Soundcheck

New York-based drummer Allison Miller is also a composer, teacher, and the leader of the band Boom Tic Boom, a group featuring violinist Jenny Scheinman, cornetist Kirk Knuffke, clarinetist Ben Goldberg, bassist Todd Sickafoose and pianist Myra Melford, who celebrate ten years of working together this year. Miller's experience in leading this specific group of improvising collaborators, along with the openness in her compositions, gives each member of the band space to shine. And shine they do - from the skilled interplay between cornetist Kirk Knuffke and clarinetist Ben Goldberg, dynamic rhythms and exploratory runs from pianist Myra Melford, the way that violinist Jenny Scheinman explores the frisky possibilities of the violin on "Malaga", Todd Sickafoose’s well-chosen melodic low-end, where he is sometimes joined by Goldberg on bass clarinet, along with Miller's own propulsive, playful grooves; there’s a healthy amount of what she calls “organized chaos” as well as cinematic beauty. Allison Miller and Boom Tic Boom join us in-studio to perform tunes from the 2019 release, Glitter Wolf. - Caryn Havlik Here's a tune called "Malaga":

Nashville-based singer-songwriter, guitarist, and poet Adia Victoria crafts Southern Gothic pop deeply rooted in the blues. On her new record, Silences, produced by The National's Aaron Dessner, she clothes her plaintive melodies with a velvet-robed ferocity, like a self-dubbed “Dope Queen”; the fully fleshed, orchestral-pop arrangements of woodwinds, brass, strings, and electronics are simply majestic. Adia Victoria and her band perform these new songs, more “in touch with her Southernness”, and definitely in touch with the legacy of the blues, in-studio. - Caryn Havlik  

J.S. Ondara is a Minneapolis-based singer-songwriter whose love for Bob Dylan spurred him to move to Minnesota from Nairobi, Kenya in 2013. Since he won a Green Card lottery that allowed the move, he learned to play guitar and has lived the so-called “American Dream.” He learned English both in school and because he wanted to understand the lyrics in music by Pearl Jam, Radiohead, Nirvana, Death Cab for Cutie Neil Young, and Dylan.   Ondara, in an interview with Rolling Stone, describes his music as “old troubadour style,” that is “until I go electric and make everyone upset”, like his inspiration Bob Dylan. The DIY-musician, still in his 20’s, has just released his debut record, Tales of America and he joins us to play some of these songs, in-studio. Set list: "Saying Goodbye", "Torch Song", "Days of Insanity"  

British singer Jacob Banks was born in Nigeria before moving to Birmingham, England. There he has developed a large following for his remarkable voice and his equally impressive storytelling gifts – stories he tells in songs and in a series of videos – short films really. His debut LP, called Village, features electro-enhanced R&B with deep powerful grooves spread across a smartly-arranged full spectrum of sound. Jacob Banks is here with his band to play some songs for us today.  Watch the session here:     

Los Angeles trio Cherry Glazerr, led by singer/guitarist/founder Clementine Creevy, is fierce, furious, but also weary. Creevy has found some inspiration by looking inward, and just hanging out with the demons of self-doubt instead of fighting in some of the songs from the new record, Stuffed & Ready. Creevy is self-deprecating, but at the same time, trying not to beat herself up, as she lets out her rage. As Creevy looks outward, she's come into some world-weary wisdom too. “Being a feminist is exhausting”, she says to Paper Mag in an interview, about the ongoing struggle, which is full of punk aggression and some exasperation at unwanted sexualization. “I’m enraged because I feel like America’s mindset sees women as less capable beings, and that social mainframe feels impenetrable and that enrages me.” Cherry Glazerr joins us in-studio to get loud, rage a bit, and “make people feel less alone.” - Caryn Havlik Watch the session here:     

Guitarist and songwriter Nilüfer Yanya writes songs that, while dark and a bit twisted, yet direct and elegant, ultimately embrace imperfection. Her music might easily flow between Nina Simone, pop punk, crisp jazzy chords, and the dynamic, sweaty explosiveness of The Pixes. Nilüfer deploys her impressive voice in all kinds of styles - falsetto crooning, growls and yelps, speak-sing indie, and smooth soul - as she spins out songs inspired by tube ads bombarding us with self-improvement or those born of dystopian science fiction questioning reality. Nilüfer Yanya joins us to perform some of these tunes from her forthcoming debut, Miss Universe, in-studio. - Caryn Havlik Watch the session here:     

Mandolin Orange is the folk duo of North Carolinians Andrew Marlin and Emily Frantz, who blend traditional Americana roots music – folk, country, bluegrass – in their warm and intimate, bittersweet acoustic songs. They met at a bluegrass jam, and have been known to wield mandolin, guitar, banjo and violin between them, with Marlin mostly doing lead vocals and Frantz, who thinks of herself as a harmony singer. Mandolin Orange sometimes expands to five instrumentalists for the live shows, but still embrace their “songwriter pickin’ music” (their Twitter words.) The expanded tour version of Mandolin Orange joins us in-studio to play new tunes from Tides of a Teardrop. - Caryn Havlik Watch the session here:(Set list: "Golden Embers", "The Wolves", "Late September")  

The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble is a musically free-ranging band of seven brothers from the south side of Chicago. Their music draws from funk, funky jazz, Afrobeat, hip hop, rock, reggae, and R&B, and they’ve performed with Tony Allen, Wu Tang Clan, De La Soul, Prince, Femi Kuti, Gorillaz, Yasiin Bey (aka Mos Def), and the B52's, to name a few. Growing up, the members of HBE were raised with music as a constant, as they are the sons of the late jazz trumpeter Phil Cohran (Earth, Wind, and Fire, Sun Ra Arkestra). Now based between Brooklyn and Chicago, the full party of Hypnotic Brass Ensemble plays some tunes in-studio, in advance of their Blue Note residency (Jan. 31-Feb. 3). - Caryn Havlik Set list:  "Menage" "War" "ACF" Watch the session here:     

Buke and Gase is an experimental pop duo that’s collaborated with everyone from The National to the Blue Man Group. The band is named after two of the instruments they’ve invented, a baritone ukulele and hybrid guitar-bass. Their songs are tasty slices of angular melodies and problem-solving off-kilter percussion that are creatively stacked like a magical, warped, and playful sandwich of aural goodness. And on their new album, Scholars, Buke and Gase offers a sound more rooted in electronics – especially in a device called the ARX that they also developed. The band of two musical Aarons with different spellings joins us to showcase their unique creations. -Caryn Havlik Watch the session here:      

Dancey and dreamy, Brooklyn-based Rubblebucket makes psychedelic and jazz-conscious pop swimming in a strange and lovely mix of celebration and melancholy. Their latest record, Sun Machine, is a celebration of the connection between trumpeter Alex Toth, and saxophone player Kalmia Traver, The two have survived momentous life-challenges like cancer and alcoholism, and their romantic uncoupling, and still managed to transform their musical partnership in a positive way. The expanded version of Rubblebucket performs these latest songs in-studio. - Caryn Havlik Watch the session here (Set list: "Fruity", "Lemonade", "What Life Is"):    

Grammy-winning singer/songwriter/producer India.Arie has returned to spread love and joy through music and words. Her latest album, due out in February, is a collection of enchanting and soulful electro-acoustic pop songs, full of smart observations, sensuality, spirituality, and yes, empowerment. On one tune, “That Magic,” she lovingly describes the connection between two people that we can all hope for. Her latest single, “What If,” begins with the memorable lines, “what if Martin didn’t stand up/what if Rosa didn’t sit down.” The title track, “Worthy,” is a mostly acoustic, yet powerful assurance, that every one of us is worthy of love, life, and “saying no when something don’t feel right”. Wordsmith and songstress India.Arie joins us to play songs from her forthcoming record, Worthy. – Caryn Havlik Set List:  What If In Good Trouble Worthy  

Meet RaaDie, which is the latest musical project of Vienna-based trumpeter Lorenz Raab (Volksoper Vienna, XY-Band, Bleu) and the composer, bassoonist, and zither player Christof Dienz (Die Knoedel, Quadrat:sch, XY-Band). With a balance of composition and improvisation, the duo crafts music using trumpet and e-zither with electronic effects and looping station, at times spacey, funky, contemplative, and eerie.   Besides Prokofiev, Ravel and Schubert, Dienz also names Prince, AC/DC, Björk and Xenakis as sources of inspiration, while Raab cites the Beatles, U2 and Queen, also lists Bach, diverse jazzers and Led Zeppelin as his influences. Ahead of their free concert on Friday, Jan. 18 at the Austrian Cultural Forum, RaaDie joins us premiere song-like compositions from their new record, Vast Potential (Traumton Records), in-studio. - Caryn Havlik

Mexican-American rock musician, songwriter, and singer Alejandro Escovedo draws from DIY punk, Tex-Mex country, and Americana rock for his latest record, The Crossing, a growly and crunchy guitar-filled, instrumentally cinematic, and in-your-face loud search for the American dream. In a cool twist, Escovedo has co-written the album with an Italian instrumental band, Don Antonio, and uses avatars, a young boy from southern Italy named Salvo, and a young boy from Mexico named Diego, who meet in South Texas. The record tells of their journey across the American Southwest by way of punk rock, beat poetry, and immigration and the immigrant experience. Alejandro Escovedo joins us in-studio to play some of these new and perhaps, timely, songs. - Caryn Havlik Watch the session here:     

London-based quintet Ezra Collective makes music with an irresistible blend of groove that includes Afrobeat, hip-hop, grime, reggae, and jazz. Led by drummer Femi Koleoso, and anchored by his brother TJ Koleoso on bass with keyboardist Joe Armon-Jones, and featuring what looks like a hard bop frontline of Dylan Jones on trumpet and James Mollison on tenor sax, the group’s members are all skilled improvisers who can easily incite packed crowds into a sweaty dance party with their infectious rhythms. They’ve arranged Saturn-born Sun Ra’s “Space is the Place” on their EP, Juan Pablo: The Philosopher, as well as Herbie Hancock and Fela Kuti tunes at their live shows, and take inspiration from classic and more recent bangers like Patrice Rushen’s “Forget Me Nots” or The Internet’s “Roll (Burbank Funk)“ (with thanks to musicismysanctuary.com). They’re here in town for the annual Winter Jazzfest and join us in-studio to play some of their originals. -Caryn Havlik Watch the session here: 

Coming from jangle-pop garage rock origins in the 1990’s in the Boston area, the band Guster is a group of talented songwriters, down to the last harmony. With electronic augmentation beyond just guitar amps, Guster long ago dropped its acoustic guitars and bongos in favor of arena rock with electrified-pysch-pop leanings. Their live shows are known for their quirky humor and legions of devoted fans singing along, and their latest batch of sing-along anthems from their record, Look Alive, is an insidiously hook-laden collection of polished pop. Guster joins us in-studio to play some of these new songs.  - Caryn Havlik Watch the live session here: