{"podcast":{"title":"Neon Jazz Interviews","slug":"neon-jazz-interviews-6570313","podcast_index_feed_id":6570313,"rss_url":"https://rss.amperwave.net/v2/feed/podcorn/9753f63909d9b2ed721f7c09294bd97d","website_url":"https://theneonjazz.blogspot.com/","image_url":"https://images.castfire.com/image/660/0/0/0/0-8489399.jpg","author":"Neon Jazz Interviews - The Finest Jazz Musicians From All Over the Globe","episode_count":1854,"summary":"Neon Jazz is a radio show and interview series created and distributed since 2011. Hatched & Hosted by Joe Dimino out of Kansas City, Missouri. The series has been Engineered and generously supported by John Christopher over thirteen years, hundreds of episodes and thousands of interviews. We celebrate the glory days right on into the innovations of modern players. The aim is to tell the rich story of jazz through the voice of the musician and provide an enticing kaleidoscope of sound and stories. We are always celebrating one of America's finest inventions .. Jazz. Dig in ..","last_synced_at":"2026-09-10T02:21:33.740642+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/neon-jazz-interviews-6570313"},"episode":{"title":"Ken Lovern Interview | The Blind Boone Project, Kansas City Jazz & a Remarkable American Story","slug":"ken-lovern-interview-the-blind-boone-project-kansas-city-jazz-a-remarkable-american-story","published_at":"2026-09-03T11:45:58+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/neon-jazz-interviews-6570313/ken-lovern-interview-the-blind-boone-project-kansas-city-jazz-a-remarkable-american-story","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/neon-jazz-interviews-6570313","url":"https://player.amperwavepodcasting.com?feed-link=https%3A%2F%2Frss.amperwave.net%2Fv2%2Fepisode%2F8637255_2026-09-03-115955","audio_url":"https://pdcn.co/e/serve.castfire.com/audio/8637255/8637255_2026-09-03-115955.128.mp3?rssID=6594","summary":"Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Kansas City-based Jazz Organist Ken Lovern as we explore the remarkable 2026 Blind Boone Project . This ambitious project brings together music, history, a comic book, and a live on-stage production to tell the extraordinary story of John William “Blind” Boone , one of the first African American concert performers to achieve international recognition. Born in a Union Army camp near the end of the Civil War , Boone faced enormous barriers in a country defined by segregation, discrimination, and racism. Yet his extraordinary musical gifts — and the determination of the people who believed in him — helped him build a remarkable career as a concert pianist. A former Confederate general and town elder in Warrensburg, Missouri , helped arrange for Boone to receive an education at a school for the blind. Later, with the assistance of his loyal and savvy African American business manager John Lange Jr. , Boone pursued an elite concert career that lasted from 1880 through 1927 . His story is one of music, perseverance, entrepreneurship, racial barriers, friendship, education, and triumph , making Blind Boone an important — and sometimes overlooked — figure in American music history. Ken Lovern has brought together an impressive group of musicians and Kansas City-connected artists to help bring this history to life, including vocalist Madisen Ward , known as part of the acclaimed folk duo Madisen Ward and the Momma Bear . In this conversation, we explore the Blind Boone musical, the history behind the project, Kansas City connections, Blind Boone's incredible career, John Lange Jr., race and American music history, the comic book, live theatre, and the power of storytelling through music . This is much more than a j…","meta_description":"Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Kansas City-based Jazz Organist Ken Lovern as we explore the remarkable 2026 Blind Boone P…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1430,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/neon-jazz-interviews-6570313/episodes/ken-lovern-interview-the-blind-boone-project-kansas-city-jazz-a-remarkable-american-story/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/neon-jazz-interviews-6570313/ken-lovern-interview-the-blind-boone-project-kansas-city-jazz-a-remarkable-american-story.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}