Jesse Ruben: We Can!

Jesse RubenPrior to playing an Aug. 13 show at Wilmington’s World Cafe Live at the Queen, Jesse Ruben joined us on WVUD’s The Music Room on Aug. 9, 2016.

Jesse’s energy and positive attitude came through loud and clear in his conversation with Mandorichard. He shared two tracks from his upcoming EP that will be titled A Reply to Violence. The title to that EP is taken from Leonard Bernstein’s statement in response to President Kennedy’s assassination: “This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.” Listen to Jesse Ruben’s music and you’ll hear an artist who uses his music to react to all that the world brings us–the good and the difficult.

Jesse also told us how his 2012 song “We Can” has helped people achieve things they thought they couldn’t, been the centerpiece of his We Can project with school children all across North America, and even inspired him as he recovered from Lyme Disease.

Check out our interview with the upbeat and energetic Jesse Ruben at the link below! Learn how he uses music to connect with people and inspire them, too.

The Interview

Jesse Ruben, hosted by Mandorichard, Aug. 9, 2016.
29:25
56.5 MB

The Music

Artist Song Album Year
Jesse Ruben First Day of Summer Single from A Reply to Violence
(Forthcoming)

2016
Jesse Ruben We Can
(Official Video)
Thoughts I’ve Never Had Before, Part 1 (EP)

2012
Jesse Ruben This is Why I Need You Single from A Reply to Violence
(Forthcoming)

2016

Photo courtesy jesseruben.com.

Daniel Bennett Group: Bears, Ducks, Lizards and Saxophones!

Daniel BennettOn Aug. 2, saxophonist (and flutist, clarinetist, oboist, and piccoloist) Daniel Bennett joined Mandorichard and Bill Barnett for a wide-ranging interview about the Daniel Bennett Group’s music — and their upcoming appearance at 7:00 p.m. Friday, Aug. 12, 2016, at the Newark Free Library.

According to the group’s website, critics have been raving about the Daniel Bennett Group’s music: “The Boston Herald describes Bennett’s music as ‘exploratory Folk-Jazz hybrid.’ Timeout New York raves, ‘Daniel Bennett airs his lilting, potentially hypnotic compositions!” During the interview we listened to tracks from three of the group’s albums. The music is upbeat and engaging. What’s not to like about a track named “Paul Platypus”?

Bennett was gracious, funny, and very honest about how he approaches his music–Bill and Mandorichard found themselves laughing repeatedly as Bennett talked about playing for audiences, his wide-ranging early influences (Peter, Paul, and Mary; Bela Fleck; Ornette Coleman), and the number of animals featured in the titles of his compositions. He is very serious about his music, his musicianship on several members of the woodwind family, and his compositions; however, the resulting music is gleeful and exuberant because he and his group always try to engage their audiences. The group plays in clubs and at festivals, but his commitment to bringing jazz to lots of different kinds of people has led the group to play concerts in over 80 libraries across the United States.

If Aug. 12, 2016, hasn’t passed you by, you should definitely check out the Daniel Bennett Group at the Newark Free Library. And no matter when you are viewing this web page, you will find the podcast of of our interview with Daniel Bennett to be engaging, inspiring, and entertaining.

Listen to the Interview

Daniel Bennett. Hosts: Mandorichard and Bill Barnett, aired live on Aug. 2, 2016.
32:28
62.3 MB

The podcast is also available in a lower-fi version for ease of downloading.
31:18
30.0 MB

The Music

Artist Song Album Year
The Daniel Bennett Group The Legend of Bear Thompson The Legend of Bear Thompson 2008
The Daniel Bennett Group Paul Platypus The Mystery of Clown Castle 2015
The Daniel Bennett Group The Clown Chemist The Mystery of Clown Castle 2015
The Daniel Bennett Group John Lizard Comes Home Sinking Houseboat Confusion 2016

Kristin Scott Benson: Banjos, Cookies, and Grascals

Kristin Scott Benson (Photo courtesy Bluegrass Today)Mandorichard had such a great time chatting with banjoist Kristin Scott Benson on July 16, 2016 (while subbing on WVUD’s Fire on the Mountain), that he also shared the interview with the audience for WVUD’s The Music Room.

Kristin talked about her family, playing banjo with the Grascals, and her new CD, Stringworks (Release Date: July 22, 2016. Amazon.com link).

When we caught up to her, she, her husband–mandolinist Wayne Benson (IIIrd Tyme Out), and their son Hogan, were getting ready to pay a visit to a cookie store on their way to a Grascals show. It was interesting to hear Kristin talk about their family life, her childhood growing up in a bluegrass family, Stringworks, playing with the Grascals, her approach to banjo playing and song writing, some of the artists she admires–it was a great conversation!

Learn more about Kristin and her new record by checking out the podcast.

Listen to the Interview

Kristin Scott Benson. Host: Mandorichard, recorded live on WVUD’s Fire on the Mountain, July 16, 2016; TMR debut: July 19, 2016.
26:06
25.1 MB
(Note: Due to copyright restrictions, the podcast contains excerpts of two of the tracks played in the radio broadcast.)

The Music

Artist Song Album Year
The Grascals Warm Wind (Excerpt in podcast.) And Then There’s This… 2016
Kristin Scott Benson Great Waterton Stringworks 2016
Kristin Scott Benson Foggy Mountain Top (Intro and outro: 1941 recording of Whitey and Hogan. Excerpt in podcast.) Stringworks 2016