music

V&B: Cowboy Poetry Set to Music

Graphic designer DJ Stout and Austin-based composer and pianist Graham Reynolds talk about their collaboration that illustrates the power of regionalism and the beauty of home on a global stage. Stout of Pentagram, the world’s largest independent design consultancy, will discuss his latest publication featuring cowboy poets from West Texas, as Reynolds performs a live score along with the presentation. This will be a version of the performance they gave at the Design Indaba conference in Cape Town in February 2014.

Along with their presentation they’ll talk about what it means to bring your home and your place into your work, however international it may be. Why is it important to “go back to your roots”? What is the role of home and history is 21st Century graphic design? What was the reception in Cape Town to this Texas project?

The Art of Resolution (12.29.13)

As we turn to the new year, what will be different? Look to jazz for the innovation and inspiration, for discovery and improvisation. It’s the core of what jazz represents. It can also be applied to the lives that we live and the dreams that we have in order to make things matter.

The Art of Tradition (12.22.13)

Tradition compresses time and brings us into the moment of timelessness when things are safe. In jazz, the art of tradition is to recreate sounds and lives, to bring the listener back home, especially during the holidays. The tradition of jazz is the expectation of improvisation and requiring the artist to be on top of their game.

Chico Hamilton (12.8.13)

Drummer Chico Hamilton is considered a voice of West Coast Jazz. He found success in movie soundtracks and eventually formed his own ensemble. In the late ’50s and into the 1960s he performed with many jazz greats like Lena Horne, Nat King Cole, Charles Mingus and others.

Leonard Bernstein (11.24.13)

Composer, conductor and pianist Leonard Bernstein had a lengthy storied career. His music speaks of the “can-do-ism” of Americans. It crossed through jazz, classical, musicals, television and movies. Bernstein is an iconic figure in our musical heritage.

V&B: The Legacy of Doug Sahm

Nov. 18 marked the 14th anniversary of Doug Sahm’s passing. And KUT marked the day with a special look back on the life and legacy of Doug Sahm at a Views and Brews. Listen back as KUTX’s Jody Denberg hosts, author and historian Joe Nick Patoski and musical guests Marcia Ball, Speedy Sparks and Ernie Durawa for a night of stories and music from the life of Doug Sahm.

V&B: Chet Baker, His Life and Music

Jazz historian and musician Rabbi Neil Blumofe joins KUT’s Rebecca McInroy along with a live jazz ensemble to talk about the haunting music and life of trumpeter Chet Baker.

Nica (11.10.13)

Kathleen Annie Pannonica Rothschild, nicknamed Nica, was referred to as the jazz baroness. She was more than just a patron of jazz. She provided support and encouragement to many of the great artists during the ’40s and ’50s. In the early sixties she compiled a book called “The jazz musicians and their three wishes” which was published in 2006.

Rudy Van Gelder (11.3.13)

Recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder helped shape the sound of jazz for Blue Note Records. It became known as the Van Gelder sound, but like it or not, it left an enduring impression on jazz for years.

Ellington and Strayhorn (10.27.13)

The collaboration of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn led to a collection of music that has spanned generations. Their music and compositions are seemingly effortlessly entwined.

Coleman Hawkins (Sunday 10.13.13)

Coleman Hawkins was at the head of the line in forging a path for the saxophone as an instrument and for the countless saxophonists that would follow him. Hawkins began his successful career in the early 1920s.

Anita O’Day (Sunday 10.6.13)

O’Day transcended what was socially acceptable as a girl singer in the late 1930s to become an accomplished jazz singer throughout the following decades. Anita O’Day Sings Jazz, her first album, was recorded in 1952. O’Day performed with Louis Armstrong, Dinah Washington, Oscar Peterson, Thelonious Monk, and many others during her career.

Cannonball Adderley (Sunday 9.15.13)

Hard bop was popularized by Cannonball Adderely in the 1950s and 1960s. Adderely reinvigorated jazz in the 1970s after a successful career playing with many of the jazz greats.