Strong Songs

What's this? A bonus episode of Strong Songs on an off week??

Indeed it is! For this episode of Strong Conversations (working title), Kirk hopped on a call with New York pianist Carmen Staaf to talk about the fundamental elements of music, learning to sing as an instrumentalist, teaching jazz and ear training, her collaborations with vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater and drummer Allison Miller, and the similarities between jazz and chess.

Learn more about Carmen at her website: https://www.carmenstaaf.com/

Check out her music here: https://carmenstaaf.bandcamp.com/

ALSO REFERENCED IN THIS CONVERSATION:

• “Blackbird” by Paul McCartney, performed by Carmen Staaf on Eye to Eye, 2020
• “Saint James Infirmary” by Don Redman/Irving Mills performed by Dee Dee Bridgewater on Dee Dee’s Feathers, 2015
• Alexander Technique: https://alexandertechnique.com/
• “Take The ‘A’ Train” by Duke Ellington sung by Ella Fitzgerald on Ella Fitzgerald Sings: The Duke Ellington Songbook, 1957
• “I’ve Got The World on a String” by Harold Arlen performed by Sarah Vaughn with the Oscar Peterson Trio on How Long Has This Been Going On, 1978
• “‘Round Midnight” by Thelonious Monk performed by Betty Carter on ‘Round Midnight, 1963
• “Weightless” and "MLW" by Carmen Staaf and Allison Miller from Science Fair, 2018
• “Congratulations and Condolences” by Allison Miller’s Boom Tic Boom from Glitter Wolf, 2019
• Kathak dance performed by Meghranjani Medhi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZmCmQjoehw
• The Harmonic Experience by W.A. Matthieu: https://www.amazon.com/Harmonic-Experience-Harmony-Natural-Expression/dp/0892815604
• “Nuclear Fusion” by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard from Flying Microtonal Banana, 2017
• “Does math actually exist?” - a good question tbh
• “Syl-O-G**m” by Mary Lou Williams from Zoning, 1974
• “Spain” by Chick Corea and Joaquin Rodrigo from Light as a Feather, 1973
• “Gentleman” by Féla Kuti from Gentleman, 1973

STRONG MERCH

Visit the Strong Songs merch store for some cool t-shirts, mugs, totes, and more: store.strongsongspodcast.com

KEEP IT SOCIAL

You can follow Strong Songs on Twitter @StrongSongs: http://twitter.com/strongsongs

And you can find Kirk on Twitter @Kirkhamilton and on Instagram at @Kirk_Hamilton: https://www.instagram.com/kirk_hamilton/

NEWSLETTER/MAILING LIST

Sign up for Kirk's mailing list to start getting monthly-ish newsletters with music recommendations, links, news, and extra thoughts on new Strong Songs episodes: https://kirkhamilton.substack.com/subscribe

STRONG PLAYLISTS

Kirk has condensed his Strong Songs picks into a single new list, which you can find on Spotify and Apple Music, and YouTube Music.

SUPPORT STRONG SONGS ON PATREON!

This bonus episode was made possible by Strong Songs' wonderful Patreon backers. For more on how to become a patron and support the show, go here: https://Patreon.com/StrongSongs

MARCH 2021 WHOLE-NOTE PATRONS

Christopher Miller
Tim Byrne
Allison Clift-Jennings
Patrick Funston
Jamie White
Johanna L. Branson
Thomas König
Angus McKimm
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Joshua Jarvis
Rick Klaras
Niko
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Matt Butler
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Robert Paul
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AccessViolation
Ryan Torvik
Merlin Mann
Fraser
Glenn
CALEB ROTACH
Andre Bremer
Mark Schechter
Dave Florey
Dan Apczynski

MARCH 2021 HALF-NOTE PATRONS

Bernard Khoo
Andrew Shpall
Robert Heuer
Matthew Golden
Brian Meldrum
David Noah
Ben Hunt
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will reddell
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Will Dwyer Alethea Lee
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Cookies250
Damian Brady
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JC
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Bill Thornton
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Mueller
Nate from Kalamazoo
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Alexander Polson
John and Sharon Stenglein
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Jon O’Keefe
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