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.
Daniel Levitin is a neuroscientist, musician and author. His books “This Is Your Brain On Music” and “The World In Six Songs” are both best sellers, and are both must reads for anyone interested in music and the brain. He teaches psychology and behavioral neuroscience at McGill University in Montreal. Dan stopped by on a recent evening to hang out, and ended up recording a spontaneous episode, in which he tells some anecdotes he has collected from his own personal research and musical journey.
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Michael Leonhart is a multi instrumentalist, arranger, producer and composer. He's also from a musical family - both of his parents are jazz musicians, as is his sister. However, his interests and his music are diverse and eclectic. Here, he talks about growing up in New York, his early development as a trumpet player - including some of the physical limitations he dealt with along the way, and some of his most notable projects (like co-producing Donald Fagen's most recent album).
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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.
