The Tantara Hour

The Pori Jazz Festival has grown in its scope and now presents a main stage lineup of top names including Kylie Minogue, Paloma Faith, Jessie J, Caro Emerald, & Emeli Sande. It features all styles of pop as well as its original focus, jazz. In 2015, the Festival presented a stellar lineup from the top tier of Europop. Each artist is introduced along with a generous sampling of music.

Continuing BYU’s annual Celebration of Christmas series, BYU Records presents the new recording for 2015, Carol of Joy.

Featuring BYU’s combined choirs and orchestra, we hear sacred favorites of the season including a stirring new arrangement of “Oh Come All Ye Faithful,” as well as winter holiday favorites—“Sleigh Ride,” selections from The Nutcracker Suite, and others. It’s a live album, beautifully captured, skillfully rendered.

An exciting debut from Utah: the three-tenor group Gentri. Our guest is Brad Robins, one of the three singers, and in between songs we uncover a few details and learn the almost-unprecedented fact that producer Stephen Nelson travels with—is part of—Gentri, and creates not only the vocal arrangements, but also the stirring orchestrations. Brad answers questions about Gentri’s past and future performances and the group’s philosophy and business strategy.

One of the best bands of recent decades, Genesis has delivered an impressive string of familiar chart hits. Formed in 1967 and known as a “prog-rock” or progressive rock band, Genesis didn’t crack the US charts until 1978, when they began writing and producing more hummable, radio-friendly material. We follow the band from its beginning, paying attention to the musicians who left as well as those who stayed. It seems unique that those who left seem to be on good terms with those who remained, even revisiting Genesis material in their own recordings.

Lost in the glitter of early swing-era bands like Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and Glenn Miller was Chick Webb, the affable, energetic drummer who paved the way for showy drummers like Buddy Rich or Louie Bellson. But in the hindsight of history, Chick Webb is equally famous for discovering and promoting the young Ella Fitzgerald. Our story continues through the untimely death of Chick Webb and the emergence of Ella as the First Lady of Jazz.