The Third Story with Leo Sidran

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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 below or download from iTunes.