Episode 18: Jon Batiste

Jon Batiste is one of the most exciting young jazz performers around, so it was no surprise to see him on the Colbert Report earlier this year, leading his band (Stay Human) and the entire audience (including Colbert) in a parade out of the studio and into the streets of New York.

Born in Kenner, Louisiana into a musical family, Jon started performing as a young boy - singing and playing drums with his family band. He describes his childhood as a kind of duality between his normal suburban life, and the exposure to live music that he got with his family band. “It was like: You see the people out there. We’re doing a show so when it’s your turn I want you to give it all you’ve got.”

Jon’s solo project encapsulates his approach. After recording a couple of traditional piano jazz records in the mid 2000s – when he was still only in his late teens and early 20s – he started to look for new ways to reach his audience and connect with people. He says he wanted to put the music “in life” – so you have this experience with music that you’ll never forget.

He refers to this as “Social Music”. He says, “I think that Social Music isn’t a genre. It’s an approach and an evolution of music. This is where we are. It’s not something I constructed. I’m basically articulating what I think everybody feels already.”

This interview was very transformative for me personally. I like Jon Batiste so much, the way he plays, the way he carries himself, his sense of personal style and his overall conception. He’s still in his 20s but he’s so aware of the tradition and his place within it, and so optimistic about the power of music in the world. I just can’t stop thinking about our conversation.

Stream below or download from iTunes. 

Episode 17: Adam Dorn (Third Story vs. Compared to What Conversation)

Adam Dorn, musician, producer and composer, got his start early. Encouraged by his father, legendary record producer Joel Dorn, Adam left his home in Philadelphia when he was still in high school to pursue a life in music. Over the years, he has worked as a session musician on countless records, and as a producer for other artists. His solo project, “Mocean Worker” came about almost by accident, the results of a series of half-serious recording sessions. Since the release of his first album, Home Movies from the Brain Forest, the style has varied from a drum 'n' bass sound to a jazz-oriented dance sound that some call Electro-Swing, incorporating elements of funk, big-band and swing.

Earlier this year, along with his partner Charlie Hunter, Dorn launched his own podcast called “Compared to What”, which features long form casual conversations with musicians and creative friends. Sound familiar?

I suspected we would have a lot in common, and I was eager to sit down with Adam to talk. We agreed to use the conversation as an episode for both podcasts, so in fact the Third Story is a guest on Compared to What, and vice versa. These are exciting times!

This was a truly free flowing conversation - at times it behaved like an interview, and at other times more like a chat over coffee…Strong coffee. We covered a lot of ground, including our personal experiences growing up in the shadow of music business fathers, learning how to play and produce, electronic music, music education, and generally “going after” what you love.  It’s an honor and a pleasure to share this episode.

 http://comparedtowhatpodcast.com

Stream it here or download it from the iTunes music store. 

Episode 16: Janis Siegel

Janis Siegel was born in Brooklyn and fell in love with the pop music of her day – doo-wop, pop, girl groups and folk music. She began her professional singing career when she was 12 years old, and was already a seasoned professional by the time she finished high school.  Her early career sounds like a movie script: singing back up on pop records when she was a teenager, hanging out on the West Village scene in the late 1960’s, dropping out of nursing school…
 
A chance meeting with a singer / New York City taxi driver named Tim Hauser would lead her to join the vocal group The Manhattan Transfer. The group soon became enormously successful, and they still endure today. They’ve recorded over 20 records, won 10 Grammys, collaborated with some of the most exciting artists around, and influenced generations of new singers.
 
Janis has also maintained a solo career since the early 1980’s. Her most recent solo record, “Night Songs” was released in 2013 on Palmetto Records.
 
Here she talks about her career, the importance of following what you’re passionate about, and the mysterious qualities of four-part vocal harmony.
 
www.janissiegel.com

Stream it here or download it from the iTunes music store. 

Episode 15: John Ellis

Saxophonist John Eliis grew up in North Carolina, in a family that valued the arts and creativity, but also surrounded by what he refers to as “country people”. He attended high school and part of college at an arts academy in North Carolina before moving to New Orleans, and eventually settling in New York city, about 15 years ago.

He works regularly as a sideman with other jazz artists including Dr. Lonnie Smith, Miguel Zenon, and Darcie James-Argue. He’s the kind of musician who brings real energy and enthusiasm to a project, and also a real sense of his own personal identity

John has also recorded a number of albums under his own name, and with a project he has called “Double Wide”. His most recent solo project, called MOBRO, is a long form narrative collaboration with playwright Andy Bragen, was released earlier this year.

Ellis returns again and again to the importance of where he came from, and how the people he saw growing up influenced his values as an artists. He also discusses the advantage of being isolated when he was learning to play, and the importance self study in jazz. In many ways, it seems that being somewhat isolated and finding jazz very much on his own is what helped him to find his own sound and musical voice.

www.johnaxsonellis.com

Episode 14: Greg Holden

Greg Holden is a Brooklyn based British singer-songwriter. He moved to New York in 2009 and quickly became part of the songwriter scene, appearing regularly at Rockwood Music Hall, and opening for larger artists including Ingrid Michaelson and A Great Big World.

Holden's song "Home" was recorded in 2012 by American Idol winner Phillip Phillips and became a huge hit, selling over five million copies and influencing many subsequent songs by other artists. 

We talked just as Greg was finishing his new solo album, which is set to be released in March, 2015. Here he talks about growing up in England, working dead end jobs and dreaming of America, coming to New York, dealing with failure, confronting success, and ultimately moving forward again. 

www.gregholdenonline.com

Stream it here or download it from the iTunes music store. 

Episode 13: Michael Hearst

Michael Hearst is a multi-instrumentalist, composer and writer. He relocated to Brooklyn from Richmond, Virginia in 2001, and quickly became part of a burgeoning creative scene in Park Slope. Since then, Michael has developed a number of intriguing, inspired, curious, and collaborative projects, often with his band One Ring Zero, and more recently as solo endeavors. He often collaborates with unlikely partners, including novelists, chefs, and…ice cream trucks.

His most recent release, a book/CD combination called “Songs for Unusual Creatures” features music inspired by some of the world’s weirdest animals. Like many of his projects, “Creatures” engages a previous musical masterpiece in a dialogue. In this case he takes his cue from Camille Saint-Saëns’ 19th century musical suite “Carnival of the Animals”.

In our conversation, Hearst speaks candidly about his creative process, his personal path, and his childlike curiosity about almost everything.

www.michaelhearst.com

Stream it here or download it from the iTunes music store.

12: André De Shields

André De Shields is an actor, dancer and singer with a career spanning over 40 years. He first came to national attention in 1975 when he was cast in the title roll of The Wiz on Broadway (a roll he helped to develop and create). Since then, he's been a mainstay on the Great White Way, as well as in television, film and regional theater. 

Here, André talks about growing up in Baltimore in the 1950s, coming through the 1960s before settling in New York in the early 1970s. But along the way, he delivers an incredible amount of knowledge, wisdom, history and personal philosophy. 

We begin the conversation by discussing André's appearance on the front page of the the New York Times Arts section, which happened to have been the day before we sat down to talk.

Stream below or download from iTunes.

Episode 11: James Farber

James Farber is a Grammy Award winning recording and mixing engineer. He started his career in the mid 1970s working at the legendary Power Station studio in New York (now the site of Avatar Studios). After a stint working with Nile Rogers, he went out on his own as a freelance engineer in the 1980s. Since then, he's been one of the most highly respected and in demand engineers in New York, specializing in jazz and improvised music. Although he's made hundreds of records for notable jazz artists, some of longest standing relationships have been with Joe Lovano, Brad Mehldau, John Scofield, Dave Holland, Joshua Redman, and the late Michael Brecker. 

Here he talks about getting started in the record business, the aesthetic and professional choices he makes, the evolution of recording technology, and much more. 

Episode 9: Rob Mounsey

Arranger, composer, keyboard player and producer Rob Mounsey has been a steady studio cat since the mid 70s when he was discovered playing in a Boston bar band and invited to move to New York. Since then, he's worked with many of the greatest artists of the time - the list is too long to place here, but suffice it to say that he's worked on a lot of records you've heard. 

Here he talks about his personal discovery of music as a young man, his career path (or lack thereof) and his general outlook on music and life. He also considers the impact of Zen Buddhism on his process, as well as visual arts, food, and a general sense of compassion - both musical and personal. www.robmounsey.com

Stream it here or download it from the iTunes Music Store. 

Episode 8: Jesse Harris, singer, songwriter, guitar player

Jesse Harris is a singer, songwriter, guitar player and producer who has been walking the line between jazz and pop since he got started in the mid 90’s.

While he was on a road trip with a friend, he stopped in Denton, Texas to visit some other musician friends of his, and happened to meet Norah Jones, who was still a student. The two became friends and ended up starting a band together after Norah graduated and moved to New York.

That single chance encounter in Texas would prove to be an incredibly important one for both Jones and Harris. Jesse contributed five songs to Norah’s debut album “Come Away With Me” and won a Grammy for his song“Don’t Know Why”.

Subsequently, he has released a dozen albums as a solo artist, and produced nearly the same again for other artists. Here he talks about his early musical development, his experience pre and post success, and the state of the business as he sees it today.  

Stream above or download it from the iTunes Music Store.

Episode 7: Tatum Greenblatt

Jazz trumpeter Tatum Greenblatt knew what he wanted to do from the first moment he heard the sound of Freddie Hubbard playing on the “Ugetsu” album by Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, when he was just a boy. Here he talks about growing up in a jazz house, his early musical mentors, and his general philosophy about professionalism in music. 

I’ve said it before and I’ll probably say it a few more times: Tatum is one sharp dressed cat. www.tatumgreenblatt.com

Stream above or download it from iTunes. 

6: Jo Lawry, singer songwriter

Jo Lawry grew up in Australia in a family that valued music and study, and she started playing music very early. By the age of 13 she had already appeared in Les Miserables and was embarking on a musical journey that would ultimately lead her to New York.

Although she intended to have a career primarily as a jazz singer, one of the real turning points for her professionally came when she was called to audition for a tour with Sting. Since that call in 2009, she has toured and recorded extensively with him.
 
Here she talks about that journey, how she came to sing with Sting, appear in the Oscar winning documentary “20 Feet From Stardom”, and embrace her own songwriting. 

There are some real pearls of wisdom in her story. Some of them deal with big picture questions regarding education,  professionalism, and desire. And some of them are just simple truths, like the importance of checking your junk mail folder and buying a round of drinks. 

Stream above or download it from the iTunes Music Store.

5: Matt Pierson, record producer

Matt Pierson is a record producer, and for many years he was a record executive. He started at Blue Note records, and then was in charge of jazz at Warner Bros for over a decade. That tenure ended in the early 2000s, and subsequently he has emerged as one of the few successful  independent jazz record producers around.

As the record business changed in the early 2000s, Matt left his job at a label and ultimately became an independent producer. I was particularly interested to talk with him about how he sees the roll of the producer in the new DIY universe of crowd funding and direct-to-fan marketing. Not surprisingly, he has a lot of ideas about the business today. His personal experience (starting out as a musician, working in record stores, moving to New York and working at Blue Note Records, eventually running Warner Bros jazz, leaving and starting over in a new way) also tells a larger story of what happened to the business of jazz, and in telling it, he delivered some real gems. www.mattpierson.net

4: Michael Thurber, bassist, CDZA founder, composer

This week's episode features bassist, composer, performer, and all around feel good guy Michael Thurber. We had an extremely candid and relaxed conversation about his early musical education, his move to New York, a debilitating injury that forced him to drop out of Juilliard, and ultimately overcoming that obstacle. 

Among many other things, Michael is one of the founders of CDZA, a collective that makes experimental music videos. You can see those videos here. 

A modern version of Shakespeare's "Antony and Cleopatra" - for which Michael wrote the musical score - is currently being staged at The Public Theater in New York.

Stream it here or download from iTunes.

Episode 1: Will Lee

Will Lee might be best known as the bass player in the CBS Orchestra on the Late Show with David Letterman. Since moving to New York in the early 70's, Will has been a mainstay on the scene, playing on hundreds of records - many of them hits! Here he talks about growing up in a musical household, moving to New York in his late teens to join the band Dreams, his illustrious recording career, and his journey to overcome addiction. 

Throughout it all, he says he "never paid one due" because he always loved the music. Will's latest record "Love, Gratitude and Other Distractions" was released in 2012. 

Stream above or download from iTunes.