This week's schedule:
7/29 Antonio Adolfo
7/30 Roberta Donnay
7/31 Hilary Gardner
8/1 Mike Reiss
8/2 Paula Poundstone
Monday, July 29
Brazilian composer/pianist Antonio Adolfo honors the great Antonio Carlos Jobim on his latest CD, Jobim Forever. Jobim’s music launched the international bossa nova craze and won multiple Grammys in 1965 with the release of Getz/Gilberto, one of the best-selling jazz albums of all time. Antonio Aldolfo’s own compositions have been recorded by Sergio Mendes, Stevie Wonder, Dionne Warwick and many others, so focusing this CD on another composer, and one of his favorites, was a labor of love.
Tuesday, July 30
Roberta Donnay
Singer/songwriter Roberta Donnay has a wide variety of musical influences and a broad focus with the music she performs, from sharing the stage with Elvis Costello or Leon Russell, to her ongoing shows of 1920s and ‘30’s music with her group The Prohibition Mob Band, to her most recent CD, Blossom-ing, a collection of songs celebrating the music of vocalist/pianist, Blossom Dearie.
Wednesday, July 31
During the pandemic, vocalist Hilary Gardner dreamed of wide-open spaces and the freedom to roam, as she puts it, and started researching trail songs from the singing cowboy era of the 1930s and ‘40s. Her new CD, On The Trail with The Lonesome Pines is a collection of her discoveries, songs not only by singing cowboys but by our greatest jazz and film composers. Hilary and I feature some of those classic recordings and Hilary’s take on these wonderful tunes.
Thursday, August 1
Comedy writer Mike Reiss has enjoyed a long career making people laugh, from his early years with National Lampoon, Johnny Carson and The Gary Shandling Show, to his continuing work with the animated series, The Simpsons.
Mike was one of the original writers for The Simpsons, a show he still contributes to 35 years on between writing children’s stories, traveling with his excursion-loving wife Denise and publishing his most recent book, What Am I Doing Here? A Simpsons’ Writer Visits the World’s Hellholes So You Don’t Have To.”
Mike Reiss is one of those deliciously cranky people who love to rail against various notions while keeping you laughing and somehow delighted throughout. Mike and I met in Panama on the elegant Silver Shadow cruise ship where he was lecturing on The Simpsons and I was flown in to play a concert. Knowing the many connections The Simpsons has with jazz, I asked Mike if he’s a jazz fan to which he enthusiastically responded, “I hate jazz.”
Naturally, I had to have him on my show.
Friday, August 2
Comedian Paula Poundstone talks about her book The Totally Unscientific Study of The Search for Human Happiness, her passion for 1920s and '30s jazz, and her forays into jazz drumming, swing dancing and tae kwon do!
Listen each morning on WBGO from 6 to 8 am ET.
For an archive of episodes on WBGO, visit the show’s page here.
