The War Tuba

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Exotic instruments: Serpent, Baryton, Mandobass, Marine Trumpet

Check out these videos of wonderful and exotic instruments: 

The serpent:

The baryton:

The mandolin family – including mandola, mandocello, and – oh, how I want one of these – mandobass:

Perhaps the most annoying musical instrument ever invented is the marine trumpet:

The Theorbo

I love big instruments that make low notes, so it is perhaps inevitable that I'd be attracted to the theorbo. This instrument is essentially a lute with a long extension to its neck to which is attached a number of bass strings. 

Here's a video of Daniel Zapico playing the theorbo in a trio setting:

The Kora

Probably my favorite African instrument is the kora - a west African harp-like instrument with 21 strings. Each kora player typically builds his own instrument from a calabash gourd (often decorated on the inside with magical incantations and formulas), wood, and fishing line for strings. A Malian kora player named Toumani Diabaté ( http://www.toumani-diabate.com/ ) is considered by many to be the master of this beautiful instrument. 

Find out more about the kora at Kora Jaliya ( http://www.kora-music.com/ ).

The Organ

I love the pipe organ for its musical power and the sheer size and complexity of its workings (which can put the piano's 10,000 parts to shame). June found two organ-related shows that we now listen to every week: Pipe Dreams ( http://pipedreams.publicradio.org/ ) is a weekly two-hour show on many U.S. public radio stations, devoted to mostly classical pieces performed on “the king of instruments.” 

Popular music and interviews with organists (recently including Rick Wakeman of the bands Yes and The Strawbs) are the mainstays of the 30-minute program The Organist Entertains ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006wr9w ) on BBC2. As always with BBC, the shows are only kept online for about a week.

Shared by June

The Piano

Are you a fan of the piano, that grand 88-keyed black and white monster that fills many a parlor and concert stage? Perhaps you'd enjoy a tour of the Steinway factory narrated by John Steinway himself:

Some of the footage in that video seems to have come from Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037 ( http://notebynotethemovie.com/ ). It's good movie to rent or download; you'll meet the fascinating and diverse group of people who create the world's greatest pianos in an unassuming factory in New York City. Did you know that a full-sized grand piano can have up to 10,000 moving parts?

If you'd like to add some beautiful piano recordings to your iTunes library, Piano Society ( http://pianosociety.com ) has an excellent website, with over 5,000 high-quality piano recordings available for free download.

Vince Guaraldi

I can't let the holiday season pass without a nod to the musician who may have provided many people's first exposure to jazz: Vince Guaraldi ( http://www.vinceguaraldi.com/home.htm ), who wrote and performed the whimsical jazz soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas (as well as 16 other Charlie Brown shows, and the hit tune Cast Your Fate To The Wind ). Vince split the scene far too early at age 47, but has influenced many pianists and composers.

Here's Vince with Bola Sete doing Star Song in 1963:

And here's a very rare film of Vince backing the incomparable Ben Webster:

Jazz Radio Stations

Don't forget the broadcast jazz radio stations (of which there are, sadly, fewer and fewer each year), starting with our own KMHD ( http://www.kmhd.org/ ).

New Jersey's oldest public radio station is WBGO ( http://www.wbgo.org/ ), with a full-time jazz format.  

WWOZ ( http://www.wwoz.org/ ) describes itself as "the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Station," but don't expect non-stop Dixieland; they have a varied and exciting playlist.

Jamie Collum and Clare Teal on BBC2

BBC Radio 2 has a couple of weekly 1-hour jazz shows that are well worth checking out.

Young British singer/pianist Jamie Collum has a weekly show ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00rr86v ) where he displays his awesome knowledge of jazz history as well as his own eclectic tastes. You'll hear the best of the past, present, and future of jazz on his show.

Singer Clare Teal has a terrific show focused on big-band jazz ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00m62h5 ). BBC tends to keep these shows available online for only about a week.

Shared by June

Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz

Pianist Marian McPartland has been a force in jazz for more than 70 years. Her long-running weekly program on NPR, Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz ( http://www.npr.org/programs/piano-jazz/ ) has featured nearly every notable jazz musician, and quite a few talented newcomers on their way up. The show is about half chat and half live jamming, and is always a delight. At age 93, Marian can still "cut" most of the players who come on her show, but she is always generous and charming, and she makes sure her guests shine.