Booker T. Jones & Hammond B3 organ

Michael Bruckner photo

Tiny Desk Vidéo BOOKER T. JONES

. The Classical Guitar Perfection of David Russell .

David Russell

David Russell is one of the most prolific — and acclaimed — classical guitarists performing today.

He records about an album a year and tours the world regularly.

He's received too many awards to mention.

He's even had a concert hall and a street named for him in Spain, where he lives.

For each one, he concentrates on one composer:

Bach, Giuliani, Rodrigo, Barrios — or one style:

Baroque, Renaissance, even a CD of Celtic music.

His latest, Sonidos Latinos, features guitar music from Latin America.

As with all of his other projects, Russell spent a year immersing himself in the music and culture of his chosen subject.

.

Classical

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Indeed, part of Russell's "sound" is actually silence.

"The guitar can be a very noisy instrument," he says.

So Russell has perfected his technique, working tirelessly on fingerings that eliminate those squeaky sounds of fingers sliding over frets.

Russell got his Scottish accent and his love of the guitar from his parents.

He was born in Glasgow, but moved to Minorca in Spain as a child, when his artistic parents loaded up the van and headed for warmer climes.

His first lessons were from his father, an amateur guitarist and full-time painter.

Russell says that after a while, he realized he could play better than his dad, and that's when he decided "to become the guitarist in the family."

On tour in support of his new album, Sonidos Latinos, Russell dropped by the NPR Music offices to play a few classics of the guitar repertoire.

Listen to the exquisite rippled notes as they spin by in his first piece by Barrios, while in Couperin's "Les Silvains," two separate melodies intertwine like clockwork.

And then there's Russell's signature warm tone in Albeniz's "Granada," the classic which capped off the concert.

Tiny Desk Concert

Set List

Augustin Barrios: "Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios"

Francois Couperin: "Les Silvains"

Isaac Albeniz: "Granada"

Listen Tiny Desk Concert Here

. Bill Callahan : Tiny Desk Concert . Voix et Profondeur .

It's a high compliment to suggest that these three Bill Callahan songs may well implant themselves in your brain, lay eggs and sprout horrifically disturbing dreams at that point when you're banging on the snooze alarm in a state of anguished early-morning half-sleep.

After Callahan — a.k.a. The Artist Formerly Known As Smog — performed at the NPR Music offices, my own slumber was absolutely haunted by at least one line from each piece he played.

From "Jim Cain":

"I used to be darker / Then I got lighter / Then I got dark again."

From "Rococo Zephyr":

 

"I used to be sorta blind / But now I can sorta see."

 

From "Too Many Birds": 

"If you could only stop your heartbeat for one heartbeat..."

All three songs are highlights from Callahan's magnificent new album, Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle, and all three are rendered here in faithful detail by Callahan and his crack team of backing players. 

The singer is, for obvious reasons, the driving force in these performances — every sound orbits around his deep, detached voice — but all those strings and guitars exude subtle warmth to match Callahan's sly but sneakily empathetic words.

The result is a Tiny Desk Concert that's more serious than most, and at times almost eerily transfixing. 

Immerse yourself in it, and you may just re-live it in your darkest dreams.

Bill Callahan TINY DESK 

Podcast Download NPR . Bill Callahan : Tiny Desk Concert

Set List

• "Jim Cain"
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• "Rococo Zephyr"
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• "Too Many Birds"
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. Esperanza Spalding Tiny Desk Concert : Bass & Voice .

Esperanza Spalding has phenomenal hair.

If you meet her in her street clothes, you may not notice it; she keeps it tucked inconspicuously away, miraculously to be honest, under a knit cap.

But right before she took the "stage" at NPR Music's Tiny Desk, she doffed her piece to unveil a massive, overflowing 'fro. More than one of us wondered from which secret hiding place it all emanated.

Spalding stows a lot of talent in small packages. She's not a very tall person — diminutive, really — but has made a career of playing the imposing double bass with jazz giants.

She sings, too, with a high-pitched but husky flavor, making it easy to wonder how she generates the lung capacity for her acrobatic, high-wire feats.

For reference, spend time with the middle tune here, the standard "Midnight Sun."

She goes at it solo, just bass and voice, and generates plenty of horsepower.

But it's not sheer musical talent that makes her a winning (and bread-winning) performer — after all, there are plenty of chops to go around in jazz.

Spalding has a certain poise, a way of engaging a crowd, of controlling a room. It's usually seen as a large-scale projection, a friendly demeanor greeting a festival or performing arts center crowd of thousands. In this most awkwardly cramped of stages, her deep conviction was a dominant force.

For her Tiny Desk Concert, she mostly called original tunes from Chamber Music Society, her new album pairing a jazz rhythm section with a three-piece string trio.

The two tunes bookending her set alternated the gossamer with the rich and darkly hued: the album opener "Little Fly," her setting of a William Blake poem, and "Apple Blossom," featuring her regular guitarist, Ricardo Vogt.

Spalding conceived of Chamber Music Society as an intimate experience, a close musical exchange between a small group of friends.

If it was intimacy she wanted, she got her wish: The constraints of Bob Boilen's workspace ensured that all the players were nice and cozy.

We liked what she had in mind.

Set List

"Little Fly"


"Midnight Sun"


"Apple Blossom"

Personnel

Esperanza Spalding (bass and vocals)


Ricardo Vogt (guitar)


Sara Caswell (violin)


Lois Martin (viola)

Jody Redhage (cello)

Podcast Download NPR M4V TINY DESK CONCERT LINK

. Rafael Saadiq . Cool, Soul R&B JazzMan .

It's been a good couple of years for hip-hop and soul producers to step out from the boards and record their own music.

Mark Ronson released the stylish Version and Timbaland put out the interesting, if uneven, Shock Value.

Raphael Saadiq has been in the R&B scene for 20 years as a singer for groups like Tony! Toni! Tone!, but most notably spends his time in the producer's chair.

He's helmed recordings for artists such as John Legend, Joss Stone and The Roots.

His new solo album, The Way I See It, is an authentic standout within the recent '60s soul resurgence.

In this interview, Saadiq discusses his early bonds to The Temptations and the Dick Cavett Show, and reveals the advice he received from Stevie Wonder.

Raphael Saadiq: Tiny Desk Concert

Raphael Saadiq

The Tiny Desk

15/03/2010

Looking sharp in his tailored suit, the Grammy-nominated R&B artist performed three acoustic interpretations of his soul-inspired tunes.

He was joined by guitarist Rob Bacon in this intimate performance at Bob Boilen's desk.





I'm not sure how I expected Raphael Saadiq to translate his old-school soul and R&B to the acoustic confines of the Tiny Desk, but I know I hadn't imagined two acoustic guitars.

In the late '80s and '90s, under the name Raphael Wiggins, Saadiq played bass in the multi-platinum band Tony! Toni! Tone!

More recently, he reinvented himself as a successful producer and released last year's Grammy-nominated solo album The Way I See It, which features collaborations with Joss Stone, Stevie Wonder and Jay-Z.

For his Tiny Desk Concert, Saadiq brought a remarkable accompanist in guitarist Rob Bacon.

The two had just gotten off a plane, but in their impeccably tailored suits and their grand smiles, they looked fresh and played an inspired acoustic performance.

As you watch, keep an eye on Saadiq's guitar work: You'll see how his years as a bassist influences many of his licks on his Taylor acoustic. You're in for a real treat.

SET LIST

"Love That Girl"

"100 Yard Dash"

"Sure Hope You Mean It"

Raphael Saadiq.npr-podcasts.m4v

Raphael Saadiq Site

. Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer, Zakir Hussain: Tiny Desk Concert .

Wayne Huang/NPR

Individually, Fleck, Meyer and Hussain are world-class masters of the banjo, the bass fiddle and the tabla, respectively.


Playing together in the offices of NPR Music, the three demonstrate the way musical mastery can be transformed into an exercise in wordless communication.

"Beyond category."


That's what Duke Ellington used to call musicians who were simply the best at what they do.

And that's certainly the case for Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer and Zakir Hussain.


Individually, they're world-class masters of the banjo, the bass fiddle and the tabla, respectively.

They conquered mere technical prowess long ago.


All three now are at a place where music truly becomes so intuitive that a simple rehearsal — as we got to see before this Tiny Desk Concert in the offices of NPR Music — is an exercise in wordless communication.

Just before we rolled tape, the trio worked on a section of one of the songs that involved some unison playing, and I was caught off guard, thinking they didn't really nail it when they tried it three times in a row.

Then, when it came time to perform for an audience, they, of course, performed it flawlessly.

Ellington had no idea that his words would eventually be applied to a banjo player, a bass fiddle player and an South Asian percussionist.


But sit back and enjoy these two pieces from The Melody of Rhythm, and you'll see how right Ellington was.

Bela Fleck, Zakir Hussain and Edgar Meyer have collaborated
on a new album,

The Melody of Rhythm.

Set List

"Bubbles"
"Bahar"

IN VIDEO LINK :

NPR Podcasts. Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer, Zakir Hussain: Tiny Desk Concert m4v