The Tonearm

Today, we're putting The Tonearm's needle on Graham St John, a cultural anthropologist and Senior Research Fellow at the University of Huddersfield in the UK.

Graham has spent decades studying transformational events, psychedelic culture, and electronic dance music scenes. He's written ten books, and his latest is Strange Attractor: The Hallucinatory Life of Terence McKenna, published by MIT Press. McKenna was the 20th century's psy...

Today, we’re putting The Tonearm’s needle on guitarist Nels Cline.

Most people know Nels Cline as Wilco's guitarist for the past two decades. But his range goes far beyond indie rock. He's spent forty-plus years moving between jazz clubs, punk venues, and studios where the rules get bent or thrown out entirely. Rolling Stone put him on their list of the top 100 guitarists of all time, but that tells you nothing about how he actually...

Today, we're putting The Tonearm's needle on pianist Marcus Roberts.

Roberts plays jazz piano like he's lived through its entire history. His style pulls from Jelly Roll Morton and Fats Waller as much as it does from bebop. He spent years in Wynton Marsalis's band, has performed piano concertos with Seiji Ozawa, and today leads The Modern Jazz Generation, a 12-piece ensemble encompassing three decades of musicians.

Roberts is here to...

Show Notes

Ned Rothenberg just released his first solo album in thirteen years, Looms & Legends, and it shows why he's been called America's most intimate composer and improviser. Ned’s improvisations and compositions display his use of extended techniques like circular breathing and multiphonics, while others tell stories through melody. He calls it music for an imaginary culture - sounds that feel indigenous to a plac...

Today, we're putting The Tonearm's needle on saxophonist and composer Miguel Zenón.

A MacArthur Fellow, Guggenheim recipient, and Grammy winner, Miguel has spent over two decades creating music that connects jazz tradition with Puerto Rican rhythms and modern composition.

He's here to talk about his latest release, Vanguardia Subterránea - his quartet's first live album, captured at the Village Vanguard with music...

Today we're putting The Tonearm's needle on bassist and composer Linda May Han Oh.

Linda's a Grammy winner who's recorded with Pat Metheny, Kenny Barron, and Joe Lovano. She was even the model for the bassist character in Pixar's 'Soul.' But it's her own work that brings us together.

Her latest album, Strange Heaven, explores why we choose familiar hells over strange heavens—why we stick with what we know even when cha...

Today on The Tonearm, we're celebrating the inaugural Jazz Forward Award winners from All About Jazz. Since 1995, All About Jazz has been a driving force for jazz discovery. Now they're recognizing industry trailblazers who actively promote jazz awareness and culture.

We'll hear from four organizations reshaping how jazz connects with audiences worldwide. Ed Trefzger from JazzWeek tracks radio airplay across North Ame...

Hi, this is Lawrence Peryer with a quick update about some exciting changes coming to our show. Spotlight On is now The Tonearm—same name as our online magazine at thetonearm.com. Same conversations with the people and ideas moving culture forward, just a new name and a fresh look. The timing works out: this week marks one year since we launched The Tonearm online.

We're also shifting from Thursday to Sunday episode releases. Why Su...

Today, the Spotlight shines On composer, trumpeter, and producer Peter Knight.

Peter Knight has spent decades working in the spaces between genres and cultures. His latest project brings together 40,000-year-old Indigenous Australian songs with contemporary electroacoustic music through Hand to Earth's new album, the title of which translates as "the scent of home." The record finds Peter collaborating with Indigenous songkeepers Da...

Today, the Spotlight shines On David Harrington, founder and violinist of Kronos Quartet.

For fifty years, David has led one of the most adventurous musical ensembles on the planet. Kronos has commissioned over 1,100 works, collaborated with everyone from Philip Glass to Nine Inch Nails, and earned three Grammys along the way. Their recent "Hard Rain" project brought together nearly fifty artists worldwide to reimagine Bob...

Today, the Spotlight shines On guitarist, composer, and producer Jeff Parker.

For nearly three decades, Jeff has balanced solo work with his role in the post-rock band Tortoise. His 2016 album The New Breedtakes hip-hop beats and puts them in the hands of live musicians. Named after his late father's clothing store, the album just got the deluxe reissue treatment from International Anthem.

He's here to discuss how moving to...

Today, the Spotlight shines On organist, composer, and sound artist Hampus Lindwall.

Hampus started as a guitarist who cut his teeth copying Steve Vai solos but who now sits behind a 78-stop church organ. He has been the organist at Saint-Esprit in Paris since 2005, but his latest album, Brace for Impact, throws tradition out the window. Recorded on a massive organ in Düsseldorf with guitarist Stephen O'Malley, this music ...

Today, the Spotlight shines On writer Chris O'Leary.

Chris has spent over a decade and a half writing what's become the definitive study of David Bowie's songbook. His blog, Pushing Ahead of the Dame, covers every song on every album in Bowie’s extensive canon. The first post from 2009 covers David’s first single, 1964’s “Liza Jane”, and the most recent is about Chris’s latest work, a newly revised edition of Rebel Rebel,&...

Today, the Spotlight shines On saxophonist Donny McCaslin.

Donny's new album, Lullaby for the Lost, arrives September 26th on Edition Records, and what a record it is. It’s Donny’s saxophone with guitar-driven rock energy, drawing from influences like Neil Young and Nine Inch Nails, resulting in what Donny calls his most personal music to date.

You might know Donny from his pivotal role on David Bowie's final album ★ (prono...

Today, the Spotlight shines On Matt Piucci, founding member and principal guitarist of Rain Parade.

Rain Parade helped define LA's Paisley Underground scene in the early '80s, creating music with psychedelic textures with punk energy. Their 1983 debut Emergency Third Rail Power Trip remains a touchstone album of the era, cited as an influence by everyone from My Bloody Valentine to the Stone Roses.

Now Matt and the band are revi...

Today, the Spotlight shines On composer and pianist Robin Holcomb and cellist Peggy Lee.

These two musicians have been creating music together for the better part of two decades. Their new album, Reno, out September 12, captures something rare: the kind of musical conversation that happens when two artists know each other's musical language inside and out. Robin's songs draw from American folk traditions while he...

Today, the Spotlight shines On bestselling author and journalist Larry Tye.

Larry's latest book, The Jazzmen, tells the story of how Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie transformed America. But this isn't just another music biography. Larry explores nearly every aspect of the lives and music of these men and demonstrates how their artistry helped lay the groundwork for the civil rights movement.

This is Larry's...

Today, the Spotlight shines On tenor saxophonist Rico Jones.

Rico's new album BloodLines captures something you don't hear much anymore—a live recording that feels like a complete story. Recorded at Brooklyn's Ornithology, it's five original compositions that explore his multicultural heritage, from his Indigenous and Latino roots to his deep connection with Black American musical traditions.

Based in Harlem, Rico's al...

Today, the Spotlight shines On musician, software engineer, and plug-in developer Aqeel Aadam.

Aqeel's got deep roots in Philadelphia's music scene—his grandfather was a jazz musician who gifted him his first guitar. That foundation led him from Princeton's computer science and music programs to a five-year stint at Google, and eventually to creating his own company, Aqeel Aadam Sound.

His plug-ins aim to bring the magic of...