Music Life and Times

Kevin Bales

Music Life and Times, an ongoing discussion between internationally renowned jazz pianist Kevin Bales, and Mike Shaw, singer-pianist and author of the novel The Musician, argues that becoming an accomplished musician takes three commitments: discipline, self-acceptance or self-confidence, and cooperation. They are also the life lessons that music teaches those who would learn to play. Our podcast seeks to prove the premise through revelations about music and musicians past and present as well as from our own experiences as career musicians. read less

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EP34: Guest Roderick Harper

EP34: Guest Roderick Harper

At 57, Roderick Harper is gaining steam. A versatile artist with both jazz and R&B albums, he calls on a background that started as early a small child singing along with TV commercials, through early lessons in the American Songbook and a minor in jazz studies at Southern University, to a performer audiences love for the passion and integrity of his singing. Mike and Kevin talk with Roderick in between two nights of his performances, accompanied by Kevin, at the Atlanta-area jazz club, The Velvet Note.

Episodes

EP34: Guest Roderick Harper

EP34: Guest Roderick Harper

At 57, Roderick Harper is gaining steam. A versatile artist with both jazz and R&B albums, he calls on a background that started as early a small child singing along with TV commercials, through early lessons in the American Songbook and a minor in jazz studies at Southern University, to a performer audiences love for the passion and integrity of his singing. Mike and Kevin talk with Roderick in between two nights of his performances, accompanied by Kevin, at the Atlanta-area jazz club, The Velvet Note.

EP33: Composers and Lyricists

EP33: Composers and Lyricists

Every Elton John has his Bernie Taupin. Jerome Kern had to have his Oscar Hammerstein. Even Duke Ellington needed a Billy Strayhorn or Irving Mills or Bob Russell. Point is, a song isn’t much of a song without lyrics, and how lyricists and composers work together, if unique to each pair, is one more example of the cooperation involved in making great music.

EP32: Collaboration: A Great Lesson

EP32: Collaboration: A Great Lesson

Consistent with the podcast’s focus on the life lessons that learning to play music teaches, Kevin and Mike talk about musical conversation, that is, how musicians playing together collaborate, listening to each other and accommodating each other’s playing, to create better music.

EP31: Getting Started In Music

EP31: Getting Started In Music

Whether you’re a youngster who wants to learn how to play an instrument, or a parent who recognizes the value of music in their child’s education, or an adult who has never played but wants to learn how, it’s never too early or too late to start. Kevin shares insights on how to get started from his three decades of teaching young and adult students.

EP30: On The Road Again

EP30: On The Road Again

People who make their living playing music typically do a lot of travelling. While some might have a house gig in their hometown, most find themselves in venues that take them to different parts of their country and even around the world. Those experiences—that breadth of experience—combine to be one of the great benefits of life as a musician.

EP29: The Uniqueness of the Great Players

EP29: The Uniqueness of the Great Players

From Bill Evans to Oscar Peterson to Ahmad Jamal to Charlie Parker to John Coltrane to Miles Davis, and on and on, each of the great players is distinguished by their own unique style. In this podcast, Kevin talks about the some of those legends and how they expressed themselves, and he and Mike discuss the importance of individualistic expression—that is, to perform from your heart—to all music.

EP28: My Funny Valentine

EP28: My Funny Valentine

The song from Babes in Arms, a 1937 musical by Richard Rodgers and Lorenzo Hart, has been recorded more than 1300 times by more than 600 artists. The song continues to receive mixed reviews from musicians and music critics, but it has been a favorite of artists from Frank Sinatra to Sarah Vaughan to jazz trumpeter/vocalist Chet Baker, whose recording of it is enshrined. The podcast delivers some interesting takes on the history of the tune, some of the recordings, and the song itself.

EP27: Why Musicians Love to Teach

EP27: Why Musicians Love to Teach

So many great musicians are also dedicated teachers. They love passing along their knowledge and inspiring others, getting them excited about the things they’re excited about, infecting them with love for what they’re doing, and how exciting it is to make music with other people. It is the jazz teaching tradition at its best: “Each one, teach one.”

EP26: Classical Music: A Great Resource for Jazz Musicians

EP26: Classical Music: A Great Resource for Jazz Musicians

Most great jazz musicians were trained in classical music. So do you need to learn classical music first before you can play jazz? Or is playing jazz about learning shapes and harmony, technique and structures, the things required to play any music well. There shouldn’t be a separation between classical and jazz; the creation and performance of music is the same regardless of the genre. Classical Music’s role for jazz musicians is in its long tradition of attempts at solving technical issues; it is a great resource for jazz musicians.

EP25: Books on Music: A Few Recommendations

EP25: Books on Music: A Few Recommendations

As avid readers, we have our favorite books about music and musicians. We discuss a few here in some detail in hopes they might be of interest to you. If you have others you like, let us know at musiclifeandtimes.com > contact us, and we’ll share them in a future podcast.

EP24: The Role of Music in Social Change

EP24: The Role of Music in Social Change

From the origins of jazz to the songs of the 1960s protesting the Vietnam War and supporting the Civil Rights Movement to the Grammy Song of the Year in 2021, music has played an essential role in social change, shedding light on the issues and attitudes that threaten our freedoms, here in America and around the world. Your podcasters comment on those times and music and share some stories of their own.

EP23: From Vinyl to Streaming: How Music Is Delivered

EP23: From Vinyl to Streaming: How Music Is Delivered

From 78 rpm to 33 rpm—and of course 45s with one song on each side—from albums to CDs to streaming, the way music is delivered has evolved substantially. The intent has been to make the music you want to hear easier to access. But have we lost something along the way? Is that why vinyl outsold CDs last year for the first time since the introduction of the music CD?

EP22: The Music of Fred Rogers as Jazz: “Beyond the Neighborhood”

EP22: The Music of Fred Rogers as Jazz: “Beyond the Neighborhood”

In 2019, as the culmination of what they had discovered as a shared passion, the music of Fred Rogers, Kevin and Keri Johnsrud researched, selected, arranged, then recorded 11 songs composed by Fred Rogers, best known for his long-running children’s television show Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. The jazz arrangements of what have been generally perceived as children’s songs credit Fred Rogers as a composer as well as Kevin, Keri, Bill Thornton, and Marlon Patton as arrangers and jazz musicians.

EP21 Guest Bruce Pulver: Above the Chatter, Our Words Matter.

EP21 Guest Bruce Pulver: Above the Chatter, Our Words Matter.

The Audience Perspective: An interview with Bruce Pulver, author of Above the Chatter, Our Words Matter. Intro: As performing musicians, Kevin and Mike work to please audiences by playing their best. Bruce Pulver studied music in college but decided to pursue it “as an avocation as opposed to a vocation.” He is an avid fan of live music, even to the point of hosting concerts in his home. His advice: “Get out to hear music live; it will make your day.”

EP20 Music Versus Other Professions: The Process Is Much the Same

EP20 Music Versus Other Professions: The Process Is Much the Same

Is a career in a creative art like music really that different from other types of careers? While many people see a music career as a counterpoint to other ways to make a living, the process is much the same, including spending the time necessary to build and grow your business. And for people in other professions or business careers who spend time studying and playing music, that exposure helps them develop their inherent creativity, which can work to their benefit in their chosen fields.

EP 19 High Anxiety: Dealing with Pre-Performance Nervousness

EP 19 High Anxiety: Dealing with Pre-Performance Nervousness

If you play music for an audience, be that at home in front of your family or for thousands of people in a concert hall, you’re likely to be nervous before you play. That’s not necessarily a bad thing; can even be a good thing as Kevin explains in this episode. But of course, shaky hands and a quavering voice aren’t helpful to your performance, so consider some of these ways of dealing with nerves and anxiety.

EP 18 Play for People

EP 18 Play for People

Learning music is about playing music. And playing music leads to performing. And because music is a communicative art, the job of a performing musician is to communicate with his or her audience, to play for the people.

EP17 Don’t Wait for Perfect

EP17 Don’t Wait for Perfect

Most players are uncomfortable hearing their own music. They don’t find it as perfect as they think it should be. But an important lesson to learn is not to judge yourself, and indeed, first takes are often the best takes in recording sessions.

EP16 Vinnie D’Agostino: Out of the Corporate World and Back into Music

EP16 Vinnie D’Agostino: Out of the Corporate World and Back into Music

Vinnie D’Agostino—saxophone, clarinet, and flute—first performed as an 8-year-old and started playing professionally at 15. Throughout his youth he was convinced he would live his life as a professional musician. But as he approached his 20s, he decided on a different path, as an IT professional in the corporate world, a career he concluded as Global IT Director for Global HR Technology at Coca-Cola. Today, he is again a full-time musician, involved in a wide range of projects, and recognized as a highly accomplished player.

EP15 Music Business or The Business of Music?

EP15 Music Business or The Business of Music?

The music business, like selling records and becoming a music star, is a tiny part of the industry whereas the business of music extends to a wide range of occupations, from writing music for commercials to engineering in a recording studio to teaching. And while becoming a star is so rare that it is unachievable for the vast majority of musicians, there are many opportunities to make a living in the business of music. It might not be a regular nine-to-five job, but it is much like other entrepreneurial ventures.