Podcasts about wbgo

On the May 31 WBGO Journal, we pay tribute to the late jazz drummer Al Foster and WBGO's Dave Popkin chats with blues singer and guitarist Marcia Ball

On the May 17 WBGO Journal, we took a look at NJ Transit's first strike in more than 40 years and WBGO's Gary Walker chats with pianist and educator Eli Yamin

Part 1:We talk with Cameron Joseph, who is s a senior Washington reporter for The Christian Science Monitor.  Prior to that, he was a freelance reporter with work in publications including The Guardian, The Columbia Journalism Review, the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and Politico Magazine. He previously was a staff reporter for VICE News, Talking Points Memo, the New York Daily News, The Hill, and National Journal. He's covered Washington since 2009, with most of his career focused on elections, Capitol Hill, and the White House. He is a recipient of the 2023National Press Foundation Dirksen Award for distinguished reporting on Congress and the 2020National Press Club award for excellence in political journalism.We discuss the increasing more authoritarian aspect of the current administration. Trump ignores the rule of law, and has essentially taken control of the media, which do not correct his statements. Congress is completely dysfunctional.Part 2:We talk with Robert Hennelly, who is an award-winning print and broadcast journalist focusing on labor, public health, national security, the economy, public finance and the environment. He is the New York City Hall reporter for Work-Bites and his weekly Monday morning radio program on WBAI closely tracks the latest local, regional and national labor movement news. Hennelly is also a regular contributor to InsiderNJ,  Salon, the Village Voice, Raw Story and City & State. For over a decade, he was a reporter for WNYC covering New Jersey, New York and national politics. For several years, he was also the City Hall reporter for the Chief Leader newspaper, and a regular contributor to WBGO, the NPR jazz affiliate in Newark, NJ. His work has appeared in the New York Times, the Christian Science Monitor, the Miami Herald, the Detroit Free Press, CBS Money Watch, and dozens of other publications both in the United States and overseas.His book Stucknation: Can the US Change the Course of Its History of Choosing Profits Over People was published in 2022 by Democracy@Work.We discuss the arrest of Mayor Baraka of Newark, NJ. The Gestapo tactics used during an occasion when the mayor was performing his official duty are disturbing.  

On the February 15 WBGO Journal, we get the latest on HSA's new Dizzy Gillespie Jazz Academy and WBGO's Emily Springer chats with esperanza spalding about her Blue Note residency

On the special one-hour December 14 WBGO Journal, we hear about drones, music and golf

On the November 2 WBGO Journal, WBGO's Dave Popkin chats with legendary guitarist and singer-songwriter Warren Haynes and we'll here about a new version of the emotional play Nat Turner's Last Struggle

On the October 5 edition of the WBGO Journal, guitarist Stephane Wrembel talks about his new projects and WBGO's Jon Kaish takes us to a unique synagogue in Finland

On the September 14 WBGO Journal, host Doug Doyle has in-depth chat with singer Ms. Lisa Fischer and WBGO's film critic Harlan Jacobson checks in the from Toronto International Film Festival

An episode featuring some of the best moments from the WBGO podcast As We Speak with David Sanborn, including conversations with Sonny Rollins, Pat Metheny, Kurt Elling, John McLaughlin and more.

Hosted by Pat Prescott, host of Favorite Things, weekdays from noon-4 on WBGO and long-time Sanborn collaborator, Marcus Miller.The podcast features anecdotes from David's friends, family, and collaborators, including:His long-time manager and friend, Pat RainsDavid's co-host for the Night Music TV show, Jools HollandDavid's wife, musician Alice SoyerTrumpeter Randy BreckerBest-selling author and musician James McBrideProducer Stewart LevineTerri Lyne CarringtonDave KozThe podcast also features the world premiere of a track from David's forthcoming album The Other Side.

New Orleans based artist Sonny Gullage, whose new album ‘Go Be Free' is out 8/23 on Blind Pig records. With a musical heritage tracing back to Lead Belly, Sonny's debut is a vibrant celebration of new blues, featuring a guest appearance by Christone ‘Kingfish' Ingram, who like Sonny, is 25-years-old. Here are the first two singles, a recent performance, and a recent interview with WBGO, who said "The blues are alive and well…It's artists like Sonny Gullage that are carrying the torch." At just 25, Sonny Gullage has crafted a debut that reflects a lifetime immersed in the richness of blues and gospel, influenced deeply by his New Orleans roots and a family steeped in musical tradition. Born with what you might call “blues wisdom,” a mixture of empathy, sensitivity, and keen observational foresight, Sonny has always been an old soul, but he brings a fresh perspective to the blues. His national emergence on American Idol catapulted him into the spotlight, and he's since enthralled global audiences with his formidable voice, masterful keyboard skills, and a refined, engaging style. See less

NYC flutist, composer, Sunnyside Records artist, producer, and clinician, Jamie Baum, has toured the US and over 35 countries performing at major festivals, clubs, and concert halls including the Monterey, Madrid, Oeiras, Bermuda, Edinburgh, North Sea, Winter Jazzfest and London Jazz Festivals, Tampere Jazz Happening, Guimaraes Jazz Festival, Jazztopad, Bimhuis, Unterfahrt, Jazz Gallery, Jazz Standard, 55 Bar, Dizzy's, Blue Note, etc.. She's performed with artists as renowned and diverse as Randy Brecker, Roy Hargrove, Donald Brown, Tom Harrell, Paul Motion, Mick Goodrick and Kenny Barron to Dave Douglas, Fred Hersch, Leni Stern, Louis Cole, Jane Bunnett, David Binney, Ralph Alessi, Ben Monder, Anthony Braxton, Karaikudi Mani, V. M. Bhatt, Navin Chettri and Wadada Leo Smith. Though focusing primarily on jazz, she's been involved in several projects performing classical, new music, Brazilian and Latin music. Receiving critical praise for seven CD's as a leader, with most making several “Best CDs of the Year” lists and four stars from DownBeat, her recently-released What Times Are These received five stars in DownBeat. Inch By Inch (GM Recordings), by the cooperative band Yard Byard: The Jaki Byard Project (w/Jerome Harris, George Schuller), also received four stars from DownBeat. Jamie has appeared on over 40 recordings as a sidewoman including those by Dave Binney, George Colligan, Ursel Schlicht, Frank Carlberg, Patrizia Scascitelli, Taylor Haskins, Monika Herzig, Louise Rogers, Sarah McKenzie, Steve Lampert, Brian Landrus, Laura Andel, Judi Silvano, Shigeko Suzuki, James Hall, etc. Ms. Baum's many awards and grants for composing and touring include the 2022 Cafe Royale Recording Grant, 2021 South Arts Jazz Road Touring Grant, 2020 International Society of Jazz Arrangers & Composers (ISJAC) Covid Relief Commission, Foundation for Contemporary Arts 2020, 2020 Chamber Music America Jazz Presenter Consortium, 2018 USArtists International Touring Grant, 2017 New Music USA Project Grant, and a 2014 Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship. Baum was selected as a 2014-15 Norman Stevens Fellow/MacDowell resident and has since been awarded residencies again at MacDowell (2021), at UCross (2015), and at VCCA (2020). She won the '99 International Jazz Composers Alliance Award, 2010 CAP Award (American Music Center), the 2003 New Works: Creation and Presentation Award and the 2007 Encore Award, both components of the Doris Duke/CMA Jazz Ensembles Project. Ms. Baum has been in the DownBeat Critics Polls annually since 1998, making #1 “Rising Star Flutist” in '12, #2 “Flutist” in '19, and #3 “Flutist” in '20. She was named a "Major New International Talent” in 2015 lists by both “Musica Jazz” and “Jazzit” (Italy), was #2 “Flutist of the Year” in the 2018 Eleventh Annual International Critics Poll and tied for 4th place with Hubert Laws in the 2018 JazzTimes Critics Poll. Jamie was included in Huffington Post's "Twenty-five Great Jazz Flute Performances”, nominated by the Jazz Journalists Association for “Flutist of the Year“ fourteen times, and The Jamie Baum Septet+ was nominated in 2014 "Best Midsize Ensemble" - in the same list with only two other bands -The Wayne Shorter Quartet and Steve Coleman's Five Elements! Media attention for her recent CD, Bridges, and previously released, In This Life, brought features on WBGO's RADAR and NPR's All Things Considered, reviews in The New York Times, DownBeat, JazzTimes, All About Jazz, etc.. and two hour-long feature/retrospectives on major German and Czech public radio shows. Bridges was voted #4 in the 2018 JazzTimes Readers Poll for “Best New Release,” and In This Life was in the "Best CDs of 2013” lists including Boston Globe, iTunes, and Francis Davis' NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll. Recently, Baum was included in the JazzTimes 10: Essential Jazz Flute Albums (2019), 3 Questions for Today's Jazz Musicians by Lilian Dericq, Cricket Publishers (Paris), the “Woodshed” in DownBeat, January 2019, and was the flutist on “The Essence of the Blues -- Flute: 10 Great Etudes for Playing and Improvising, Book & CD”, (Jim Snidero “play-along” series, 2019). Through a highly competitive auditioning process, Jamie was chosen to tour for the DOS/Kennedy Center Jazz Ambassador program from '99 -'03 in South America and South Asia. The US State Department also sponsored later shorter tours, in addition to several isolated US Embassy-sponsored programs while Baum was on her tours in Europe and South Asia. Baum's two main active projects featuring her compositions include The Jamie Baum Septet+, together since 1999, and her Short Stories band marking five years by performing at the 2020 Winter Jazzfest. In addition, she co-leads Yard Byard: The Jaki Byard Project and is involved in several other projects either as co-leader or side-woman, including The Richie Beirach/Jamie Baum Duo and NYC Jazz Flutes. Baum has been on the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music Jazz Arts department at since 2006, on the adjunct faculty roster at the New School University since 2004, and taught at Berklee College of Music (2011-2013). Summer jazz programs Baum has taught composition, improv, and flute technique, and coached ensembles at including the Stanford Jazz Workshop Institute, Litchfield Jazz Camp, Maryland Jazz Camp, etc. A clinician for Altus Flutes/KHS America since 1993, they have sponsored her innovative, pioneering workshop "A Fear Free Approach to Improvisation for the Classically-Trained Musician” TM, "A Fear Free Approach to Composition for the Improvising Musician” TM and “Flute Technique for Doublers” at colleges, conservatories, festivals, flute clubs and “music and art” schools worldwide.  

On Sunday, May 19, WBGO paid tribute to the life and music of our dear friend and colleague David Sanborn, with two hour-long specials.In the first episode, you can hear some of the best moments from the WBGO podcast As We Speak with David Sanborn, including conversations with Sonny Rollins, Pat Metheny, Kurt Elling, John McLaughlin and more.As We Speak with David Sanborn | WBGO

On Sunday, May 19, WBGO paid tribute to the life and music of our dear friend and colleague David Sanborn, with two hour-long specials.In the first episode, you can hear some of the best moments from the WBGO podcast As We Speak with David Sanborn, including conversations with Sonny Rollins, Pat Metheny, Kurt Elling, John McLaughlin and more.

For the second episode, we reached into the WBGO archives for a 2010 interview between the late Michael Bourne and David Sanborn. The two bonded over growing up in St, Louis and their tremendous love and respect for the music, so it's no surprise that their conversation is both informal and insightful.As We Speak with David Sanborn | WBGO

For the second episode, we reached into the WBGO archives for a 2010 interview between the late Michael Bourne and David Sanborn. The two bonded over growing up in St, Louis and their tremendous love and respect for the music, so it's no surprise that their conversation is both informal and insightful.

In this episode of The Truth in This Art, host Rob Lee engages in a conversation with Stevan Smith, a seasoned public media professional. They discuss Stevan's journey in the industry, his love for radio, and the importance of representation in podcasting.

My guest wil be former WCBS Newsradio 880 AM,MSG Network,and ESPN 98.7 FM sports reporter and radio d.j. personality for WBGO 88.3 FM Mr.Bill Daughtry.I'll be talking with him and his career from being a sports reporter for WCBS Newsradio 880 AM to being a radio d.j. personality at WBGO 88.3 FM. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/samuel-wilsonjr/message

New Jersey has a long history with House music. The sound originated in and around Newark in the 1980s, with Club Zanzibar being the hotspot for the developing genre on the dancefloor. A new podcast from WBGO, Black House Black Joy, traces the history of New Jersey House and speaks to some of the artists who were front and center in the movement, like Kym Mazelle. Jamara Wakefield, WBGO Digital Content Producer, joins us to discuss the podcast and take your calls.   *This segment is guest-hosted by Kerry Nolan.

On November 16th, 1992, Tony Bennett sat down for a chat with his friend Michael Bourne at the WBGO Studios. Now, over 30 years later, both Tony and Michael are no longer with us, but the conversation, stored in the WBGO archives all those years, is available for you to hear right now. Special thanks to the American Archive of Public Broadcasting for providing the files.

Jeh Johnson is a partner in the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, LLP and the former Secretary of Homeland Security (2013-2017), General Counsel of the Department of Defense (2009-2012), General Counsel of the Department of the Air Force (1998-2001), and an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York (1989-1991). In private life, in addition to practicing law, Johnson is on the board of directors of Lockheed Martin, U.S. Steel, MetLife, the Council on Foreign Relations, the 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York City, and is a trustee of Columbia University. Johnson is frequent commentator on national and homeland security matters on NBC, CBS, MSNBC, CNN, FOX, CNBC, NPR, Bloomberg TV and other news networks, and has written op-eds in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Hill, Lawfare, and elsewhere.  As of March 2022, Johnson also hosts a classic R&B radio show on FM public radio station WBGO, 88.3FM, based in Newark, NJ.   As Secretary of Homeland Security, Johnson was the head of the third largest cabinet department of the U.S. government, consisting of 230,000 personnel and 22 components, including TSA, Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Services, U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Coast Guard, the Secret Service, and FEMA. Johnson's responsibilities as Secretary included counterterrorism, cybersecurity, aviation security, border security, port security, maritime security, protection of our national leaders, the detection of chemical, biological and nuclear threats to the homeland, and response to natural disasters.  In three years as Secretary of DHS, Johnson is credited with management reform of the Department, which brought about a more centralized approach to decision-making in the areas of budgets, acquisition and overall policy.  Johnson also raised employee morale across the Department, reflected in the September 2016 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey.  As General Counsel of the Department of Defense, Johnson is credited with being the legal architect for the U.S. military's counterterrorism efforts in the Obama Administration.  In 2010, Johnson co-authored the report that paved the way for the repeal of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell by Congress later that year. In his book Duty, former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates wrote that Johnson "proved to be the finest lawyer I ever worked with in government - a straightforward, plain-speaking man of great integrity, with common sense to burn and a good sense of humor."  According to published reports, Johnson provided the opinion that was the legal basis for U.S. special forces to enter Pakistan to kill Osama bin Laden on May 1, 2011.    Johnson is a 2022 recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, a 2021 recipient of the American Lawyer's Lifetime Achievement Award, as “an American statesman [who] has devoted his career to the public interest,” and a 2018 recipient of the Ronald Reagan Peace Through Strength Award, presented at the Reagan Presidential Library, for “contribut[ing] greatly to the defense of our nation,” and “guiding us through turbulent times with courage and wisdom.”  In 2020 the Chief Judge of New York State asked Johnson to conduct a comprehensive review of equal justice in the New York State courts.  On October 1, 2020 Johnson issued a public report with his findings and recommendations, all of which the Chief Judge has committed to adopting.  Johnson has debated at both the Cambridge and Oxford Unions in England, and in November 2019 was conferred honorary life membership in the Cambridge Union.  Johnson is a graduate of Morehouse College (1979) and Columbia Law School (1982) and the recipient of 13 honorary degrees.   Johnson married “the girl next-door,” literally, Dr. Susan DiMarco, in 1994. Susan is a retired dentist, a volunteer at the southern border and in numerous other activities, and, at the request of the U.S. Navy, is the sponsor of the Virginia-class submarine USS NEW JERSEY (SSN-796).  In February 2023, Johnson and his family history were profiled on an episode of PBS' Finding Your Roots. For Jazz fans, tune into “All Things Soul with Jeh Johnson", once a month on Saturdays from 8 – 10 am on WBGO 88.3 FM.   On this episode, Secretary Johnson shares his one way ticket to Birmingham, Alabama on May 20, 1961, to resume the Freedom Rides, and highlights the role they had in the US Civil Rights Movement. During the course of our conversation, he also covers his family history as unearthed by Henry Louis Gates on Finding Your Roots, how he approached managing the Department of Homeland Security, concerns about cybersecurity and AI and his love for classic R&B which he features on his radio show.

In this episode, we begin with UK artist DJ Shy One who explains the technical aspects of turntablism and the creative process of including jazz in her House Music sets. Black House Black Joy producer Shayna Wakefield and WBGO radio host Sheila Anderson, unpack the history of jazz in mainstream culture and its historical parallels to House music as a radical Black music tradition. Dr. Jasmine Henry speaks about the struggles of higher education institutions not accepting electronic music as Black music and how she found purpose and comfort when she places Jersey Club at the center of her research. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/blackhouseblackjoy/message

House music is a cultural force that traveled from underground clubs to influence the biggest acts in pop, and its impact is still felt today. But did you know that Jersey is a big part of the House music story? I am Jamara Wakefield, producer of the latest podcast from WBGO Studios, Black House. Black Joy is an in-depth look at the vibrant world of New Jersey House music through interviews with DJs, dancers, emcees, and activists, the podcast sheds light and artists who have shaped his beloved music from Newark, iconic clubs, and the bar to today's festival scene will explore the history and evolution of House.  WBGO celebrates Black Music Month with the new Black House Black Joy podcast, available now at wbgo.org or wherever you get your podcast.  Follow me on www.Twitter/JamaraProducer --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/blackhouseblackjoy/message

Steve and Mary talk about the connection between sports and leadership with Nick Adubato, Doug Doyle, WBGO news and Sports Director, Host of SportsJam with Doug Doyle, and director Elvin Badger and audio engineer Frank Brown. Then, Steve and Mary are joined by Indu Lew, PharmD, Executive VP, Chief of Staff, RWJBarnabas Health, talking about … Continue reading Lessons in Leadership: Adubato Sports Connection and Dr. Indu Lew

On this episode of the Singers Unlimited podcast, Stacey Kent drops by the WBGO studios for a conversation with host Michael Bourne, and a live performance from Stacey and her band.

When drummer Antonio Sanchez released his album Bad Hombre back in 2017, he was responding to a few events that took place in his world at the same time.  On a political level, the music was a response to the racism of the Trump campaign against Mexicans. In fact the title of the record Bad Hombre seemed to be an answer to Trump's assertion that a wall needed to be built at the US Mexican border in order to get the “bad hombres” out of the US.  An immigrant from Mexico himself, Sanchez reappropriated the phrase. Itseemed, in fact, to be a perfect fit for him because not only did it work as a form of resistance - by using the term he made his feelings clear without having to say too much about it - but it also borrowed from the jazz vernacular. You know, when musicians really respect someone, they will often refer to them as “bad”. And in that context, Antonio Sanchez is definitely a bad hombre. Sanchez moved to the US in his early 20s from his native Mexico to go to music school. One of his first teachers, the Panamanian born Danilo Perez, was a supporter, and their work together was one of the early launchpads for Antonio.  While he was playing with Danilo, the guitarist Pat Metheny heard him, and that led to a musical relationship that has been at the center of his life for 20 years. Sanchez went on to become one of the most sought-after drummers on the international jazz scene. Has won four Grammys, and has been named Modern Drummer's "Jazz Drummer of the Year” three times, and appeared on the covers of all the big jazz magazines.  From early on he thought about drumming, and particularly soloing, as a form of storytelling. He says “I'm a sucker for a good story.” So it was only a matter of time before some great storyteller would find a way to use Antonio Sanchez's drums to help tell a story. And that was exactly what happened when the Mexican film director Alejandro González Iñárritu asked Antonio to do an all drum score for his film Birdman in 2014.  The film went on to win three academy awards and the score earned Antonio awards (including a Grammy for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media) and nominations at the Golden Globe and BAFTA Awards. As significant as the awards and accolades were, maybe more significant was that the sound of Antonio's drumming truly entered the zeitgeist after Birdman. And though he hadn't planned for it to turn out that way, he realized that the level of expectation, curiosity, and even pressure on him to follow up that success with something equally resonant had risen.  So when in 2017 Antonio went into his newly built home studio to record Bad Hombre, he had a lot of psychic energy stored up and ready to use. He made an entirely instrumental solo record, he played all the instruments and did what has become his trademark production work of mixing drones, samples, programming and live drumming. In fact the only collaborator on the record was his nonagenarian grandfather, the Mexican actor Ignacio López Tarso who appears on the first track.  Five years, one pandemic, a few political cycles, and a handful of other projects later, he's back this year with Shift: Bad Hombre Vol. II. This time the list of collaborators is a bit longer.  Somewhere in the dense fog of the pandemic, Sanchez decided to ask some of his favorite singers and songwriters — for material he could deconstruct and reimagine. The result sees Dave Matthews & Pat Metheny, Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, Meshell Ndegeocello, Lila Downs, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Kimbra, Ana Tijoux, Becca Stevens, Silvana Estrada, MARO, Thana Alexa (who is his wife)  & SONICA sitting in on their own tunes — or ideas co written by Sánchez. The idea of “shifting” might not only apply to the songs on Bad Hombre Vol. II, but also to a change in Antonio's approach - In the first Bad Hombre release, he was extremely political. Over the years, his outrage and fury with Trump and the turmoil at the US–Mexican border muted – and Sánchez himself “shifted” how he thinks about what he does, and where he wants to go next.  We talked recently about that search, the same one that started back in Mexico when he was a competitive gymnast, classical pianist and aspiring rock drummer and brought him all the way to where he is today, the Bad Hombre. www.third-story.com www.patreon.com/thirdstorypodcast https://www.wbgo.org/podcast/the-third-story

The brilliant jazz musician, Michael Wolff, is an award-winning, internationally acclaimed pianist, composer, bandleader, and now, author. In a long-running musical career, he's been the musical director for the great Grammy-winning jazz singer, Nancy Wilson, and the award-winning The Arsenio Hall Show. He's also been a member of Impure Thoughts, Wolff & Clark Expedition, and a co-star with his sons, Nat and Alex, on the series The Naked Brothers Band. Michael's life story is detailed in his memoir, On That Note, released in 2022. I've read On That Note and can tell you Michael writes powerfully and movingly about his time in the jazz world, and his many challenging experiences he's had while winding his way toward success in both music and life.Michael made his recording debut with Cal Tjader in the mid 1970's and has since gone on to play and record with some of the greatest jazz musicians in the world, including legends like: Flora Purim and her husband Airto Moreira; Cannonball Adderly; Sonny Rollins, and The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, among many others.He's performed with, and conducted over, 25 symphony orchestras, including those in: Dallas, Fort Worth, Berlin, Atlanta, Memphis and Pittsburgh.Michael's performed at Carnegie Hall, The Royal Albert Hall, Birdland, Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, Snug Harbor and Mezzrow, among hundreds of others in the U.S. and around the world.He's released 21 recordings to critical and popular acclaim. Aside from performing with drummer Mike Clark in Wolff & Clark Expedition, he's also part of a trio featuring Ben Allison on bass and Alan Mednard on drums. Michael also records and performs in conjunction with jazz radio station WBGO at the Yamaha Piano Salon in New York City.Michael's a recipient of the BMI Music Award, the winner of the Gold Disc Award in Japan, and the recipient of the Hamptons International Film Festival's award for best film score for the film, The Tic Code, starring his wife, Polly Draper, Carol Kane, Tony Shalhoub, Gregory Hines and Camryn Manheim. Michael has also composed the scores to other film and TV projects, including The Naked Brothers Band. He also wrote the score for Polly Draper's 2018 film, Stella's Last Weekend.

This April 2021 episode of the WBGO Journal recently won the Best Public Affairs category at the NJSPJ Awards in Princeton

My guest is Bobby Sanabria, percussionist, teacher, musician, multi Grammy nominee and leader of many talented Latin big bands and other configurations over the years. His album West Side Story Reimagined won the Jazz Journalists Award for Best Jazz Album of 2019. Besides his band leader duties Bobby is the host of the Latin Jazz Cruise on WBGO radio. He's here to talk with me about the influence of the Spanish speaking communities on our culture and especially our music. Join us as we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with a look at Bobby's musical life, his influences and his take on the history of Latin music.

On the September 17th edition of the WBGO Journal, we'll find out what NYC and Newark are doing for migrants coming from Texas, we'll hear about the Bobby Sanabria and David Amram's tribute to the late great novelist Jack Kerouac and then Grammy Award-winning producer Carl Griffin remembers his friend, the late NEA Jazz Master Ramsey Lewis

On the September 10th edition of the WBGO Journal, we get an update on some changes for the new school year in New York City and New Jersey, WBGO's Jon Kalish reports on the resurgence of community bands and host Doug Doyle chats with two-time AUDL MVP Ben Jagt of the champion New York Empire

On the September 2nd edition of the WBGO Journal, we find out what has been done in New Jersey and New York a year after Hurricane Ida devastated the area, we'll hear about the 12th annual Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival and we'll find out why actor and comedian Tommy Davidson is launching a new singing career

On the August 27 edition of the WBGO Journal, host Doug Doyle has an in-depth conversation with Jazz pianist Monty Alexander, we pay tribute to the late WBGO announcer and Journal theater critic Michael Bourne and WBGO's Jon Kalish has the latest about musician Andy Statman

On this August 20 edition of the WBGO Journal, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka calls for a citywide Peace Walk to support efforts to create a safer city, WBGO's Kenneth Burns reports on how inflation is impacting Jersey Shore tourism and host Doug Doyle chats with Dr. Augusta Palmer, director of the upcoming doc The Blues Society

On the August 13 edition of WBGO Journal, we'll find out New Jersey and New York's response to the monkeypox virus, there's a campaign to make rooftop solar a solution to energy costs and climate change and the play Port Chicago 50 tells a powerful story

On this August 6 edition of the WBGO Journal, we get an update on the Portal North Bridge project, a discovery in South Jersey that reveals new information about the Revolutionary War and an award-winning chat with documentarian Ken Burns

On this July 30 edition of the WBGO Journal, we learn about the tradition of cantorial music from WBGO's Jon Kalish, film critic Harlan Jacobson reviews Jordan Peele's NOPE and host Doug Doyle chats with the big names in the American Cornhole League

On this episode of the WBGO Journal, Trumpeter Sean Jones talks to Gary Walker about NYO Jazz and we meet two of the filmmakers involved in the Women in Media Newark International Film Festival

On the July 16 edition of the WBGO Journal, the new class of NEA Jazz Masters is announced, WBGO's Gary Walker chats with pianist Bill Charlap about "Jazz in July" and singer and executive producer Melissa Walker runs down the 2022 Montreal Jazz Festival

After a two-year slowdown due to COVID, the Montreal International Jazz Festival came back this year. I had been there a couple times, in and out, as a musician. I went this year to cover the festival's full return for WBGO and The Third Story. When you're a musician at a festival like MJF, the job is actually pretty clear. You get to the gig, play the gig, pack up and go to the next gig. But what does a member of the press do in this situation? I was given a credential badge to wear with the word JOURNALISTE written on it and an assignment to “find the story.” Pretty quickly, a narrative started to reveal itself. Or rather, several narratives, all classics. The story of the young versus the old. The story about the past versus the present. And ultimately, the story of today's community of musicians, what's on their mind as they travel this Silk Road of Rhythm which is the summer jazz festival circuit —from Montreal to Marciac, from North Sea to Umbria and beyond. Conversations with Dee Dee Bridgewater, Bill Charlap, Scott Colley, Aaron Goldberg, Samara Joy, Allison Miller, Gregory Porter, and various concert-goers, festival organizers and locals all helped to fill in the story. Self-expression, politics, social media, technology, and conservationism were all part of the fabric, but the common thread between all of them was one of empathy and communion. “This Music,” as so many of the musicians call it, represents human potential. And humans are complicated beings. But at our core, we are social beings and that is reflected in this Montreal Jazz Festival experience. www.third-story.com www.patreon.com/thirdstorypodcast www.wbgo.org/studios

On this July 9 edition of the WBGO Journal and update on the rise of coronavirus in NYC, commentator Mildred Antenor's reacts the U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, and host Doug Doyle chats with International Boxing Hall of Famer and Brooklyn Native Lou DiBella

The genre has long been filled with tension between mainstream outlets and the spaces in which the music is most likely to grow. Guests: Giovanni Russonello and WBGO's Nate Chinen.

The singer explains why Blue Note Records rejected her first version of the beloved album and shares her original, previously unheard tracks, now released for a 20th anniversary edition of the record.Plus a deep dive on the album with NPR Music's Ann Powers, WBGO and Jazz Night In America's Nate Chinen and host Robin Hilton.

On this episode of the WBGO Journal, we'll hear from saxophonist Antonio Hart about an upcoming event at Flushing Town Hall, Sweet Honey in the Rock co-founder Carol Maillard talks about preventing gun violence and a feature on William Electric Black

When Lionel Loueke was coming of age as a young guitar player in his home country of Benin in West Africa, there were no music stores of any kind. He would have had to travel to Nigeria, the next country over, just to get his hands on some new strings. So he made due with what he had, cleaning and soaking, reusing his strings and even going so far as to tie knots in them when they broke.  Loueke's story is the stuff of legend. After finally getting his hands on a guitar as a teenager, he put together enough technique and understanding to get himself to the Ivory Coast to attend music school, and then managed to get to Paris for further musical study. Eventually he went to Berklee College of Music in Boston, and then to the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance at UCLA in Los Angeles, now called the Herbie Hancock Institute, where he had the opportunity to study and work with luminaries like Hancock, Terence Blanchard and Wayne Shorter. Soon he began to work with those same mentors, appearing on albums by Blanchard and Hancock. Since then, he has gone on to play with an incredible list of the most creative and influential players alive. Today he lives in Luxembourg, teaches at the Jazz Campus in Basel, Switzerland, and in non-COVID times, tours and records relentlessly.  A brief scan of his recent solo work tells the story: In 2019 he released an ambitious album aptly named The Journey — the title referring to his odyssey while also mirroring his musical development. He followed that up in 2020 with a much more intimate album called HH, featuring solo guitar performances, punctuated by vocals and vocal percussion, of Herbie Hancock compositions. And last year saw the widespread release of Close Your Eyes, originally issued only on vinyl several years ago; it's a more loosely structured blowing record of classic repertoire, in musical conversation with bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Eric Harland.   Loueke tells me that after trying as hard as possible to remove the African influences from his playing and sound more like his jazz heroes, he ultimately realized that they were all compatible, and began to reintroduce more of the sounds of his childhood into his approach. The result is a very personal, musical, and emotional sound. I think maybe that's what makes him such an appealing collaborator. His voice is so identifiable and personal, but you can feel the road that he has traveled in his playing.  In fact, he ends up telling me exactly that. “Our story is what we play,” he says, “the story of somebody from the beginning to the time they play; that's what we are presenting.” We spoke recently about growing up in Benin; discovering the guitar, and eventually jazz, by way of a George Benson record; making his way out of Africa, through France, to America; finding his voice and his style; how he sees his contribution as a teacher; and much more. This is the final in a month of encore episodes as part of a new partnership between The Third Story and WBGO Studios. In June, new episodes will drop every other week.  www.wbgo.org/studios www.third-story.com

We're back with another classic episode from the archive in honor of the new partnership between this podcast and listener supported WBGO Studios. All month I'm revisiting some of my favorite episodes from over the years, and starting in June I'll be back with all new fresh episodes. You can find these at www.wbgo.org/studios where you will also discover their ever expanding selection of hipster content. And if you want to dig on the full Third Story archive, you can find that at www.third-story.com where we've always been.  Eric Harland thinks about time. He thinks about taking time, he thinks about giving time, and he thinks about sharing time.  He'll tell you: “Time is a joint effort. It's everybody at once. You want to talk about synergy, alliance, brotherhood and sisterhood? Just watch people getting together and having to play time. So much shows up in that. There's so much judgment, so much blame. But then you get to these points of surrender and ecstasy. Something wonderful happens because you went on this journey together. It's so revealing and it's so fulfilling.” Eric Harland is one of the most in demand jazz drummers of his generation. He has played with everybody. Betty Carter, McCoy Tyner, Joe Henderson, Michael Brecker, Terrence Blanchard, Wayne Shorter, Wynton and Branford Marsalis, Esperanza Spalding, Taylor Eigsti, Julian Lage, Robert Glasper, Joshua Redman, Dave Holland, Chris Potter, Charles Lloyd, John Mayer, and on and on and on. He has appeared on over 400 recordings, and continues to appear at the top of critics' and readers' polls. Plus he once played a solo so intense that it sent my wife to the hospital.  Here he shares his incredible story of growing up in Houston and how he came to weigh 400lbs by the time he was 16 (he eventually lost the weight in college), attending the Manhattan School of Music, becoming an ordained minister, living with singer Betty Carter (“not like that”), learning from legendary mentors, and exploring “time”.  He also shares his thoughts on practice, community, natural wine, and what you can learn about a person by how they drive. 

What do A Tribe Called Quest, David Byrne, The Roots, D'Angelo, Pat Metheny, Erykah Badu, Jason Moran, Me'Shell N'degéocello, India.Arie, J Dilla, Run DMC, and Theo Croker have in common?  They all benefited from the sound of Bob Power's recording, mixing or production.  Bob has had a profound effect on the sound of Hip Hop and modern music in general. Despite the fact that he says “I learned early on from working in television that if someone notices your work, you're probably screwed,” I did notice what he was doing and I think a lot of people did. He has degrees in classical composition and jazz performance, and spent his early professional years both gigging and composing music for television. He was 30 years old and living in San Francisco when he decided to move to where the action was in the music business at the time: New York.  An unexpected gig as a recording engineer for early rap sessions ended up re-orienting Bob's career. He says he thinks he was one of the few people in the recording establishment who took the new music seriously and cared enough to make it as good as possible, even though it was being made in a different way (using samples, drum machines and intuition). He tells me, “Great music is made by people who either don't care or don't understand what is ‘normal' so they do something extraordinary.” And he says, “In popular music, wrong has become right, and we love it.” Talking to Bob, one gets the sense that his contribution has been multi-fold. Part of it is indeed the sound that he gets. It's undeniable that his records have a sound: it's in the depth of his mixes, the way they round and present, deep and forward at the same time. They have dimension. He tells me, “Just being able to hear everything in a mix is a lifetime of study.”  But the other part of what he offers in the room is his way. It's his personality. Bob is happy to talk about his technical approach, the way he thinks about recording, mixing, and mastering. But he is equally happy - maybe even more so - to talk about pop sociology, Marshall McLuhan, Malcolm Gladwell, Timothy Leary and larger cultural trends of the the last 50 years. He says, “The state of the art in electronic media, the bar is very high. So making things fluid in the creative atmosphere is the thing.”  Bob teaches at NYU and it would seem that teaching and producing are related to him. He tells me, “I want my students to see that there's all different flavors of good.” And he says, “A lot of artists want to show all the different things they can do. No! Show the one thing that you do that is totally yours and no one else can do, and then find every way in the world to exploit and enrich that.” We got together in his studio back in February of 2020 to talk about history, technology, fat beats, staying in your lane, and keeping things fluid.  This is the third in a month of encore episodes as part of a new partnership between The Third Story and WBGO Studios. During the month of May, you'll find another episode from The Third Story archive at wbgo.org/studios and then in June, new episodes will drop every other week.  www.wbgo.org/studioswww.third-story.com

Jason Moran is so prolific and multifaceted that any attempt to summarize his career poses a daunting challenge. Now think about what it's like preparing for a conversation with him. He's a composer, conceptual artist, educator, and public intellectual with a critical disposition — critical in the sense of challenging the status quo, while still respecting the accomplishments of his mentors. First and foremost, he's a piano player who straddles avant-garde jazz, the blues, classical music, stride piano, and hip-hop. In other words, he's just an incredibly thoughtful person. Moran is interested in reframing and reassessing the relationship between music, history, and place. When we spoke for this episode of The Third Story, in the spring of 2020, he was in the midst of curating an exhibition at the Louis Armstrong House Museum. Given that fact and what was happening at the time, I was particularly interested to know how he was dealing with social distancing and isolation. Our conversation is both a snapshot of that moment in time and a sweeping consideration of many of the larger themes in his work. Among other things, he talks here about coming up in Houston among a generation of jazz innovators; the idea of truth versus passion; promoting the “Freedom Principle”; America's unfortunate way of forgetting the past; what it means for African American musicians to move freely “from the stage to the table”; the power dynamic within choosing repertoire; what Thelonious Monk and KRS-1 have in common; what we still have to learn from Louis Armstrong; and what it means to be the “personal embodiment of your history.” This is the second in a month of encore episodes as part of a new partnership between The Third Story and WBGO Studios. During the month of May, you'll find another episode from The Third Story archive at wbgo.org/studios and then in June, new episodes will drop every other week.  https://www.wbgo.org/podcast/the-third-story www.third-story.com

Before he reigned supreme at the Grammy Awards, before he was an Oscar-winning composer (for Pixar's Soul), before he was bandleader for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and well before he'd become one of the rare jazz artists considered a household name, Jon Batiste was simply a rising star of the piano, making what he called “social music.”  Batiste hails from Kenner, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans. He was born into a musical family, and thrust into the mix at an early age, singing and playing drums. At around 11, he switched from drums to piano, and never looked back. Eventually he moved to New York to go to Julliard. But while he was still in New Orleans, he studied and played with Alvin Batiste, who he says taught him to “Be you, even if it's the most obtuse thing. Do that rather than imitate something else...” And that original lesson has guided him throughout his life and career. While he was still in school, Batiste started to work as a sideman for jazz artists including Abbey Lincoln, Roy Hargrove, Cassandra Wilson, and Wynton Marsalis. He learned about leadership and collaboration from all of them.  And it's in this space of artistic awakening in his 20s, when he begins to assert himself fully, that we find him in this episode. Recorded in 2014, our conversation tells Jon's origin story, his early influences and experiences, his philosophy of music and of leadership.  This episode also marks the beginning of a partnership between The Third Story and WBGO Studios. During the month of May, you'll find another episode from The Third Story archive each week at wbgo.org/studios and then in June, new episodes will drop every other week.  www.wbgo.org/studioswww.third-story.com