The Music Show

From the very first shot of John Travolta strutting his stuff down a busy New York street, Saturday Night Fever is an iconic film, and the music is even more iconic. Well, the five Bee Gees’ tracks that occupied side A are anyway—don’t get music writer Clinton Walker started on the ‘highway robbery’ of making fans pay for a double-album just to get those songs!Clinton Walker brings disco fever to The Music Show and explains the Australianness of the film and its soundtrack, thanks in large part to Adelaide-born producer Robert Stigwood and the Bee Gees who we claim as our own.Clinton Walker's book Soundtrack From Saturday Night Fever is published by Bloomsbury.

Jerron Paxton’s music sounds like it could have been unearthed from a time capsule buried in the 1920s or 30s. His new album of original songs, Things Done Changed, finds the multi-instrumentalist playing guitar, banjo, piano and harmonica across blues, folk, ragtime and old-time Black music styles. He tells Andy about being glued to the radio as a young child, his deep love of acoustic instruments, and the recipe for his grandmother’s salmon court bouillon.Chloe Kim has been on The Music Show in the past in her capacity as a drummer, but this time she’s on as a sort of wrangler (and composer) for six double basses. One of the six, Jacques Emery, joins her to tell Andy about the premiere of Music For Six Double Bassists at Sydney’s Phoenix Central Park – and how this quiet, oddly fragile big beast of the orchestra can operate amongst its own kind. Music heard in the show: Title: Music for Six Double BassistsComposer: Chloe KimArtist: Paddy Fitzgerald (double bass), Oscar Neyland (double bass), Helen Svoboda (double bass), Harry Birch (double bass), Jonathan Zwartz (double bass), and Jacques Emery (double bass)Album: Music For Six Double BassistsLabel: People SoundTitle: What’s Gonna Become of MeComposer: Jerron PaxtonArtist: Jerron PaxtonAlbum: Things Done ChangedLabel: Smithsonian FolkwaysTitle: Things Done ChangedComposer: Jerron PaxtonArtist: Jerron PaxtonAlbum: Things Done ChangedLabel: Smithsonian FolkwaysTitle: Little ZydecoComposer: Jerron PaxtonArtist: Jerron PaxtonAlbum: Things Done ChangedLabel: Smithsonian FolkwaysTitle: Oxtail BluesComposer: Jerron PaxtonArtist: Jerron PaxtonAlbum: Things Done ChangedLabel: Smithsonian FolkwaysTitle: Music for Six Double BassistsComposer: Chloe KimArtist: Paddy Fitzgerald (double bass), Oscar Neyland (double bass), Helen Svoboda (double bass), Harry Birch (double bass), Jonathan Zwartz (double bass), and Jacques Emery (double bass)Album: Music For Six Double BassistsRecorded by Felix Abrahams and Nathan Moas, Audio courtesy of Phoenix Central Park and Judith Neilson AMTitle: EclipseArtist: Alter BoyAlbum: I Don’t Live Here AnymoreLabel: Independent releaseThe Music Show was produced this week on Gadigal, Gundungurra and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Land. Engineers were Tim Jenkins, Simon Branthwaite, John Jacobs and Brendan O'Neill. 

Bill Bailey is best known for his stand-up comedy, but one of his first public performances was a Mozart piano concerto, with his own cadenza, in his hometown of Bath. He joins Andy to explain what Mozart has in common with dancing on television, how timing is crucial to both comedy and music, and making sure there’s enough affection in his musical parodies.Modern troubadour Darren Hanlon has performed in hundreds of halls and pubs around Australia, and is on a mission to visit at least one new town per tour. His observational songwriting, sharp wit and catchy melodies earn him fans everywhere he goes. Darren is on The Music Show to reflect on a life on the road and talk about making his latest album Life Tax in an old church hall (he was able to record when the hall wasn’t being used for swing dance or yoga classes).

Composer, bass player and vocalist Esperanza Spalding has become one of the most important voices in 21st century jazz. She has also worked across almost every style of music with some legendary musicians (Wayne Shorter, Stevie Wonder, and Janelle Monáe to name a few). Her latest collaboration is an album with Brazilian singer songwriter Milton Nascimento and includes songs in Portuguese and English, as well as surprising covers of The Beatles and Michael Jackson.Melbourne-based Affinity Quartet drop by The Music Show studio to perform live. This award-winning ensemble has found considerable success in performance competitions both here and overseas. There’s a lot of repertoire out there for string quartets, and they let us in on their process for selecting and performing the classics, as well as commissioning new pieces from Australian composers like Alice Chance.

In Wangkatjungka, near Fitzroy Crossing in the Kimberley, Walmajarri Elder Kankawa Nagarra plays her guitar and sings the blues. Her latest album, Wirlmarni, was recorded in the desert with her great grandchildren at her feet, insects buzzing and the sound of kangaroo tails being wrapped in alfoil for the fire.Kankawa speaks to Andrew Ford about a life of music, from her earliest memories of traditional song and ceremony and then singing hymns in church after being removed from her family. Kankawa then discovered country and western and rock & roll on the radio while working on homesteads before finally hearing the blues, music that spoke to her soul. Kankawa got her first guitar in her 40s and taught herself to play the blues. Now in her late 70s, her songs speak of her life story, her community, and the fight to protect the land from threats like fracking.Scottish guitarist Sean Shibe was last on The Music Show from his locked-down home in 2021. Since then he’s toured with orchestras and eclectic ensembles across the world, and he’s about to make his Australian debut with the Australian Chamber Orchestra. He joins Andrew in studio with his guitar to talk about picking out his own path with the instrument.And we remember the legendary Quincy Jones, who has died at the age of 91. Kankawa Nagarra’s Wirlmarni is out now via Flippin Yeah and Mississippi RecordsKankawa is performing shows in Lismore on the 14th November, Brisbane on the 15th and Gympie on 16th, and is then joining Darren Hanlon on some dates of his Christmas tour. More details hereSean Shibe performs Scotland Unbound with the Australian Chamber Orchestra until 20 NovemberSean gives the Australian premiere of Thomas Ades Forgotten Dances on 15 November in Sydney

Punjabi Australian singer songwriter Parvyn returns to The Music Show to perform songs from her brand new album Maujuda; a seamless fusion of soul, jazz, disco and Indian classical and folk traditions.Elana Stone's new solo album Married To The Sound sees her songwriting tackling some of life's biggest moments. As one quarter of folk band All Our Exes Live In Texas and in-demand touring musician for the likes of Missy Higgins, John Butler and Kate Miller-Heidke, Elana also reflects on the highs and (sometimes) lows of a life married to music. 

We hear from this year’s four Boyer lecturers; pianist and writer Anna Goldsworthy​, violist and conductor Aaron Wyatt, composer, conductor and performer Iain Grandage, and Artistic Director of Gondwana Choirs Lyn Williams. They all reflect on the future of classical music in this country.Master of the Afghan rabab Qais Essar performs traditional Afghan music live in the studio, but also shares how important it is for him to push the instrument into "uncharted territory" in a time where its music is being banned in Afghanistan. He's joined by tabla player Aman Pal.

Some of the most prominent folk singers of the twentieth century like Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan were being surveilled and, in some cases, blacklisted by the FBI due to their political activism and ties to the U.S Communist Party.Writer and historian Aaron J. Leonard has written several books on the subject and is in to reveal why the US Government was so fixated on musicians in the 1940s and 50s, and what he unearthed from the FBI files he gained access to. Aaron J. Leonard's books on this subject include The Folk Singers and the Bureau: The FBI, the Folk Artists and the Suppression of the Communist Party, USA-1939-1956 and Whole World in an Uproar: Music, Rebellion and Repression - 1955-1972, both published by Repeater Books. 

London-based tenor saxophonist, bandleader and composer Nubya Garcia is in Australia for Melbourne International Jazz Festival and to play shows in support of her new album Odyssey. Featuring vocalists like Esperanza Spalding and string players from Chineke!, Nubya revels in expanding her sonic palette and pushing jazz into the realms of dub, R&B, soul and beyond. And, experimental trio Black Aleph are in to perform music live from their debut album Apsides. With a cello, guitar and daf (Persian frame drum) their sound is as expansive as it is unique, drawing inspiration from varied sources like Middle Eastern modal music and doom metal. They speak to Andrew about the role of improvisation and dark concepts in their music, and the joy of exploring sonic textures together.

German countertenor Andreas Scholl returns to The Music Show whilst he’s in the country with the Australian World Orchestra. He talks to Andrew about the life of a countertenor: old repertoire, new repertoire, and looking after a voice when great demands are made of it.American pianist Donna Coleman deep dives into the life and influence of American modernist composer Charles Ives, whose 150th anniversary is this year. There’s more to this composer than the experimental (and sometimes chaotic) sounds he is best-known for.

Julia Fredersdorff, Artistic Director of Van Diemen's Band, talks about music from perhaps the most turbulent time in England's history - its Civil War. And, violinist, composer and vocalist Véronique Serret collaborates with nature on her latest (and ARIA Award nominated) album Migrating Bird.

Elisabeth Lutyens and Edward Clark were a kind of power couple of the 20th century: she a prolific composer; he a less successful conductor but an influential producer and administrator. Annika Forkert is the author of Elisabeth Lutyens and Edward Clark: the orchestration of progress in British twentieth-century music, and she tells Andy the story of their relationship and their work.Electronic pioneer Ash Wednesday has had a “self-imposed hiatus” from music over the last decade as he was confronted by a diagnosis of progressive multiple sclerosis. He joins Andy to talk about his new album, AfterMATH, a work for electronics and the majestic Melbourne Town Hall Grand Organ, composed and generated around Ash’s loss of movement in the right side of his body.

Percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie and poet Raymond Antrobus are two of the UK’s most famous Deaf artists and their first collaboration is Another Noise, an album that captures first-takes of Raymond’s spoken word poems, accompanied by Evelyn’s percussion, completely improvised without her having prior knowledge of any poem performed. They join Andy at the start of what promises to be a beautiful friendship. Electronic artist Marcus Whale was last on The Music Show when he was in year 10, having composed a saxophone quartet entitled “The Whistler” as part of his high school’s composer scheme. Now he’s four solo albums and two critically acclaimed bands into his career, and he’s about to perform a live version of his album Ecstasy as part of the Liveworks festival in Sydney. He joins Andy to talk about the ritual and sensuality of both the church and the dancefloor, and to remember his friend and collaborator, the singer songwriter Jack Colwell, who has died at the age of 34. If you need support, you can reach Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.

Crooked Fiddle Band refer to their music as “chainsaw folk”, but their fourth studio album The Free Wild Wind & the Songs of Birds is heavier on the folk than on the chainsaw. The band comes into The Music Show studio to play live from the new album, and talk about eighteen years playing together.What’s it like to have thousands of fans sing your own words back at you? Angie McMahon knows this feeling well after touring last year’s ARIA-nominated album Light, Dark, Light Again. And she recently surprised us with the five-track companion EP Light Sides. Angie joins Andrew Ford to talk about the catharsis she gets from songwriting, and how she also loves to 'live inside' other peoples' songs (ABBA, Bonnie Tyler, Australian Crawl). 

Henry Wagons remembers Outlaw Country figurehead Kris Kristofferson, who has died at the age of 88. From Nashville to Hollywood, from Oxford University to the US Army, he had a life almost as unique as his voice.That leaves Willie Nelson the last of the Highwaymen, the original Outlaw supergroup, and his music is the subject of New Zealand-based Canadian songwriter Tami Neilson’s new album Neilson Sings Nelson. From a childhood singing in the travelling Neilson Family Band to a career that’s put her on stages with greats like Johnny Cash, Tanya Tucker and Willie Nelson, Tami returns to The Music Show after a US tour performing at venues like Dollywood and the Grand Ole Opry to talk about the legacy of country music in the US, as well as Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson.

With a voice that's 'equal parts balm and blowtorch' Irish multi-instrumentalist and singer songwriter Susan O'Neill makes a welcome return to The Music Show. She was one of our last live guests in March 2020 before she had to cut her tour short and race home. The last four years have been filled with nature, songwriting and collaboration and she joins us from her home in County Clare to pull apart the music and lyrics on her brand new album Now In A Minute.British cellist Steven Isserlis returns to Australia, and The Music Show, to talk about “falling madly in love” with Gabriel Fauré, and his friendship with György Kurtág.Susan O’Neill will be playing in Australia in December and January.Steven Isserlis plays with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra 3-5 October.

Singer songwriter Eliza Hull has been writing and performing piano-driven pop music for over a decade. She's also a disability advocate and has championed increased visibility and access for musicians around Australia. Only in the last couple of years has she started sharing more about her own disability in her songwriting, including last year's EP Here They Come. Eliza is on The Music Show ahead of Alter State - a Deaf and Disability-led arts festival in Melbourne.Sir Donald Runnicles is the Principal Guest Conductor of the Sydney Symphony, the outgoing Music Director of Deutsche Oper Berlin, Artistic Director of Grand Teton Music Festival and Chief Conductor Designate at the Dresden Philharmonic. Between all that he managed to swing by the studio to talk about “having all the fun without too much responsibility” with the Sydney Symphony, and bringing Duruflé’s requiem to the orchestra for the first time.

Ten years ago Melody Pool was a rising star of the Australian folk music scene. She won awards and released two acclaimed albums of heartbreaking songs, and then she disappeared. It takes a lot of guts to step back publicly from the music industry when your career has so much momentum, but Melody made the decision to prioritise her mental health.Last year she made a return to recording and touring; free of the constraints of a major label contract and determined to do things on her terms. And she's writing some of her best music yet.When Sam Weller started conducting he didn't have an orchestra to practice with so he started his own. Over eight years Ensemble Apex has introduced eclectic audiences to classical and contemporary repertoire in unconventional settings (think art storage facilities, breweries, and rooms where the audience sits amongst the orchestra). Sam Weller is also one of 6 'designated winners' of the International Conducting Competition Rotterdam and he explains to Andrew Ford the rigours of a competition like this, and why it pays to be versatile.

The gods are unhappy with a despotic king (Gilgamesh). They create a half-man, half-beast to topple him (Enkidu). They meet, Enkidu doesn’t topple him. They fall in love, destroy a forest, there’s retribution from the gods. Enkidu dies and Gilgamesh wonders what the point of life is. He searches for immortality. And of course there are dancing scorpions.That’s the shortest possible version of the Epic of Gilgamesh, as summarised by composer Jack Symonds, who’s taken on the tale for its first English language opera adaptation. Gilgamesh brings together Sydney Chamber Opera with the Australian String Quartet, Ensemble Offspring, and support from Opera Australia to stage this enormously ambitious piece at inner-city post-industrial venue Carriageworks.Andy pops into rehearsal to talk to Jack, Jeremy Kleeman (Gilgamesh), and Mitchell Riley (Enkidu), and to hear a live performance from Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and those dancing scorpions. And with the sad news this week that Australian-Tatar singer, folk musician and director of The Boîte, Zulya Kamalova has died, The Music Show remembers her energy and her music with a live performance from Zulya and the Children of the Underground, and an interview from the archives. 

Alynda Segarra has been making music as Hurray For The Riff Raff for nearly two decades. They ran away from NYC as a teen to ride trains across states—busking, sleeping rough and meeting all sorts of characters. They then settled in New Orleans and their music career kicked off, but their ninth and latest album, The Past Is Still Alive, finally shares the memories of those formative years of grief, love and finding community on the fringes.Jazz drummer Laurence Pike’s new album is called The Undreamt-Of Centre and it’s a modern take on the requiem mass. Influences come from places as different as modern classical music, Japanese environmental ambient music, fourth world electronics, free jazz and the choral traditions of Estonia. Laurence joins Andy to explain how all those things come together.Laurence Pike performs at Sydney's Church St Studios on Friday 20 September with pianist Mike Nock.Hurray For The Riff Raff are in Australia from 4 - 13 October playing dates in the Hunter Valley, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Williamstown and Korumburra.