Radio & Podcasts
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Reflections on Clyde Stubblefield
by Leo Sidran
Reflections on the life and legacy of Clyde Stubblefield, often called the world's most sampled drummer or “the original funky drummer," on the occasion of what would have been his 78th birthday. Including interviews and live recordings with him going back to 1972. This episode features conversations with Clyde and Ben Sidran, anecdotes about Clyde's life and work with James Brown, Grant Green Jr., and Otis Redding. Also, a meditation on the way mythology and oral history operate ...
Continue ReadingLeila Cobo: Decoding Despacito
by Leo Sidran
Before she became a journalist, writer, novelist, television show host, and the editor of Latin music coverage for Billboard magazine, Leila Cobo played the piano. She moved from her home in Colombia to New York to study classical piano at the Manhattan School of Music. Music was her mode of transportation.Eventually she channeled her love of music and her understanding of Latin music and culture into writing, and today she's one of the most important advocates for Latin ...
Continue ReadingBob Reynolds: Running The Changes
by Leo Sidran
This year musicians and creative people have had to confront themselves, their work, and their ambitions head on, and Bob Reynolds is no exception. But unlike so many of us, Bob already had some mechanisms in place to process that struggle in a creative way. Bob is a Grammy Award-winning saxophonist, composer, and educator known for his work with Snarky Puppy, John Mayer, Larry Carlton, and 12 solo albums. He is no stranger to large stages and tour busses. At ...
Continue ReadingBoz Scaggs: It's Like Magic, What We Do
by Leo Sidran
Just hearing the name Boz Scaggs evokes a feeling. It's a hip, laid back, soulful, approachable feeling. It's a southern thing. But it's a San Francisco thing too. He is, as his most recent record proclaims, Out Of the Blues. But he's played his share of rock and roll, r&b, and even jazz too. When Boz hit it big in the late '70s with his record Silk Degrees, he was already knee deep in the swamp, with a ...
Continue ReadingCovid Chronicles, Vol. 1: Reunion Episode
by Leo Sidran
In March 2020, just as the world was closing under the advancing cloud of Covid 19, I spoke to a handful of musician friends from around the world to hear how they were doing and to explore some of the pressing questions around the shutdown and the arts.One year later, I check in with (almost) all of them to hear what the last year has been like for them, what were the challenges and opportunities of the first ...
Continue ReadingEric Harland: Time is a joint effort
by Leo Sidran
Drummer Eric Harland tells his incredible story of growing up in Houston and how he came to weigh 400lbs by the time he was 16 (he eventually lost the weight in college), attending the Manhattan School of Music, becoming an ordained minister, living with singer Betty Carter during the last year of her life, learning from legendary mentors, and exploring “time." He also shares his thoughts on practice, community, natural wine, and what you can learn about a person by ...
Continue ReadingBilly Martin (aka Illy B) On The Nature Of Art And The Art Of Nature
by Leo Sidran
Billy Martin (also known as Illy B) is many things. He's a visual artist, a filmmaker, a teacher, a builder, a composer, a record producer... But if you know his name, chances are it's from his band Medeski, Martin and Wood, a project he's had for 30 years now along with bassist Chris Wood and keyboardist John Medeski. Billy refers to his artistic approach as playful and he is committed to the idea of play and experimentation in ...
Continue ReadingWho Is Louis Cole
by Leo Sidran
Multi instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, arranger, video maker, surrealist, funk monkey, producer and personality Louis Cole on where he came from, what he's doing now, and where he hopes to go. Along the way he touches on writing “nostalgic music that feels almost like a memory of something that never happened," overcoming fear, being a better person, staying up late into the weird part of the night, “insanity music," money, honesty, humor, the problem with 100bpm, YouTube Poop, the spirit of ...
Continue ReadingCory Henry: In the moment, of the moment
by Leo Sidran
Keyboard master and singer-songwriter-bandleader Cory Henry on his early development playing music in church, learning to make music on Saturday night and on Sunday morning, how losing his parents at a young age affected his life and career, his experiences playing with saxophonist Kenny Garrett (Cory toured with Garrett at age 18), Snarky Puppy, and The Funk Apostles. Along the way he gives a master class on some of his favorite Gospel music, and an introspective explanation of much of ...
Continue ReadingBrian Krock: Advocating for True Value in Humanity
by Leo Sidran
Musician, bandleader-arranger-composer, and YouTuber Brian Krock on the role of critical analysis in music, the “unintended consequences of the capitalist nature of music education," what it means to improvise as a composer, how reading James Joyce influenced his relationship to listening to and writing music and led him to “create artwork that invites people to put forth some effort," why he loves “to be actively involved in things that you're a beginner at," his concerns about his “own memory and ...
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