On Soundcheck you'll find in-studio performances by everyone from indie rockers to string quartets to jazz ensembles. When artists visit our studios, they are in peak form and often present special tracks, fan favorites and brand-new songs. In case you missed them, here are highlights culled by the Soundcheck staff.
Recently in Live on Soundcheck
Lionel Loueke
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Lionel Loueke was 17 when he first picked up the guitar in his native Benin, in West Africa. A few years later, he was playing and recording with big names in American jazz: first trumpeter Terence Blanchard and then pianist Herbie Hancock. Today he'll perform pieces from his new album, ...
itsnotyouitsme
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Blurring the boundaries between classical and rock music, itsnotyouitsme consists of violinist and countertenor Caleb Burhans and guitarist Grey McMurray. The duo improvises and mesmerizes with techno sounds, but it also draws on Baroque counterpoint and minimalism. They join us for a live performance.
The Borromeo Quartet
Monday, February 08, 2010
With the help of technology, The Borromeo Quartet is pushing the centuries-old traditions of the string quartet into the 21st century. We'll hear about their use of Pro Tools software, digitized sheet music and more. And, we'll hear some "oldies," when they preview an upcoming all-Beethoven concert at the Chamber ...
Allison Moorer
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Allison Moorer began her career as a Nashville-based country artist in the 1990s, but she quickly embraced soul, standards and many other styles. Moorer now lives in New York with her husband, the songwriter Steve Earle, and she's set to release her seventh album, Crows, next week. She gives us ...
Garrick Ohlsson
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Chopin might be Garrick Ohlsson's destiny. In 1970, Ohlsson was the first American to win the International Frederic Chopin Piano Competition. He has recorded the complete Chopin piano works -- twice. Now, Ohlsson is celebrating Chopin's bicentennial as part of a Lincoln Center series. He talks about the celebrated "poet ...
Sofia Tosello
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Sofia Tosello grew up in Argentina listening to local singers, as well as to Brazilian music and Duke Ellington. She moved to New York when she was 18 and went to study with legendary jazz singer Sheila Jordan. She’ll play live songs from debut album, which mixes the sounds of ...
Toshi Reagon
Monday, January 25, 2010
Toshi Reagon’s parents were part of the Freedom Singers, who fought for Civil Rights in the '60s. Her mother was also a founding member of Sweet Honey in the Rock. Since Toshi dropped out of college to open for Lenny Kravitz’s tour in 1990, she has written songs that mix ...
Jónsi Birgisson Live
Thursday, January 21, 2010
The latest solo album from Jónsi Birgisson won't be released until March, but the Sigur Rós frontman has been letting fans watch him create Go with frequent updates to his website. The distinctive vocalist gives us a look into his new album with an in-studio performance.
More: Jónsi meets ...
More: Jónsi meets ...
Dawn Landes
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
A stint in Paris left its mark on Kentucky-born songwriter Dawn Landes. The sound of French-pop greats Serge Gainsbourg and Françoise Hardy haunt her new album Sweet Heart Rodeo. But Landes' lyrics also draw on her grandmother's love life, a British seaside town and even Jodie Foster's role in "Taxi ...
Los Lobos Live
Friday, January 15, 2010
The American Chicano rock band Los Lobos has won three Grammys by mixing styles and genres like rock and R&B with Mexican norteños. The band’s principal songwriters, David Hidalgo and Louie Perez, talk about their creative process and play an acoustic performance live in our studio.
Quartet San Francisco
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Classical-jazz crossover projects are often well intentioned, but they can also seem forced. But Quartet San Francisco has found success in jazz standards -- as well as tango, funk, pop and blues tunes. The string quartet joins us today to share a Grammy-nominated CD that focuses on the compositions of ...
Richard Alston
Monday, January 11, 2010
Richard Alston is considered by some to be the best British modern dance choreographer in history. He joins us in light of the New York premiere of his piece Movements from Petrushka, whose score is a piano arrangement of original ballet by Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. And British pianist Jason ...
Mark O'Connor, John Patitucci and Julian Lage
Friday, January 08, 2010
Celebrated fiddler Mark O'Connor, virtuoso bassist John Patitucci and the young guitarist Julian Lage are joining forces for the first time as equal members of a new trio that explores styles like Western and gypsy swing. The group joins us during their run at the Blue Note for a live ...
Sofia Rei Koutsovitis
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
Sofia Rei Koutsovitis is a composer and singer who was born in Argentina but expanded her music tastes early on. She fell in love with Brazilian music as a child, got into jazz when she moved to the States to study music and ended up working with several Peruvian musicians. ...
Meta and the Cornerstones
Monday, January 04, 2010
The six members of the the Brooklyn-based group Meta and the Cornerstones fuse Afro-pop, hip-hop, rock and soul. The band's Senegalese-born leader, Meta Dia, sings in English, French, Wolof and Fulani. He and the group join us to play songs from their debut album, Forward Music.
Lisa Moore
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Don Byron was named a finalist for this year's Pulitzer Prize in Music for his piece "Seven," a sometimes bluesy, sometimes cheery, always surprising collection of seven short piano pieces. Lisa Moore, the pianist he wrote them for, plays some of them live in our studio.
Garage A Trois
Monday, December 21, 2009
You might have a hard time taking seriously a group that calls itself Garage A Trois. But their new album Power Patriot reveals this 10-year-old jazz-rock outfit means business. The quartet includes the keyboardist Marco Benevento - best known as half of the experimental jazz act Benevento Russo Duo. They ...
Anonymous 4
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Since 1986, the women of Anonymous 4 have been leading interpreters of medieval chant and polyphony. They've even branched out into Renaissance and sacred American folk music. Today, they return to their bread-and-butter repertoire with a live preview of The Cherry Tree, a holiday program consisting of medieval English carols ...
Heiner Goebbels
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Pianos play themselves, objects are moved by robots, and water fills the stage. Composer and director Heiner Goebbels joins us in the studio to talk about Stifter's Things, his latest adventure in stretching the boundaries of live performance.
