I honored the late great Carl Sagan on today's show by playing the original theme song from Sagan's 1980 multi-part documentary (opus!) "Cosmos." Sagan would have turned 80 on Sunday. Happy Birthday, Carl!
I featured a track on today's show from the latest release by Brad Mehldau, "Mehliana"--a collaborative work with drummer Mark Giuliana. I played the atmospheric "Elegy for Amelia E": a musical elegy to Amelia Earhart. If you are interested in more info about this album, check out Nonesuch. Here is another track from that same album:
There was only enough time to play the fifteen minute "The Way Up: Part 3" from the Pat Metheny Group three-part opus "The Way Up." I highly recommend it in all possible forms--CD and DVD. There is a DVD available of the live performance of this Grammy Award winning work from 2005. There is a nice overview of the composition on All Music. Here is the opening eleven minutes:
Bill Frisell was interviewed recently on WBGO and he talks about the influences that impacted his new album. "Guitar in the Space Age." Bill has to be one of the most honest, sincere, and soft spoken musicians on the planet. I highly recommend listening to this (free!) podcast/interview.