If you know anything about me by now it’s that I like to switch things up in life, and on my podcast every now and then. So this week we are taking a departure from mom talk and exploring the world of jazz with my friend and professional vibraphonist Lolly Allen. Watching Lolly play the vibraphone is exciting. She really gets into it with arms flailing, and mallets flying. I used to play the xylophone in high school and yes, that is as cool as it sounds.  Lolly also shares how playing with musical instruments as a child influenced her career choices. See? Toys and play make a difference! Okay so maybe there is a little bit of mom talk in this episode after all. And she talks about how her parents fostered her love of music from childhood into adulthood.

Lolly Allen lollyvibe

Now she’s a pro in the jazz world with one album under her belt and another in the works. She writes and produces her own jazz music. How cool is that? I can barely play chopsticks! I am so impressed with Lolly. Her music is hypnotic. If you close your eyes and listen it’s almost like you’re being taken back in time, to when big bands featuring vibraphone solos were played on the radio. And men and women mingled after dinner with mixed drinks and handsy neighbors. Think early seasons of Mad Men. Since I feel like jazz musicians naturally have an old soul, I wanted to hear what Lolly thinks about the current state of pop music and she explains how she used Indiegogo to help fund her dream.

Lolly vibes

Lolly is also being honored at the LA Jazz Society Vibe Summit on June 7th. What an accomplishment for a woman in a predominately male area of music! Congrats Lolly! And MIH listeners will get a sampling of her music in this episode as well, so bonus for you!

You can download Lolly’s music here. And follower her on Twitter @lollyallen

And keep an eye out for her next album on her Facebook page and any announcements on her website lollyvibe.com