Simon Rentner
For more than 15 years, Simon Rentner has worked as a host, producer, broadcaster, web journalist, and music presenter in New York City. His career gives him the opportunity to cover a wide spectrum of topics including, history, culture, and, most importantly, his true passion of music from faraway places such as Europe, South America, and Africa.
He is the host and producer for The Checkout, which showcases new music “on the other side of jazz” by some of the best artists on this planet including Herbie Hancock, Robert Glasper, Hiatus Kiayote, Hermeto Pascoal, Kamasi Washington, Flying Lotus, Henry Threadgill, Cassandra Wilson, and many others.
Aside from working in media, he is a curator and producer of concerts in New York City at spaces such as The Beacon Theatre, Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Town Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, The (old) Knitting Factory, Le Poisson Rouge, and Bryant Park. Some of the artists he’s presented include Hugh Masekela with Abdullah Ibrahim, The Punch Brothers, Cecil Taylor, Rosanne Cash, and the late Andrew Hill.
In addition to The Checkout, Rentner has hosted and produced content for NPR, PRI, WGBH, and WNYC. He’s won PRINDI awards for his news stories on The WBGO Journal. He’s produced long and short content for Jazz Night in America, Jazz at Lincoln Center Radio (hosted by both Ed Bradley and Wynton Marsalis), Toast of the Nation, Afropop Worldwide, Marketplace, and The Leonard Lopate Show.
His radio shows also feature celebrated voices and minds, not limited to music, such as, Jessica Lange, Ellsworth Kelly, Lee Friedlander, Mark Morris to name a few. He’s also covered the music cultural histories from Colombia, France, Sierra Leone, Mali, Argentina, Madagascar, Venezuela, Peru, Canada, and, naturally, the United States.
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The electronic artist Mndsgn draws from crossover jazz of the 1970s and '80s on his latest album, 'Rare Pleasure.'
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Joe Brent (mandolin) and Sara Caswell (violin) unleash the full potential of their chamber jazz group 9 Horses on their new recording, 'Omegah'
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For the last 20 years, Pi Recordings has been a home and haven to the avant-garde, including first-wave members of the AACM. The Checkout catches up with label co-founders Seth Rosner and Yulun Wang, who say the mission is ongoing.
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The Checkout discusses 'KIMBROUGH,' an extravagant tribute to an underrated artist, who left us at the end of 2020.
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Bassist Paul Bender and keyboardist Simon Mavin speak with Simon Rentner on The Checkout about Hiatus Kaiyote's new album, 'Mood Valiant.'
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As we come to the end of Pride Month, The Checkout checks in with Michael Mayo, who talks about embracing his bisexual identity and expressing himself fully on 'Bones,' his Mack Avenue debut.
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Watch three improvising masters — Mark Dresser (double bass), Michael Dessen (trombone) and Myra Melford (piano) — perform a telematic concert on The Checkout Live.
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The Checkout documents jazz's first NFT drop, and poses some pressing questions about cryptocurrency in the arts space — with Greg Spero, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Oran Etkin and others.
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Shabaka Hutchings and Theon Cross stop by The Checkout to discuss Sons of Kemet's powerful new album, 'Black to the Future.'
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For International Jazz Day, The Checkout features Michael Veal and Joe Armon-Jones in a tribute to Afrobeat drumming legend Tony Allen, one year after his passing.