Toast of the Nation 2008: Patti Austin Sings Gershwin

Fresh off a Grammy nomination for her latest album (Avant Gershwin), vocalist Patti Austin performs “A Gershwin New Year’s Eve,” live from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. Co-production of NPR and WBGO/Newark. Patti’s performance was part of the network’s all-night jazz party Toast of the Nation, which also included live performances from Boston, New York, Minneapolis, Denver, and the new Yoshi’s in San Francisco. See my blog entries about Patti and the whole night here.

“Sheathed in a snug gown, she looked glamorous and sounded even better, accompanied by a horn-powered octet and inspired by a series of fresh interpretations of Gershwin tunes arranged by Michael Abene [of the WDR Big Band],” - Mike Joyce, Washington Post.

Hosts:

Kevin Struthers (Kennedy Center
Emcee);

Rhonda Hamilton
(WBGO)

Click here for audio of the entire show

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A King Celebration 2007

marked the 15th edition of the annual concert tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that takes place at his alma mater Morehouse College,  located in Dr. King’s hometown of Atlanta, Georgia.   The 2007 concert Featured performances by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra,and the Glee Clubs of Morehouse & Spelman Colleges, with guest soloists Terrence Wilson (piano) and mezzo-soprano Pamela Dillard. Works by Beethoven, Gershwin, Billy Childs and Richard Danielpour, along with a guest appearance by Dr.Maya Angelou. Robert Spano conducted the program. The 2007 radio production, hosted by Fred Child, marked the debut of Performance Today on its new network, American Public Media, after a twenty-year run on NPR.

Listen
to Hour 1

Listen
to Hour 2

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Jazz Piano Christmas XVII with Allen Toussaint

The 2006 edition of NPR’s live holiday concert production with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. New Orleans keyboard legend Allen Toussaint headlines the program of jazz artists offering distinctive and unique takes both on holiday classics and original compositions.   The 2006 concert also features performances from Cedar Walton, Eric Reed, Jovino Santos Neto, vocalist Nancy King and 2006 Thelonious Monk Jazz Competition award winner Tigran Hamasyan. Bonus cuts on the website. Hosted by NPR’s Felix Contreras.

Listen to “bonus tracks” on the NPR Music site.

Listen to the entire show

Set List:

• ‘Kings of the Orient’ (J.H. Hopkins, Jr.) - Hilton Ruiz (In Memoriam)
• ‘Lo, How a Rose’ (Michael Praetorious) - Eric Reed
• ‘Christmas Tale’ - Tigran Hamasyan
• ‘Sleigh Ride’ (Leroy Anderson) - Jovino Santos Neto
• ‘Boas Festas’ (Assis Valente) - Jovino Santos Neto
• ‘Winter Wonderland’ (Felix Bernard/Richard B. Smith) - Nancy King & Geoffrey Keezer
• ‘The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting)’ (Mel Torme) - Cedar Walton
• ‘It Came Upon a Midnight Clear’ (Edmund Hamilton Sears/Richard Stores Willis) - Cedar Walton
• ‘Little Drummer Boy’ (Katherine Davis/Henry Onorati/ Harry Simeone) - Allen Toussaint

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From the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, WHYY and NPR present Handel’s holiday masterpiece, performed by the “Fabulous Philadelphians” — one of the world’s great orchestras, joined by the Chorale of the Philadelphia Singers - the resident Chorus of the Philadephia Orchestra. Acclaimed British choral master Richard Hickox conducts. Extras on the NPR Music site include on-demand videos featuring prominent students from the neighboring Curtis Institute of Music, a school with long ties to the Philadelphia Orchestra. The NPR Music pages also include a feature on the Philadelphian’s “first” Messiah, a now-legendary 1958 recording made with Eugene Ormandy and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

Hosted by Fred Child for NPR and Melinda Whiting on behalf of WHYY.

Hear the entire 2-hour broadcast

Hear the feature: “Memories of the First Messiah”

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Few works in all of American literature document the musical life of pioneer America as effectively as the Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. This NPR holiday special features select songs and stories taken from the Little House series, featuring music researched and compiled by Dr. Dale Cockrell, Professor of Musicology and American Southern Studies at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music, and producer of Happy Land: Musical Tributes to Laura Ingalls Wilder. Nashville veteran Butch Baldasarri and A Prairie Home Companion regulars Riders in the Sky lead a cadre of Nashville artists providing musical performances, and actress Cherry Jones reads selected stories from the books.

Hosted by NPR’s Noah Adams.

Visit the NPR Music site: The Arkansas Traveler: Music & Tales from
“Little House on the Prairie”

Listen to the 1-hour program

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