Podcasts

“Texas Blues – Marcia Ball”

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Part of the series “Gulf Coast Highway,” produced for ArtsEdge at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.  Texas music writer John Morthland talks about the evolution of the Texas Blues with the help of music and commentary by Marcia Ball.

“New Orleans Brass Bands”

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Part of the series “Gulf Coast Highway,” produced for ArtsEdge at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Musicologist Charles Chamberlain and Benny Jones of the Treme Brass band talk about the unique New Orleans tradition of brass street bands.

“Gospel Quartets – Blind Boys of Alabama”

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Part of the series “Gulf Coast Highway,” produced for ArtsEdge at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Ethno-musicologist Kip Lornell and the legendary Clarence Fountain, last surviving original member of the Blind Boys of Alabama explain Gospel Singing. The music of the Blind Boys helps illustrate what’s talked about.

“Delta Blues – Super Chikan”

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Part of the series “Gulf Coast Highway,” produced for ArtsEdge at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.  Ethno-musicologist Kip Lornell of George Washington University talks about the Delta Blues while James “Super Chikan” Johnson performs blues and talks about how his personal experience fits in with the story of the blues.

“Choral Music – Tallahassee Boys Choir”

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Part of the series “Gulf Coast Highway,” produced for ArtsEdge at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Musicologist Kip Lornell of George Washington University talks about the tradition of choral singing at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The Boys Choir of Tallahassee is also discussed by its director and the choir is heard throughout the piece.

“Cajun music – BeauSoleil”

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Part of the series “Gulf Coast Highway,” produced for ArtsEdge at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. With the help of Cajun musician Michael Doucet of the group BeauSoleil, Charles Chamberlain of the Louisiana State Museum explains Cajun music.

“Border Music – Grupo Fantasma”

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Part of the series “Gulf Coast Highway,” produced for ArtsEdge at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Texas Music Writer John Morthland and Q (aka Adrian M. Quesada) of Grupo Fantasma explain Border music and how it’s shaped by its surroundings on the Texas-Mexico border. Grupo Fantasma plays.

“Tan Dun’s ‘The Map'”

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Part of the series “Sounds of China,” produced for ArtsEdge at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Academy Award-winning composer Tan Dun and scholar Joanna Lee discuss creative, physical and philosophical challenges of melding the ancient music of China with contemporary Eastern and Western motifs.

“Musical Instruments of China”

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Part of the series “Sounds of China,” produced for ArtsEdge at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Despite China’s long musical history, Chinese orchestras are relatively new. Join scholar Joanna Lee as she guides audiences through the sounds, instruments and structures of the traditional Chinese orchestra.

“Endangered Chinese Music”

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Part of the series “Sounds of China,” produced for ArtsEdge at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Professor Lan Lan Wang draws us into the world of the Yunnan peoples, one of China’s largest ethnic minorities, and sheds light on the challenges they face as they struggle to preserve their musical traditions in the face of globalization. Numerous examples of the music in question are heard in the piece.