Episode 9- Morning Ragas

A morning podcast devoted to Hindustani music.
Episode 9

This episode features performances by sitarists Ravi Shankar and Nikhil Banerjee as well as excerpts from an interview with Banerjee. A perfect pairing for your morning walk to work or cup of coffee!

Episode 8- 57 Minutes of Dylan

An all Bob Dylan playlist. Spoilers ahead:
Episode 8

"Mr. Tambourine Man" (GW/DR), "When I Paint My Masterpiece" (JGB), "Desolation Row" (GD), "Visions Of Johanna," "Queen Jane" (Dave Rawlings Machine), "Tangled Up in Blue" (JGB)

44 Minutes of Rock

Band of Gypsys, John Oswald, Grateful Dead.

44 Minutes of Rock

Episode 7.3– Dead Tapes

What would I include as filler if we'd traded Grateful Dead tapes? Delightful, buoyant, summertime Dead.

Episode 7.3

Episode 7.2– The Great Heritage

Ustad Imrat Khan and Ustad Vilayat Khan, The Great Heritage (1966)

Episode 7.2

Episode 7.1– Gillian Welch and David Rawlings

Gillian Welch and David Rawlings; 1997-08-30, Strawberry Festival, Yosemite, CA

Episode 7.1

Episode 7– Paths and Summer Hiatus

Trying something new! This episode has commentary, witty banter, and information; the next three are uninterrupted music. Enjoy your summer!

Episode 7

Episode 6- Time is On My Side

Our second Compass Points feature focuses on musical time. We'll discuss concepts including tempo, harmonic rhythm, hyper meter, and structural downbeats, and hear music from the Grateful Dead and John Coltrane.

Episode 6

Episode 5— An Invitation to Hindustani Music

In this episode, we'll hear great examples of Hindustani music, classical music from north India. This shows opens with an interactive portion as I play sitar and invite you to sing and learn some of the key ideas about this music. After that, I feature sitarist Ravi Shankar & sarodist Ali Akbar Khan, vocalist Kaushiki Chakraborty, and sitarist Indrajit Banerjee. You can find videos of the last two performances on YouTube. Enjoy!

Episode 5

Episode 4- One Nation Under Some Grooves

Short and sweet——lots of killer grooves, minimal chatter. "Free Your Mind..."


Episode 4

Episode 3

This episode marks the launch of a new feature named "Compass Points." These episodes will offer in-depth guides to specific recordings or performances.

I hope that you enjoy, and if there's something particular you'd like to hear in a future episode, please leave a comment!


Episode 3

Episode 2

Hello everyone, and welcome to our second episode!


In honor of the 50th anniversary Grateful Dead concerts this weekend, here's a special episode with some of my favorite Dead recordings. Let there be songs to fill the air!


Show 1

Episode 1

Hello everyone, and welcome to the first podcast of Live and Improvised!


Show 1

Welcome to this new podcast focusing on live and improvised musics. We'll hear rock, jazz, Hindustani, and other styles from around the world. Relax with some old favorites or discover some new ones!

Subscribe to the podcast via the iTunes store. Access the store and search "Live and Improvised." Click on the artwork to access past episodes and subscribe, which will automatically download future episodes.

Enjoy! Please leave a comment with any questions or requests you have.
John