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Lester Young (right) and his band play WNYC's American Music Festival, Feb. 15, 1941. (Harry Rubenstein)Prez: Beyond Billie and Basie
Saxophonist Lester Young spent his early years in a traveling carnival and earned his chops in Kansas City dancehalls. Today on Soundcheck, we look at the life and music of jazz legend Lester Young. And later: Few New York bands have a Tony Award winner in their ranks. The jumpy, jittery folk-punk quartet Old Springs Pike talks about life on different stages and performs live in our studio. And later: a violist works with young Native American composers.
The Soundcheck staff is in Berlin! Read about our adventures on a new blog, Soundcheck: On Site - Berlin.
(Pssst ... Our weeklong Berlin series begins Nov. 5!)
The Life of Lester Young
Author Dave Gelly, jazz critic for The Observer, explains how a traveling carnival, Kansas City and a stint in military prison helped shape Lester Young, one of jazz music's giants. He is the author of "Being Prez: The Life and Music of Lester Young."
Young Minds, New Ideas
A radio diary from Ralph Farris, viola player from the string quartet Ethel, on the challenges of working with young composers on a Native American reservation. This story was produced by WNYC's Beth Fertig.
Old Springs Pike
Folk-punk quartet Old Springs Pike plays live in our studio, in advance of tonight's 11:30 p.m. performance at Joe's Pub.
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Join us Tuesday, Nov. 10 at The Greene Space
Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, stars of the romantic indie film Once, will debate which is more powerful: a love song or a breakup song. And: live music from Grammy winning violinist Joshua Bell and Cuban stars Tiempo Libre.
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The Ill Effects of Urban Noise
Soundcheck
Soundcheck received an overwhelming response to our segment on the effects of urban noise. So much so that Arline Bronzaft decided to address the feedback. Listen to the original segment and read Bronzaft's response.
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