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This December 5, 1986 episode of New Sounds looks at a wide swath of contemporary composers who have explored new ways of extending the musical possibilities of the human voice. We hear pieces using extended vocal techniques, as in the overtone singing of David Hykes and the Harmonic Choir. Others incorporate sampling, delays, and other electronic manipulations, like Alvin Lucier's 1969 electroacoustic classic "I Am Sitting in a Room," and Scott Johnson's "John Somebody" (1982) for electric guitar, woodwinds, percussion, and tape. Insider footnote: Program No. 005 was the first thematic show to air nationally (New Sounds was heard nationally on NPR from 1986-1997). View the Playlist.

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Program No. 056

In this April 21, 1987 show, John visited pianist Keith Jarrett - not in the usual confines of the WNYC studios, but on Jarrett's front porch near the Delaware River in New Jersey. Jarrett discusses his 1986 two-disc set "Spirits," in which he plays flutes, recorder, saxophone, tabla, guitar and yes, even the piano. We also hear some selections from his ECM release, Invocation/The Moth and the Flame. View the Playlist.

Program No. 213

The hauntingly beautiful and intricate music of the African pygmies has been an inspiration to many Western artists, including Meredith Monk, the Dave Holland Trio, Jon Hassell and Brian Eno, and others across the spectrum. In this January 24, 1989 edition of New Sounds, John presents a sampling of these works along with original field recordings from pygmy villages. Many of these are rare finds - the kind of recordings found only on LP anthologies nestled in academic libraries (and collected by the Nonesuch label in its "Explorer" series during the 1970s). View the Playlist.

Program No. 220

Ever since its U.S. debut at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 1982, the Penguin Cafe Orchestra has been a regular guest on New Sounds. In this February 2, 1989 program, John welcomed the entire seven-piece orchestra, led by the late Simon Jeffes, to the WNYC studios for a live performance. We learn that the PCO was not named after a real cafe in London, as was often suggested, but was the result of a dream-like vision Jeffes experienced during a severe bout of food poisoning in the Summer of 1972. Musical highlights include "Air a Danser," "Paul's Dance," and "Giles Farnaby's Dream," among other tunes.
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Program No. 353

Film scores might not seem likely fodder for arrangements, but in this September 8, 1989 episode New Sounds showed why they are. The show begins with a sampling of Walt Disney film classics interpreted by the likes of Sun Ra, Harry Nilsson, Tom Waits, and others. John takes us along with interpretations of scores by the legendary Italian composers Nina Rota and Ennio Morricone, thd latter of whom helped pioneer the "Spaghetti Western" style for the films of director Sergio Leone. Morricone was later esteemed by such modern music stars as John Zorn, from whom we also hear in this whirlwind program. View the Playlist.

Dapper John: The host in the early days of New Sounds.