The Third Story with Leo Sidran

Indian vocalist Falu was born Falguni Shah in Mumbai. She was raised with a musical mother who she says started training her in Indian classical singing when she was barely three years old. By the time she graduated from college, she had spent the majority of her life literally living inside the music, and was determined to devote herself to singing.

She has lived in the united states since 2000. In January of this year, the Economic Times of India listed Falu among the 20 most influential Global Indian Women.

I loved this conversation, in part because it illuminated so many questions I have about India, and the relationship that Americans have with Indian music and culture, ranging from the importance of the Beatles in opening up the channel between western pop music and Indian classical music, to the connection between the escapism of Broadway musicals and Bollywood films.

Stream below or download from iTunes.

Singer - songwriter Alex Cuba was born Alexis Puentes in Artemisa, Cuba, but since 1999 he has lived in Canada. He has won two Juno Awards and two Latin Grammys, and his songs have been recorded by many other Latin pop artists.

Growing up, he was immersed in music at a very young age. His father was a respected guitarist and teacher named Valentin Puentes, and as a young boy Alex appeared in his dad's guitar ensemble on Cuban national TV. He then went on to become an in demand bass player on the Cuban jazz.

He immigrated to Canada in 1999 after marrying a Canadian in Cuba. He and his twin brother Adonis first settled in Victoria, British Columbia, and worked as a duo, the Puentes Brothers, and received a Juno Award nomination. In 2003, Cuba moved to Smithers, British Columbia, the hometown of his wife, Sarah, whose father is a local politician.

I first met Alex nearly a decade ago, when his first solo record "Humo de Tabaco" had just been released. We stayed in touch over the years, and eventually in the fall of 2014, we worked together on the production for his fifth solo record, Healer. Recorded mostly in Brooklyn, the record will be released in the spring of 2015. This interview was recorded late in the evening following a long day of recording, and I think you can feel it in the candor and delirium of the conversation.

Alex is one of the most naturally gifted songwriters I've ever come across – his creative output is nonstop and intense. He has a deeply intuitive approach, but at the same time he has a deep formation in traditional Cuban music, and a wide-open pop sensibility.

But the thing that has intrigued me about Alex since I met him is how he reconciles his identity as a contemporary Latin singer songwriter with his adopted home in the wilds of British Columbia.

www.alexcuba.com

Stream it here or download it from the iTunes Music Store.

Singer - songwriter Alex Cuba was born Alexis Puentes in Artemisa, Cuba, but since 1999 he has lived in Canada. He has won two Juno Awards and two Latin Grammys, and his songs have been recorded by many other Latin pop artists.

Growing up, he was immersed in music at a very young age. His father was a respected guitarist and teacher named Valentin Puentes, and as a young boy Alex appeared in his dad’s guitar ensemble on Cuban national TV. He then went on to become an in demand bass player on the Cuban jazz.

He immigrated to Canada in 1999 after marrying a Canadian in Cuba. He and his twin brother Adonis first settled in Victoria, British Columbia, and worked as a duo, the Puentes Brothers, and received a Juno Award nomination. In 2003, Cuba moved to Smithers, British Columbia, the hometown of his wife, Sarah, whose father is a local politician.

I first met Alex nearly a decade ago, when his first solo record “Humo de Tabaco” had just been released. We stayed in touch over the years, and eventually in the fall of 2014, we worked together on the production for his fifth solo record, Healer. Recorded mostly in Brooklyn, the record will be released in the spring of 2015. This interview was recorded late in the evening following a long day of recording, and I think you can feel it in the candor and delirium of the conversation.

Alex is one of the most naturally gifted songwriters I’ve ever come across – his creative output is nonstop and intense. He has a deeply intuitive approach, but at the same time he has a deep formation in traditional Cuban music, and a wide-open pop sensibility.

But the thing that has intrigued me about Alex since I met him is how he reconciles his identity as a contemporary Latin singer songwriter with his adopted home in the wilds of British Columbia. 

www.alexcuba.com

Stream it here or download it from the iTunes Music Store.

Doug Wamble is a very soulful musician and singer - the blues runs deep in his playing, and he has a direct, funky approach to songwriting and composing.

Doug grew up in the south – he was born in Clarksville, Tennessee and raised in Memphis. Although he grew up with music in his family, he only started to play music in his late teens. But when he decided to become a musician, dove in deep.

After finishing a graduate degree from Northwestern in Chicago, Doug moved to New York city to pursue his dream of becoming the next great jazz guitar player, and specifically, of playing with Wynton Marsalis. He says, "my practice for so long was geared towards how can I play in such a way that Wynton Marsalis will hire me."

Apparently it worked, because soon after moving to New York, Doug recorded with Wynton, and also started working with Madeline Peyroux, Cassandra Wilson, and Steven Bernstein.

In our conversation, Doug talks about what happened next – he had the good fortune of achieving much of what he hoped to in New York very quickly, only to find that he was still scuffling to pay the rent, and still hustling for the next gig. That's when his career really began to take shape.

This interview is an honest snapshot of an artist in mid career – Doug is very much in it right now, thinking about his current projects (last year he released two solo records and produced singer Morgan James' EPIC records debut "Hunter"!) and what the next steps are. But he's also 20 years into a career that has put him in a lot of rooms, making serious music with serious people, and thinking about the big questions of art, craft and commerce.

Doug says, "If I could pick one thing to inject into music it would be romance…You can't get down to music that wins grants…I'd rather make a record that someone says, 'you know I made my baby to that song.'"

www.dougwamble.com

Stream it here or download it from the iTunes Music Store.

Doug Wamble is a very soulful musician and singer - the blues runs deep in his playing, and he has a direct, funky approach to songwriting and composing.

Doug grew up in the south – he was born in Clarksville, Tennessee and raised in Memphis. Although he grew up with music in his family, he only started to play music in his late teens. But when he decided to become a musician, dove in deep.

After finishing a graduate degree from Northwestern in Chicago, Doug moved to New York city to pursue his dream of becoming the next great jazz guitar player, and specifically, of playing with Wynton Marsalis. He says, “my practice for so long was geared towards how can I play in such a way that Wynton Marsalis will hire me.”

Apparently it worked, because soon after moving to New York, Doug recorded with Wynton, and also started working with Madeline Peyroux, Cassandra Wilson, and Steven Bernstein.

In our conversation, Doug talks about what happened next – he had the good fortune of achieving much of what he hoped to in New York very quickly, only to find that he was still scuffling to pay the rent, and still hustling for the next gig. That’s when his career really began to take shape.

This interview is an honest snapshot of an artist in mid career – Doug is very much in it right now, thinking about his current projects (last year he released two solo records and produced singer Morgan James’ EPIC records debut “Hunter”!) and what the next steps are. But he’s also 20 years into a career that has put him in a lot of rooms, making serious music with serious people, and thinking about the big questions of art, craft and commerce.

Doug says, “If I could pick one thing to inject into music it would be romance…You can’t get down to music that wins grants…I’d rather make a record that someone says, ‘you know I made my baby to that song.’”

www.dougwamble.com

Stream it here or download it from the iTunes Music Store.

Jascha Hoffman is a singer, songwriter, and journalist. He writes regularly for The New York Times (he has a monthly column called "The Scan" that covers science and culture). He's also a regular contributor to the science journal Nature, and his work has appeared in Scientific American, The Boston Globe, and Business Week.

As a singer-songwriter Jascha has recorded three records. His most recent release, called "The Afterneath" was released independently in late 2014. Several years ago, he wrote a handful of obituaries for the New York Times, mostly of scientists, an experience that led him to compose a collection of songs inspired mostly by Times obituaries. He says "to my surprise the strongest character on the album has turned out to be the 20th century…you could say the album is a sort of technicolor obituary for an American era, one that is slowly fading."

Here he talks about his writing process, success, failure, disappointment and delight.

http://www.afterneath.org

Jascha Hoffman is a singer, songwriter, and journalist. He writes regularly for The New York Times (he has a monthly column called “The Scan” that covers science and culture). He’s also a regular contributor to the science journal Nature, and his work has appeared in Scientific American, The Boston Globe, and Business Week.

As a singer-songwriter Jascha has recorded three records. His most recent release, called “The Afterneath” was released independently in late 2014. Several years ago, he wrote a handful of obituaries for the New York Times, mostly of scientists, an experience that led him to compose a collection of songs inspired mostly by Times obituaries. He says “to my surprise the strongest character on the album has turned out to be the 20th century…you could say the album is a sort of technicolor obituary for an American era, one that is slowly fading.”

 Here he talks about his writing process, success, failure, disappointment and delight.

http://www.afterneath.org 

Guitarist Steve Khan was born and raised in Los Angeles in a house of songs. His father, lyricist and songwriter Sammy Cahn, made countless contributions to the American songbook. As a young boy, Steve was surrounded by his father's friends and collaborators; Dean Martin was a regular at the house. But as he describes it, his father's world was not particularly attractive to him, and he felt a real distance between himself and his father's world.

Coming of age in LA in the 60's, Steve was drawn to music for somewhat more social reasons. His friends played in garage bands, and he wanted a piece of the action. His first instrument was the drums, while still in high school he ended up playing in a surf rock band called the Chantays, who had a hit called Pipeline. Oddly enough, it was the guys in the Chantays who turned Khan onto jazz, the music that truly inspired him.

At 19, Steve made the switch to guitar. In 1970 he relocated from the West Coast to New York. He quickly became an integral part of the studio recording and fusion scenes – in the 1970s he recorded on dozens of records, many of them important statements for artists ranging from the Brecker Brothers to Billy Joel, Kenny Loggins to Freddie Hubbard, Ashford and Simpson to Blood Sweat and Tears, Chaka Khan to Steely Dan. During the period when he was most active on the scene, Steve started recording as a solo artist for major labels. He has recorded over 25 albums as a soloist.

One particular project, called Eyewitness, was clearly a watershed moment for him. It featured Khan, bassist Anthony Jackson, drummer Steve Jordan and percussionist Manolo Badrena. This project seems to have opened a door for him creatively, and since the early 80s he has pursued his love of Latin music.

When I started this podcast, sometimes people would ask me what I'm interested in talking about. I would sometimes answer that I'm looking for the intersection between personal experience and art – where life meets craft. Of course, that's not always what happens in these conversations, and it's certainly not any kind of mandate. But it does feel appropriate to wrap up the first year of these conversations with Steve Khan, because not only is he a great storyteller full of anecdotes, but he also is deeply aware of how his life and his music overlap.

www.stevekhan.com

This was a long conversation and for the first time, I'm including some pieces that didn't make the final cut available here. So if you're interested and would like to hear more, specifically about some of the technical aspects of Steve's playing, there's another 20 minutes of the conversation available below.

Stream it here or download it from the iTunes Music Store.