Join Kyle Long as he listens back to some of his favorite interviews of 2022. Enjoy words and music from a wide variety of local and national artists, including Son Lux, Falu, Karate, Guns and Tanning, Medicine Singers, and Colin Blunstone of The Zombies.

If you hate Christmas music - don’t miss this week’s edition of Cultural Manifesto. Kyle  shares an hour of holiday music from the Indianapolis-based label Joyful Noise Recordings.

Joyful Noise Recordings has created a fascinating library of alternative Christmas music featuring important experimental musicians - including Jad Fair, Deerhoof, Sound of Ceres, Dale Crover, Kishi Bashi, Sedcairn Archives,Thor Harris, and more.

Tune in for an hour of holiday music with Joyful Noise Recordings' founder Karl Hofstetter.

This week we'll pay tribute to the Indianapolis-born arranger, composer and jazz pianist Bob Hammer, who passed away last December at the age of 91. Hammer had a significant career in jazz music and is best remembered for his association with the jazz legend Charles Mingus. Hammer wrote arrangements for some of Mingus’ most critically acclaimed albums. Mingus referred to Hammer as "my Beethoven."

Explore the music of the late Max Hartstein, an important Indiana visual artist, activist, and jazz bassist. While Hartstein’s contributions to jazz music are often overlooked, he performed with some of the greatest players in jazz history, including Cannonball Adderely, Ben Webster, Kenny Clark, Dexter Gordon, Bud Powell, Dizzy Gillespie, and Benny Goodman.

Kyle Long is joined by the legendary Indianapolis jazz vocalist Wanda Stafford. Stafford began singing in clubs during the mid 1950s and performed with the greatest jazz musicians in the city, including Wes Montgomery. Her debut album "In Love for the Very First Time" was a hit with critics, but Stafford's ascent to stardom was interrupted by her responsibilities as a single working mother.

Kyle Long speaks with trumpet player and bandleader Dr. Elliott Caine, also known as the "jazz optometrist." Caine was born and raised in Indianapolis. He studied music with the Hoosier jazz legend David Baker, and played some of his earliest gigs on Indiana Avenue before relocating to Los Angeles. Caine has performed and recorded with artists including Beck and the Beastie Boys.

his week Kyle Long speaks with drummer Giauna Neville, a rising force in the Indianapolis jazz scene. Giauna shares music from her debut album “Motherland," as well as her experiences as a young jazz musician working in the Indianapolis scene.

Kyle interviews bassist George Porter Jr., a founding member of the legendary New Orleans funk band The Meters. The Meters were formed in New Orleans during the mid-1960s. The band's unique sound played a large role in the evolution of funk music, and deeply influenced the sound of hip-hop during the 1990s. The Meters also had a significant impact on rock music. The band performed with Paul McCartney, toured with the Rolling Stones, and influenced Led Zeppelin.

Kyle Long speaks with Brazilian musician Eliane Elias, and Indianapolis-based Haitian-American vocalist Oltanie Charles. Born in São Paulo, Brazil, Eliane has worked with music legends from around the world, including Vinicius de Moraes, Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea. Oltanie Charles creates mixing Haitian kompa with West African Afrobeats, and has performed extensively in Indianapolis.

Celebrate Halloween with Michael Esposito, an experimental sound artist and researcher in Electronic Voice Phenomena, or EVP. For those who believe, EVP refers to sounds captured on electronic recording devices that are interpreted to be spirit voices communicating from the afterlife. Esposito uses EVP and related field recordings, many of which were captured in Indiana, as the basis of his music.