for Jazz
- Published
- Jun 11, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3484
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://birchgrove.io/home/podcast/cefj-15/
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Summary
Keyboardist and producer Carlos Homs sits down with Lindsay to trace his journey from the highly intellectual avant-garde jazz scene back to his roots in hip-hop production. Carlos shares stories from his time in the NJPAC Jazz for Teens program, watching a young Tyshawn Sorey play out-of-this-world piano, and cutting his teeth with heavyweights like Peter Evans and Steve Lehman. The conversation unpacks how Lehman’s Sélébéyone project and the psychotic work ethic of super-producer Cirkut pushed Carlos to team up with bassist Brady Watt and eventually work out of DJ Premier’s studio. They also tackle the debt traps of jazz education, the esoteric nature of channeling music, the 440Hz conspiracies behind his 2020 trio album, and the realities of collaborating with his wife, vocalist Jamie Homs. Please go find and enjoy the music of Aaron Burnett, Brady Watt and Steve Lehman. A few clips of their music was reposted in this episode, Birch Grove Media does not claim ownership of these performances or musical works. Timestamps : 00:00 - Intro: Couples working together & transitioning to hip-hop 00:49 - Growing up on 90s hip-hop and discovering sampling 02:03 - Entering the NJ jazz scene and meeting Tyshawn Sorey & Alan Bjorklund 04:51 - The intense contrast between playing with Peter Evans and Steve Lehman 06:26 - How Steve Lehman’s Sélébéyone brought Carlos back to hip-hop 09:27 - Classical piano lessons and the unique New Jersey jazz ecosystem 11:12 - NJPAC Jazz for Teens and Tyshawn Sorey's lunchtime concerts 15:33 - Berklee dropouts, the problem with jazz education, and college debt 22:57 - The Berklee networker who never paid tuition 24:12 - Reconnecting with Brady Watt and working out of DJ Premier’s studio 27:49 - Learning a "psychotic work ethic" from super-…