Like many teenagers of his generation, Jon Greenbaum was introduced to jazz via Mahavishnu Orchestra and Jeff Beck. In college he continued to expand his jazz horizons doing jazz radio and helping book jazz bands. Those live shows featuring Ronald Shannon Jackson’s Decoding Society, Billy Harper, Sonny Stitt, Elvin Jones, Defunkt, Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre, David Murray, Oliver Lake, John Abercrombie et al, left a lasting impression. Greenbaum is happy to return to Northstar Sounds, alternating weeks with Rick Petrie. Northstar Sounds highlights the continuing tradition of exploring the human experience at the boundaries of creative improvised music and composition.
Greenbaum has worked in a variety of fields, meeting a vast array of people and is currently working at a local non-profit. He was involved in the Cassette Underground in the 1980s and 90s and continues to compose music for his own pleasure.