A Transcendent Traneumentary - You've got 33 episodes combining some of the best music that Coltrane played accompanied by the commentary of those who either played with him or were influenced by him. Where else will you find this? Music and conversation about music. For a jazz fan, for a Coltrane fan, it doesn't get any better than this. Download it now; listen to it immediately; learn from it forever. - Vijay Sky, iTunes Review *****
Born out of the desire to introduce John Coltrane’s music to a new audience and celebrate the legendary artist, VI created The Traneumentary. This original and innovative 33 part podcast documentary highlights the musical legacy of John Coltrane through intimate interviews and track commentaries featuring an eclectic cast of bandmates, colleagues, musicians, producers, journalists and educators including McCoy Tyner, Sonny Rollins, Jimmy Cobb, Dr. Billy Taylor, Terence Blanchard, Joshua Redman and more. The Traneumentary is a great illustration of VI’s ability to bring a story to life combined with a strong digital acumen. From concept to production to blog creation to online marketing and public relations, VI developed, administered and successfully managed the project in its entirety. The series is not only regarded as the definitive Coltrane podcast but it is also one of the most successful and creative catalog initiatives applied to a legendary artist. Since its launch, The Traneumentary has served over 1 million episode downloads and continues to remain popular well after its release in 2007. The series succeeded in creating great awareness of Coltrane and is responsible for increased sales of the artist’s digital tracks and albums, physical CDs and custom ringtones. The work is also the first to be collaboratively commissioned by Blue Note, Concord Music Group, Rhino and Verve Records.
Commissioned by Legacy Recordings, VI produced a year-long celebration podcast series of the 25th Anniversary of the greatest selling album of all-time, Michael Jackson’s Thriller. The only podcast series authorized by Jackson himself, Thrillercast is comprised of 28 episodes featuring an all-star cast including Quincy Jones, LL Cool J, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, will i am, Q-Tip, Herbie Hancock, Nick Cannon, Imogen Heap, Mark Goodman, Vincent Paterson and others. With episodes focusing on all aspects of the production of Thriller from songwriting to dance and videos to lasting impact, the series continues to receive millions of downloads and serves as a tribute to the legacy of Michael Jackson.
Commissioned by Sony Masterworks, VI produces an ongoing podcast series with world renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma. The series explores Yo-Yo’s history, inspirations, collaborations and vast recorded musical landscape.
VI was commissioned by Universal Music to produce a multi-artist podcast celebration of the famed record label Motown on its golden anniversary. The series features 40 artists including Berry Gordy, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Levi Stubbs, Mary Wilson, Otis Williams, The Jackson 5 and many others on 31 episodes covering the label’s humble beginnings in Detroit to its mega success and world wide recognition. The series also features never-before heard interview clips with many of Motown’s biggest stars plus the breakdown of some their most famous hits along with exclusive musical segments and songs. [iTunes series page]
"This podcast is great. If you love music, you'll love this podcast" - Luke Wienecke, iTunes *****
VI co-produced The Beach Boys Pet Sounds 40th Anniversary Podcast Series featuring remaining band members Brian Wilson, MIke Love, Al Jardine and Bruce Johnston. The podcast series was the first of its kind that documented a classic popular recording with the famed creators using the podcast avenue as its main format and delivery channel. The campaigns's focus was aimed at introducing the 1966 classic remastered work to a new, young and digital savvy audience. Aside from placement throughout the iTunes music store, which was also administered by VI, the series was also distributed to an array of music focused webzines. The series succeeded in not only selling an impressive amount of digital albums but also garnered an equal amount of physical CD sales. The podcast series became one of the first #1 music podcast series on the iTunes charts and set the standard for other like music podcast series that followed. Vella and deMartin went on to record another major series with the Beach Boys titled The Warmth of the Sun which was released in 2007 and had equal success.
DISNEY MUSIC BLOCK PARTYVI produced the first pre-school focused podcast series for Disney Music featuring artists and characters from popular Disney Channel shows and recordings. The series features Ralph's World, Choo Choo Soul, The Doddlebops and They Might Be Giants. Podcast media was produced in-studio and on-location during the Disney Music Block Party summer tour. VI developed concept, wrote script, recorded subjects and implemented series online.
VI produced the first video podcast series for Great Performances for the production We Love Ella!. Working in conjunction with Great Performances, PBS and WNET, VI interviewed subjects on sound stage location, edited and produced video assets for online marketing and distribution campaign in connection with the PBS/WNET fundraising drive.
