Though pianist Mike Garson has been an integral player in some of the best rock recordings of all time by the likes of Nine Inch Nails, Smashing Pumpkins, Mick Ronson, and, most notably, David Bowie, he cut his teeth as a classically-trained jazz cat in New York City, long before he joined the aforementioned artists on world stadium tours.

One listen to KFAI’s brilliant new interview with the man and you certainly won’t wonder why Trent Reznor introduced him as “the most inspiring musician [he’s] ever come across” at last year’s final NIN show. In fact, Garson was both honored and surprised by that statement, as he describes to DJ SLT: “I really, hardly know [Reznor].”