The Third Story with Leo Sidran

Composer Maria Schneider, Arranger Rob Mounsey, Producer Michael Leonhart, Engineer Al Schmitt, Drummer Bill Stewart, Organist Larry Goldings, Engineer James Farber, and Singer Alex Cuba - all Grammy nominated in 2016 - on the intersection between music and life.

What did it feel like in Paris on the night of Friday, November 13th? From my point of view, it started with a lot of positive energy. I walked into the Sunset jazz club in the Chatelet area, where I was performing with my dad’s quartet, and said hello to some friends who had come to see the show. It was a good crowd, a full house on a Friday night and people were out to have a good time. We played the first set and took our first break. One audience member said something to me about an event that had happened in a soccer stadium in Paris. I didn’t think too much about it. We played the second set. When we finished it was around 11:30pm. My cell phone was starting to fill up with text messages from abroad – something was happening in Paris. I looked at the audience and noticed that everyone was glued to their cell phones, following the news. We still had one more set of music to play. Finally we saw a news alert that some shootings were happening not far from us. I felt an intense need to get out of there. I felt a strong awareness of my own mortality and a feeling of vulnerability that I don’t think I ever felt before. Within a short time, we all came to the conclusion that it would be better to end early than to play the third set. The streets of Paris had already started to clear out. An eerie stillness came over the city, and there was nothing but the sound of sirens in the distance, all night long. This is my conversation with my father, Ben, about our impressions of that night.

Singer-songwriter Becca Stevens has been making music since she was a little girl, singing in her family band, the Tune Mammals. Since moving to New York city for college over a decade ago, she has been a fixture on the jazz and singer-songwriter scenes, working with her own band as well as with some of the most talented and exciting new jazz artists today, including Esperanza Spalding, Ambrose Akinmusire, Jose James, Billy Childs, Taylor Eigsti, Gretchen Parlato & Rebecca Martin. (Stevens, Parlato and Martin have a band together called Tillery.) In 2015 Becca released her third solo album, “Perfect Animal”. We spent a lovely evening at her kitchen table, sharing a bottle of wine and getting to know one another. We talked about how important it is to allow yourself to stay creatively vulnerable and take chances, how to overcome writers block, and the benefits of lack of time when it comes to creative process.

For forty years, Creed Taylor was one of a small handful of jazz record producers and label managers who shaped and defined the sound of jazz recording. Through his work with the Bethlehem, ABC, Impulse!, Verve, and CTI labels, he produced classic albums for countless artists. He introduced us to “The Girl From Ipanema”, “Mister Magic” and showed us “The Blues and the Abstract Truth”. He produced both hits and critically acclaimed albums, and his sound defined an era. He made the history (for us to study), set the bar (for us to dance on), and paved the road (that many are still on). Needless to say, I was very excited to talk to him! We met at his apartment on the upper east side of Manhattan and talked about some of his most memorable experiences. One idea that emerged from our conversation is that you can’t always tell who a person is from the music they make, and people are not always who we imagine them to be.

Howard Levy has one of the most inquisitive musical minds of anyone around. He’s an accomplished piano player, and a musical fixture on the Chicago music scene, but the thing that he’s most known for is his astounding harmonica playing and innovative technique. Here he talks to Leo and Ben Sidran about his journey out of New York, to the city of wide shoulders and open spaces, and how living in Chicago influenced his development, gave him room to think and create, and eventually come to some very special conclusions about the nature of sound, light, rhythm, melody, and maybe even life itself. Oh, and he also explains how the harmonica works and why the Germans accidentally invented the perfect blues instrument.

This week, Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show” begins, replacing David Letterman and starting a new tradition for late night television. Colbert chose young powerhouse pianist Jon Batiste to lead his band, and Batiste in turn selectedMichael Thurber to play bass in the band. I've talked with both Batiste and Thurber for this podcast in the past, discussing their early musical development and general outlook on music today. In celebration of The Late Show's kickoff, I compiled some highlights from our previous conversations, as well as a conversation I had with Will Lee, the veteran Late Show bassist from Letterman's band. I also had a chance to catch up with both Will Lee and Michael Thurber this week to find out what they’re thinking about right now. For Will, after playing for over 30 years on the Letterman show, he feels a new sense of freedom in his schedule and career. For Thurber, there’s a sense of excitement and uncertainty about the next phase of his life and the evolution of the new show. Individually, each conversation offers an enlightening look into the personal journeys all artists take, the difficult choices they must make, and the overall sense of wonder about life that they all share. Taken as a whole, to me they paint an incredibly inspirational picture of how to approach life and art. All three are extremely generous and open people, and their openness, candor and generosity point to a larger truth about success in the arts: when you work on your craft, you are really working on yourself. It’s not that art imitates life; art is life.

The Triangle Trade route connected the old world to the new world, sending slaves from west Africa to the Americas, and goods from the Americas back to Europe and even to Africa. How did it profoundly influence the music and culture of each stop along the way? Bassist Matt Geraghty and Saxophonist Ze Luis have been traveling to port cities (New Orleans, San Juan, Havana) to find out. It's part of their compelling video series, the 21 Trade Winds project. Both musicians have made names for themselves in the jazz and world music communities, Matt with his personal projects, and Ze as a sideman and producer for notable Brazilian artists like Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil. I was struck by the intensity of the experience, and by the general positivity among musicians. I was particularly curious to talk about what effect the experience has had on Matt and Ze’s lives outside of the project. Listen on and hear how, as Zé says, “It’s all about NOW and it’s all about US…and living in the present for long enough is like an addiction.”

Ben Sidran and I spent three days at the Newport Jazz Festival, checking out the music, hanging with musicians and trying to find a lobster roll. During the course of the weekend, we connected with some wonderful jazz personalities, including Jon Batiste, Dr. John, Jason Lindner, Maria Schneider, Jose James, James Carter, Jamie Cullum, David Hazeltine, and Bob Dorough. Each of them helped us to paint the picture of real life as it comes into contact with a career in music.