Wednesday MidDay Medley
Produced and Hosted by Mark Manning
90.1 FM KKFI – Kansas City Community Radio
TEN to NOON Wednesdays – Streaming at KKFI.org
Wednesday, March 29, 2023
Guest Producer – April Fletcher + Jennifer Owen & Brad Cox of Owen Cox Dance Group
On this show April Fletcher joins us as our special “Guest Producer.” April Fletcher grew up in St. Louis, and moved to Kansas City to attend the UMKC Conservatory of Music. While in KC April hosted the radio show “Mix Well Before Serving” during KKFI‘s first year of broadcasting in 1988. April worked professionally in Kansas City at the Unicorn Theatre, Theatre League, The Paul Mesner Puppets, The Broadway Marionettes, Big Bang Buffet, and Cafe LuLu. She also worked for Pennylane Records. April moved to Los Angeles in 1995. April graduated from California Institute of the Arts in 2003 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Multi-Instrumental Studies. April has played in the band Cool Beat Borscht, in the cumbia band, La Sonora Tropicana, the band Epically Cracked, and has played bass for five years for the 80s band Klymaxx. In recent years, April has been exploring other creative spaces and is currently collaborating with an entertainment and technology company and has been working with a business brokerage as an advisor using her expertise in the arts and entertainment industries and online marketing. Her side projects include her Etsy store, a YouTube channel all while trying to find time to practice so she can start performing again upon her return to Los Angeles. You can learn more about her social media and work at: sociatap.com/aprilfletcher
- “Main Title Instrumental – It’s Showtime Folks”
from: Orig. Motion Picture Soundtrack All That Jazz / Casablanca / December 20, 1979
[WMM’s Adopted Theme Song]
- Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine – “Conga”
from: Primitive Love / Epic / August 13, 1985
[“Conga” is the 1st hit single released by the American band Miami Sound Machine, led by Gloria Estefan, on their 2nd English-language album, Primitive Love. The song was written by the band’s drummer & lead song-writer Enrique Garcia. The song first appeared on August 31, 1985, as part of the album. The single was released in Australia on Sept. 9, 1985. // “Conga” became a worldwide success and is recognized as the Miami Sound Machine and Gloria Estefan’s signature song. The single reached the top 10 in various countries, including the United States and the Netherlands. // This album was a follow-up to the band’s previous releases in every sense: in the music, in the rhythms, and in Gloria Estefan’s vocals. Previous releases by Miami Sound Machine had failed to achieve much in the way of crossover success. However, with the release of Primitive Love in 1985, their distinctive sound was finally being heard by a wider audience, both in the United States and abroad. // This album was the band’s first appearance on the American albums chart, reaching #21 on the Billboard 200. The album ended the year on the 1986 Billboard Year End Charts at #10. // Three singles released from this album reached the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart: “Conga” peaked at #10; “Bad Boy” reached #8; “Words Get in the Way” was the highest-charting single from this album, at #5; and “Falling in Love (Uh-Oh)” climbed to #25. // Gloria Estefan (Spanish: [ˈɡloɾja esˈtefan]; born Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García; born 1 September 1957) is a Cuban-American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. Estefan is a seven-time Grammy Award winner, a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, and has been named one of the Top 100 greatest artists of all time by both VH1 and Billboard. Estefan’s record sales exceed 75 million worldwide, making her the second best selling female latin artist in history and one of the best-selling female singers of all-time. // A contralto, Estefan started her career as lead singer of Miami Latin Boys, which was later renamed Miami Sound Machine. She and Miami Sound Machine earned worldwide success with their 1985 single “Conga”, which became Estefan’s signature song and led to Miami Sound Machine winning the 15th annual Tokyo Music Festival’s grand prix in 1986. In 1988, she & Miami Sound Machine achieved their first number-one hit with “Anything for You”. Estefan is credited with breaking down barriers and opening doors for Latin musicians, including Selena, Jon Secada, Shakira and Ricky Martin. // In March 1990, Estefan sustained a life-threatening cervical vertebrae fracture when her tour bus was involved in a serious accident near Scranton, Pennsylvania. She underwent an emergency surgical stabilization of her cervical spine and post-surgical rehabilitation that lasted almost a year, but made a full recovery. A year later, in March 1991, Estefan launched her comeback with a worldwide tour & album, Into the Light.// Estefan’s 1993 Spanish-language album Mi Tierra won the first of her three Grammy Awards for Best Tropical Latin Album. Mi Tierra immediately soared to the top of the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart upon its release. The album was also the first Diamond album in Spain. // Many of Estefan’s songs, including “Rhythm Is Gonna Get You”, “1-2-3”, “Don’t Wanna Lose You”, “Get On Your Feet”, “Here We Are”, “Coming Out of the Dark”, “Bad Boy”, “Oye!”, “Party Time” and a remake of “Turn the Beat Around,” became international chart-topping hits. // In addition to winning three Grammy Awards and being the 2015 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, Estefan has been awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame & Las Vegas Walk of Fame, and was a Kennedy Center Honors recipient in 2017 for her contributions to American cultural life. Estefan also won an MTV Video Music Award, was honored with the American Music Award for Lifetime Achievement, and has been named BMI Songwriter of the Year. She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and has received multiple Billboard awards. // Billboard has listed Estefan as the third Most Successful Latina and 23rd Greatest Latin Artist of all time in US, based on both Latin albums and Latin songs chart. Hailed as the “Queen of Latin Pop” by the media, she has amassed 38 number one hits across Billboard charts, including 15 chart-topping songs on the Hot Latin Songs chart. Rolling Stone has ranked her 1985 hit “Conga” the 11th Greatest Latin Pop Songs of all time. Richard Blanco, the 2013 Presidential Inaugural Poet, told The Boston Globe in 2020 that Estefan is among the Latin singers who helped him gain ground “in the musical poetry of my culture and rejuvenate my spirits”]
- Alabama Shakes – “Don’t Wanna Fight”
from: Sound & Color / Alabama Shakes – ATO Records / April 21, 2015
[Formed in Athens, Alabama in 2009. The band currently consists of lead singer and guitarist Brittany Howard, guitarist Heath Fogg, bassist Zac Cockrell, keyboard player Ben Tanner, and drummer Steve Johnson. The group rose to prominence from virtual obscurity in the early 2010s with their distinctive and soulful roots rock sound. The band began their career touring and performing at bars and clubs around the Southeast for two years while honing their sound and writing music. They recorded their debut album, Boys & Girls, themselves in Nashville while still unsigned. Online acclaim led ATO Records to sign the band, which released Boys & Girls in 2012 to acclaim. The album had a hit single, “Hold On,” and was nominated for three Grammy Awards. After a long touring cycle, the band recorded their sophomore record, Sound & Color, which was released in 2015 and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. // Brittany Amber Howard was born October 2, 1988. She is an American musician, singer, and songwriter known for being the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and main songwriter of rock bands Alabama Shakes, Thunderbitch, and Bermuda Triangle. Her work with Alabama Shakes has garnered her nine Grammy Award nominations including Best New Artist and Album of the Year for Sound & Color. They eventually won four awards including Best Alternative Music Album. // In 2018, Alabama Shakes announced they were going on hiatus. During this time, Howard released her debut studio album as a solo artist, Jaime, in 2019. The work received critical acclaim and earned her seven Grammy nominations, winning Best Rock Song for “Stay High”. // Howard was born in Athens, Alabama, one of two daughters born to Christi (née Carter) and K. J. Howard. Her mother is white, of English and Irish ancestry, while her father is African American. The family’s home was in a junk yard, and once burned down due to a lightning strike. She learned to write poetry and play the piano from her older sister Jaime, who died from retinoblastoma in 1998; Howard got the same affliction but survived with partial blindness in one eye. Her parents separated soon after. She began playing the guitar at age 13, and was enamored with albums by Dionne Warwick and Elvis Presley, which she listened to repeatedly, and was inspired to write song lyrics. // Howard attended East Limestone High School, where she met future Alabama Shakes bassist Zac Cockrell. In high school, Howard began listening to 1970s rock music, such as Black Sabbath and Pink Floyd. “I’d be in the back of this Buick and be like ‘What’s this? This is really cool’ and my friends told me it was Pink Floyd and I was like ‘Whoa’, it blew my mind. I started getting into all the classic rock stuff, like Yes, Cream, all that stuff.” // After high school, Howard worked for the United States Postal Service until becoming a full-time musician as lead singer of Alabama Shakes. // Brittany Howard is best known as the lead singer and guitarist for the American rock band Alabama Shakes. The band formed under the name “The Shakes” when Howard and bassist Zac Cockrell began playing covers and original songs together with drummer Steve Johnson. Guitarist Heath Fogg later rounded out the lineup, and the band began playing shows at bars in Alabama and recording their debut album, Boys & Girls. They went on to sign a record deal with ATO Records and released Boys & Girls in 2012 which received critical acclaim and multiple Grammy Award nominations. // In April 2015, Alabama Shakes released their second album, Sound & Color. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, and received favorable reviews from the music press. The band went on to perform on multiple late night shows, including Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Howard was featured in the musical medley alongside Mavis Staples, Stephen Colbert, Ben Folds, and more in the series premiere of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. At Lollapalooza in 2015, Howard was invited on stage to perform a duet of “Get Back” with Paul McCartney. Howard also performed at the ceremony for Eddie Murphy’s Mark Twain Prize. In 2015, Howard was named the recipient of Billboard’s Women in Music “Powerhouse” Award. // Howard is also the lead singer of the rock band Thunderbitch, formed in Nashville in 2012 with members of Clear Plastic Masks and ATO Records labelmates Fly Golden Eagle. The band surprise-released a self-titled album in September 2015. Although the band rarely makes live appearances, they did play a rare set at ATO Records’ CMJ Music Marathon showcase in October 2015. // Brittany Howard is also a singer in the band Bermuda Triangle with Jesse Lafser and Becca Mancari, which was formed in Nashville in 2017. Their debut live performance was on July 12, 2017 at the Basement East in Nashville. The trio released their first single on September 6, 2017, titled “Rosey”, which was first released on Jesse Lafser’s 2015 album “Raised On The Plains”. Although originally believed to be a one time performance, the trio performed a five show tour through the Southern states of America in October 2017. This small tour included shows in Carrboro and Asheville, North Carolina; Birmingham, Alabama; Atlanta, Georgia; and Knoxville, Tennessee. // In June 2019, Brittany Howard announced a debut solo album, Jaime which was released on September 20, 2019, as well as a tour across North America and Europe. Jaime was received with universal acclaim, with Pitchfork noting “The exceptional solo debut from the Alabama Shakes singer-songwriter is a thrilling opus that pushes the boundaries of voice, sound, and soul to new extremes.” On July 16, 2019, Howard released the music video to the single Stay High, featuring actor Terry Crews lip-syncing to the track. On April 15, 2020, Howard released a cover of a Funkadelic’s 1971 song “You and Your Folks, Me and My Folks” and a new rendition of her song “Stay High”. Stay High was recommended as an appropriate musical remedy to get people through bad lockdown and quarantine feelings.]
- Marc Rebillet – “Hold On”
from: Loop Daddy III / Bored Certified / October 1, 2020
[Marc Rebillet was born December 10, 1988) is a French-American electronic musician and YouTuber from Dallas, Texas, currently based in New York City. Known for his improvised funk and hip-hop electronic music with free flowing, humorous lyrics. Rebillet distributes his work primarily through YouTube videos and Twitch live streams using a loop station, keyboard, vocals and percussion instruments to produce his songs in his apartment. He has released three studio albums (Marc Rebillet, Europe and Loop Daddy III) and two extended play records (Loop Daddy and Loop Daddy II). // Rebillet’s father was French and his mother is from South Carolina. His parents met in Paris. Rebillet started playing piano at age four; he studied classical music until age 15 while attending Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas. // In 2007, Rebillet first went viral after being interviewed on Fox 4 in Dallas while lining up to be the first to buy an iPhone during its initial release. A woman paid Rebillet $800 for his spot in the front of the line, attempting to buy many phones to resell. The plan backfired because the store’s policy only allowed one iPhone sale per customer. The video of the encounter received four million views. // Rebillet dropped out of Southern Methodist University after studying acting for a year. During the next decade, Rebillet worked as a server, an executive assistant, and in a corporate call center while producing music under the name “Leae”. Rebillet moved to New York City in 2011 and back to Dallas in 2014 to care for his father, who had Alzheimer’s disease. // In 2016, Rebillet claimed on Reddit to have discovered an alleged unreleased 1998 Sufjan Stevens album in a dumpster outside record label Asthmatic Kitty’s studios in Dumbo, Brooklyn in 2014. A representative from the label who responded to the post was unable to confirm the album’s authenticity, but requested that Rebillet not share it. A few hours later, Rebillet proceeded to upload the album and share it on 4chan. In an interview with Stereogum the next day, he expressed regret for disrespecting the label’s wishes, but stated he wanted to let the album be preserved online. When asked if the album was possibly a hoax, Rebillet responded, “I have neither the time nor the desire to prove its authenticity.” // Rebillet’s professional music career began in 2016, when he began publishing YouTube videos and live streams of himself improvising songs in his bedroom, apartment, and hotel rooms, often while dancing in his boxer briefs. These videos began to go viral through Reddit and Facebook, generating a fan base, and earning Rebillet tips. Many of Rebillet’s songs are inspired by live requests from his fans, who call him on a phone number that he posts on social media, or comment during the live stream. Rebillet’s sessions can last from one to five hours. The content of the streams varies widely, from romancedLJ. spbx to more frivolous topics, such as snacking. // During the COVID-19 pandemic, Rebillet’s tour of Australia and New Zealand was cancelled and subsequently rescheduled for early 2021. In place of the cancelled shows, he scheduled four free live stream shows on Twitch named for four cities on the cancelled tour. He called this collection of shows the “Quarantine Livestream Tour”, with the first show attracting over 1.57 million viewers and raising over $34,000 for coronavirus-related charity Explaining why he chose to begin streaming on Twitch, Rebillet told The Verge, “I’m just trying to survive, and Twitch has the highest earning potential for livestreams.” // Also related to the pandemic, Rebillet recorded a song, called “Essential Workers Anthem”, dedicated to essential workers, to thank them for their work. Discussing the song for the Boston Herald, Jed Gottlieb wrote that “the tune he built in a minute had more moxie and magic than anything on the recent lo-fi network TV concerts”. // On December 9 2020, in anticipation of hitting one million YouTube subscribers, Rebillet streamed live during and after hitting the milestone. He used the stream as an opportunity to donate to multiple charities. // Rebillet has performed streams with Erykah Badu, Reggie Watts, Emily King, DJ Premier, Brady Watt, Flying Lotus, Madison McFerrin, Harry Mack, and Wayne Brady. // In June 2021, Rebillet starred in a television commercial for German supermarket chain Edeka. The lighthearted commercial shows him creating music in the market by playing the produce and food products as musical instruments. // As of August 2021, Rebillet has 11.8 million online streams of his music, more than 2 million YouTube subscribers, and over 127 million YouTube views. // Rebillet was the host of a biweekly series “We’ve Got Company” that streamed on Twitch in early 2022, featuring Rebillet along with musical guests. Guests during the first season included Wyclef Jean, Tokimonsta, Alison Wonderland, Reggie Watts and Tenacious D.]
- Lisa Fischer – “How Can I Ease The Pain (Live)”
from: “How Can I Ease The Pain (Live)” / 1991
[From her debut album So Intense, released on Elektra Records, April 30, 1991. “How Can I Ease the Pain” is a song co-written and performed by American singer Lisa Fischer, from So Intense. It was produced by Narada Michael Walden with associate producer Louis Biancaniello. The hit song spent two weeks at number-one on the U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The song was sampled by rap group Three 6 Mafia for their hit “Late Nite Tip”. // In 1992, the single won a Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul Single, Female and it also won a 1992 Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. The song also peaked at number eleven on the pop charts. This was Fischer’s biggest and most well-known hit. // Lisa Fischer (born December 1, 1958) is an American singer and songwriter. She found success with her 1991 debut album So Intense, which produced the Grammy Award–winning hit single “How Can I Ease the Pain”. She has been a back-up singer for a number of famous artists, including Sting, Luther Vandross, and Tina Turner, and she toured with The Rolling Stones from 1989 to 2015. // Fischer was born in the Fort Greene neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Fischer’s mother gave birth to her at age 16 and had a total of three children by the time she was 19. Fischer has fond memories of singing with her mother (a homemaker), her father (a warehouse worker and security officer), and her two younger brothers. She attended The High School of Music & Art in Manhattan. When Fischer was 14 her father left the family and when Fischer was 17, her mother died. // In an interview with Christian Wikane of PopMatters, Fischer stated she was influenced by Freda Payne, Marvin Gaye and Melba Moore, and others early in her childhood.[6] In the years before launching her solo mainstream career, she noted significant influence from the black LGBT community, particularly in developing a stage image with adventure, quality, and beauty. // In 1983, under the stage name “Xēna”, Fischer released the b-boy classic “On the Upside”. In 1984, a club track she recorded titled “Only Love (Shadows)” was briefly featured in the motion picture Beat Street [9] and was later released in 1995 as part of the Hot Productions’ The Best of Criminal Records compilation. However, Fischer began her music career supporting other artists providing backing vocals for artists including Melba Moore and Billy Ocean. She worked with many other famous singers, both as a session vocalist and sideman. She accompanied Luther Vandross whom she met through the mutual acquaintance shossof choreographer Bruce Wallace, who asked her to come to his agency for an audition. Fischer then traveled as a backup singer on his tours and sang on his albums until his death, in addition to other famous musicians, including Chaka Khan, Teddy Pendergrass, and Roberta Flack. // Fischer maintained her career as a session singer, and has accompanied The Rolling Stones on tour since 1989. She worked as a backup vocalist during the same period for Luther Vandross for the 22 years prior to his death alongside friend and collaborator Ava Cherry, juggling his concert tours and those of The Rolling Stones, with whom she grew an audience playing the foil to Mick Jagger onstage. During tours with the Rolling Stones, she shares lead vocals on several songs, including “Monkey Man, and “Gimme Shelter”, which showcase her vocal talents. // Fischer’s solo career peaked with the 1991 release of “How Can I Ease the Pain” from her album So Intense, reaching Number One on the R&B charts, and winning a Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance in 1992. The album spawned three Top 20 R&B hits, and peaked at #5 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and #100 on the Billboard 200 chart. Asked about the inspiration for her album, Fischer replied “I wasn’t deep in search of a record deal, it was just one of those things…”. In the movie 20 Feet From Stardom, Fischer’s Grammy award for her hit single collects dust on a shelf. Fischer said she “just doesn’t know what to do with it”. Although Fischer earned success with her first album, a follow-up solo studio album was not released because an attempt to create a second album failed due to “energy shifts”. // Fischer recorded on various projects including providing lead vocals on the power ballad “Colors of Love” featured on the soundtrack for the film Made in America.[18] Fischer says a contributing factor in her decision to discontinue her solo career following the release of her debut album was her fondness for backing vocalist rather than a solo artist. In a 2013 article, Fischer compared back-up singing to a “tuning fork”, and noted she rejected the idea of dissatisfaction and the theory of always aspiring for something more while creating music and supporting other artists. In 1992, Fischer traveled to Japan to perform in the Earth Voice Concert with Lee Ritenour, Phil Perry, Bobby Caldwell, Brenda Russell, James Ingram, Michael McDonald, Anita Baker, and others. During the concert, Fischer sang her 1991 hit “How Can I Ease The Pain”, and provided backing vocals for her fellow musicians. // In August 1996, Fischer made her theatre debut in the off-Broadway play Born to Sing! chronicling the life and career of the fictional gospel superstar, Doris Winter. The final installment of the Mama, I Want to Sing! trilogy featured Fischer in the starring role of Doris Winter, and followed the character as she assembled a company of fellow singers for a global World Peace and Harmony Tour. // Fischer continued to work on music, doing background vocals and writing songs for other artists, including Anane Vega. Fischer toured with Tina Turner on her Twenty Four Seven Tour. It was the worldwide top-grossing tour of 2000. Lisa was featured in an April 14, 2008 issue of Jet Magazine′s “Where Are They Now?” column. In 2009, Fischer completed touring with Tina Turner on her Tina!: 50th Anniversary Tour, and is featured on Turner’s live DVD-CD titled Tina Live. In the performance of Tina!: 50th Anniversary Tour, Fischer and Turner sang “It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll (But I Like It)” together; after Turner left the stage, Fischer completed the song solo. // Fischer sang on Sting’s album If on a Winter’s Night… as a backing vocalist. In September 2009, Sting and his band with Fischer performed in Durham Cathedral. The rehearsals as well as the concert are available as a DVD. The behind-the-scenes documentary surrounding the event was produced jointly by the BBC, and was screened on December 29 that year. She appeared at the 2010 CareFusion Newport Jazz Festival in Newport, Rhode Island with jazz trumpeter Chris Botti. She toured with Botti through 2010, including appearing nightly as guest vocalist during the trumpeter’s annual holiday engagement at the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York city. She remained a guest artist with Botti’s band in 2011, and continued to appear at their 2012 concerts. // In 2012, she joined the Rolling Stones for their 50 & Counting Tour in October 2012, and toured globally with the band until July 2013. The band announced a follow-up tour 14 On Fire scheduled to start in February, including dates in the Middle East, Asia, and Europe in summer 2014, and Australia in fall 2014. // In 2013, Fischer joined the rock band Nine Inch Nails as a backing vocalist for their Tension 2013 tour. // Fischer is one of the artists featured in the Oscar-winning documentary film 20 Feet from Stardom (2013), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was released on June 21, 2013. The documentary highlights back-up singers by archiving the oral histories of artists like Merry Clayton and Darlene Love and their experiences within the American music industry. The film earned the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Music Film, with the award presented to the featured artists as well as the production crew. // In 2014, Fischer re-united with many of the back-up singers in 20 Feet From Stardom including Darlene Love, Merry Clayton, and Judith Hill to sing the national anthem at the 100th Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. // In 2014, Fischer began her solo tour accompanied by her band Grand Baton, performing across the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. That same year, a press release announced Fischer would collaborate with performer Billy Childs on a studio project about Laura Nyro. 2015, returning to her solo career, Fischer sold out six consecutive shows at The Jazz Standard in New York City. // In 2015, she, along with her musical director, the composer, arranger, and pianist JC Maillard, collaborated with choreographer Alonzo King to create the music/dance ensemble piece entitled The Propelled Heart for the Alonzo King LINES Ballet. The Propelled Heart premiered at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco on November 6, 2015. In September 2017, Fischer reprised her role in The Propelled Heart at the Kwai Tsing Theatre in Hong Kong. The program returned to the SF Bay Area’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in November 2017 in honor of the 35th Anniversary of LINES Ballet. // In addition to her collaboration with King, in 2016, Fischer provided vocal performances on three Grammy nominated projects including Louie Vega Starring…XXVIII with Louie Vega and The Elements of Life; Sing Me Home with Yo-Yo Ma, The Silkroad Ensemble, and Gregory Porter; as well as New York Rhapsody with Lang Lang and Jeffrey Wright. In February 2018, Fischer’s vocal performances were featured in the HBO Film presentation Notes From The Field written and produced by playwright Anna Deavere Smith. // Fischer and Grand Baton partnered with The Seattle Symphony for their program Just A Kiss Away in February 2018 in which rock music anthems such as The Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” were re-created orchestrally. The orchestral arrangements were composed by Chris Walden.]
- The Police – “Driven To Tears”
from: Zenyatta Mondatta (Remastered) / A&M Records / October 3, 1980
[Zenyatta Mondatta (stylised as Zenyattà Mondatta on the album cover artwork) is the third studio album by English rock band the Police, released on 3 October 1980 by A&M Records. It was co-produced by the band and Nigel Gray. // Zenyatta Mondatta reached number one on the UK Albums Chart and number five on the US Billboard 200. It produced the hit singles “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” and “De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da”. The album won the band two Grammy Awards: Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” and Best Rock Instrumental Performance for “Behind My Camel”. // Zenyatta Mondatta was written during the Police’s second tour and recorded in four weeks (minus several days for concerts in Ireland and at the Milton Keynes festival in the United Kingdom). The band members have often expressed disappointment over the album, going so far as to re-record two songs during a brief, unsuccessful reunion in 1986. Drummer Stewart Copeland said about the time pressures: “We had bitten off more than we could chew. … we finished the album at 4 a.m. on the day we were starting our next world tour. We went to bed for a few hours and then traveled down to Belgium for the first gig. It was cutting it very fine.” // The band had wanted to record the album at Surrey Sound, the recording site of their first two albums, but could not record at any British studio for tax reasons. They were, however, able to retain Nigel Gray as their co-producer, bringing him with them to Wisseloord Studios in the Netherlands. Feeling that he had played a significant part in the Police’s first two albums, Gray negotiated for a £25,000 fee, which brought the album’s total budget to £35,000 (more than twice the combined budgets of their first two albums, but still exceptionally cheap for a band who at that point had become established stars). // As mentioned by Copeland, the Police embarked on a tour of the world the day of the album’s completion, beginning in Belgium and finishing in Australia. // The album is the last of the Police’s early era, influenced by reggae and punk and featuring few musical elements on top of the core guitar, bass, and drums. // The record has two instrumentals, “The Other Way of Stopping” (named from a line in Bob Newhart’s “The Driving Instructor” routine) and “Behind My Camel”. “Behind My Camel” was guitarist Andy Summers’ first entirely self-penned composition. As bassist and vocalist Sting refused to play on it, Summers recorded the bass line himself, overdubbing the guitar parts. According to Sting, “I hated that song so much that, one day when I was in the studio, I found the tape lying on the table. So I took it around the back of the studio and actually buried it in the garden.”[6] Nigel Gray believed that the title was an in-joke by Summers: “He didn’t tell me this himself but I’m 98% sure the reason is this: what would you find behind a camel? A monumental pile of shit.” // “Bombs Away” was recorded on a tape that Nigel Gray had just used with Siouxsie and the Banshees. Copeland said that “when he first set up his home studio he got hold of a load of second hand tape which included some stuff by Siouxsie and the Banshees. ‘Bombs Away’ was written on a Siouxsie and the Banshees backing track. I changed the speed and did things to the EQ to change the drum pattern. So with the desk I can get my song playing, then press a switch and there’s Siouxsie singing away.” // Zenyatta Mondatta also saw the band’s lyrics turning towards political events, with Sting’s “Driven to Tears” commenting on poverty and Copeland’s “Bombs Away” referring to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. These themes became more prevalent on the Police’s next album, Ghost in the Machine. // The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Police became globally popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Emerging in the British new wave scene, they played a style of rock influenced by punk, reggae, and jazz. // Their 1978 debut album, Outlandos d’Amour, reached No. 6 on the UK Albums Chart on the strength of the singles “Roxanne” and “Can’t Stand Losing You”. Their second album, Reggatta de Blanc (1979), became the first of four consecutive No. 1 studio albums in the UK and Australia; its first two singles, “Message in a Bottle” and “Walking on the Moon”, became their first UK number ones. Their next two albums, Zenyatta Mondatta (1980) and Ghost in the Machine (1981), led to further critical and commercial success with two songs, “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” and “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic”, becoming UK number-one singles and Top 5 hits in other countries; the former album was their breakthrough into the US reaching number five on the US Billboard 200. // Their final studio album, Synchronicity (1983), was No. 1 in the UK, Canada, Australia, Italy and the US, selling over 8 million copies in the US. Its lead single, “Every Breath You Take”, became their fifth UK number one, and only US number one. During this time, the band were considered one of the leaders of the Second British Invasion of the US; in 1983 Rolling Stone labelled them “the first British New Wave act to break through in America on a grand scale, and possibly the biggest band in the world.” The Police disbanded in 1986, but reunited in early 2007 for a one-off world tour that ended in August 2008. They were the world’s highest-earning musicians in 2008, due to their reunion tour, which was the highest-grossing tour of 2007. // The Police have sold over 75 million records, making them one of the best-selling bands of all time. The band won a number of music awards, including six Grammy Awards, two Brit Awards—winning Best British Group once, and an MTV Video Music Award. In 2003, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Four of their five studio albums appeared on Rolling Stone’s list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time”. The band were included among both Rolling Stone’s and VH1’s lists of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time”]
10:28 – Underwriting
- Brad Cox & Jeffrey Freling – “One Confession (feat. Annie Ellicott)”
from: aRound & aRound / Owen Cox Dance Group / March 31, 2023
10:29 – Interview with Jen Owen & Brad Cox
Jennifer Owen is Artistic Director of Owen/Cox Dance Group, an ensemble she co-founded with composer Brad Cox in 2007. She has choreographed over fifty new works for Owen/Cox Dance Group. Prior to founding Owen/Cox Dance Group, Owen enjoyed a 13-year international ballet career. After training with Pacific Northwest Ballet School, San Francisco Ballet School, School of American Ballet, and the Bolshoi Ballet Academy, she went on to dance with the Russian State Ballet, Moscow Renaissance Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, Hong Kong Ballet, BalletMet, and was a guest artist with the National Ballet of Turkmenistan.
Brad Cox is a composer in the uniquely American Ellington model, Brad is dedicated to forming long lasting relationships with musicians and writing music for those musicians. Brad is a founder and contributing composer to The People’s Liberation Big Band of Greater Kansas City, and conceived and organized the ensemble’s versions of The Nutcracker and the Mouse King and The Battleship Potemkin. In addition to his work with Owen/Cox Dance Group, he has created compositions and arrangements for Sony Classical recording artist Nathan Granner, Grammy award-winning producer and engineer Russ Elevado, Paris-based songwriter Krystle Warren and internationally-recognized puppeteer Paul Mesner. Brad is a 2009 recipient of the Tanne Foundation Award, and 2010 recipient of the Charlotte Street Foundation Generative Performing Artist Award.
Jennifer Owen & Brad Cox join us live in our 90.1 FM Studios to share all the details about Owen Cox Dance Group’s newest production, aRound & aRound, Friday, March 31 ansd Saturday, April 1, 2023, at 8:00 PM, and Sunday, April 2, 2023, at 2:00 PM at The City Stage Theatre, Union Station, 30 West Pershing Road, Kansas City, MO 64108. More information at: http://www.owencoxdance.org
Jennifer Owen, and Brad Cox, Thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley
We last talked with Jennifer Owen on September 28, just before the Owen Cox collaboration with The Black Creatures “What Came With Spring,” Oct. 7, 8 & 9, 2022.
This new production features original music composed by Brad Cox and Jeff Freling (of Victor & Penny and Slim Hanson and the Poor Choices). This new work also features visual projections created by artist and NEA Fellow, Nate Fors.
Owen Cox Dance Group’s newest production, aRound & aRound, Friday, March 31 ansd Saturday, April 1, 2023, at 8:00 PM, and Sunday, April 2, 2023, at 2:00 PM at The City Stage Theatre, Union Station, 30 West Pershing Road, Kansas City, MO 64108.
Jennifer Owen has choreographed over fifty new works for Owen/Cox Dance Group, including two commissions by the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, and works commissioned by Island Moving Co. of Newport, RI, Kansas City Dance Festival, Kansas City Baroque Consortium, and Kansas City Chamber Orchestra. She has also created nine new works for Kansas City Ballet’s In the Wings choreographic workshop, and a winning entry for the 2006 Columbus Choreography Project. Owen is the recipient of a 2000 Princess Grace Honorarium. Prior to founding Owen/Cox Dance Group, Owen enjoyed a 13-year international ballet career. After training with Pacific Northwest Ballet School, San Francisco Ballet School, School of American Ballet, and the Bolshoi Ballet Academy, she went on to dance with the Russian State Ballet, Moscow Renaissance Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, Hong Kong Ballet, BalletMet, and was a guest artist with the National Ballet of Turkmenistan. She has performed principal roles in Giselle, Don Quixote, George Balanchine’s Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux and Donizetti Variations, and the central pas de deux in Todd Bolender’s Arena.
Jen Owen’s husband and partner is Brad Cox, who is also the founder of The People’s Liberation Big Band of Greater Kansas City–a musicians’ collective dedicated to the creation and performance of new large ensemble jazz. AND, Brad Cox Octet–an eight-piece ensemble made up of 2 saxophonists, 2 bass players, 2 drummers, and 2 keyboardists.
Owen/Cox Dance Group is a 501 (c) 3 not for profit corporation with a mission is to create new music and dance collaborations, to present high-quality contemporary dance performances with live music, and to engage as wide an audience as possible through affordable live performance, education and outreach programs
Over the last few years Owen/Cox Dance Group’s was working on a U.S. State Diplomacy Tour in Ukraine. COVID-19 local & international protocol, postponing this trip until later. Jen Owen how do you explain how your donace company has been involved in international history and now with the Russian invasion into the Ukrain things have dramatically changed.
Brad Cox and April Fletcher were apartment mates at 4407 Harrison back in 1989.
Jennifer Owen, and Brad Cox, Thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley
Owen Cox Dance Group” newest production, aRound & aRound, is]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]] March 31 through April 1, 2023, at 8:00 PM, and April 2, 2023, at 2:00 PM at The City Stage Theatre, Union Station, 30 West Pershing Road, Kansas City, MO 64108. This new production features original music composed by Brad Cox and Jeff Freling (of Victor & Penny and Slim Hanson and the Poor Choices). This new work also features visual projections created by artist and NEA Fellow, Nate Fors. More information at: http://www.owencoxdance.org
10:41 -10:42
8. Snarky Puppy – “We Like It Here”
from: We Like It Here / Ropeadope / February 25, 2014
[We Like It Here is an album by American jazz fusion group Snarky Puppy that was released on February 25, 2014. The track “Lingus” includes a solo on the synthesizer performed by Cory Henry. // Snarky Puppy is sometimes referred to as a “collective.” The band’s current roster boasts about 19 members, and well over 40 musicians have performed with the group over the years and through the group’s 14 albums. Michael League explains that, in the early days of the original 10-piece band, if someone got an opportunity to earn more money than for the band’s gig, “…we’d get a substitute and if the substitute played well, then it felt like, ‘Well, they learned the music and played great, what a waste for them to learn all that for one gig…’ so we would kind of just keep them in the Rolodex, so to speak, and rotate them in and out. Then it became a thing where we started touring so much that guys couldn’t do all the dates, or didn’t want to, or whatever.” When people came in, the differences in their playing would influence all those on the date. “That would change the way that they played the music. And then even when that new person left, that memory of that new relationship with the music would remain. So really we just kept building on the personalities of the new people that would come in, brick by brick. …in general, the guys understand what the band is– a rotating cast… But I don’t really think of Snarky Puppy as a collective. It’s just a large band and sometimes people aren’t there. It doesn’t feel like a revolving door, it doesn’t feel anonymous at all. The guys who have played gigs with us the least have still played several hundred gigs. That’s more than most people play with their own bands. So it’s very much a tight, familial unit. Everyone feels very, very close and very essential, also.]
- Snarky Puppy – “We Like It Here”
from: We Like It Here / Ropeadope / February 25, 2014
[We Like It Here is an album by American jazz fusion group Snarky Puppy that was released on February 25, 2014. The track “Lingus” includes a solo on the synthesizer performed by Cory Henry. // Snarky Puppy is sometimes referred to as a “collective.” The band’s current roster boasts about 19 members, and well over 40 musicians have performed with the group over the years and through the group’s 14 albums. Michael League explains that, in the early days of the original 10-piece band, if someone got an opportunity to earn more money than for the band’s gig, “…we’d get a substitute and if the substitute played well, then it felt like, ‘Well, they learned the music and played great, what a waste for them to learn all that for one gig…’ so we would kind of just keep them in the Rolodex, so to speak, and rotate them in and out. Then it became a thing where we started touring so much that guys couldn’t do all the dates, or didn’t want to, or whatever.” When people came in, the differences in their playing would influence all those on the date. “That would change the way that they played the music. And then even when that new person left, that memory of that new relationship with the music would remain. So really we just kept building on the personalities of the new people that would come in, brick by brick. …in general, the guys understand what the band is– a rotating cast… But I don’t really think of Snarky Puppy as a collective. It’s just a large band and sometimes people aren’t there. It doesn’t feel like a revolving door, it doesn’t feel anonymous at all. The guys who have played gigs with us the least have still played several hundred gigs. That’s more than most people play with their own bands. So it’s very much a tight, familial unit. Everyone feels very, very close and very essential, also.]
11:00 – Station ID
- Fela Kuti – “Water Not Get Enemy (Edit)”
from: Best of the Black President / Fela Anikulapo-Kuti Estate / 1January 1, 2009
[Ths was a Single Compilation tracing the Nigerian firebrand’s evolution from Afrobeat prognitor in the 1960s to World Music icon ny the 1990s..// in 2002, Femi contributed a remake of his father’s classic song “Water No Get Enemy” to Red Hot & Riot, a compilation CD in tribute to Fela Kuti that was released by the Red Hot Organization and MCA. Femi’s track was created in collaboration with hip-hop and R&B artists D’Angelo, Macy Gray, The Soultronics, Nile Rodgers and Roy Hargrove, and all proceeds from the CD were donated to charities dedicated to raising AIDS awareness or fighting the disease. // Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; October 15, 1938 – August 2, 1997), also known as Abami Eda, was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist, bandleader, composer, political activist, and Pan-Africanist. He is regarded as the pioneer of Afrobeat, an African music genre that combines West African music with American funk and jazz. At the height of his popularity, he was referred to as one of Africa’s most “challenging and charismatic music performers”. AllMusic described him as a musical and sociopolitical voice of international significance. Kuti was the son of Nigerian women’s rights activist Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti. After early experiences abroad, he and his band Africa 70 (featuring drummer and musical director Tony Allen) shot to stardom in Nigeria during the 1970s, during which he was an outspoken critic and target of Nigeria’s military juntas. In 1970, he founded the Kalakuta Republic commune, which declared itself independent from military rule. The commune was destroyed in a 1978 raid. He was jailed by the government of Muhammadu Buhari in 1984, but released after 20 months. He continued to record and perform through the 1980s and 1990s. Since his death in 1997, reissues and compilations of his music have been overseen by his son, Femi Kuti.]
- Sade – “Cherish The Day”
from: Love Deluxe / Epic – Sony / October 26, 1992
[Love Deluxe is the fourth studio album by English band Sade, released by Epic Records in the United Kingdom on October 26, 1992 and in the United States on November 3, 1992. // In a contemporary review for The Village Voice, music critic Robert Christgau felt that half of the album cannot qualify with Sade’s most memorable songs and particularly panned the lyric about a Somali woman who has a life that “hurts like brand-new shoes” on the song “Pearls”. Amy Linden of Entertainment Weekly stated that the album “surges with emotion, but the mostly lush ambient music on Love Deluxe is low on the oomph meter.] In a retrospective review, AllMusic’s Ron Wynn wrote that it “marked a return to the detached cool jazz backing and even icier vocals that made her debut album a sensation” with an “urbane sound.” // In 2020, Rolling Stone ranked the album 247th on its list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time”. In September 2022, Pitchfork ranked Love Deluxe as the 52nd best album of the 1990s. // Love Deluxe peaked at number 10 on the UK Albums Chart, and was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on June 1, 1993. In the United States, the album peaked at number three on the Billboard 200, and as of May 2003, it had sold 3.4 million copies. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified it four-times platinum on 9 November 1994, denoting shipments in excess of four million copies. The album was also commercially successful elsewhere, reaching number one in France and the top 10 in Belgium, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. By April 1993, the album had sold three million copies worldwide, including 220,000 copies in Italy. // Following the release of Love Deluxe, the band had a seven-year hiatus, during which Sade Adu came under media scrutiny with rumours of depression and addiction and later gave birth to her first child. During this time, the other members of the band, Matthewman, Denman, and Hale, went on to other projects, including Sweetback, which released a self-titled album in 1996. Matthewman also played a major role in the development of Maxwell’s career, providing instrumentation and production work for the R&B singer’s first two albums. // Sade are an English band, formed in London in 1982 and named after their lead singer, Sade Adu. Three members, Paul Anthony Cooke, Stuart Mathewman, and Paul Spencer Denman, were originally from Hull in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Its music features elements of soul, quiet storm, smooth jazz and sophisti-pop. All of the band’s albums, including compilations and a live album, have charted in the US Top Ten. // The band’s debut studio album, Diamond Life (1984), reached number two on the UK Album Chart, selling over 1.2 million copies and won the Brit Award for Best British Album in 1985.[7] The album was also a hit internationally, reaching number one in several countries and the top ten in the United States, where it has sold four million copies to date. // In late 1985, the band released its second studio effort Promise, which peaked at number one in both the United Kingdom and the US. It was certified double platinum in the UK and quadruple platinum in the US. In 1986, Sade won a Grammy Award for Best New Artist. Their fifth studio album, Lovers Rock (2000), won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album. Their sixth studio album, Soldier of Love (2010), peaked at number four in the UK and number one in the US. In 2011, the band won its fourth Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. // Sade’s US certified sales in 2012 stood at 23.5 million units according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and by 2014 sold more than 75 million records worldwide to date. The band were ranked at No. 50 on VH1’s list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time”]
- Hiatus Kaiyote – “Red Room”
from: Mood Variant (The Remixes) / Brain Feeder / April 8, 2022
[Hiatus Kaiyote is an Australian jazz/funk band formed in Melbourne in 2011, made up of singer/guitarist Nai Palm, bassist Paul Bender, keyboardist Simon Mavin, and drummer Perrin Moss. // In 2010, Nai Palm (born Naomi Saalfield) performed a solo show in Melbourne that was witnessed by Paul Bender. After the show, Bender approached Palm and suggested a collaboration. After working as a duo for a short time, they recruited Perrin Moss and Simon Mavin in 2011 and formed Hiatus Kaiyote. Mavin was then a member of The Bamboos but left that band to focus on Hiatus Kaiyote. // Hiatus Kaiyote played their first gig at the 2011 Bohemian Masquerade Ball among sword swallowers, fire twirlers, and gypsy death core bands. In February 2012, the band opened for Taylor McFerrin in Melbourne. McFerrin was so impressed with them that he introduced their music to influential broadcaster and record label owner DJ Gilles Peterson. // The band released their debut album Tawk Tomahawk independently in April 2012. It was noticed by numerous musicians including Animal Collective and Dirty Projectors, and the band later received public endorsements from Erykah Badu, Questlove, and Prince, who urged their social media followers to explore the band’s music. In early 2013, Gilles Peterson named them the Breakthrough Artists of the Year at his Worldwide Music Awards in London, and shortly thereafter they were introduced to Salaam Remi who had just started working as an A&R executive at Sony Music. Sony gave Remi the opportunity to start his own label, Flying Buddha, and his first signing was Hiatus Kaiyote. The band licensed Tawk Tomahawk to the label, adding an updated version of the song “Nakamarra” featuring Q-Tip. Following this release, the band toured internationally, and in 2014 were nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance for “Nakamarra.” They were the first Australian act to be nominated for a Grammy in an R&B category. // Every song we make is a little world and contains a multitude of influences. Although some may refer to our songs as R&B in one moment, and electronica or proggy-tropicalia in another, we don’t think about sounds in terms of genres, but look at them more from a cinematic way. We’re always trying to get to that moment where people are overwhelmed in joy, in confusion, in sadness, or in the magnitude of emotion or disbelief – as well as sometimes feeling all of these simultaneously. We like to call this “wondercore”, and that’s what we’re always aiming for as a group. – Hiatus Kaiyote in Music Business Worldwide // In 2014, the band began working on their second album, Choose Your Weapon, which was released on May 1, 2015. The review aggregator Metacritic gave the album a normalized rating of 87 out of 100, based on 6 reviews, indicating “universal acclaim”. On 9 May 2015, Choose Your Weapon debuted at number 22 on the Australian albums chart. Nai Palm described the album as an “extension” of their debut, and stated that she and the band had no intention to make a one-genre body of work. Many of the songs on the album started with Saalfield’s original ideas and were later fleshed out by the band collectively. During the recording the band wanted to pay tribute to the mixtape format, so they incorporated interludes. // Choose Your Weapon became the band’s first release to chart in the US, reaching #127 on the Billboard 200, and #11 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The song “Breathing Underwater” from the album was nominated for a Best R&B Performance at the 58th Grammy Awards. // Starting in 2016, prominent rap and R&B artists began sampling Hiatus Kaiyote songs, starting with Anderson .Paak’s sample of “Molasses” in “Without You” on his album Malibu. The following year, Kendrick Lamar sampled “Atari” in “Duckworth” from his album Damn, and Drake sampled “Building a Ladder” on the song “Free Smoke” from his playlist More Life. In 2018, Beyonce and Jay-Z sampled “The World It Softly Lulls” in “713” from their album Everything Is Love. // In 2017, Nai Palm released her debut solo album Needle Paw. In June 2018, Palm was featured on Scorpion by Drake, who has spoken highly of both her and the band. She sang a cover of “More Than a Woman” by Aaliyah, which appears at the end of Drake’s song “Is There More?”. On October 18, 2018, Palm revealed that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. While recuperating in the hospital following a mastectomy, Palm and Bender performed a cover of Curtis Mayfield’s “The Makings of You” which was released online Palm announced in 2019 that she was cancer-free. // During Palm’s recovery period, the other members of Hiatus Kaiyote formed several side projects. Perrin Moss, under the name Clever Austin, released the solo album Pareidolia in 2019. Simon Mavin formed a band called The Putbacks, and produced the album Control by Natalie Slade in 2020. Paul Bender formed an act called The Sweet Enoughs and released the album Marshmallow in 2020. Bender has also produced albums for Jaala, Vulture St. Tape Gang, and Laneous. Bender, Mavin, and Moss also released an all-instrumental album called Improvised Music 2015-17 in 2020, under the name Swooping (formerly Swooping Duck). // Hiatus Kaiyote reconvened in 2020 and signed a global publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music. They began work on a new album inspired by Palm’s health crisis and her loss of a beloved pet, as well as the social difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The song “Get Sun” was arranged and conducted by Brazilian musician Arthur Verocai. The album Mood Valiant was released on 25 June 2021, and reached the Top Ten on the Australian albums chart. The album was nominated for a Grammy in 2022 for Best Progressive R&B Album.]
- Bebel Gilberto – “Aganjú”
from: Bebel Gilberto / Crammed Discs / January 1, 2003
[Isabel Buarque de Hollanda Gilberto de Oliveira (born May 12, 1966), known as Bebel Gilberto, is an American-born Brazilian popular singer often associated with bossa nova. She is the daughter of João Gilberto and singer Miúcha. Her uncle is singer/composer Chico Buarque. // Gilberto was born in New York City to Brazilian parents, bossa nova pioneer João Gilberto and singer Miúcha, who were briefly living in the city at the time of her birth. She often traveled with her father when he recorded albums in different countries; she lived in Mexico at age three and moved to Rio de Janeiro at age five. Gilberto’s parents separated when she was seven, and she spent her time between Rio de Janeiro with her mother and New York with her father. Gilberto has been performing since her youth in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. // Gilberto recalls that her childhood was “music nonstop”; when reflecting on her father’s influence, Gilberto states, “He taught me to be a perfectionist. But my mother taught me how to lose it. And you can hear it in my music today, I think.” She grew acquainted with popular artists such as Caetano Veloso, David Byrne, and Stan Getz, who often visited her father’s home to collaborate. She began singing with her mother at a young age and participated in professional musicals such as Saltimbancos and Pirlimpimpim. At the age of seven, she made her recording debut on her mother’s first solo album, Miúcha & Antônio Carlos Jobim (1977). Two years later, she performed at Carnegie Hall with her mother and Stan Getz. // Gilberto was a great friend of Cazuza and composed several songs with him in addition to “Eu preciso dizer que te amo”, including “Amigos de Bar”, “Mais Feliz”, and “Mulher sem Razão”. // Gilberto next participated in the project Red Hot + Rio, joining major music stars such as Everything but the Girl, Maxwell, George Michael, and others for the benefit CD recording. She also collaborated on Towa Tei’s CD Future Listening!, singing on the hits “Technova” and “Batucada,” and also participated in Peeping Tom with Mike Patton (lead singer of Faith No More), singing “Caipirinha”. // Tanto Tempo, an electronic bossa nova album released in 2000, was popular at clubs around the world and positioned Gilberto as one of the best-selling Brazilian artists in the U.S. since the 1960s. With her second album, Bebel Gilberto (2004), she refined her sound to create an acoustic lounge style that showcased her strengths as a Brazilian composer. // With Momento (2007), her third album in seven years, she wanted to do a fusion of both. Mixing the taste of Rio’s Orquestra Imperial with the melting pot of New York’s Brazilian Girls, and following the direction of the English producer Guy Sigsworth (Madonna’s partner in “What It Feels Like for a Girl”), Momento reaffirmed the international character of Gilberto’s music. In 2007, she was a judge for the 6th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists’ careers. // Gilberto recorded her fourth studio album, All in One, in New York, Jamaica, and the Brazilian state of Bahia. It was released worldwide on September 29, 2009, on the American jazz label Verve, and was released in Brazil by Universal Music. It is the least electronic-infused of her albums, and brings to the forefront more of Gilberto’s personality and love for organic styles. All in One had a team of accomplished producers including Mark Ronson (Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen), John King (Dust Brothers, Beck), Daniel Jobim, Carlinhos Brown, Didi Gutman (Brazilian Girls) and Mario Caldato Jr (Beastie Boys, Björk, Jack Johnson). Gilberto also provided the voice of the bird Eva in the animated film Rio (2011), an experience she called “amazing”. // Since the launch of Tanto Tempo in 2000, she has sold over 2.5 million records and has been featured on seven film soundtracks including Next Stop Wonderland, The Bubble, Closer and most recently 2010s Eat Pray Love and 2011’s Rio; and seven TV series including Sex and the City, Six Feet Under, and Nip/Tuck. // In 2011, she contributed a track entitled “Acabou Chorare” to the Red Hot Organization’s most recent charitable album, Red Hot+Rio 2. The album is a follow-up to the 1996 Red Hot+Rio. Proceeds from the sales will be donated to raise awareness and money to fight AIDS/HIV and related health and social issues. In 2015, her song “Tudo” was nominated for the 16th Latin Grammy Awards in the Best Brazilian Song category.]
11:28 – Underwriting
- The Funkees – “Akula Owu Onyeara”
from: Dancing Time: The Best of Eastern Nigeria’s Afro Rock Exponents 1973 – 77 / Soundway Records / April 9, 2012
[The Funkees were a Nigerian afro-rock group formed in the late 1960s. They moved to London in 1973 and quickly gained prominence in the expatriate West African and West Indian music scene, but fragmented four years later. They specialized in funky, upbeat, highly danceable afro-rock that often featured lyrics sung in Igbo, as well as English. Originating as an army band after the Nigerian Civil War, they contributed to the outpouring of upbeat music produced by young people in Nigeria in response to the darkness of the recently concluded civil conflict. In 2012, Soundway Records reissued a compilation of their recordings from the mid-1970s, leading to a resurgence of interest in the band. // Members included:Harry Mosco on guitar, vocals, gong; Chyke Madu on drums, vocals; Sonny Akpabio on congas; Jake N. Sollo on guitar, organ, piano, vocals; Danny Heibs on bass, vocals, percussion; Tony Mallett & Mohammed Ahidjo on vocals, percussion; Roli Paterson on bongos. // Discography: Point of No Return from 1974, Now I’m A Man from 1976, and Dancing Time: The Best of Eastern Nigeria’s Afro Rock Exponents 1973-77 (reissue compilation) from 2012.]
- Kokoroko – “Colonial Mentality (Live)”
from: Colonial Mentality (Live) / SoFar Sounds London / December 9, 2016
[Recorded Live on December 9, 2016 for SoFar Sounds London. https://youtu.be/zUnKDK1iklo // Kokoroko is a London-based eight-piece musical group led by Sheila Maurice-Grey, playing a fusion of jazz and Afrobeat. In February 2019 they were named “ones to watch” by the Guardian, after their track “Abusey Junction” garnered 23 million views on YouTube. In February 2020 they won Best Group at the Urban Music Awards. In September 2020 they played BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall. // They released their debut album COULD WE BE MORE, on Brownswood Records on August 2022.// Sofar Sounds is a global music community that connects artists and audiences through live music. We bring people together to create space where music matters in 400 cities around the world.]
- Maraca – “Se Te Acabo la Rumba”
from: Tremenda Rumba! / Ahi-Nama / April 23, 2022
[Maraca is an afro-cuban jazz band from Cuba. The band is led by former Irakere flutist Orlando Valle “Maraca”. Orlando Valle, “Maraca”, was born in September, 1966 in Havana within a family of musicians. When he was ten years old he began studying the flute at the “Manuel Saumell” Conservatory. His professional career began in 1987 with the orchestra of Bobby Carcassés. Later on, he joined the group led by the pianist and composer Emiliano Salvador, whose experience constituted a remarkable influence for Maraca. In 1988, Maraca joined the Irakere Group as flute player, composer and arranger with whom he performed at the most important jazz clubs and festivals across the world for six years. // In 1994, he parted from Irakere to start his career as soloist. He produced, orchestrated and composed the themes contained in the record entitled Cocodrilo de agua salá by Yumuri and His Brothers. Likewise, he composed the music for the “Pasaporte” record by the renowned Cuban percussionists Tata Guines and Angá. He conceived and arranged three of the themes included in the Cubanismo album by Jesús Alemañy and worked with the American saxophone player Steve Colleman and trumpet player Roy Hargrove. His first album as soloist was “Fórmula I”. // In December 1995, he founded his own jazz group called “Maraca” y Otra Visión (the group”s name is a tribute to Emiliano Salvador, a true Cuban jazz legend) with which he participated at the most important jazz festivals held in Europe. Two years later, his group was the only Cuban group participating at the MIDEM in Cannes, France, representing the Cuban music. The first CD he recorded with his group, “Havana Calling”, became a resounding hit on the market as was acknowledged by the specialized critic since it was placed among the ten best records in 1997 according to the “Latin Beat” Magazine. That same year, “Jazzman” from France, described him as one of the most important musical creators in the island, thus consolidating his vanguard position within the Latin jazz. // In 1999, he received the Cubadisco Award for the best fusion album with his CD entitled “Sonando” including guest stars like Compay Segundo, Barbarito Torres, Pío Leyva, Los Muñequitos de Matanzas, Rolo Martínez, Lino Borges and others. This record also received two Lucas Awards for the best video-clip of the year in Cuba. // The following years up to now have witnessed the meteoric development of “Maraca” and his group as musicians whose versatility has allowed them to travel from jazz to Cuban popular music, and vice versa, with a quality put to the proof. “Maraca” and his group have performed almost in every European country, in the United States, Canada and Martinique, among others, at the most outstanding jazz, salsa music and Caribbean music events. He has shared the stage with Celia Cruz, Oscar de León, “El Canario” and Cesaria Evora, just to mention a few. // His records entitled “Descarga total” and “Tremenda rumba” were placed in the American and European hit parades, since “Maraca” displays a new vision of the Latin music by merging tradition and modernity.]
- Noel Coward – “The Party’s Over Now”
from: Noel Coward in New York / drg / 2003 [orig. 1957]
We must give a huge THANK YOU to our special Guest Producer – April Fletcher for sharing so much incredible music with us today. Her side projects include her Etsy store, a YouTube channel all while trying to find time to practice so she can start performing again upon her return to Los Angeles. You can learn more about her social media and work at: sociatap.com/aprilfletcher
We must give a huge THANK YOU to our special Guest Producer – April Fletcher for sharing so much incredible music with us today. Her side projects include her Etsy store, a YouTube channel all while trying to find time to practice so she can start performing again upon her return to Los Angeles. You can learn more about her social media and work at: sociatap.com/aprilfletcher
Next week on Wednesday MidDay Medley on April 5, 2023, Kate McCandless (who records and performs as She Speaks in Tongues) and Cody Wyoming join us to talk about, SHE SPEAKS IN TONGUES submits: Patti Smith’s EASTER on EASTER Sunday, April 9, 2023 at 7:00 PM at recordBar 1520 Grand Blvd, KCMO. SHE SPEAKS IN TONGUES is thrilled to partner with Kansas City forces: THE CODY WYOMING DEAL, JULIA OTHMER, and TERI QUINN to create a cathartic, sacred homage to Patti Smith and her work…with a surprising, shamanic edge where nothing is sacred… Sacred is all.
Also next week we welcome musicians Megan Birdsall and Michael Andrew Smith.
And we talk with Jess Shoman of the Chicago band Tenci, and play tracks from their critically acclaimed album, A Swollen River, A Well Overflowing. Tenci plays recordBar, 1520 Grand, KCMO, on Saturday, April 8, 2023 at 10:00 PM with Perfect Lovers
Big THANK YOU to all of our wonderful listeners and friends who generously and thoughtfully donated to support KKFI 90.1 FM – Kansas City Community Radio during our Wednesday MidDay Medley broadcast today! Through the airwaves, and through social media, a total of 55 people donated a total of $3149.00 to allow us to continue our mission. THANK YOU to my incredible co-hosts: Betse Ellis & Marion Merritt, and special guest J Kelly Dougherty, and very special guest Hermon Mehari for sharing your brilliance with our listeners. Thank you to Scott Bunte, Lincoln Dreher and Darryl Oliver for taking our donations over the phones.
Our Script/Playlist is a “cut and paste” of information.
Sources for notes: artist’s websites, bios, wikipedia.org
Wednesday MidDay Medley in on the web:
http://www.kkfi.org,
http://www.WednesdayMidDayMedley.org,
http://www.facebook.com/WednesdayMidDayMedleyon90.1FM
On your local radio dial 90.1 FM or
STREAMING LIVE at: kkfi.org
Show #987
Wednesday MidDay Medley