Listen: Gulf Coast Blues: The Clarence Williams Story

from PRX

Producer: Riverwalk Jazz 

PRX Description: “Born in the Mississippi Delta in the late 1890s, pianist Clarence Williams was Creole and Choctaw Indian. As an adult, he produced and performed on thousands of recordings with artists who became legends ? Bessie Smith, Fats Waller, Sidney Bechet, Louis Armstrong and more ? but he took credit for composing a long list of jazz standards.

Hosted by David Holt and starring The Jim Cullum Jazz Band and special guests Vernel Bagneris and Topsy Chapman, “Gulf Coast Blues: The Clarence Williams Story” chronicles Williams’ life with all of its contradictions. Was he a prolific composer or just a hustler and occasional song thief? “Gulf Coast Blues” reveals that, like the story of New Orleans itself, Clarence Williams is a study in opposites. ”

Listen to the program here 

PRX Review: Dear Skinwalker

Producer: KRCB Voice of Youth

Reviewed Taki Telonidis by for PRX (Jan. 27, 2007)

“From the first note of music, to the haunting quote at the end, ‘Dear Skinwalker’ is a magnificent piece of radio. This story is so different, that it’s difficult to describe. As the summary states, it’s a letter from a young Native American woman locked up in a detention center written to a spirit creature called Skinwalker. She talks about her troubles, fantasizes about the future, regrets her past, and muses on the wisdom a long-dead Indian chief. The writing is superb, at moments real and gritty, at others surreal and impressionistic. The story flows like a stream of consciousness–a collage of thoughts, sounds, and music that takes unforeseen turns, yet holds together for the most part; only once during a digression about a high school debate club did I feel lost. To experience this piece is to feel like you’ve penetrated the subconscious of this young woman, seen her dreams, and felt her anguish. Congratulations to KRCB and Voice of Youth”

Listen to the program here 

Listen: Coming Home

from BBC Radio 4

“Charles Wheeler presents five personal interpretations of what the end of the second world war meant to people in Britain and across the world.”

Listen to the program here

Listen: MARIE’S CRISIS and SIT WITH ME

Reviewed these two pieces for PRX yesterday and thought you should listen to them.

MARIE’S CRISIS (9:41 minutes)

producer: Kevin T. Allen

” The story of Jim who has been playing piano at the famously infamous Marie’s Crisis for the past 19 years. Trained at an early age by his extremely religious father to embrace music “Soli Deo Glorio” (only for the grace of God), Jim has grown up to form his own, more tolerant, type of church at the local piano bar.”

Listen to the piece here

 

SIT WITH ME (7:34 minutes)

producer: Salt Institute of Documentary Studies

“Cameron Ledoux’s father is depressed. Because of his illness, his dad can’t work and sleeps at home much of the time. Cameron, age 12, sits down with his dad to address the unspoken.”

Listen to the full piece here

Listen: MASTER HAROLD AND THE BOYS a radio play from LA Theatre Works

from PRX

producer: LA Theatre Works 

“Athol Fugard’s poignant tale of a white boy and his realtionship with his black servants in South Africa.”

“One of theatre’s most acclaimed playwrights finds humor and heart break in the friendship of Harold, a 17-year old white boy in 1950’s South Africa, and the two middle aged black servants who raised him. Racism unexpectedly shatters Harold’s childhood and friendships in this absorbing, affecting coming of age play. Written by Athol Fugard. Directed by Stuart K. Robinson. Starring Leon Addison Brown, Keith David and Bobby Steggart. ”

Listen to the full production here 

Listen: PHILOSOPHY TALK: LEGAL ETHICS

from PRX

producer: Ben Manilla Productions

“Lawyers are often thought to be hardly better than hired guns, who, in the words of Plato, are paid to “make the weaker argument the stronger” — like the sophists of old. In fact, lawyers are legally and morally bound by stringent codes of ethics. Noted philosopher of law David Luban from Georgetown University is the guest as Philosophy Talk explores the ethical obligations of lawyers to their clients, to the court, and to society at large.”

Listen to the full program here

Listen: Getting Raised

from PRX

Producer: Jenny Asarnow

PRX Description: “Getting raised isn’t easy. This hour, we hear stories from those who know. Teenagers explain how to deal with in-your-face parents, abusive parents, absent parents and becoming a parent when you’re still in high school. ”

Listen to the full program here

Listen: Just A Minute

from BBC 4 Radio

“Just a Minute was devised by the late Ian Messiter who came up with the idea on the top of a number 13 bus.  He suddenly remembered being given the horrible task of speaking for one minute without hesitation or deviation by one of his school masters.  “

Listen to the latest episode here 

Listen: Behind The Superficial

Behind The Superficial

from BBC 4 Radio

“It’s surprising how little we really know about places we think we’ve got the measure of. This series explores places we assume we know – a tourist trap or an industrial site – and discovers that, on closer inspection, there’s a cracking scientific story hidden just Behind the Superficial. ”

Listen to all three episodes of the series here 

Listen: Buddy Guy: Can’t Quit The Blues

from PRX

producer: Joyride Media 

PRX Description: “One-hour music intensive radio special features legendary bluesman Buddy Guy in his own words and music. Buddy Guy’s own comments come from an exclusive interview session, and include many recollections and insights that will heard on your station for the first time. Hosted by journalist Anthony DeCurtis, this program also features 15 classic tracks from throughout Guy’s career. ”

Listen to the full program here