The Third Story with Leo Sidran
294 episodes - English - Latest episode: 3 months ago - ★★★★★ - 124 ratingsTHE THIRD STORY features long-form interviews with creative people of all types, hosted by musician Leo Sidran. Their stories of discovery, loss, ambition, identity, risk, and reward are deeply moving and compelling for all of us as we embark on our own creative journeys.
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Episodes
Paris
November 19, 2015 10:15 - 32 minutes - 29.4 MBWhat did it feel like in Paris on the night of Friday, November 13th? From my point of view, it started with a lot of positive energy. I walked into the Sunset jazz club in the Chatelet area, where I was performing with my dad’s quartet, and said hello to some friends who had come to see the show. It was a good crowd, a full house on a Friday night and people were out to have a good time. We played the first set and took our first break. One audience member said something to me about...
42: Becca Stevens "I'm an emotional perfectionist"
October 22, 2015 04:00 - 1 hour - 58.3 MBSinger-songwriter Becca Stevens has been making music since she was a little girl, singing in her family band, the Tune Mammals. Since moving to New York city for college over a decade ago, she has been a fixture on the jazz and singer-songwriter scenes, working with her own band as well as with some of the most talented and exciting new jazz artists today, including Esperanza Spalding, Ambrose Akinmusire, Jose James, Billy Childs, Taylor Eigsti, Gretchen Parlato & Rebecca Martin. (Stevens, ...
41: Creed Taylor, Record producer at the crossroad of history and good taste
October 08, 2015 16:30 - 55 minutes - 44.7 MBFor forty years, Creed Taylor was one of a small handful of jazz record producers and label managers who shaped and defined the sound of jazz recording. Through his work with the Bethlehem, ABC, Impulse!, Verve, and CTI labels, he produced classic albums for countless artists. He introduced us to “The Girl From Ipanema”, “Mister Magic” and showed us “The Blues and the Abstract Truth”. He produced both hits and critically acclaimed albums, and his sound defined an era. He made the history (f...
40: Howard Levy, Harmonica Player on How Rhythm, Melody, & Light are all the same thing
September 24, 2015 04:00 - 1 hour - 69 MBHoward Levy has one of the most inquisitive musical minds of anyone around. He’s an accomplished piano player, and a musical fixture on the Chicago music scene, but the thing that he’s most known for is his astounding harmonica playing and innovative technique. Here he talks to Leo and Ben Sidran about his journey out of New York, to the city of wide shoulders and open spaces, and how living in Chicago influenced his development, gave him room to think and create, and eventually come to som...
39: Musicians behind Late Show with Stephen Colbert
September 09, 2015 03:00 - 1 hour - 62.5 MBThis week, Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show” begins, replacing David Letterman and starting a new tradition for late night television. Colbert chose young powerhouse pianist Jon Batiste to lead his band, and Batiste in turn selectedMichael Thurber to play bass in the band. I've talked with both Batiste and Thurber for this podcast in the past, discussing their early musical development and general outlook on music today. In celebration of The Late Show's kickoff, I compiled some highlights from...
38: Addicted To Living In the Present Moment - The Trade Winds project
August 27, 2015 14:11 - 1 hour - 41.3 MBThe Triangle Trade route connected the old world to the new world, sending slaves from west Africa to the Americas, and goods from the Americas back to Europe and even to Africa. How did it profoundly influence the music and culture of each stop along the way? Bassist Matt Geraghty and Saxophonist Ze Luis have been traveling to port cities (New Orleans, San Juan, Havana) to find out. It's part of their compelling video series, the 21 Trade Winds project. Both musicians have made names for ...
37: Inspiration Comes from Life at the Newport Jazz Festival
August 13, 2015 15:03 - 46 minutes - 37 MBBen Sidran and I spent three days at the Newport Jazz Festival, checking out the music, hanging with musicians and trying to find a lobster roll. During the course of the weekend, we connected with some wonderful jazz personalities, including Jon Batiste, Dr. John, Jason Lindner, Maria Schneider, Jose James, James Carter, Jamie Cullum, David Hazeltine, and Bob Dorough. Each of them helped us to paint the picture of real life as it comes into contact with a career in music.
36: George Wein at 90 - Looking forward to the future
July 30, 2015 11:39 - 59 minutes - 40.6 MBGeorge Wein opened his first jazz club, Storyville, in the early 1950s when he was a young man. He then created the Newport Jazz Festival in 1954. The festival became an icon among music festivals and influenced the way music was presented around the world.
35: Welcome to Copenhagen
July 16, 2015 04:05 - 1 hour - 48.7 MBRoam in and out of Copenhagen jazz clubs with me and my father, Ben Sidran. With microphones in hand, we interviewed all sorts of musicians, wondering aloud about the future of the music. A window into my world.
34: He started the website that you can't stop reading. Meet Peter Koechley.
July 02, 2015 10:19 - 1 hour - 35 MBThe viral content website Upworthy launched in 2012 with an emphasis on simple and transformational storytelling. It had an immediate impact online and quickly influenced many other sites in the way they shared stories. Peter Koechley explains their philosophy, why they focus on empathy, and how he came to co-found the influential site.
33: Tommy LiPuma with Al Schmitt, Steve Gadd, Larry Goldings, Jacob Collier and Dean Parks
June 18, 2015 14:11 - 1 hour - 41.4 MBThe conversation is a fascinating glimpse into both the golden age of recording and modern music production approaches, which also highlights how important relationships and trust are to building a career in music (or any industry).
32: Sachal "I have a power to make my words count"
June 03, 2015 20:45 - 1 hour - 41.8 MBSinger Sachal on connecting with an audience, integrating technology into organic music, and the importance of lyrics.
31: Peter Coyote, "Every other role but your authentic self has already been taken"
May 21, 2015 04:27 - 56 minutes - 38.7 MBActor, writer, Zen Buddhist Peter Coyote on the value of meditation ("it's like walking in fog - you get drenched!"), the search for the authentic self, and how to stay true to yourself in the midst of commercial pressures.
30: Guitarist Charlie Hunter on D'Angelo, limitation, and finding your voice
May 06, 2015 04:05 - 1 hour - 44.1 MBGuitarist Charlie Hunter is a true innovator who has collaborated with countless music legends including D’Angelo, John Mayer, Mos Def, Michael Franti, Ben Goldberg and Norah Jones.
29: Gabriel Stulman, NYC Restaurateur, on Building Successful Businesses and Allowing for Failure
April 23, 2015 04:43 - 56 minutes - 32.4 MBGabriel Stulman has opened six successful restaurants in NYCs West Village since 2008. Here he talks about creating timeless places, how to balance instinct with recovery, and why it’s important to allow for failure in any endeavor.
Episode 14 Redux: Greg Holden
April 16, 2015 15:03 - 51 minutes - 23.4 MBEven if you don’t know the name Greg Holden, chances are you’ve heard his music. His song "Home" was recorded in 2012 by American Idol winner Phillip Phillips and became a huge hit, selling over five million copies and influencing many subsequent songs by other artists.
Episode 28: Madeleine Peyroux
April 09, 2015 04:19 - 1 hour - 38 MBRecorded at a café in Paris on a crisp spring day, Madeleine speaks frankly and candidly about her teenage years in Paris, her career, her creative process, and the value of perpetual dissatisfaction.
Episode 27: Alan Hampton
March 26, 2015 11:35 - 1 hour - 28.9 MBBassist, singer, songwriter Alan Hampton is often recognized for playing as a sideman with Robert Glasper, Gretchen Parlato, and Andrew Bird. He has released two albums of his own original songs; the most recent. "Origami for the Fire" came out in the fall of 2014. Here he talks about growing up in Texas, moving to New York, and making music that transcends genre. Stream below or download from iTunes.
Episode 26: Falu
March 05, 2015 06:00 - 1 hour - 28.3 MBIndian vocalist Falu was born Falguni Shah in Mumbai. She was raised with a musical mother who she says started training her in Indian classical singing when she was barely three years old. By the time she graduated from college, she had spent the majority of her life literally living inside the music, and was determined to devote herself to singing. She has lived in the united states since 2000. In January of this year, the Economic Times of India listed Falu among the 20 most influential...
Episode 25: Alex Cuba
February 19, 2015 05:05 - 1 hour - 33.2 MBSinger - songwriter Alex Cuba was born Alexis Puentes in Artemisa, Cuba, but since 1999 he has lived in Canada. He has won two Juno Awards and two Latin Grammys, and his songs have been recorded by many other Latin pop artists. Growing up, he was immersed in music at a very young age. His father was a respected guitarist and teacher named Valentin Puentes, and as a young boy Alex appeared in his dad’s guitar ensemble on Cuban national TV. He then went on to become an in demand bass player...
Episode 24: Bill Stewart
February 05, 2015 05:05 - 1 hour - 28.9 MBBill Stewart is one of the most creative jazz drummers around today. Since moving to New York in 1989, he has been busy playing in groups with the likes of Joe Lovano, John Scofield, Maceo Parker, and Pat Metheny. Here he talks about growing up in Iowa, finding his way into the music and out of the Midwest, the early days of his career in New York, his approach to playing and composing.
Episode 23: Doug Wamble
January 22, 2015 13:45 - 1 hour - 36.3 MBDoug Wamble is a very soulful musician and singer - the blues runs deep in his playing, and he has a direct, funky approach to songwriting and composing. Doug grew up in the south – he was born in Clarksville, Tennessee and raised in Memphis. Although he grew up with music in his family, he only started to play music in his late teens. But when he decided to become a musician, dove in deep. After finishing a graduate degree from Northwestern in Chicago, Doug moved to New York city to pursu...
Episode 22: Jascha Hoffman
January 08, 2015 05:05 - 1 hour - 29 MBJascha Hoffman is a singer, songwriter, and journalist. He writes regularly for The New York Times (he has a monthly column called “The Scan” that covers science and culture). He’s also a regular contributor to the science journal Nature, and his work has appeared in Scientific American, The Boston Globe, and Business Week. As a singer-songwriter Jascha has recorded three records. His most recent release, called “The Afterneath” was released independently in late 2014. Several years ago, h...
Episode 21: Steve Khan
December 29, 2014 05:15 - 1 hour - 40.4 MBGuitarist Steve Khan was born and raised in Los Angeles in a house of songs. His father, lyricist and songwriter Sammy Cahn, made countless contributions to the American songbook. As a young boy, Steve was surrounded by his father’s friends and collaborators; Dean Martin was a regular at the house. But as he describes it, his father’s world was not particularly attractive to him, and he felt a real distance between himself and his father’s world. Coming of age in LA in the 60’s, Steve was ...
Episode 20: Jacob Collier
December 05, 2014 03:10 - 1 hour - 44.6 MBJacob Collier is a singer, multi-instrumentalist, arranger and youtube sensation. He’s primarily known for a series of music videos that he posts online, in which he creates ingenious arrangements of songs by composers ranging from Jerome Kern to Stevie Wonder. In the videos, he records himself singing elaborate and ingenious harmonies, and films himself singing each of the parts, dressed in a slightly different shirt and hairstyle. There’s something very sweet and almost naïve about the vi...
Episode 19: Gil Goldstein
November 13, 2014 05:00 - 1 hour - 33.1 MBGil Goldstein is an arranger, composer, educator, pianist and accordionist. He has arranged projects for artists including Michael Brecker, Esperanza Spalding, Boz Scaggs, Michael Franks, Dave Sanborn, Chris Botti, The Manhattan Transfer, Paul Simon, and Pat Metheny, and produced projects for Bobby McFerrin, Jane Monheit, Mike Stern, Jim Hall and Randy Brecker…and more. His book, The Jazz Composers Companion, is in its third edition. Gil’s meeting and subsequent work with Gil Evans had a ...
Episode 18: Jon Batiste
October 29, 2014 04:05 - 1 hour - 35.7 MBJon Batiste is one of the most exciting young jazz performers around, so it was no surprise to see him on the Colbert Report earlier this year, leading his band (Stay Human) and the entire audience (including Colbert) in a parade out of the studio and into the streets of New York. Born in Kenner, Louisiana into a musical family, Jon started performing as a young boy - singing and playing drums with his family band. He describes his childhood as a kind of duality between his normal subur...
Episode 17: Adam Dorn (Third Story vs. Compared to What Conversation)
October 14, 2014 04:11 - 1 hour - 40.7 MBAdam Dorn, musician, producer and composer, got his start early. Encouraged by his father, legendary record producer Joel Dorn, Adam left his home in Philadelphia when he was still in high school to pursue a life in music. Over the years, he has worked as a session musician on countless records, and as a producer for other artists. His solo project, “Mocean Worker” came about almost by accident, the results of a series of half-serious recording sessions. Since the release of his first album,...
Episode 16: Janis Siegel
October 06, 2014 14:54 - 1 hour - 30.9 MBJanis Siegel was born in Brooklyn and fell in love with the pop music of her day – doo-wop, pop, girl groups and folk music. She began her professional singing career when she was 12 years old, and was already a seasoned professional by the time she finished high school. Her early career sounds like a movie script: singing back up on pop records when she was a teenager, hanging out on the West Village scene in the late 1960’s, dropping out of nursing school… A chance meeting with a singer...
Episode 15: John Ellis
September 18, 2014 05:00 - 1 hour - 36.8 MBSaxophonist John Eliis grew up in North Carolina, in a family that valued the arts and creativity, but also surrounded by what he refers to as “country people”. He attended high school and part of college at an arts academy in North Carolina before moving to New Orleans, and eventually settling in New York city, about 15 years ago. He works regularly as a sideman with other jazz artists including Dr. Lonnie Smith, Miguel Zenon, and Darcie James-Argue. He’s the kind of musician who brings r...
Episode 14: Greg Holden
September 04, 2014 04:05 - 50 minutes - 28.8 MBGreg Holden is a Brooklyn based British singer-songwriter. He moved to New York in 2009 and quickly became part of the songwriter scene, appearing regularly at Rockwood Music Hall, and opening for larger artists including Ingrid Michaelson and A Great Big World. Holden's song "Home" was recorded in 2012 by American Idol winner Phillip Phillips and became a huge hit, selling over five million copies and influencing many subsequent songs by other artists. We talked just as Greg was fini...
Episode 13: Michael Hearst
July 17, 2014 04:00 - 1 hour - 31.1 MBMichael Hearst is a multi-instrumentalist, composer and writer. He relocated to Brooklyn from Richmond, Virginia in 2001, and quickly became part of a burgeoning creative scene in Park Slope. Since then, Michael has developed a number of intriguing, inspired, curious, and collaborative projects, often with his band One Ring Zero, and more recently as solo endeavors. He often collaborates with unlikely partners, including novelists, chefs, and…ice cream trucks. His most recent release, a boo...
Episode 12: André De Shields
July 03, 2014 17:46 - 1 hour - 41.1 MBAndré De Shields is an actor, dancer and singer with a career spanning over 40 years. He first came to national attention in 1975 when he was cast in the title roll of The Wiz on Broadway (a roll he helped to develop and create). Since then, he's been a mainstay on the Great White Way, as well as in television, film and regional theater. Here, André talks about growing up in Baltimore in the 1950s, coming through the 1960s before settling in New York in the early 1970s. But along the way,...
Episode 11: James Farber
June 19, 2014 04:00 - 1 hour - 40.9 MBJames Farber is a Grammy Award winning recording and mixing engineer. He started his career in the mid 1970s working at the legendary Power Station studio in New York (now the site of Avatar Studios). After a stint working with Nile Rogers, he went out on his own as a freelance engineer in the 1980s. Since then, he's been one of the most highly respected and in demand engineers in New York, specializing in jazz and improvised music. Although he's made hundreds of records for notable jazz art...
10: Emma Straub, Author
June 05, 2014 04:00 - 1 hour - 35.8 MBEmma Straub is the author of the novels The Vacationers and Laura Lamont’s Life in Pictures, and the short story collection Other People We Married.
9: Rob Mounsey, arrange and composer
May 22, 2014 04:00 - 1 hour - 35.8 MBArranger, composer, keyboard player and producer Rob Mounsey has been a steady studio cat since the mid 70s when he was discovered playing in a Boston bar band and invited to move to New York. Since then, he's worked with many of the greatest artists of the time - the list is too long to place here, but suffice it to say that he's worked on a lot of records you've heard. Here he talks about his personal discovery of music as a young man, his career path (or lack thereof) and his general ou...
8: Jesse Harris, singer, songwriter, guitar player
May 07, 2014 04:00 - 56 minutes - 26.1 MBJesse Harris is a singer, songwriter, guitar player and producer who has been walking the line between jazz and pop since he got started in the mid 90’s. While he was on a road trip with a friend, he stopped in Denton, Texas to visit some other musician friends of his, and happened to meet Norah Jones, who was still a student. The two became friends and ended up starting a band together after Norah graduated and moved to New York. That single chance encounter in Texas would prove to be an i...
7: Tatum Greenblatt, jazz trumpet player
April 24, 2014 04:00 - 51 minutes - 23.5 MBJazz trumpeter Tatum Greenblatt knew what he wanted to do from the first moment he heard the sound of Freddie Hubbard playing on the “Ugetsu” album by Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, when he was just a boy. Here he talks about growing up in a jazz house, his early musical mentors, and his general philosophy about professionalism in music. I’ve said it before and I’ll probably say it a few more times: Tatum is one sharp dressed cat.
6: Jo Lawry, singer songwriter
April 10, 2014 04:00 - 1 hour - 31 MBJo Lawry grew up in Australia in a family that valued music and study, and she started playing music very early. By the age of 13 she had already appeared in Les Miserables and was embarking on a musical journey that would ultimately lead her to New York. Although she intended to have a career primarily as a jazz singer, one of the real turning points for her professionally came when she was called to audition for a tour with Sting. Since that call in 2009, she has toured and recorded ex...
5: Matt Pierson, record producer
March 27, 2014 04:30 - 1 hour - 32.1 MBMatt Pierson is a record producer, and for many years he was a record executive. He started at Blue Note records, and then was in charge of jazz at Warner Bros for over a decade. That tenure ended in the early 2000s, and subsequently he has emerged as one of the few successful independent jazz record producers around. As the record business changed in the early 2000s, Matt left his job at a label and ultimately became an independent producer. I was particularly interested to talk with h...
4: Michael Thurber, bassist, CDZA founder, composer
March 13, 2014 11:00 - 1 hour - 29.6 MBThis week's episode features bassist, composer, performer, and all around feel good guy Michael Thurber. We had an extremely candid and relaxed conversation about his early musical education, his move to New York, a debilitating injury that forced him to drop out of Juilliard, and ultimately overcoming that obstacle. Among many other things, Michael is one of the founders of CDZA, a collective that makes experimental music videos. You can see those videos here. A modern version of Shakes...
3: Daniel Levitin, Author of "This Is Your Brain On Music"
February 27, 2014 05:00 - 48 minutes - 19.6 MBDaniel Levitin is a neuroscientist, musician and author. His books “This Is Your Brain On Music” and “The World In Six Songs” are both best sellers, and are both must reads for anyone interested in music and the brain. He teaches psychology and behavioral neuroscience at McGill University in Montreal. Dan stopped by on a recent evening to hang out, and ended up recording a spontaneous episode, in which he tells some anecdotes he has collected from his own personal research and musical journe...
2: Michael Leonhart, trumpeter, producer, composer, arranger
February 13, 2014 05:00 - 1 hour - 27.8 MBMichael Leonhart is a multi instrumentalist, arranger, producer and composer. He's also from a musical family - both of his parents are jazz musicians, as is his sister. However, his interests and his music are diverse and eclectic. Here, he talks about growing up in New York, his early development as a trumpet player - including some of the physical limitations he dealt with along the way, and some of his most notable projects (like co-producing Donald Fagen's most recent album).
1: Late Show Bassist Will Lee
January 28, 2014 22:10 - 1 hour - 31.2 MBWill Lee might be best known as the bass player in the CBS Orchestra on the Late Show with David Letterman. Since moving to New York in the early 70's, Will has been a mainstay on the scene, playing on hundreds of records - many of them hits! Here he talks about growing up in a musical household, moving to New York in his late teens to join the band Dreams, his illustrious recording career, and his journey to overcome addiction. Throughout it all, he says he "never paid one due" because he...