NPT MUSIC MONTHLY FEBRUARY 2007

February Music Higlights:

Friday, February 2, 2007

11:00 p.m.-12:00 a.m.

Soundstage: New York Dolls

The New York Dolls created punk rock before the genre had a name, and though the group officially broke up in 1977, it remains an influential band to this day. In 2004, after Dolls’ fan Morrissey asked the group to perform, they reunited to a rousing reception and in 2007 released the new record, One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This in 2007.

Saturday, February 3, 2007

10:00-11:00 p.m. 

Austin City Limits : Wilco / Bright Eyes
Chicago-based Wilco has outgrown the alt-country genre with their emotional, intelligent lyrics and explorative music on releases like A Ghost Is Born and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Bright Eyes’ music is inundated with searching melodies fleshed out with the sounds of accordion, piano, mellotron, pedal steel, vibraphone and the haunting voice of the group’s only constant — 24-year-old singer/songwriter Conor Oberst.

Tuesday, February 6, 2007

9:00-10:00 p.m.

The Story of Oscar Brown, Jr.

Starting at the tender age of 15. the versatile Oscar Brown Jr. was a radio performer with the network series “Secret City”  and a key player in Richard Durham’s “Destination Freedom: Black Radio Days” series from 1948-1950. As a musician, he shared bills with Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, John Coltrane, Nancy Wilson and Cannonball Adderly. In 1967, he produced the musical Opportunity Please Knock in conjunction with a huge youth gang known as the Blackstone Rangers and gained national recognition when gang members appeared on the Smothers Brothers CBS television show. He also hosted the popular PBS television show FROM JUMP STREET – THE STORY OF BLACK MUSIC.

Thursday, February 8, 2007

8:00-9:30 p.m.

Independent Lens: Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life

As Duke Ellington’s co-composer, arranger and right-hand man, Billy Strayhorn wrote some of the greatest American music of the 20th century. But as a gay man in the 40s and 50s, Strayhorn had to lead a discreet existence, while Ellington played to thunderous applause on center stage. This film tells the story of the unheralded man who changed jazz and popular music forever, maintaining artistic and personal integrity while challenging prejudice along the way. WATCH A PREVIEW

9:30-10:00 p.m.

DeFord Bailey: A Legend Lost

This award-winning NPT original documentary tells the story of harmonica virtuoso DeFord Bailey’s career and early departure from the Grand Ole Opry stage, and reveals how black musicians have influenced many legends of country music.

Friday, February 9, 2007

11:00 p.m.-12:00 a.m.

Soundstage: Lee Ann Womack with Special Guest Julie Roberts

Two-time Grammy winner Lee Ann Womack’s SOUNDSTAGE performance spans music from her 1997 platinum-selling eponymous debut through 2005’s There’s More Where That Came From, including hits  “Never, Never Again” and “I Hope You Dance.” Julie Roberts, discovered inadvertently by her boss, Luke Lewis, at Mercury records while she was working as a receptionist, performs classic country hits such as “When Will I Be Loved” as well as her hit “Smile.”  

Saturday, February 10, 2007

10:00-11:00 p.m.

Austin City Limits: Lyle Lovett / Jamie Cullum

Texas-born Singer-songwriter Lovett, who joins Guy Clark, John Hiatt and Joe Ely at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center on February 11, is one of the most respected musicians of the last 20 years, mixing elements of jazz, blues and pop into his unique country sound. Cullum, a 24-year-old from England, is working to change contemporary jazz music in the States by infusing the genre with rock and dance sounds.

Friday, February 16, 2007

11:00 p.m.-12:00 a.m.

Soundstage: Jewel

Three-time Grammy nominee and current host of Nashville Star, Jewel is best known for her charismatic live performances.  Whether she’s singing with her band or solo, Jewel’s stage presence is that of a consummate performer. Her well-crafted songs are influenced by many music genres, including rock, pop, country, jazz and classical. Taped at the beautiful Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, Jewel performs solo acoustic and with the band, showcasing her vast catalogue of songs with such hits as “You Were Meant for Me,” “Foolish Games,” “Good Day” and selections from her newest album, Goodbye Alice in Wonderland. Not to be missed is her finale, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”

Saturday, February 17, 2007

10:00-11:00 p.m. 

Austin City Limits: Robert Randolph & The Family Band

AUSTIN CITY LIMITS brings the unique sounds of pedal steel guitar phenomenon and New Jersey natives Robert Randolph & The Family Band to PBS. This group has been getting national attention and gaining fans for their high-energy music that fuses gospel, rock and more.

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

Independent Lens: Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes

This film, which was a sensation when it played at the Nashville Film Festival last year, takes an in-depth look at machismo in rap music and hip-hop culture — where creative genius, poetic beauty and mad beats collide with misogyny, violence and homophobia. By Byron Hurt.

Friday, February 23, 2007

11:00 p.m.-12:00 a.m.

Soundstage: Rickie Lee Jones

Rickie Lee Jones is one of the most complex singer-songwriters of our time. Her career, which spans nearly three decades, has been full of unique musical expression and her style has crossed many genres, including folk, rock, jazz, soul, spoken word and pop. Her voice echoes that of a 40s jazz-era performer and has influenced many of today’s performers, including Sheryl Crow and Tori Amos. Rickie Lee Jones’ inimitable SOUNDSTAGE performance is a celebration of her career. She performs the classic songs “Coolsville” and “Last Chance Texaco,” as well as selections from her new album, Sermon on Exposition Boulevard. Highlights include “Falling Up” and “Nobody Knows My Name.”

Saturday, February 24, 2007

10:00-11:00 p.m. 

Austin City Limits: The Killers / Spoon

The Killers, who play the Ryman Auditorium on April 23, have taken their catchy rock out of the indie scene and into the mainstream. Highlights include the hit “Somebody Told Me” and other songs off their hit CD Hot Fuss. Spoon explores the sound limits of indie-rock while keeping thoughtful lyrics at the forefront. The Austin band performs songs from their newest CD Gimme Fiction.

Monday, February 26, 2007

9:00-10:00 p.m.

Great Performances: Sting: Songs from the Labyrinth

Born in 1563 into an age of religious and political strife, English composer and court musician John Dowland has for centuries captivated performers and listeners alike with his serene and introspective music. It is perhaps inevitable that Sting — one of today’s most acclaimed troubadours — would be drawn to revisit Dowland’s work from a contemporary perspective, some 400 years after the composer’s death. “The songs of John Dowland have been gently haunting me for over 20 years,” says the Grammy Award-winning Sting, who had little knowledge of Dowland until the gift of an exquisitely manufactured lute rekindled his interest in the Elizabethan musician. This one-hour program features Sting’s yearning tenor accompanied by acclaimed Bosnian lute player Edin Karamazov in performances of Dowland’s timeless songs, interspersed with recitations from Dowland’s personal correspondence, offering insight into his life and times.