Music Archives | Northwest Public Broadcasting

No Man’s Band: All-Female Jazz Orchestras Then and Now

By NWPB Music March 19, 2019

The DIVA Jazz Orchestra celebrates 25 years, and one of the last surviving members of the International Sweethearts of Rhythm reflects on the legacies of all-female big bands. Continue Reading No Man’s Band: All-Female Jazz Orchestras Then and Read More

Episode 12: Caridwen & Greg Spatz

By McKayla Fox March 19, 2019

Jam With Dan Episode 3 Guests Caridwen & Greg Spatz

Full Episode Jam Sets From This Episode “All of Me” by Billie Holiday “Reel Me Out” by Caridwen Spatz “Smile” by Charlie Chaplin “Voice le St. Jean” – A Traditional French Song Meet Dan Maher Dan Maher originally fell in love with folk music as a teenager growing up in Spokane. A celebrated musician, he… Read More

Cancelled: Lewiston Brown-Bag Lunch With Suzanne Bona

By Sandi Billings March 19, 2019

Regretfully, the Brown-Bag Lunch with Suzanne Bona, host of Sunday Baroque, as scheduled for March 21 at the LCSC Center for Arts and History has been cancelled due to a number of logistical factors. If you planned to attend the gathering and can travel up the grade instead, please contact [email protected] for an alternate opportunity… Read More

Y’all Heard? An Argument For The Great Southern Pronoun

By NPR News March 12, 2019

In the book Speaking of Alabama, an essay by linguistics professor Catherine Davies calls "y'all" a speech "improvement" — at least when referring to the plural second person. Continue Reading Y’all Heard? An Argument For The Great Southern Read More

At 92, The Man Who Wrote The Book On French Composer Hector Berlioz Resumes His Case

By NPR News March 9, 2019

French composer Hector Berlioz died 150 years ago. He has been a lifelong favorite of the British author David Cairns, who wrote Berlioz's biography and edited and translated his memoirs. CREDIT: Émile Signol/Académie française/Villa Médicis, Rome

To mark the sesquicentennial of the composer's death — and a new box set of recordings — Berlioz biographer David Cairns celebrates the one-time musical misfit from France. Continue Reading At 92, The Man Who Wrote The Book Read More

Yola Combines Softness And Grit In Her Virtuosic View Of Americana

By NPR News March 6, 2019

The black British singer grew up loving American country music. Now, she's living out her Americana dreams with her debut full-length, Walk Through Fire. Continue Reading Yola Combines Softness And Grit In Her Virtuosic View Of Read More

Good Day Sunshine: 1968 Beatles ‘Life’ Magazine Finally Returned To Library

By NPR News March 4, 2019

The staff at Ohio's Cuyahoga County Public Library were surprised to receive a 1968 issue of Life magazine featuring the Beatles from someone who said he stole it as a kid. Cuyahoga County Public Library

A spokesman for Ohio's Cuyahoga County Public Library said there are no hard feelings about the extreme delay and the return sets a good example. "We just want our stuff back," Robert Rua said. Continue Reading Good Day Sunshine: 1968 Read More

André Previn, Musical Polymath, Conductor And Accomplished Jazz Pianist, Dies At 89

By NPR News March 2, 2019

André Previn died Thursday morning in Manhattan. He was a composer of Oscar-winning film music, conductor, pianist and music director of major orchestras. Continue Reading André Previn, Musical Polymath, Conductor And Read More

An Italian Town Fell Silent So The Sounds Of A Stradivarius Could Be Preserved

By NPR News February 17, 2019

The mayor of Cremona, Italy, blocked traffic during five weeks of recording and asked residents to please keep quiet so master musicians could play four instruments — note by note — for posterity. Continue Reading An Italian Town Read More

American Anthem: The Curious Journey Of The ‘Adagio For Strings,’ From Funerals To Festivals

By NPR News February 14, 2019

Dutch superstar DJ Tiesto (seen here performing in Miami in February 2019) released a massively popular electronic reworking of Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings in 2005. CREDIT: Paras Griffin/Getty Images for E11EVEN Miami

How did Samuel Barber's stirring, lush work for strings — music that has become America's semi-official music of mourning — morph into a beloved and endlessly remixed dance floor anthem? Continue Reading American Anthem: Read More

Izzy Young, Center To The Folk Music Revival, Dies At 90

By NPR News February 10, 2019

Izzy Young in Sept. 2007. CREDIT: Frank Beacham/Courtesy of Frank Beacham

Bob Dylan has called Izzy Young's Folklore Center "the citadel of Americana folk music." It was at the center of the folk music revival in New York City in the 1950s and '60s. Young died Feb. 4 at 90. Continue Reading Izzy Young, Center To The Folk Music Read More

A Year After The #MeToo Grammys, Women Are Still Missing In Music

By NPR News February 9, 2019

After last year's Grammys, the president of the Recording Academy said that women needed to "step up" in the business. Women and men in the business pushed back, but what's actually changed? Continue Reading A Year After The #MeToo Grammys, Read More

Sanford Sylvan, A Baritone On His Own Terms, Dies At 65

By NPR News February 5, 2019

The warm-voiced, and much admired, singer eschewed the glitzy life of an opera star to concentrate on the art of vocal communication. Continue Reading Sanford Sylvan, A Baritone On His Own Terms, Dies At 65Read More

Buddy Holly’s Classmates Remember The Pioneer 60 Years After ‘The Day The Music Died’

By NPR News February 4, 2019

Buddy Holly poses for a portrait circa 1958. On the 60th anniversary of his death, Holly's Lubbock, Tx. classmates remember the young talent. CREDIT: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Lubbock, Texas, hasn't always been fond of its best known son, Buddy Holly. But 60 years after his death, the town has a park with a bronze statue of him, and a street and a museum named after him. Continue Reading Buddy Read More

The Power Of Gospel Gets Explored In New Documentary Series

By NPR News February 3, 2019

The Dixie Hummingbirds CREDIT: Ellen Miller/WXPN

Behind musical legends like Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley and Ray Charles is one timeless genre that spans across lifetimes: gospel music. Continue Reading The Power Of Gospel Gets Explored In New Documentary SeriesRead More

Opera Star David Daniels And Husband Arrested On Sexual Assault Charges

By NPR News January 31, 2019

David Daniels, performing in New York during a Metropolitan Opera press conference in 2011. CREDIT: Alli Harvey/Getty Images

The two were arrested Tuesday night in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and are awaiting extradition to Texas. A young singer has accused the pair of drugging and raping him in 2010. Continue Reading Opera Star David Daniels And Husband Arrested On Read More

American Anthem: How ‘Born This Way’ Was Born Into The LGBT Pedigree

By NPR News January 30, 2019

Lady Gaga's 2011 megahit has been praised as inclusive and criticized as exploitative. But there's a little history to the song's origins that isn't often discussed. Continue Reading American Anthem: How ‘Born This Way’ Was Born Read More

Lula Wiles Trio Flips Notions About American Folk Music On Its Head

By NPR News January 28, 2019

Lula Wiles' sophomore album, What Will We Do, is out now. CREDIT: Laura Partain/Courtesy of the artist

Together, the women of Lula Wiles are giving folk music a new reputation with band's sophomore album, What Will We Do. Continue Reading Lula Wiles Trio Flips Notions About American Folk Music On Its HeadRead More

Michel Legrand, Oscar-Winning Composer Who Lived ‘Surrounded by Music,’ Dies At 86

By NPR News January 26, 2019

French composer Michel Legrand arrives at the opening ceremony of the 6th Lumiere Festival in 2014. Legrand died Saturday. Laurent Cipriani/AP

The musician worked across genres, collaborating with American stars like Miles Davis, Frank Sinatra and Barbra Streisand. Continue Reading Michel Legrand, Oscar-Winning Composer Who Lived ‘Surrounded by Music,’ Dies Read More

American Anthem: For Many With Disabilities, ‘Let It Go’ Is An Anthem Of Acceptance

By NPR News January 24, 2019

The breakout song from Disney's Frozen has inspired many marginalized groups — but its message of rejecting stigma holds special resonance for disabled people and their families. Continue Reading American Anthem: For Read More

Yo-Yo Ma Surprises Bystanders In Mumbai With A Mini-Concert

By NPR News January 23, 2019

Yo-Yo Ma (shown here performing in Washington, D.C., last year) surprised unsuspecting Indians in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday with an impromptu roadside performance. Larry French/Getty Images for SiriusXM

Yo-Yo Ma, the world's most famous living cellist, performed formally and informally in Mumbai this week, part of a long-term project to play Bach's six suites for cello in 36 places around the world. Continue Reading Yo-Yo Ma Surprises Bystanders In Read More

American Anthem: ‘Quiet’ Struck A Chord With Women. Two Years Later, It’s Still Ringing

By NPR News January 19, 2019

Hundreds of singers joined MILCK and the Canadian choral group Choir! Choir! Choir! to perform "Quiet" at Toronto's Phoenix Concert Theatre in early 2017. CREDIT: Andrew Williamson/Courtesy of Choir! Choir! Choir!

Born as a vessel for one person's trauma, the song by MILCK became an anthem overnight after the 2017 Women's March. But it wasn't done growing. Continue Reading American Anthem: ‘Quiet’ Struck A Chord With Women. Read More

For Opera Singers, Life After Retirement — At Least At One Very Special Rest Home

By NPR News January 17, 2019

Founded by composer Giuseppe Verdi and funded by royalties from his popular operas, Casa Verdi in Milan opened a century ago as a home for opera musicians in their golden years. Continue Reading For Opera Singers, Life After Read More

Finding God, Love And The Meaning Of Life In Messiaen’s ‘Turangalîla-Symphonie’

By NPR News January 12, 2019

Composer Olivier Messiaen in 1983, at the organ at the Trinité church in Paris where he held the post of organist for over 60 years. Francois Lochon/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

Baltimore Symphony music director Marin Alsop traces her discovery of the rollicking 75-minute symphony and the man behind the music. Continue Reading Finding God, Love And The Meaning Of Life In Messiaen’s Read More

For One Violinist, Elevating Music By Black Composers Is A 20-Year Mission

By NPR News January 7, 2019

Rachel Barton Pine's Blues Dialogues album and Music by Black Composers educational project are part of a mission that stretches back more than 20 years. Courtesy of the artist

Composers of color have long had to compete with dead white men for space on the concert stage. A new project, spearheaded by Rachel Barton Pine, seeks to correct that for the next generation. Continue Reading For One Violinist, Read More

How A Mongolian Heavy Metal Band Got Millions Of YouTube Views

By NWPB Music January 5, 2019

#HUNNUROCK via YouTube/Screengrab by NPR

All it took for The Hu to have an Internet breakthrough was a dramatic video and screaming guitars — plus a horsehead fiddle and throat singing. Continue Reading How A Mongolian Heavy Metal Band Got Millions Of YouTube ViewsRead More

Why Is The Music Of 1968 So Enduring? ‘It Was Allowed To Be Art’

By NPR News January 1, 2019

The Jimi Hendrix Experience circa 1968. Left to right: Noel Redding, Jimi Hendrix, Mitch Mitchell. CREDIT: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Half a century later, 1968 continues to resonate as a landmark year for rock, pop and soul — in part, say musicians who were there in the studio, because artists were trying things no one had before. Continue Reading Why Is The Music Of 1968 So Read More

Ring Of Kitchen Fire: Eat Like Johnny Cash With This Cookbook From Country Music’s First Family

By NPR News December 31, 2018

The son of country music legends Johnny Cash and June Carter has compiled a book of Southern recipes handed down in his family through the years. Continue Reading Ring Of Kitchen Fire: Eat Like Johnny Cash With This Read More

Remembering 50 Years Ago When The Monkees Tried To Cut Their Strings With ‘Head’

By NPR News December 30, 2018

In Head, the Monkees made a play for creative and cultural respect. Did it work? No. Was it a strangely great movie? Heck yeah. CREDIT: Moviestore/Shutterstock

PHOTO: In Head, the Monkees made a play for creative and cultural respect. Did it work? No. Was it a strangely great movie? Heck yeah. CREDIT: Moviestore/Shutterstock BY PETRA MAYER, NPR I don’t think, as a teenage fangirl, that I realized exactly how bitter, how cynical, how teeth-grittingly furious the Monkees’ 1968 movie Head is. How it starts with… Read More

An Incomplete Guide To The Perfect Headphones For (Most) Every Listening Use

By NPR News December 26, 2018

NPR Music has compiled a list of great headphones at different price points — covering everything from casual listening to professional mixing and mastering. Deborah Lee/NPR

Finding the right pair of headphones is a pain. Having engineered more than 400 of our Tiny Desk Concerts, NPR's Josh Rogosin knows audio — and he's here to help. Continue Reading An Incomplete Guide To The Perfect Headphones Read More

Poolside Yuletide: 51 Songs To Paint Your Holidays Pink

By NWPB Music December 24, 2018

This winter, think pink (and red and green and white). Morgan Noelle Smith & Kaylee Domzalski/NPR

This winter, think pink. The guardians of roséwave spent the summer guiding y'all through newfound singledom, messy young adulthood, crying, summer romance, child rearing and boutique fitness, all through the power of pop music and a glass of rosé (or iced coffee, or seltzer, or whatever inspires carefree sipping). Roséwave is the soundtrack for living your best life, no Read More

Tiny Desk Concert: Amy Grant Shines In Normal ‘Tennessee Christmas’ Fashion

By NWPB Music December 22, 2018

Amy Grant performs a Tiny Desk Concert on Nov. 7, 2018.

Amy Grant maps her fabulous, four-decade career with some of her coziest and heartfelt Christmas songs, not to mention a delightful version of "Jingle Bells." Continue Reading Tiny Desk Concert: Amy Grant Shines In Normal Read More

American Anthem: Unfurling ‘Sweet Home Alabama,’ A Tapestry Of Southern Discomfort

By NPR News December 18, 2018

Ronnie Van Zant in 1975, onstage with Lynyrd Skynyrd at the Omni Coliseum in Atlanta.

More than 40 years after its release, Lynyrd Skynyrd's Sweet Home Alabama is still one of the most recognized rock anthems celebrating the deep South. It's also a song with a complicated legacy. Continue Reading American Anthem: Read More

Nancy Wilson, Legendary Vocalist And NPR ‘Jazz Profiles’ Host, Dies At 81

By NPR News December 15, 2018

Grammy-winning singer Nancy Wilson performs in 2003 at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall in New York during a concert titled "Nancy Wilson With Strings: Celebrating Four Decades of Music." CREDIT: Stuart Ramson/AP

Wilson, who won three Grammy awards and recorded more than 60 albums, died at her California home Thursday after a long illness. From 1996-2005, she hosted NPR's documentary series Jazz Profiles. Continue Reading Nancy Wilson, Read More

‘Tis The Season Of Firsts: December Classical Music Premieres Through The Years

By Steve Reeder December 14, 2018

‘Tis the season for all manner of festivities, from celebrations of the holidays at home to premieres of new works for the theatre. In fact, many productions enjoyed their first performances at this special time of year. Continue Read More

‘Dream It On Through’: Dolly Parton On Her New Album, Inspiring Young People And More

By NPR News December 11, 2018

Dolly Parton's Dumplin' soundtrack is all about finding the confidence to be yourself. "You star in your own role. You be the star of your own life," Parton says. CREDIT: Katie King/Courtesy of the artist

The country legend talks about creating the soundtrack to Dumplin', the new Netflix film starring Jennifer Aniston that's inspired by her music. Continue Reading ‘Dream It On Through’: Dolly Parton On Her Read More

Why Is The Chinese Government Trying To Buy A Selective Music School In New Jersey?

By NPR News December 8, 2018

Students of the Westminster Choir College perform with the Vienna Philharmonic at New York's Carnegie Hall in 2015. Hiroyuki Ito/Getty Images

An elite music college in Princeton, N.J., is up for sale. Its prospective buyer is a for-profit Chinese company — which is partially owned by the Beijing municipal government. Continue Reading Why Is The Chinese Government Read More

What’s Your Favorite Anthem? America Answered: ‘America’ (With Thanks To Simon And Garfunkel)

By NWPB Music December 7, 2018

When NPR asked listeners for their personal American anthems, many responded with Simon & Garfunkel's "America." We asked them to tell us why. Continue Reading What’s Your Favorite Anthem? America Answered: Read More

A Century Later, Jazz Pioneer James Reese Europe Gets An Illuminated Eulogy

By NWPB Music December 7, 2018

Pianist Jason Moran calls James Reese Europe "basically the 'big bang' of jazz." Moran's tribute to the composer and WWI "Hellfighter" pulls his contributions to the genre out of history. Continue Reading A Century Later, Jazz Pioneer James Reese Read More

In ‘String Theory,’ Hanson With Orchestra Delivers The Christmas Gift You Didn’t Know You Wanted

By NWPB Music December 6, 2018

Brothers Taylor (left), Zac and Issac Hanson.

Even in a studio, backed by a symphony orchestra as they survey their long career in pop music, these guys know how to work a room. Continue Reading In ‘String Theory,’ Hanson With Orchestra Delivers The Read More

Tacoma To Spokane To The World: New Biography Chronicles Bing Crosby’s Most Beloved Years

By NPR News December 4, 2018

Portrait of Bing Crosby circa 1945. Swinging on a Star, written by jazz and film critic Gary Giddins, is out now.

Crosby set the mold for the multimedia star: on radio, on the big screen and on record. The 1940s was the period when his star shone brightest and 'Swinging on a Star' by Gary Giddins tells that story. Continue Reading Read More

Keep Your Candles Burning Brightly: 2018 Holiday Radio Programs On NWPB

By Anjuli Dodhia November 30, 2018

Turn on your radio, pour a cup of tea, cozy up to a warm fire, and enjoy uplifting music, heartwarming stories and inspiring performances to celebrate the season. Here’s a list of special programs coming your way throughout the month of December. Read More

No Humdrum Affair: Dreaming Of Rachmaninov On A Train With Pianist Daniil Trifonov

By NPR News November 29, 2018

Rachmaninov in the Rockies: Pianist Daniil Trifonov dreams of playing the composer's Fourth Piano Concerto on a train.

The celebrated young pianist Daniil Trifonov steals aboard a steam locomotive, chugging through the Rockies to the strains of Rachmaninov's Fourth Concerto. Continue Reading No Humdrum Affair: Dreaming Of Rachmaninov On A Train Read More

Flamenco Fusion: Rosalía Offers A Modern Take On Spanish Traditions

By NWPB Music November 27, 2018

Rosalia's latest album, El mal querer, mixes flamenco traditions with R&B, pop and electronic sounds.

The Spanish singer studied traditional cante flamenco in college and now mixes it with pop music influences in a way that's led some to call her the "Spanish Beyoncé." Continue Reading Flamenco Fusion: Rosalía Offers A Modern Take On Spanish Read More

How Dvorak’s ‘New World’ Symphony Introduced American Music To Itself

By NWPB Music November 25, 2018

U.S. Navy CPO Graham Jackson, with tears of grief, plays "Goin' Home," from Dvorak's 'New World' Symphony, as President Franklin D. Roosevelt's body is carried from Warm Springs, Ga., where he died. CREDIT: Ed Clark/Life Picture Collection/Getty

Sometimes it takes an outsider to see a culture clearly. Czech composer Antonin Dvorak's Ninth Symphony was an ode to what American music could become. Continue Reading How Dvorak’s ‘New World’ Symphony Introduced American Read More

‘Ballad Of The Fat Turkeys’: Talking Fowl But Festive Music In The Classical Tradition

By NWPB Music November 24, 2018

From bourgeois turkeys to Mother Goose, music commentator Miles Hoffman introduces us to classical music about fowls. Continue Reading ‘Ballad Of The Fat Turkeys’: Talking Fowl But Festive Music In The Classical Read More

50 Years Since A ‘Revolution’: How The Beatles Made ‘The White Album’

By NWPB Music November 13, 2018

The Beatles at St. Pancras Old Church in London on July 28, 1968. CREDIT: Apple Corps Ltd.

Producer Giles Martin shares the remarkable stories, early demos, outtakes and stunning new mixes from the just-released deluxe version of the album. Continue Reading 50 Years Since A ‘Revolution’: How The Beatles Made ‘The Read More

Finding Inspiration Amidst Chaos: Classical Music Of The First World War

By Steve Reeder November 7, 2018

November 11 marks the centennial of the end of World War I, otherwise known as the “Great War” and the “War to End All Wars.” Simply put, it was a cataclysm, a conflict that marked a threshold in modern history. In the world of classical music, composers responded in many different ways. Read More

‘Will The Circle Be Unbroken’ Connects Musicians, Generation After Generation

By NPR News November 1, 2018

PHOTO: "Mother" Maybelle Carter (left) performs with her daughter Helen in 1977 at the A.P. Carter Memorial Festival in Virginia.

From family memorials to jam sessions to every show at the Grand Ole Opry, the familiar singalong helps people feel connected to those who have died — whether legendary musicians or loved ones. Continue Reading ‘Will The Circle Read More

FILM REVIEW: ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ Is No Bed Of Roses, No Pleasure Cruise

By NPR News November 1, 2018

A fearless performance from Rami Malek and rock-solid rock anthems can't lift this listless musical biopic out of the sea of clichés in which it treads water. Continue Reading FILM REVIEW: ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ Is No Bed Of Roses, Read More