We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rob Shepherd. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rob below.

Rob, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

I grew up listening to jazz music. My parents played some of it, but it was also largely self-discovery. While most kids were listening to pop hits in the late ’90s and early ’00s, I was honing in on Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, and Ornette Coleman, among others. But when I shared my passion with others, I frequently heard that jazz was not for them. Often, however, their dismissal was based on incorrect assumptions about the music. From claims musicians just “made things up” out of thin air to trying to wrongly identify artists they dislike, like Kenny G, as jazz, the lack of understanding about this music was astounding.

In reality, the the term “jazz” represents such a wide range of music that anyone can find something they love. If you’re into heavy metal, Dan Weiss’ Starebaby or Kate Gentile’s work would interest you. If you’re a hip-hop head, artists like Terrace Martin or Robert Glasper could be right up your alley. With PostGenre, I generally emphasize these spaces to provide non-jazz fans with a greater appreciation of the music. I also use the site to explore important theoretical concepts like how to define music or the role of artists and listeners in its creation.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

For most of my life, I’ve been passionate about both music and writing. In 2019, I had an opportunity arose to write for a now-defunct jazz site, NextBop. I was excited by the idea of writing about the music I love and began writing album reviews for the site. In early 2020, NextBop shut down, but I wanted to continue to write. So, I assembled a team with a few other writers and began my site, PostGenre (postgenre.org). PostGenre started with a focus on album reviews. but has since evolved to also encompass an extensive history of the Newport Jazz Festival and several interviews with artists ranging from prominent music heroes – including Sonny Rollins, Ron Carter, and Wadada Leo Smith – to emerging talent from around the globe. I’ve also become one of the Jazz Journalist Association’s ties to the Austin community and have recently begun writing album liner notes.

I am particularly proud of my artist interviews. I have spoken with artists I never thought I would find myself talking to. I’ve learned things from them in our short 20 min to 1-hour calls that I never could from just reading about them in a book. My openness towards their creative mindset and processes instead of trying to shove complex works into flimsy categorical boxes has allowed many artists to open up to me in ways they may not work with other interviewers. The result has been memorable interviews cited in publications as significant as the New York Times. Some have even been used in college courses.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I’m dedicated to drawing favorable attention to the art form that I love. Many people call jazz “America’s classical music” with little explanation as to what that term means. While I have issues with the phraseology, it does denote a seriousness to the work. The music has the capacity to express some of the most complex of human emotions and to, perhaps more than any other, push music to its outer boundaries.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice

To be honest, I’m not sure partly because I don’t fully appreciate the technology. It seems, like any other technology, it depends on how the NFT is to be used. It can be helpful for assessing the validity of a limited release album, as the label Ropeadope did a few years ago with their re-release of “The Philadelphia Experiment”, an album with Christian McBride, Questlove, and Uri Caine. Further, Greg Spero, an artist I have interviewed (https://www.postgenre.org/spero-chicago-experiment) who is at the forefront of using NFTs swears they are the future of music. But, like most other people, I am still a little hesitant to embrace NFTs.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.Postgenre.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/postgenremedia/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/postgenre
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/postgenre/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/postgenremedia

Image Credits
T. Jordan Hill