New Sounds Archive
August 2005
August 2005 New Releases
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
It's that time of the month again for the new releases show on New Sounds. John Schaefer carefully sorts through the stacks, bins, and boatloads of new CDs that have been piling up on his desk during the past month of vacation. Expect a new twist in music from Boubacar Traore, high energy slammin' from Slavic Soul Party, and perhaps we'll also hear from guitarist/composer Benjamin Verdery. Listen for selections from Jenny Scheinman's new album, and maybe something from Matt Darriau's Paradox Trio as well. Fun game: where's the desk?
Choral Music
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
This New Sounds program samples a bit of choral music, with works that draw upon the Odyssey and the ancient folk songs of Estonia to a work based on a portion of the life of Mohandas K. Gandhi. Listen to David Bedford’s interpretation of the seductive feminine charms of the singing temptresses in “The Sirens,” part of a larger work inspired by scenes of Homer's poem, featuring a female choir. Also, there’s music by Veljo Tormis, his “Curse Upon Iron,” a suggestive symphony for voices, which uses glissandos, shouts, shrieks, and percussive singing together with shaman drum. At the work's climax, the chorus sings about nuclear warheads and plutonium as it imitates the hair-raising sound of an air-raid siren. Rounding out the show is music from the Philip Glass opera, Satyagraha (a Sanskrit word meaning 'truth force'), which deals with Mahatma Gandhi's early years in South Africa and his development of non-violent protest.
Sharp Wire
Monday, August 29, 2005
Hear duo music from London on this edition of New Sounds. Ditchburn’s “Lower London” is a pilgrim’s progress through and under London, while Sharp Wire also blends words and music. London lads Matthew Sharp and Pete M. Wyer perform excerpts from their theatre piece "Adam's Apple," and other music with cello and guitar in the WNYC studio.
Campfire New Sounds
Sunday, August 28, 2005
Spooky stuff is in store on this New Sounds program. Hear an hour of musical ghost stories for the campfire, featuring portraits of vampires, devilish hauntings, and spiritual encounters. There’s music from Gary Lucas’ uncanny score for the silent film “The Golem”, “The Vampire’s Ball”, an eerie song by Iva Bittova, and Phil Kline’s “Premonition”, a work for 25 boombox tape players. Plus, hear Byrne and Eno’s “The Jezebel Spirit”, and more ghoulish fare.
New, Unusual Pop Songs
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Coming up on this edition of the show, we're serving up pop songs – New Sounds-style. Listen to Finland’s premier jazz group, Trio Toykeat (their name means “rude ones”) doing David Bowie’s Starman, while pickin’ whizzes Sam Bush (who has played mandolin on the records of everyone from Allison Krauss to Garth Brooks) and David Grisman (Jerry Garcia’s occasional sidekick in a project called Old & In The Way) do a bluegrass cover of of Sam & Dave’s soul classic “Hold On, I’m Comin’”. Plus, hear versions of Radiohead songs by Christopher O’Riley, Russell Donnellon, and others.
Vaults: Hijaz Mustapha
Friday, August 26, 2005
For this edition of New Sounds, Hijaz Mustapha, the founder of the 3 Mustaphas 3, visited the WNYC studios for this 1990 program, (our last From the Vaults program in the series.) The witty ringleader of the London-based world music band talks in an indeterminate accent about his music and the traditions around the world that he’s stolen from. He also talks of fez-essentialism, refridgerator smuggling, and of course, music-making with the versatile (yet fictional) family Mustapha.
Vaults: Korean Treasures
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Music from Korea is the focus of this 1991 New Sounds program From the Vaults. Peter Gordon, the American sax player, composer, and bandleader, spent a year in Korea, becoming conversant in the striking classical music of that country and learning to play the piri, the Korean oboe. He demonstrates the instrument and shares some recordings of Korea’s “national living treasures.”
Vaults: Najma Akhtar
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
For this 1990 New Sounds from the Vaults, Najma Akhtar, the UK-based singer, presents selections from her then brand-new CD, Qareeb. Najma is one of the very first artists to have created a fusion of Jazz and Indian Ghazal, doing updated arrangements of these ghazals (love songs and spiritual songs), along with traditional bhajans and the occasional Bollywood hit. Although she did not receive formal training in Indian classical music, Akhtar learnt the harmonium and vocal technique with Ustad Naeem Solaria. As a completely unrelated aside, she is also a graduate in Chemical Engineering.
Vaults: A Koto Armada
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Listen to a live performance of contemporary music written for koto, the classical zither of Japan, on this New Sounds program From the Vaults. This 1990 show features a bold and serene articulation of a work for koto & bass koto by the Kazue Sawai Koto ensemble. In a piece called "Homura," this virtual aramada of kotos approximates fiery swells and crashes, along with peaceful ebbs and flows. Plus, some music for the birds by Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara, and more.
Vaults: Gyuto Monks of Tibet
Monday, August 22, 2005
The Gyuto Monks of Tibet together with their "spokesperson," composer Philip Glass, visited the WNYC studio for this New Sounds From the Vaults. Listen to the traditional chanting of the sutras with their voices, accompanied by short and long trumpets that look like alpine horns, along with percussion. This 1995 live performance features some of the striking ritual music of this otherworldly Tibetan choir, which has also worked with Philip Glass, Mickey Hart, and other Western musicians. Music from the Philip Glass opera Satyagraha, based on a portion of the life of Mohandas K. Gandhi, rounds out the show.
Hearing Solar Winds Reissued
Sunday, August 21, 2005
On this New Sounds program, David Hykes joins John Schaefer in the studio to celebrate the CD reissue of the groundbreaking work "Hearing Solar Winds". These are the original recordings with the Harmonic Choir, revised, and digitally re-mastered by the composer. The unique space of the resonant Thoronet Abbey amplified the overtones and multiplied the sound of each voice, and the otherworldly-ness of the harmonic chant is pure, refined, and chilling.
A Jazz/Medieval Mass
Saturday, August 20, 2005
A quirky reworking of a medieval mass by the early-music vocal group, the Orlando Consort, and the modern jazz quartet, Perfect Houseplants takes center stage on this edition of New Sounds. From the CD Ex Tempore 2, this modern Mass for the Feast of St. Michael is based on the medieval chart-topping melody L'homme armé. The result is somehow not a conceptual crossover train wreck, but an imaginative adventure in wedding these styles which are five centuries apart. Take early polyphony’s vocal harmonies in parallel motion, together with composed jazz (featuring saxophone and prepared piano), and then remember that improvisation was just as essential to medieval music as it is to modern jazz.
Vaults: Turtle Island String Quartet
Friday, August 19, 2005
Regular visitors to New Sounds since the day the group was formed, the quirky, genre-blurring Turtle Island String Quartet stopped by for this edition of New Sounds. In this 1989 From the Vaults program, the Turtle Islanders talk about American painters, John Coltrane, and world domination with host John Schaefer. And - oh yes - and they perform some of the music that they were working on at the time, live in the studio.
Vaults: Glass & Moran
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Bach, Handel and Scarlatti walk into a bar - and they have a drinkdown smackup fight about whose music rocks harder...or well - something like that. Hear composer Robert Moran tell tales from the stage on this 1993 Vaults show, featuring performances from the New Sounds Live concert series. Moran’s music then takes center stage with singer Thomas Bogdan and pianist Harry Huff, performing a set of beautiful Baroque songs. Plus, on the first half of the show, pianist Margaret Leng-Tan resurrects a forgotten work by a young Philip Glass, called “How Now.” It’s one of the first works written for the Philip Glass Ensemble, and one which requires great stamina and concentration.
Vaults: More New Sounds Live
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
This June 1997 New Sounds From the Vaults show is taken from three different performances from the New Sounds Live concert series. Listen to the Palestinian-born, Brooklyn-based oud player Simon Shaheen plucking a piece called Samai Nahawand. Then the cello/percussion duo of Maya Beiser and Steven Schick play that very work by Shaheen, along with a piece by new music composer Nick Didkovsky. Plus, hear “Life Is Good, And People Are Basically Decent,” music by Jay Cloidt as played by the electric guitarist and composer Paul Dresher, with his electroacoustic band.
Vaults: Max Roach & Uptown String Quartet
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Legendary drummer and composer Max Roach plays his 4-part inventions for drum kit, recorded on location as part of the New Sounds Live concert series. Look forward to some participatory drumming by the audience on this 1994 From the Vaults New Sounds program. Plus, daughter Maxine Roach and the rest of the Uptown String Quartet play their infectious blend of jazz, funk and new music.
Vaults: Live Horns and Guitars
Monday, August 15, 2005
From a New Sounds Live concert at Town Hall first broadcast in 1992, hear music from Bach to rock, with stops at jazz, surf music in between, as well as some serious funk horn-playing on this From the Vaults edition of the show. First off, Saturday Night Live band member and Tower of Power horn section headmaster Lenny Pickett leads the Borneo Horns, laying down some sweet funk-a-licious groove. The second half of the show contains none other than the California Guitar Trio, as introduced by the venerable leader of the Guitar Craft school and rock guitarist Robert Fripp.
Musical Machines
Sunday, August 14, 2005
There’s desert music of a sort on this New Sounds program by California-based composer (and painter) Carolyn Yarnell. Listen to her multi-media piece, “The Same Sky,” whose conclusion was inspired by a walk in the Tunisian desert, looking up at the sky. During performances, the majestic rolling clouds she saw are projected inside the piano’s lid. Also on the show, a churningly vivid work by Todd Reynolds, “uh… it all happened so fast,” as performed by the string quartet Ethel from their recently released debut CD.
Eurofolk
Saturday, August 13, 2005
We're serving up a pretty kettle of goulash on this edition of New Sounds. Hear melodies and rhythms rooted in Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and the North, with contemporary ensemble arrangements of traditional tunes from Hungary, Russia, Sweden and Bulgaria, to name a few. Listen for Nordic sounds colliding with the Bulgarian as the group Farmer’s Market serve up their self-dubbed “speed-Balkan-boogie.” Then there’s the Swedish trio Frifot’s plucky energetic hardinger fiddle and bagpipe neo-folk. Also on the program is the chamber music of Makam, where the elements of ancient Hungarian folk music meet classical, contemporary, jazz and rock.
Vaults: Mickey Hart
Friday, August 12, 2005
For this New Sounds from the Vaults from 1991, Mickey Hart, the longtime Grateful Dead percussionist, discusses his music and the sounds from other traditions that have inspired him. Hart has been one of world music’s earliest and most visible champions - and on this program, he presents selections from Egyptian drummers to the Gyuto Monks.
Vaults: Two-fer
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Two bandleaders joined John Schaefer for this December 1993 From the Vaults show: John Lurie and Bachir Attar. Lurie is the founder/leader of the Lounge Lizards and a noted solo artist, TV personality, and painter. Attar is the leader of the ancient group of Moroccan healers known as the Master Musicians of Jajouka, first brought to the West by the Rolling Stones and William S Burroughs. This New Sounds brings you two conversations about two unusual careers.
Vaults: Leo Kottke
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Guitarist Leo Kottke sat in with host John Schaefer for this April 1994 From the Vaults show. Kottke, the hero of 6- and 12-string guitarists everywhere, is also a fabulously entertaining storyteller. Tonight we hear some of his tall tales and short songs, like the one about the torpedo fuel in the baguette, and music for Paul Bunyan.
Vaults: Accordion Songs
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
This New Sounds from the Vaults features at least one familiar voice – that of David Garland, host of WNYC’s “Evening Music” and “Spinning on Air.” Back in 1988, he appeared on “New Sounds” as a composer/songwriter, and for this program, performed live with one certain accordion virtuoso (and composer) Guy Klucevsek. Together and separately, the two play songs about leave-taking, love, and expectancy, while trying to pinpoint the color of David Garland's accordion for the radio listener.
Vaults: With Sheila Chandra
Monday, August 08, 2005
The Anglo-Indian singer Sheila Chandra began as a popular TV star with a hit song, but developed an interest in early music, world music, and the role of women in traditional music. For this New Sounds from the vaults, Sheila Chandra presents selections from her studio recording, “Weaving My Ancestors’ Voices,” which had just been released back in July of 1993. Her work on this record is a captivating blend of several different bhajans, or devotional songs from India, which uses just voice and drone, while somehow exploring an entire harmonic spectrum.
Tin Hat Trio Live
Sunday, August 07, 2005
Up on this New Sounds is a program featuring music performed by the Tin Hat Trio, together and apart, recorded live at Merkin Hall in September 2003. Hear twisted chamber-punk snippet songs from Tin Hat violinist Carla Kihlstedt and her band, along with tangos from klez-land and other tunes by the trio's brilliant keyboardist, Rob Burger, and his extraordinary ensemble. Also look forward to performances by the full trio - joined by their guitarist Mark Orton - from this New Sounds Live concert.
Hiroshima Remembered
Saturday, August 06, 2005
For the 60th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, listen to music written to commemorate the occasion, including a work by Raphael Mostel written for the lantern-floating ceremony on the banks of the Ota River in Hiroshima.. Also, hear Toshiya Sukegawa's 'the eternal morning 1945.8.6,' along with Krystof Penderecki's "Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima." Plus, music by Jocelyn Pook, and more.
Vaults: New Sounds in Frankfurt
Friday, August 05, 2005
Listen to performances from the Women of the Calabash, a trio of women who drum, dance and sing, on this New Sounds program from the vaults. Recorded on location in Frankfurt, Germany during the 1992 New Sounds Live concert series, the Women of the Calabash shared the bill with the Turtle Island String Quartet, and pianist Henry Butler. Hear a set from the Quartet, and then stay tuned for the grand finale jamboree featuring all three artists.
From the Vaults: the "Gogs"
Thursday, August 04, 2005
Since 1995, the Gogmagogs have made it their business to combine dynamic movement with virtuosic string playing in a theatre setting. This multimedia performance troupe are the stars of this 1997 New Sounds program From the Vaults. For this program, John Schaefer was on location at the Bridewell Theatre as part of the City of London Festival for a short afternoon visiting with the “Gogs” and capturing some live performances.
Vaults: New Orleans in Brooklyn
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
The Rebirth Brass Band, together since 1983, is a musical institution among brass bands, often letting loose with heavy funk and inciting dance riots. The Wild Magnolias, a Mardi Gras “Indian” tribe, are another party parade band, whose elaborate costumes recall the dress of Native Americans, complete with feathers and huge headdresses. For this edition of New Sounds, listen a From the Vaults program of shout, party and stomp sets from both the Rebirth Brass Band and the Wild Magnolias recorded live back at the 1994 World Music Festival held at the Brooklyn Academy of Music Opera House.
Vaults: New Sounds in Norway
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
For this New Sounds show From the Vaults, we uncork a show from 1994. It was recorded on location as part a week spent in Norway, where we captured all sorts of fiddles and flutes, ragtime pianists, and even brass bands. Hear live performances from Hardanger fiddler Annbjorg Lien, neo-folk trio Bukkene Bruse, guitarist Knut Reiersrud, pianist Morton Gunnar Larsen, and more.
From the Vaults - For the Kids
Monday, August 01, 2005
This "From the Vaults" show is from the New Sounds Live concert series, which originally aired on June 20, 1996, and featured live performances recorded from the stage of the BAM Opera House. Listen to traditional Celtic reels along with an infectious Celtic pop tune from the Irish-American rockers Black 47, a thunderous performance from the Brazilian “chamber” samba band Pe De Boi, and a set from the Moroccan group Zahar which featured Hassan Hakmoun. This concert was actually recorded at one of the special daytime “kids” concerts, and artists got to play their music for a bunch of enthusiastic kids. And adults.
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