Past Listening Party topics
- Chick Corea: We’ll listen to and discuss the music of the pianist/composer, considered one of the foremost musicians of the last 50 years.
- The Softer Side of Jimi Hendrix: The outrageous performer and incendiary guitarist recorded many quieter and sensitive tunes which he is less well-known for but deserve a closer listening.
- Johnny Cash: Hear music from this popular singer-songwriter who excelled at country, rock & roll, rockabilly, blues, folk and gospel.
- The Rite of Spring: Listen to excerpts from Igor Stravinsky’s iconoclastic landmark, “The Rite of Spring,” as well as other works of the Russian composer.
- Nina Simone: Listen to and discuss this singer who combined influences of jazz, folk, pop and the blues, as well as classical music into her style.
- Music With a Sense of Humor: Does music require humorous lyrics to be funny or can it be evoked in the abstract? Listen to and discuss some examples.
- Stardust: Listen to and discuss one of the most recorded songs in history in honor of songwriter Hoagy Carmichael’s 120th birthday.
- Gil Evans: The composer/arranger’s distinctive style influenced the sound of modern jazz for decades.
- Jazz and the Spoken Word: Hear examples of jazz and spoken word poetry from the 1950s to the present.
- David Bowie: Space Oddity: Marking the 50th anniversary of Bowie’s breakthrough single by taking a closer look at his decades-long career.
- Claude Debussy: Influential composer invented his own system of harmony and musical structure.
- Nocturne: Explore its origin, meaning and interpretations across genres.
- Renee Fleming: The esteemed soprano has been widely honored for her work in opera, pop, jazz and Broadway.
- Sting and The Police: An unlikely trio of musicians became one of the top bands of the ’80s.
- Astrud Gilberto and her Legacy: The beloved bossa nova singer from the ’60s has had a continuing influence.
- Halloween Special: Listen to spooky tunes and discuss what makes some music “scary.”
- Joni Mitchell: One of the greatest songwriters of all time who created a personal hybrid of pop, folk and jazz.
- Miles Davis: The many moods of Miles embodied such different stylistic approaches to jazz.
- April Showers: Why are there so many songs about rain?
- Variations on Bach: Celebrate composer’s 333rd birthday with examples of his work adapted for rock, pop and jazz.
- 1959: The Year That Changed Jazz: Miles, Brubeck, Mingus and Ornette Coleman all released groundbreaking albums in 1959.
- Ann Richards: Unsung Jazz Singer: Wife of Stan Kenton and brilliant jazz singer, who had a brief and unjustly neglected career.
- Frank Sinatra’s ‘Only the Lonely’: This 1958 collection of torch songs was Sinatra’s personal favorite of all his albums.
- Maurice Ravel: Modern French composer whose music fused Spanish, jazz and Baroque influences.
- Steely Dan: Popular ’70s band that created a jazz/rock hybrid style.
- Brad Mehldau: Listen to this innovative and lyrical jazz pianist and composer.
- Erik Satie: This French composer was influential to jazz, pop and other classical composers.
- Women’s History Month Music: Listen to groups formed and led by women who write and perform their own music.
- David Bowie: A musical sampling of his 50-year career to celebrate what would have been his 70th birthday.
- The Rolling Stones with Brian Jones: Music from the group’s first six years.
