All Videos Tagged NPR (True Skool Network) - True Skool Network

Tower of Power: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

2023-12-01T00:41:33.613Z

When the 10 members of Tower of Power were in place behind Bob Boilen's desk, strategically positioned around the band's famous five-piece horn section, their first collective blast three beats into the sound check literally made the video crew jump. It was more a force of nature than a sound, and an impressive display of the "five fingers operating as one hand" concept of band cohesiveness.

From the group's beginning in Oakland in 1968, its soul disciples stood out from the peace-and-love scene in the San Francisco Bay. Their dedication to the horn-driven soul heard on recordings from the Stax and Atlantic record labels evolved to such a sophisticated level as to make the Tower of Power Horns an entity unto themselves. Eventually artists as diverse as Santana, the Grateful Dead and even Elton John enlisted them to give their music an authentic connection to the scene.

I have to confess that this show was mostly a labor of self-indulgent love, since I've been a fan since about 1972. So it was a joy to listen to the unmistakable sounds of my youth as the band delivered both "What Is Hip" and "So Very Hard to Go" with so much vitality, it sounded as if they were just written last week. During the performance of the title track from their new album, "The Soul Side of Town," the playing, the passion and the precision remains unchanged after all the years.

1968 was one hell of a year musically, as we've seen from this year's many anniversary celebrations of albums, events and bands. Add Tower of Power to that shortlist of artists for whom that moment was an early rehearsal for what would become a five decade career. A band this big will inevitably have some members come and go, but it's important to note that the original songwriting nucleus of bari saxophonist Stephen "Funky Doctor" Kupa and bandleader/tenor saxophonist Emilio Castillo continue to write and perform, as does original drummer David Garibaldi.

I want to write that the band has become an institution. But that conjures images of stuffy old men looking down professorially on youthful funksters, occasionally showing them how it was done in a long-lost golden era. Instead, Tower of Power remains as vital and full of life-affirming funk and soul, if not more, as they were in 1968. The band's dedication, hard work and connection to us long-time fans prove that a good idea is timeless. If you need proof, just watch this video.

Congrats, fellas. It's been a very soulful 50 years.

Set List
"On the Soul Side of Town"
"So Very Hard to Go"
"What Is Hip?"

Lalah Hathaway: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

2023-11-02T00:19:05.903Z

Lalah Hathaway comes from royalty: Her late father Donny Hathaway's voice was crucial for my generation, setting the bar for inspired, old-school soul singing. But living in that kind of shadow can also be a burden, robbing the offspring of an identity apart from that of the famous parent.

The younger Hathaway's appearance behind the Tiny Desk pulls back the curtain a bit for a close-up encounter with her powerfully expressive voice. The lower registers always draw me in, and in "Change Ya Life," Hathaway's dusky contralto paints an exciting portrait of blissful cohabitation — but on her terms. "I'm going to teach you how to treat me like I deserve," she sings, adding, "I'll give you the world." She draws on a tradition of romance and sensuality in the best soul music, but with a feminist twist that eschews old-school, male-centric lyrics and attitudes.

Lyrics alone do not convey that kind of spirit. It's in Hathaway's delivery — self-assured yet vulnerable. "Boston," her ode to her second home (she's from Chicago), is a meditation on self-discovery and longing. The band — electric piano, bass, drums — perfectly straddles slow-jam R&B and a jazz-ballad sensibility.

So much of the most powerful music from the Civil Rights Era wasn't about literal accounting of injustices; many of those songs enshrouded morality plays in the guise of romantic longing. Hathaway introduces the set-closing title track of her new album Honestly as an explicit reflection "of my country at this time." If you heard it for the first time without the introduction, it comes across as a lover's lament. But Hathaway's soaring vocals infuse it with the passion of resistance to bring her set to a close on a hopeful, joyous note.

Set List
"Change Ya Life"
"Boston"
"Honestly"

Jon Batiste: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

2020-05-12T20:38:25.311Z

This performance was recorded on Nov. 8, 2019. We will continue releasing Tiny Desk videos of shows that had already been taped. In light of current events, NPR is postponing new live tapings of Tiny Desk Concerts. In the meantime, check out Tiny Desk (home) concerts! They’re recorded by the artists in their home. It’s the same spirit — stripped-down sets, an intimate setting — just a different space.

May 4, 2020 | Bob Boilen -- Jon Batiste came to the Tiny Desk with some surprises back in November of 2019. Midway through his set, he stopped to say, "it's the first time we're ever playing these songs, and it's the first time we're playing together." The New Orleans musician came to the Tiny Desk not with his late-night house band, but with an all-new cast. His all-female collaborators — Endea Owens on acoustic bass, Negah Santos on percussion, Sarah Thawer on drums, and Celisse Henderson on guitar and vocals — were an inspiration.

As is often the case when musicians perform in Washington (and especially blocks from the Capitol) the banter hinted at the political. Jon Batiste stopped to tell the NPR crowd, "we're playing some music, and we're coping. The times are in an interesting place, but music is always that universal language that can bring people in a room together." Little did Jon know how those words would feel six months later.

Jon Batiste took us through some of the many sides of his rich musical history, from the soulful ballad titled "Cry," to the jazz and hip-hop inspired, "Coltrane" and a rocking Motown-inspired tune, "Tell The Truth," before ending with a bit of church with, "I Need You." In just over 15 minutes, Jon Batiste bounced from playing the Wurlitzer to the electric guitar to the piano and then a melodica, all the while singing and sharing his talents and bringing us joy in interesting times.

SET LIST
"Cry"
"Coltrane"
"Tell The Truth"
"I Need You"

The Free Nationals Feat. Anderson .Paak, Chronixx & India Shawn: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

2020-05-07T04:35:06.114Z

This performance was recorded on March 4, 2020. We will continue releasing Tiny Desk videos of shows that had already been taped. In light of current events, NPR is postponing new live tapings of Tiny Desk Concerts. In the meantime, check out Tiny Desk (home) concerts! They’re recorded by the artists in their home. It’s the same spirit — stripped-down sets, an intimate setting — just a different space.

DJ Premier’s Sonic Inspiration in 3 Samples | The Formula | NPR Music

2020-05-07T04:11:53.124Z

DJ Premier is a purist at heart. He picks samples based on feeling and the beats he creates from them are all about honoring that vibe. That lineage has played out from his parents record collection growing up in Houston to his own expansive discography over the last 30 years.