We sat down for a Q&A with the boogie-woogie pianist to talk about his new album and how he has grown since his performance at the first Jazz Sudbury Festival in 2009.

JSF: You’ve recently released your new album, Something New, in which you collaborate with many talented musicians such as George Porter Jr. and Chuck Leavell. What was it like to create an album in such a collaborative way?

MK: Collaborating is one of the most enjoyable things in music, if it’s on stage, in a writing session or for a recording. I approached this album not just as an artist and writer but also as a producer. This gave me the freedom to look for collaborations that served the music as well as the personal vibe in the studio. I’ve arrived at a point in my career where the process of making the record has to be the reason to make the record, not because I need something new to release or go on the road with. Spending all that time in New Orleans to record the CD most of the collaborations came in a spontaneous manner through friendships.

JSF: Being a producer, musician, singer and collaborator on the album, how did wearing so many hats affect the artistic process?

MK: It was a lot easier than people might think. I enjoy producing my own music but it’s only possible if you are honest with yourself, not just in the studio or as an artist but also in general in life. You have to be able to remove yourself from being the musician and singer or even the writer and serve the song 100%, that’s a producer’s job. It was the most fun I have ever had making a recording.

JSF: This being your twelfth album, where do you continuously find new inspiration to create your music?

MK: I make music because it’s a part of my life and it’s a way to express myself. Everyone grows in life as a person and as long as you know how to be an artist simply as an expression of your growing personality then inspiration is endless. It’s all a personality thing, just like being bored. I don’t understand how anyone can be bored in life. I also don’t understand how any artist who makes music for the right reason could ever not be inspired to express themselves.

JSF: Alive or dead, in an ideal world, who would be the top three jazz musicians that you would love to collaborate with?

MK: Nina Simone, Frank Sinatra and Billie Holiday. And if I can add another musician who was a rockstar in his own time I would put Ludwig van Beethoven at the top of that list.

JSF: When it comes to the Sudbury Jazz Festival, you played its inaugural year in 2009. How do you feel about coming back to headline again for the tenth anniversary?

MK: I’m very excited to come back. I remember me and the band having a really fantastic time at the inaugural jazz festival, not just on stage and with the audience but also with the people who run the festival and at the after party. I can’t believe time flies that fast and that is ten years ago. Can’t wait to go on stage this year in Sudbury.

JSF: In the ten years since you last played the Jazz Sudbury Festival, in which ways do you feel you have grown and evolved as an artist?

MK: I think it has become even easier for me to make music and perform from a completely honest spot deep within myself, something I was always aware of but that I have mastered even more since then.