Music & Culture

Music & Culture

3 Jazz Greats Reflect On Charlie Parker's Enduring Influence

1:36pm August 28, 2020

by Terry Gross

Fresh Air listens back to archival interviews with Max Roach and trumpeter Red Rodney, two musicians who played with Parker; and alto saxophonist Jackie McLean, who considered Parker a mentor.

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Music & Culture

Charlie Parker, Born 100 Years Ago, Made Jazz Complexities Sound Deceptively Easy

1:35pm August 28, 2020

by Kevin Whitehead

More blues singer than Broadway, the Bird helped introduce bebop to jazz — and along the way redefined jazz velocity with his scrappy sound and pithy melodic figures.

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"Charlie Parker With Strings" album cover

Music & Culture

Bird Lives! A Charlie Parker Centennial, With Strings Attached

10:04am August 28, 2020

Charlie Parker with Strings was the most commercially successful project of his all-too-brief career. We'll examine the backstory and hear rare selections from the collaboration.

Music & Culture

'Star Trek' Actor William Shatner To Release Blues Album

9:48am August 28, 2020

Shatner will be collaborating with a bevy of guests on his new album, titled The Blues. Among guest artists are Canned Heat, Brad Paisley, Sonny Landreth, Pat Travers, Albert Lee, and more.

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Ruston Kelly's never been one to shy from harsh realism and ugly truth. Within Shape & Destroy's sparse settings, he embraces a heart-on-sleeve sentimentalism.

Music & Culture

Ruston Kelly's Redemption, In A Constant State Of 'Shape & Destroy'

7:00am August 28, 2020

by Lyndsey McKenna

The Nashville singer-songwriter offers a path forward in which the process of recovery continues with resolve.

Music & Culture

Charles 'Yardbird' Parker At 100: Remembering The Legendary Jazz Musician

5:06am August 28, 2020

by Tom Vitale

Jazz legend Charles "Yardbird" Parker, would have turned 100 on August 29. His career spanned less than 20 years, but he created a legacy that continues to be a strong influence on musicians today.

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"This record is really about hopefulness. It's about resilience, it's about joy," says Katy Perry. "To me, it's not just about noise, it's about me walking through real hell."

Music & Culture

Katy Perry On Expanding And Reframing Herself On 'Smile'

9:28am August 27, 2020

The pop music power house drops her new album, Smile, on Friday, and she's given birth to her first child. Perry talks about the loss of certainty and rebuilding her confidence while making Smile.

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Randa Leigh, one-half of the R&B-ish duo Black Grapefruit alongside Brian Dekker, the photographer.

Music & Culture

Black Grapefruit Seeks Balance 'Inside' Turmoil

8:00am August 27, 2020

by Andrew Flanagan

In a pastoral track from the New York duo, Randa Leigh asks an essential question: "What you follow, fear or love?"

Independent music venues have been among the hardest hit by the global pandemic, raising the possibility of them being forced to sell.

Financially Vulnerable, Independent Music Venues Worry Of Having To Sell

6:00am August 27, 2020

by Marissa R. Moss

Independent music venues continue to be among the businesses hardest hit by the global pandemic. The corporate behemoths of concert promotion, however, can weather the storm.

The Reminders perform at the Mishawaka Amphitheater in Fort Collins, Colo

Music & Culture

How Colorado's Outdoor Venues Are Reimagining Live Music

2:35pm August 26, 2020

by Robert Leja

Colorado is famous for its summer festivals and world class venues, like the Red Rocks Amphitheater. See how some have found creative ways to keep the music alive during the COVID-19 pandemic.