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Only a handful of contemporary jazz pianists can play Harlem Stride, the sound of Fats Waller, James P. Johnson and Willie “the Lion” Smith. Very few of them play Stride on a regular basis. Pianists Mike Lipskin and Terry Waldo are two of today’s better known practitioners, and they join us today to discuss a new one hour film documentary about Willie “the Lion” Smith. Also: New Yorker business writer James Suroweicki stops by to discuss the time-honored—and dishonored—practice of payola in the radio business. Payola became a household word in the fifties, when a host of DJs were found to be playing songs in exchange for favors and money. Today there are other tactics record companies get their songs on the air, including subsidies, gifts, “research funds” and “spot buys.”
Additional Resources:
» Willie “the Lion” Smith biography
» James Suroweicki on Paying to Play