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March 2004

Bill Smith, aka William O. Smith

Friday, March 26, 2004

Don't let his average-guy name fool you; there's nothing average about clarinetist and composer Bill Smith! Now in his 78th year, Smith has spent more than half a century connecting musical worlds and extending the possibilities of his instrument.


The Robert Wyatt Interview

Friday, March 19, 2004

Back in 1968 David Garland asked his big brother to take him to a Jimi Hendrix concert. Opening for Hendrix was the British group Soft Machine, and after hearing that band's experimental approach to song, David's never been the sameĀ—a new world of music was suddenly possible.


An hour of instrumentals, an hour of songs

Friday, March 12, 2004

The instrumentals are first, taking us from the moody electronics of "Chips" by Chib, to the acoustic drama of The Bad Plus performing The Pixies' "Velouria," and from Ensemble Modern playing "Revised Music for Low Budget Orchestra" by Frank Zappa, to young guitarist Kaki King banging musically on her instrument. Our songs offer drama and subtlety. The drama comes from three NYC-based singer/songwriters who stretch songs into new shapes: Amy Kohn; Yvette of Birdbrain; and Natalie LeBrecht of Greenpot Bluepot. The subtlety comes from Summer at Shatter Creek, a one-man band that crafts beauty from electric piano and voice. Plus a few songs from Sufjan Stevens' new release "Seven Swans."


Sufjan Stevens

Friday, March 05, 2004

Young songwriter, singer and multi-instrumentalist Sufjan Stevens visits to share his CD "Michigan." The album is an affecting and impressive blend of simplicity and complexity, and through its various songs it tells of lives lived in a beleaguered and beautiful state. Host David Garland considers the CD one of the best he's heard in quite some time. In addition to guiding us through "Michigan," Stevens will tell us about his background and his intention to write and record an album for each of the fifty states. Plus, Sufjan brings in his banjo and guitar to perform some new songs live in the WNYC studio.