Power & Politics: John Lennon, CSN&Y, Crosby, Patti Smith, Tom Petty, Don Henley, John Mayer, Van Morrison

Original air date January 25, 2020 | Time 59:00

Music has the power to shape people's opinions and view of the world.

David Crosby, Capitol, Sky Trails
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young , What Are Their Names, CSNY / Déjà Vu (Live)
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Let's Impeach the President, CSNY / Déjà Vu (Live)
John Lennon , Gimme Some Truth, Power to the People: The Hits
Phil Ochs, Power and the Glory, All the News That's Fit to Sing
Patti Smith, People Have the Power, Dream of Life
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Power Drunk , Hypnotic Eye
Van Morrison, The Pen Is Mightier Than the Sword, Keep Me Singing
John Mayer, Waiting On the World to Change, Continuum

Jacob Collier - Genius on the Rise

Original air date Jan 4, 2020 | Time 59:00

Jacob Collier was born August 2, 1994 and this 25 yr old has been signed to management by Quincy Jones. His mother is a violinist who teaches at the Royal Academy in London and his grandfater also taught there. His grandmother, Lila Wong, is Chinese. Jacob began his career at 17 yrs old, uploading homemade multi-instrumental videos to youtube in 2011, including Stevie Wonder's "Don't You Worry About a Thing". His work caught the attention of Quincy Jones who flew him to the Montreaux Jazz Festival where he also met Herbie Hancock. Jacob opened for Herbie and Chick Corea at the Montreaux Festival in 2015.

His first album "In My Room" was released in July 2016. That same year he was a featured soloist on Snarky Puppy's Family Dinner Vol 2. In Feb 2017 he received 2 Grammy awards for Best Arrangements for his Stevie Wonder's "You and I" and "The Flintstones". That same year he composed the ringtone for Samsung's Galaxy S8 phone. He produced and performed on two songs from Beccas Steven's "Regina". He collaborated with Hans Zimmer on the soundtrack for the movie "Boss Baby". He performed at the Coachella Festival in CA.

in 2018 he announced a four volume recording project with the first album "Djesse 1" being released in Dec 2018 and Vol 2 released in July 2019. He has received 2 Grammy nominations for work on Vol 2.

He appears on Coldplay's "Everyday Life" released in Nov 2019 on the song "Cry, Cry, Cry".

Neil Young and Van Morrison Release Albums on Same Day!

Original air date Nov 9, 2019 | Time 59:00

On Oct 25 , 2019 Neil Young and Crazy Horse released "Colorado", recorded while the band spent 10 days at the Studio in the Clouds at 9000ft in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado (oxygen tanks were there...). The same day Van Morrison released his 40th album "Three Chords and the Truth" all new original songs and one cover.

Climate Change - Graham Nash, David Crosby, Phil Ochs, Joni Mitchell, Sting

Original air date Sept 21, 2019 | Time 59:00

Graham Nash - Beneath the Waves from This Path Tonight, 2016
Peter Gabriel - Here Comes the Flood - 1977 and "Down to Earth" from Wall-E soundtrack, 2008
Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel - Citizen of the Planet from Old Friends, 2004
Phil Ochs - The Power and the Glory, 1963
Sting - One Fine Day from 57th and 9th, 2016
Police - Walking in Your Footsteps from Certifiable, 2007
David Crosby - Vagrants of Venice from Here If Your Listen, 2018

Bare Trees, Grey Skies - Fleetwood Mac, Becca Stevens, Jimi Hendrix

Original air date Sept 14, 2019 | Time 59:00

The Seasons are Changing, you can tell from the trees. They surround us. There are more trees here than people. They understand and show me how it's done. The leaves begin to fall, the wind begins to blow and the seasons turn.

Fleetwood Mac, Bare Trees, Bare Trees
Fleetwood Mac, Woman of 1000 Years, Future Games
Becca Steven,s Tillery, Tillery
David Crosby, I Am No Artist, Here If You Listen
David Crosby, Vagrants of Venice, Here If You Listen
David Crosby, Sky Trails, Sky Trails
Michael Hedges, Rough Wind In Oklahoma, Torched
The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Wind Cries Mary, Are You Experienced
The Jimi Hendrix Experience, All Along the Watchtower , Electric Ladyland
The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Rainy Day, Dream Away, Electric Ladyland

Road to Heaven (English/Geary)

From Hyperjinx Tricycle with lyrics by Ron English for his friend Daniel Johnston.

Daniel Johnston passed away on Sept 11, 2019 and we all mourn the loss to our world and pray for his entrance into the next.

Read more: Road to Heaven (English/Geary)

Anything But Square, Odd Time Signatures in Rock: Steve Winwood, King Crimson, Blind Faith, Beatles

Original air date September 7, 2019 | Time 59:00

Rock n Roll is built on a strong back beat - one TWO three FOUR - starting with the Everly Bros in the 50's and through the British Invasion of the 60's. It's highly unusual when a musician wanders into the unknown territory of ODD Time signatures, for instance five beats per measure instead of four. Middle Eastern rhythms and even Greek are often in seven!

For me, an odd time signature is exciting, it changes the way the melody is phrased and adds an unexpected swing to the beats, to the turn around of the rhythm. Sometimes it's barely noticeable, for instance listen to Nick Drake's "River Man", with the entire song in 5/4, giving a lullaby like rocking feel. Other times it's used to alternate the feeling of the verses and choruses, for instance in Steve Winwood's "Raging Sea" with the verses in 7/4 and the chorus in 4/4. Amazing!! And then there are the extreme treatments that approach chaos and a wild feeling throughout the entire piece in King Crimson's "Discipline" where two lead guitars play together in different time signatures simultaneously and the drummer is in 17/16 (weirdest time signature I've ever seen).

But my favorite example is John Lennon's "Don't Let Me Down". There's one phrase in 5/4 which is the intro line to the verses. "Nobody ever told me that she done" is five beats then the rest of the song in four. When I first heard this song it got my attention big time but I didn't realize why at first. Take a listen and see what you think!

Gone But Not Forgotten - Michael Hedges, Nick Drake, Jeff Buckley

Original air date August 31, 2019 | Time 59:00

These three men are all absolute virtuoso guitarists, indelible singers with immediately recognizable voices and melodically inventive composers. Their songs are timeless and universal in their meaning.