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December 2004

Music From the Land of 10,000 Lakes

Friday, December 31, 2004

John Schaefer welcomes Garrison Keillor to Soundcheck today for a conversation abut celebrating 30 years of music making and story telling on one of radio's most beloved programs, A Prairie Home Companion. And he'll speak with cellist Anja Lechner and pianist Vassilis Tsabropoulos about the 19th century mystic and composer G.I. Gurdjieff.


Guilty Pleasures

Thursday, December 30, 2004

Richard Barone, the former front man for the Bongos, joins guest host Anthony DeCurtis to talk about favorite musical guilty pleasures. You may not admit you listen to songs like "Total Eclipse of the Heart" or "Eye of the Tiger," or "Solid as a Rock" —but we know you do. We’ll open the phones to find out what your guilty pleasures are..


A Dayna Life

Wednesday, December 29, 2004

Guest host Anthony DeCurtis welcomes two inventive singer-songwriters who rise above the pack. Amos Lee is a native Philadelphian whose musical style draws influence from several American traditions, from the soul of Bill Withers to the folk sound of John Prine and Dave Van Ronk. He’s just signed with Blue Note Records, after having been the opening act on Norah Jones's European tour. We get a taste of what critics call his "sly, easygoing voice." Also on the show is New Jersey singer Dayna Kurtz. Her music is not easy to categorize (inspired by everyone from Ray Charles and Tom Waits to Nina Simone and Prince) but it’s never dull. Her new CD features a duet with singer Norah Jones and a performance by the string quartet Ethel.


Beethoven's Ninth Symphony

Tuesday, December 28, 2004

What is it about Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony that makes it such a mainstay of big, celebratory occasions? On New Year’s Eve, the New York Philharmonic will revive a time-honored tradition of performing the work. Today, conductor and commentator Robert Kapilow joins guest host Anthony DeCurtis to investigate its enduring significance.


Ballads, Rags and Writers

Monday, December 27, 2004

The ballad has been part of American history since before the country had a name. In a new book titled The Rose and the Briar: Death, Love and Liberty in the American Ballad, co-editors Sean Wilentz and Greil Marcus have assembled various writers and artists—Paul Muldoon, Stanley Crouch, R. Crumb, John Rockwell, Luc Sante, Joyce Carol Oates, Dave Marsh, and more than a dozen other experts—to explore the ineffable power of the American ballad. Today, Marcus joins us to shed some light on what he argues is America's most imaginative and expressive musical form. Also on the program: singer Meredith Monk joins us to discuss her tribute to the ragtime piano great, Donald Ashwander.


Joy Story

Friday, December 24, 2004

Millions of people know the tune, if not the words, of at least one traditional Christmas carol. But how many are totally aware of what they’re singing about? What does “I saw Three Ships” really refer to? Who was “Good King Wenceslas?” In fact, many of these carols are embedded with all sorts of references to archaic words and ancient customs. Today, host John Schaefer parse them with British journalist Andrew Stewart, who recently wrote about this in the BBC Music Magazine. Also: a visit with the soprano Heidi Grant Murphy. She’s been a regular presence in New York ever since she won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in the late 80s, and recently she has applied her shimmering voice to an album of Christmas favorites.


Snow Job

Thursday, December 23, 2004

Irving Berlin’s "White Christmas" has been covered by such eclectic artists as Doris Day and The Flaming Lips. Music journalist Jody Rosen explored the song's birth, initial reception and rise to popularity, along with its greater cultural significance in the book White Christmas: The Story of An American Song. He joins us to shed some light on the Christmas classic.


Painting by “Numbers”

Wednesday, December 22, 2004

Last year, saxophonist Branford Marsalis made a CD titled “Romare Bearden Revealed” to accompany a Bearden retrospective at the National Gallery in Washington, DC, and that is now on view at the Whitney Museum. Performing with his quartet, Marsalis paid tribute to Bearden's remarkable collages of blues and jazz musicians by arranging songs that had inspired the artist. Today, Marsalis talks with host John Schaefer about his relationship to Bearden, whom he befriended in the 1980s. Also on the show is the artist Kehinde Wiley, whose portraits of African American men combine elements of hip-hop culture with an Old Master's influence. The juxtapositions are often striking: quasi-religious imagery mixes with images of modern-day b-boys in full hip-hop garb. Wiley joins us just as the Brooklyn Museum of Art presents the first museum exhibition of his works.


Label Maker

Tuesday, December 21, 2004

Naxos, the low-budget, high-volume classical record label, has been one of the few success stories in an embattled corner of the record industry over the last decade. The company is quietly expanding its reach in the music world, and a major new project has it commissioning, recording, and promoting a series of ten new string quartets from the British composer Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. But is the label (or its artists) making any money? Justin Davidson, classical music critic of Newsday, drops by to shed some light on the topic.


The Longest Night

Monday, December 20, 2004

Born of black, white, and Puerto Rican heritage, singer-songwriter Garland Jeffreys has been penning insightful lyrics about race and politics since the 1970s. His many influences range from punk-minimalism to reggae to the street-corner a cappella of his native Brooklyn. Today on Soundcheck he shares stories about his Coney Island childhood and musical career with host John Schaefer. Imani Uzuri is a composer and songwriter for the 21st century—she’s put together a holiday solstice party featuring jazz pianist Vijay Iyer and guitarist Marvin Sewell.


Critics Gone Wild

Friday, December 17, 2004

Joining us in the studio today will be Peter Schickele, inventor of the fictitious P.D.Q. Bach (the last, and the least, of J.S. Bach’s children). He’ll read some passages from the book Lexicon of Musical Invective: Critical Assaults on Composers Since Beethoven's Time, for which he wrote the foreword. A collection of disparaging reviews of debuting artists who were later considered to be some of the greatest composers of their eras, the Lexicon highlights the absurdity of our fears of the unknown. Following Schickele, Rick Moody, author of Demonology, Garden State and The Ice Storm, among other works, joins us with his "Second Spin"—a regular Soundcheck feature in which our guests reveal some of the recordings that inspire them most.


Battle of the Saxes

Thursday, December 16, 2004

There’s a time-honored tradition in jazz known as the cutting contest—or “battle”—where two musicians will get up, and go head to head and see who could do better. Today on Soundcheck, we’re joined by two members of Jazz at Lincoln Center: alto saxophonist Wess "Warmdaddy" Anderson and tenor saxophonist J.D. Allen—who will stage a battle for us in the friendly but musically intense confines of WNYC performance studio. Tune in to see who wins! Also: In the midst of enjoying her fifteenth anniversary as artistic director for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Judith Jamison takes the afternoon off to come by the studio. Jamison will discuss the influence of Alvin Ailey on the connections between dance and music. She’ll also touch on some of the season’s highlights, including the premiere of one of Jamison’s own works and the revival of several of the masterpieces of Alvin Ailey himself.


A Winter’s Tale

Wednesday, December 15, 2004

New Age maestro Paul Winter joins us in the studio on the eve of his twenty-fifth annual Winter Solstice celebration. Held at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the evening brings together jazz fusion with back-to-the-earth spiritualism that should stir even the most jaded soul. If that doesn’t, surely the effects will (a spinning Christmas tree, a gong player perched high in the air, a free-floating globe). Also visiting the studio will be Linda and Michael Hutcheon, to discuss their new book Opera: The Art of Dying.


Welcome to the Nut house

Tuesday, December 14, 2004

For millions of Americans, it just wouldn't be Christmas without seeing a production of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker. Surprisingly, the ballet never really took off in Russia, its country of origin. It was first performed in St. Petersburg in 1892, where it was panned by the local critics. Nevertheless, it’s become a national institution in North America, being performed with hula dancers in Hawaii, cowboys in Arizona, and ice-hockey players in Winnipeg. Today, Jennifer Fisher, a Los Angeles-based dance writer and author of “Nutcracker Nation,” joins us to shed some light on this timeless holiday classic. We’re also joined by Terry Teachout, drama critic for the Wall Street Journal and music critic of Commentary. He discusses the most famous Nutcracker production of the last 50 years, that of the New York City Ballet.


Pulling No Punches

Monday, December 13, 2004

Today, trumpeter and Jazz at Lincoln Center artistic director Wynton Marsalis returns to the Soundcheck to discuss his collaboration with lyricist Diane Charlotte Lampert titled "Suite for Human Nature," which had its world premiere at the Washington Performing Arts Society last week. Host John Schaefer will touch on another of Marsalis’ recent projects: the music for the latest of Ken Burns’ films, Unforgivable Blackness, a documentary on Jack Johnson, the first Black Heavyweight Champion of the World. Marsalis will be followed by Abdel Salaam, founder and artistic director of the Forces of Nature Dance Theatre.


Debating Christmas Music and Public Places

Friday, December 10, 2004

Controversy and religious political correctness have been mixed up in the winter holidays for a long time now. How much Christmas music is it appropriate to perform for a diverse audience? How far should we go to ensure that nobody takes offense at religious overtones or repertoire? These issues have recently been brought to a head in the school district of Maplewood/South Orange, N.J., where a high school brass band no longer plays even instrumental Christmas music. Host John Schaefer examines the wider implications of this new trend in today’s show. Also, we’ll be joined by Joseph Polisi, President of the Juilliard School and recently named Musical America’s Educator of the Year. He’ll discuss his new book The Artist as Citizen (to be published in January 2005) in which he focuses on the roles of artists in their responsibilities and capacities as citizens and nurturers of social awareness.


Running with the Devil

Thursday, December 09, 2004

The story of Faust was made into a critically acclaimed silent film in 1926. Nearly eighty years later, Philip Johnston has written an original score to accompany the film. Faust and its new score will be featured at Merkin Hall this week. Today we have Philip Johnston in the studio with us to discuss his unusual inclusion of song in his original score, and to perform for us live in the studio. Also on the show is Arturo O’Farrill, whose pet project, Riza Negra, is playing at Birdland this week. Riza Negra brings together performers from different musical worlds, combining their styles to create a new sound with an emphasis on world rhythm.


Holiday Music that Isn't Cheesy?

Wednesday, December 08, 2004

The holiday season in New York invariably mean more than the tried and true Christmas songs. Yale Strom is famous for his study and revival of klezmer music and has written a book about his travels through Eastern Europe. He’ll be reading excerpts from his book, entitled “A Wandering Feast: A Journey Through the Jewish Culture of Eastern Europe,” and performing songs with his co-author Elizabeth Schwartz at the B’Nai Jeshurun synagogue this week, and today he’ll be joining us with a preview. Also tune in for Flo Wiley, the host of Black Beat New York on WHCR (90.3 FM), who’ll be in to give us a heads-up on Black Christmas celebrations taking place around the city.


Off the Injured Reserve

Tuesday, December 07, 2004

Soprano Dawn Upshaw has been a lucky woman this year – aside from her remarkable recovery from a throat ailment that had her sidelined, she is the first singer to have her own Perspectives series at Carnegie Hall (which includes a workshop in which young singers and composers are paired off to write and perform new vocal works, all under Upshaw's watch). She also has a new CD on Nonesuch titled Voices of Light that's been earning rave reviews, and we'll hear some excerpts as she joins us today. She’ll be followed by Soweto Kinch, whose debut album Conversations with the Unseen (Dune Records) has been hailed by critics in England and is starting to catch jazz enthusiasts’ attention in the States as well. A self-taught alto saxophonist, Kinch combines straightahead jazz with hip-hop to create a funky, unique fusion of the two.


African-Americans fill Orchestra Seats - Slowly

Monday, December 06, 2004

In classical music, African-American singers and conductors have become more visible over the years. But some concert-goers are asking: Where are the black orchestra musicians? Joining us to discuss this disparity is Aaron Dworkin, founder and president of the Sphinx Organization. The Sphinx Organization is a Detroit-based organization which hosts an annual competition devoted to increasing participation of African-American and Latino string players in the orchestra field. The organization has its inaugural gala concert at Carnegie Hall on Wednesday evening, featuring top alumni from its seven-year history.


A Hard Hobbit to Break

Friday, December 03, 2004

One of the more remarkable stories of the orchestra world this season has been the success of Howard Shore’s “The Lord of the Rings Symphony,” a two-hour, six-movement work created from the movie scores he wrote for the three installments of Peter Jackson's film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's trilogy. So far the symphony has been performed by orchestras in more than 40 cities around the world and this weekend, it will be performed by the New Jersey Symphony. Today, Shore tells host John Schaefer how he wrote the piece using Tolkien's invented languages (including ''Elvish'' and ''Dwarvish''), and with exotic instruments like an Irish whistle, pan flute, and a Hardanger fiddle, chosen to help evoke a mythical world of the past.


The Call of the Weill

Thursday, December 02, 2004

Critics have called singer Ute Lemper a “world-weary femme fatale” and a “modern-day Dietrich.” Those descriptions are not underserved, as she has carved out a niche as today’s leading contemporary interpreter of European cabaret classics by Weill, Eisler, and other composers. Such songs were once the domain of singers like Marlene Dietrich, Edith Piaf and Lotte Lenya, and there are many who say that Lemper has recaptured the Weimar-era decadence they once inhabited. Today she treats us to a live performance in the WNYC studios. Also on the show is composer, singer and actress Alessandra Belloni. She recently wrote and directed The Voyage of the Black Madonna, a musical production based on her extensive research into the worldwide legends of the Black Madonna.


Zimmermann Unbound

Wednesday, December 01, 2004

Bob Dylan (a.k.a. Robert Zimmermann) recently published the first installment of his memoirs and it's already climbing the best-seller list. Today on Soundcheck, we’re joined by two critics named Alex with two very different takes on this new tome: Alex Ross, music critic of the New Yorker and Alex Abramovich, a rock critic who is currently writing a history of Rock n’ Roll. In 1999, both critics followed Dylan around the U.S. on tour, and have amassed many insights into this famously enigmatic singer-songwriter. What does this new memoir tell us about Dylan’s live and music? Tune in and find out. Also on the show is music critic Gene Santoro, whose new book Highway 61 Revisited, examines how jazz -- not just the musical style, but jazz's distinctive ambiance and attitudes -- have shaped nearly every wing of American popular music, from blues and folk to psychedelic rock and hip hop.