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Peximus, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsIt's Thanksgiving weekend, and we've got some family harmonies. Coming up, we are going to revisit a conversation with the late bassist, Charlie Haden. Haden is known to many for his early work in the late ‘50s with free jazz sax player, Ornette Coleman. A decade later, he founded the Liberation Music Orchestra with arranger and pianist Carla Bley, a group dedicated to political activism. Over the years, Haden collaborated with pianists Keith Jarrett, Kenny Barron, Hank Jones, and his most enduring partnership was with fellow Missourian, guitarist Pat Metheny. Although Charlie Haden’s homeland for many years was Los Angeles, he grew up mostly near Springfield, Missouri. When I spoke to the consummate jazz bassist in 2008, he was drawing attention for a country music record made in Nashville, Rambling Boy, where he was joined by his musical family and several guests. For Haden, country music was a homecoming. His career really began at age two, singing–yodeling–on his parent's live radio show. -
The Historic New Orleans CollectionThe Historic New Orleans Collection spotlights New Orleans architect and urban planner Steven Bingler.
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This is American Routes Live with Don Vappie and friends. Don is from a New Orleans Creole family and is a studied purveyor of jazz banjo. He knows much about the history of the music and the instrument, going back to origins in West Africa. I asked Don about New Orleans banjo players. -
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The Quebe Sisters grew up in Burleson, Texas near Dallas-Fort Worth. Grace, Sophia, and Hulda were homeschooled and largely sheltered from the outside world. At a young age, their attention moved from violin lessons to fiddle contests, immersing themselves in traditional Texas swing. While the 1940s fiddle music was little known to their peers, it was the Quebe Sisters’ ticket to ride. They have since shared the stage with country legends Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, and Ricky Skaggs. Here’s Sophia Quebe: -
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In honor of the harvest and hallows, we travel down the bayou in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, to visit wood carver and Houma Indian Ivy Billiot. Ivy learned the Houma tradition of basket weaving from his father, and although the wood is scarce these days, Ivy still crafts hunting blow guns, violins, and painted carvings of animals. He tells host Nick Spitzer about his relationship to the natural and supernatural worlds. -
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On this week’s episode, we’re talking tariffs and their impact on cars and religion. -
Jimmy C. Newman grew up in French Louisiana, hearing Cajun music as well as Gene Autry and other country musicians. He began playing with Chuck Guillory’s Rhythm Boys. Later he played on the Louisiana Hayride, and in 1956, he joined the Grand Ole Opry. Even with commercial success as a country music star, Newman recalled his roots, introducing a wider audience to Cajun sounds. After his passing in 2014, producer and musician Joel Savoy teamed up with Jimmy’s son Gary Newman, to record a tribute, Farewell, Alligator Man, released on Valcour Records in 2017. Here’s Gary: -
'I guess if I had to take it in a positive way, I would say it's making the artists come out of all of the parents,' said one Bollywood dance instructor who is forgoing new costumes this year for her students. -
The Historic New Orleans Collection spotlights cult filmmaker John Waters.
