The Third Story with Leo Sidran

I woke up on the road in Paris the morning after the American Presidential election and saw the results. Then my father and I had this brief conversation. Nearly one year to the day after we lived through a terror attack in Paris, we found ourselves back in the same place. Only this time it was not our personal safety that had been placed at risk. It was something that felt somehow much larger. Last year we recorded a podcast conversation describing what it felt like in Paris on the night of November 13th. At the heart of the conversation this time are the questions: is it immoral under certain conditions to choose to be happy? What is our responsibility as musicians in the face of serious adversity? What do we say to ourselves, the people we love, and the world around us now??

Singer Kurt Elling has been one of the most influential, respected and popular jazz singers on the scene for 2 decades. As the New York Times puts it, “Elling is the standout male vocalist of our time.” The Washington Post agrees: “Since the mid-1990s, no singer in jazz has been as daring, dynamic or interesting as Kurt Elling. With his soaring vocal flights, his edgy lyrics and sense of being on a musical mission, he has come to embody the creative spirit in jazz.” Here he talks about his process, what motivates him, what Chicago offered him and why he moved to New York.

Singer, songwriter, actor, and independent music writer Ari Herstand on finding an audience. Ari’s forthcoming book, How to make it in the new music business (coming this December), has the potential to serve as the definitive guide for independent musicians as they navigate the constantly shifting landscape of the business today. Here he discusses why he feels this is a great time in the music business, why labels aren’t the Holy Grail for artists today, the value of managers, and finding 1000 true fans. He also outlines his personal career, developing his sound and image. And perhaps most interesting of all, he explains acting from the perspective of a musician.

For over 30 years, Michael Feldman hosted the nationally syndicated radio show “Whad’ya Know”. He built the show and his audience from his home base in Madison, Wisconsin. He loved his audience, and he loved his show. When it was taken off the air earlier this year, he suffered it as a great loss. This week he launches WYK 2.0 – the radio show in podcast form. Here he talks about a life in radio, why he thrives on performing in front of an audience, and why podcasts aren't radio.

Singer songwriter Pat MacDonald grew up in a working class family in Green Bay, Wisconsin with no thought of going to college, but he came of age just as the students were marching on campuses all across the country. He was a gifted songwriter early on. By the time he showed up in the post 60s hippy haze of Madison as a 19 year old musician, he was writing world class songs. He refers to himself at that time as a street urchin. But he was street smart, with a sharp tongue and wit to match it. When Pat, along with his then wife Barbara moved from Madison to Austin, Texas – basically the only place weirder that they could go - they renamed themselves Timbuk3 and put out “The Future’s So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades”.  That song was one of those classic misunderstandings between an artist and his audience. The chorus implied optimism and hope for the future, but the verses revealed a darker truth. In recent years he has become an activist and song-festival creator in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. He's also the owner of the Holiday Music Motel. We spoke recently at his motel about inadvertently writing a hit song, the art of allowing circumstance to rule, the value of mishearing the world around you, the ideal hippy-to-punk balance, and the power of threes.

Engineer and producer Al Schmitt is the embodiment of recorded music in America. He started out as a recording engineer in New York in the late 1940s and has consistently delivered some of the finest music since then. He worked with some of the greatest artists ever to record –Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Duke Ellington, Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley – and he’s still making relevant records. He’s won 23 Grammys - the first one in 1962 for a Henry Mancini album and the most recent in 2012 with Paul McCartney. Here he covers his career in personal, professional and technical terms. From recording big band music and race records in the 1950s to the roll of digital recording in the 21st century, the impact of drugs on the music business, the importance of good personal relationships, and what it feels like to capture magic on tape.

Guitarist Adam Levy is probably best known for his work with Norah Jones. He played with her for years, wrote songs for her, and really transformed from an instrumentalist to a songwriter through his tenure in her band. But by the time he met Norah, he was already well into a career as a sideman and jazz player in San Francisco. Here he talks about his journey from coast to coast and back again, the process of becoming a songwriter, and how he developed his approach as a "content creator".  We also explored what he calls the benefits of the tyrannical record producer, the challenges of writing about loss and pain, and the importance of finding joy in music. As Adam says it: "Don't sit around and wait for something to happen. Make something happen."

Writer Clifford Irving has lived a lot of life and had many loves, but he says his “one true love” was the Island of Ibiza, where he made his life for 20 years starting in the early 1950s.  I spent an afternoon with Irving in Mexico talking about his childhood in New York, traveling the world in the 1950s, becoming a writer, Ibiza in the 1960s, and the elaborate hoax (sometimes called the “Hughes Affair”) for which he is perhaps best known. www.third-story.com

Larry Goldings has been one of the most respected, versatile and working jazz pianists and organists around since he moved to New York in 1986 to attend the (then) brand new New School jazz program. His career has been varied, working with his own trio with drummer Bill Stewart and guitarist Peter Bernstein (a project that started nearly 30 years ago), stints as a sideman with Jon Hendricks, Jim Hall, John Scofield, Maceo Parker, and more recently James Taylor, and session work in LA. Since moving to California in the early aughts, he has worked as a session player with producers including Larry Klein, Tommy LiPuma and Steve Jordan, and artists including Madeleine Peyroux, John Mayer, and of course James Taylor. Along the way he's recorded on over 100 albums as a sideman, released nearly 20 as a leader, and contributed to various film and TV projects.  Here he talks about the scene in New York in the 90s, developing his approach to the organ, the difference between New York and LA, and the importance of humor in his life. www.third-story.com

With nearly 100 people moving to Nashville every day, it has become one of the hot hipster cities in America. Why is this? What does this mean? Does this mean that I should move there too? On a recent weekend trip to Music City USA, I raised this question repeatedly and I got a variety of answers. Uber drivers, bartenders, music managers and restaurant patrons answer the question: should I move to Nashville. www.third-story.com