Karl, Scott, and Trent explore two seminal albums in the catalog of arguably the greatest jazz guitarist of all time, Wes Montgomery. In Incredible Jazz Guitar and Boss Guitar, Montgomery lays down an adventurous blend of hard-swinging bop, romantic ballads, and Afro-Carribean inspired grooves with an effortless mastery of guitar technique.   Although he employs a wide variety of complex techniques such as fast triplet strumming, sweep picking, and octave melodies -- almost exclusively performed with his thumb -- Montgomery never comes across as pretentious or heady. He's a generous soloist for the audience, creating plenty of space and pauses to give listeners a chance to absorb and digest his playing. He frequently quotes and reworks melodies from popular tunes of the American songbook, and in the latter part of his career he performed jazz covers of contemporary hits as well.   Wes' life was cut short early (he died of a heart attack at 45), but he left a huge mark on jazz history. His work was influential to jazz guitarists such as Joe Pass, George Benson, and many, many others. It remains fresh, too, and an easy entry point into the world of jazz for new listeners.

<description>&lt;p&gt;Karl, Scott, and Trent explore two seminal albums in the catalog of arguably the greatest jazz guitarist of all time, Wes Montgomery. In &lt;em&gt;Incredible Jazz Guitar&lt;/em&gt; and &lt;em&gt;Boss Guitar&lt;/em&gt;, Montgomery lays down an adventurous blend of hard-swinging bop, romantic ballads, and Afro-Carribean inspired grooves with an effortless mastery of guitar technique.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Although he employs a wide variety of complex techniques such as fast triplet strumming, sweep picking, and octave melodies -- almost exclusively performed with his thumb -- Montgomery never comes across as pretentious or heady. He's a generous soloist for the audience, creating plenty of space and pauses to give listeners a chance to absorb and digest his playing. He frequently quotes and reworks melodies from popular tunes of the American songbook, and in the latter part of his career he performed jazz covers of contemporary hits as well.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Wes' life was cut short early (he died of a heart attack at 45), but he left a huge mark on jazz history. His work was influential to jazz guitarists such as Joe Pass, George Benson, and many, many others. It remains fresh, too, and an easy entry point into the world of jazz for new listeners.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;</description>

Karl, Scott, and Trent explore two seminal albums in the catalog of arguably the greatest jazz guitarist of all time, Wes Montgomery. In Incredible Jazz Guitar and Boss Guitar, Montgomery lays down an adventurous blend of hard-swinging bop,...

#46 - The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery

Scott, Karl, and Trent discuss the meaning and purpose of music during troubled times, and share their playlists for the end of the world.

<description>&lt;p&gt;Scott, Karl, and Trent discuss the meaning and purpose of music during troubled times, and share their playlists for the end of the world.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Scott, Karl, and Trent discuss the meaning and purpose of music during troubled times, and share their playlists for the end of the world.

#45 - Music for the End Times

Can you imagine five of the most brilliant young musical minds sitting around the fireside, discussing how they could make a new Russian music? What form would it take? What instrumentation? What would the proper influences be? That's precisely what a group of five Russian composers did in the 19th century -- set out to reclaim Russian culture from Western European influence and in the process create a grand, majestic, and distinctly Russian music.   The Russian Five, as they are known, include Cesar Cui, Aleksandr Borodin, Mily Balakirev, Modest Mussorgsky, and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Influenced by earlier musical outlaws such as Mikhail Glinka, they brought a sweeping, picturesque programmatic style to the orchestra, often inspired by Eastern legends and Slavic folklore. Their music is full of beautiful melodies and forceful dynamic shifts, often without regard for traditional European rules of composition. More cosmopolitan composers such as Tchaikovsky refined this style, drawing from both Russian folk culture and western harmony, and in the process penned music that is still popular today, such as the Nutcracker Suite and the romance theme from Romeo and Juliet.   Overall, the Russian Five wrote music that stirs the soul while avoiding the intellectual abstraction that Western classical music sometimes tended toward. Consequently, it's easy for the modern listener to get into, and the programmatic nature of the music suits modern film well. It's no surprise, then, that film composers draw heavily from Russian composers (John Williams in particular).

<description>&lt;p&gt;Can you imagine five of the most brilliant young musical minds sitting around the fireside, discussing how they could make a new Russian music? What form would it take? What instrumentation? What would the proper influences be? That's precisely what a group of five Russian composers did in the 19th century -- set out to reclaim Russian culture from Western European influence and in the process create a grand, majestic, and distinctly Russian music.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The Russian Five, as they are known, include Cesar Cui, Aleksandr Borodin, Mily Balakirev, Modest Mussorgsky, and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Influenced by earlier musical outlaws such as Mikhail Glinka, they brought a sweeping, picturesque &lt;em&gt;programmatic&lt;/em&gt; style to the orchestra, often inspired by Eastern legends and Slavic folklore. Their music is full of beautiful melodies and forceful dynamic shifts, often without regard for traditional European rules of composition. More cosmopolitan composers such as Tchaikovsky refined this style, drawing from both Russian folk culture and western harmony, and in the process penned music that is still popular today, such as the Nutcracker Suite and the romance theme from Romeo and Juliet.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Overall, the Russian Five wrote music that stirs the soul while avoiding the intellectual abstraction that Western classical music sometimes tended toward. Consequently, it's easy for the modern listener to get into, and the programmatic nature of the music suits modern film well. It's no surprise, then, that film composers draw heavily from Russian composers (John Williams in particular).&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;</description>

Can you imagine five of the most brilliant young musical minds sitting around the fireside, discussing how they could make a new Russian music? What form would it take? What instrumentation? What would the proper influences be? That's precisely what a...

#44 - The Russian Five, Or, Why You No Listen to Russian Musics?!

Scott, Karl, and Trent trace the family tree of the biggest musical genre of the 20th century: rock n' roll. The roots are deep and gnarled, it turns out, and while they touch on the usual suspects such as Elvis and Chuck Berry, rock can trace it's roots all the way back to the big bands of Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, as well as a myriad of American folk genres.

<description>&lt;p&gt;Scott, Karl, and Trent trace the family tree of the biggest musical genre of the 20th century: rock n' roll. The roots are deep and gnarled, it turns out, and while they touch on the usual suspects such as Elvis and Chuck Berry, rock can trace it's roots all the way back to the big bands of Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, as well as a myriad of American folk genres.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;</description>

Scott, Karl, and Trent trace the family tree of the biggest musical genre of the 20th century: rock n' roll. The roots are deep and gnarled, it turns out, and while they touch on the usual suspects such as Elvis and Chuck Berry, rock can trace it's...

#43 - Tracing the Roots of Rock n' Roll

In part two of their study of Bing Crosby, Scott, Karl, and Trent discuss Bing Crosby's enormous impact on Christmas music and culture since he first sang "White Christmas" in 1942's Holiday Inn. "White Christmas" proved to be a huge hit, hitting number one on three separate occasions, including 1954's classic film White Christmas (twelve years after its public debut). Although the film was not initially a box office success, the titular song became the best-selling single of all time with an estimated 50 million copies sold.   Of course, Bing's Christmas legacy does not begin and end with White Christmas. He sang nearly all of the American Christmas standards, and his versions are still the most often played. For better or worse, Bing is the voice of Christmas, and all contemporary performers that dare to sing a Christmas song do so under his vast shadow.

<description>&lt;p&gt;In part two of their study of Bing Crosby, Scott, Karl, and Trent discuss Bing Crosby's enormous impact on Christmas music and culture since he first sang "White Christmas" in 1942's &lt;em&gt;Holiday Inn&lt;/em&gt;. "White Christmas" proved to be a huge hit, hitting number one on three separate occasions, including 1954's classic film &lt;em&gt;White Christmas&lt;/em&gt; (twelve years after its public debut). Although the film was not initially a box office success, the titular song became the best-selling single of all time with an estimated 50 million copies sold.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Of course, Bing's Christmas legacy does not begin and end with White Christmas. He sang nearly all of the American Christmas standards, and his versions are still the most often played. For better or worse, Bing is the voice of Christmas, and all contemporary performers that dare to sing a Christmas song do so under his vast shadow.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;</description>

In part two of their study of Bing Crosby, Scott, Karl, and Trent discuss Bing Crosby's enormous impact on Christmas music and culture since he first sang "White Christmas" in 1942's Holiday Inn. "White Christmas" proved to be a huge hit, hitting...

#42 - Bing Crosby's Christmas Classics

Trent Jones,  Karl Schudt, and Scott Hambrick discuss music, ideas, and art.  Brought to you by www.OnlineGreatBooks.com

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