NPR: "National Public Radio"

Are you one of the last members of generations that actually turned a dial knob to tune the frequencies on a proper radio? Are you one of those old timers like me who likes an actual radio broadcast?

If yes please continue to read the post, if not, you can go back to your digital platforms... Just kidding, there is a lot for you here as well...

Well, I must admit the convenience of digital but still nothing gives me the pleasure of analog, especially in musical formats.

Don't worry, you will not need to bring out your old tuners/radios from your dusty attics to enjoy the shows I will be mentioning that are brought to us by the great "NPR" as they already provide all their content on their website... See, I can also embrace the digital world, well up to a certain point. I guess my generation is probably the bridge generation from a mixed analog/digital world to a full 100% digital world where our kids definitely rule.

Anyhow who can resist such an inevitable transition? Finding the right balance between both worlds is crucial and networks which can swiftly manage this will always be appreciated. The network I will be mentioning throughout this post is definitely one of them.

NPR or National Public Radio is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization based in Washington, D.C. that's been on air since 1971. It has been established by an act of the U.S. Congress. It produces mostly news and cultural programs and is available for listeners on over a 1000 stations all over the USA.

This is all I know about the NPR.
However it is not the NPR that I will try to elaborate on, but a very successful project of  NPR, called the "NPR Music".

According to Wikipedia, "NPR Music" is a combination of programs and shows that offer us current and archival podcasts, live concert webcasts, reviews, music lists, news, studio sessions, and interviews to listen to from NPR and partner public radio stations across the US, as well as an index of public radio music stations streaming live on the Internet. Holy cow, it's more digital than I thought, but hey, you can still tune in an FM channel and listen to what NPR has to offer (in USA).

Here is the link to click for the main page of NPR Music, as it is always better to view and check with your own eyes to grasp what NPR is doing...

NPR Music Home Page

As you will notice, there is a vast amount of shows and programs under the NPR Music project but I will try to highlight the ones that I like and follow.

The first one is the "Tiny Desk Concerts". It is a video series of live concerts broadcasted from the actual desk of Bob Boilen (a leading host of the network) from NPR offices in Washington D.C.

The first Tiny Desk Concert came about in 2008 after Boilen and NPR Music editor Stephen Thompson left a bar show frustrated that they couldn't hear the music over the crowd noise. Thompson joked that the musician, folk singer Laura Gibson, should just perform at Boilen's desk. A month later Boilen arranged for her to do just that, making an impromptu recording and posting it online.The name is taken from Boilen's 70s psychedelic dance band called Tiny Desk Unit.

The overall series include more than 800 videos and watched by more than 2 billion times on YouTube.

The videos are a very good source to discover new artists and music, as well as to see popular artists perform in a candid way.

Here is a video of the top 10 Tiny Desk Concerts picked by www.watchmojo.com.

And here is a couple of my favorites;

• Leon Bridges

• Anderson Paak and the Free Nationals

• Erykah Badu (well obviously)

• Khruangbin

• Gaelynn Lea

• Badbadnotgood

• Mary Halvorson Quintet

• Cécile McLorin Salvant

I think I need to stop here as there are many many others to share with you but I leave the mouse to you to click on your personal choices...Here is the link to "Tiny Desk Concerts".

NPR Tiny Desk Concerts

The second show I would like to recommend is the NPR's "Jazz Night In America". It brings the listeners on-stage performances and backstage stories from NPR Music, WBGO (one of the main jazz radio stations in America) and Jazz at Lincoln Center. The host of the program is the great bass player Christian McBride.

Here is the link for the main page.

Jazz Night In America

You can watch nice short  documentaries and even full concerts on their YouTube channel. Below are some of my favorites;

•  Spike Lee's "BlacKkKlansman" (better if you watched the movie)

• Can you hear melody in the drums?

• The Bad Plus

Again please check the YouTube page, really wonderful videos.

The last show that I will mention is the "Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz". You all know Marian McPartland, I assume. She was an English-American jazz pianist, composer and writer. She hosted this show from 1978 until 2011. This was actually a show for radio therefore you will not be able to find videos but the recordings of the radio programs. I find it very interesting, informative and fun to listen to this show as in each episode Marian McPartland interviews a great jazz figure. You can really grasp what jazz really is along with its history and influences...

Here are my favorite ones, but again there are many more recordings on the website below that you can enjoy listening to.

Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz

• Interview with Dave Brubeck

• Interview with Dizzy Gillespie

• Interview with Hiromi

As I have mentioned before, the NPR Music is an immense source for quality music. These three titles are the programs that I try to watch, listen or follow, and I assure you that this is just a tiny bit of what is being offered.

Big kudos to all the people who are involved in creating, maintaining and sharing such a great website and precious content.

n.b.: There was a dedicated NPR Music app in the past, but today you can reach most of the above content from their main app called "NPR"