The Third Story with Leo Sidran

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

How Minneapolis influenced Prince, and how Prince reframed Minneapolis. Paul Peterson (The Time, The Family), Ricky Peterson (Paisley Park producer) and Monte Moir (The Time) tell of their time in the Prince camp.

For this 50th Episode special, bassist and composer Michael Thurber turns the tables on Third Story host Leo Sidran. They explore Leo's musical career (which includes writing songs for the Steve Miller Band as a teenager, co-producing an Oscar winning song, and surviving in the jingle jungle of commercial music), the Third Story podcast, and finding his own path.

Before director Marc Webb was handed the keys to the Spider Man franchise (he directed both Amazing Spider Man movies), he made the 500 Days Of Summer – a film that wove music and image together in a deeply compelling way. Before he made his first feature film, he directed nearly 150 music videos. And before he did any of that, he went to high school with Third Story host Leo Sidran in Madison, Wisconsin. Here he tells the story of how a theater kid from the Midwest went on to make his mark on music videos, and then on the big screen, how he handles the expectations of the job, stays in touch with his creative instincts, and what makes a good director.

As a young girl living in Mexico City, Gabriela Quintero dreamed of living by the beach, playing guitar and taking responsibility for herself. Many years, albums, concerts and collaborations have happened since then, and her band Rodrigo y Gabriela is one of the most highly regarded projects to emerge out of Mexico in the recent past. Her unique guitar technique has inspired guitarists around the world. But for Gabriela the biggest success is the fact that she lived by the beach and plays guitar. Here she tells the story, explains the power of fearlessness and the importance of community.

How did it feel to produce one of the biggest records of all time (Nirvana's Nevermind)? What is the key to great production? How does he listen to new music and what is he looking for in a band? How much of his job is in the interpersonal interactions with people? How much is technical? How did computers change the way he makes records? How has being in a band impacted the way he works with other bands?