You can’t start a three-day weekend without a new O’Dark podcast, good people! Well, you could, I guess. It’s not illegal or anything. But really, why would you want to?

So here’s a little podcast for you. We’ve got three cool pieces for you today, and we hope you like them. First it’s a show called Sift that we’ve only just discovered. This is the “Story of Earth” segment, and they must be covering everything in detail, because it’s fourteen minutes long.

Then it’s something kind of cool and interesting — a poem about Muhammad Ali by the Poet Laureate of Tampa, Florida.

And we’ll close things down with a new installment of the homegrown Liner Notes with Rabbi Neil Blumofe. Today the good rabbi will be talking about Bud Powell. Dig it.

It’s nothing but O’Dark Hall-of-Famers on today’s podcast, so you’re gonna love it. You’re gonna love it so much you leave it on your iPod forever, and burn copies of it on cd to mail to your friends. That’s the current technology, right?

Batting leadoff today is Nate DiMeo with his show The Memory Palace, and the “Giants in Those Days” episode.

In the two spot, it’s our Brooklyn buddy Eric Winnick with Beyond the Rope: A Captivity’s Aftermath.

And in the three hole, we’ve got heavy hitter Rob Roshenthal and his show HowSound. Rob always gets the dirt on radio productions, and we’ve got the “My Kingdom For Some Structure” episode of that show.

In 1978, she began her public service career when she served as the Commissioner of Cultural Affairs under Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson. She was later appointed as the nation’s first woman Chief Administrative Officer or City Manager, where she was responsible for the daily operations of a city with nearly 8,000 employees.

In 1991, Franklin joined the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games as the top ranking female executive, serving as senior vice-president for external relations. In this position she was instrumental in the development of the Centennial Olympic Park and served as ACOG’s primary liaison with labor unions, civil rights groups, neighborhood and community organizations, and environmentalists.
In 2004, Franklin was named Governing magazine’s Public Official of the Year. In 2005, TIME magazine named her one of the top five mayors in the country and U.S. News and World Report named her one of “America’s Best Leaders”. Esquire Magazine named her one of the best and brightest and American City and County Magazine named her Municipal Leader of the Year. Also the same year, she received the prestigious John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. In 2006, she was honored with the Southern Institute for Business and Professional Ethics’ Ethics Advocate Award. In 2007, Newsweek Magazine named her one of the women to watch in their Women & Power issue.

Franklin also serves as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Purpose Built Communities and as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights.

The Cruel Circus is the newest play from Trouble Puppet Theater Company. It’s a darkly whimsical work set in the world of a collection of strange circus performers, who are embodied onstage entirely by original puppets. Trouble Puppet never has a shortage of unique and interesting puppets in their works, but this show let them create characters that are interesting and different even by their standards. The misfit circus performers that make up the cast aren’t traditionally human-shaped creatures; there’s a guy with a unicycle for legs, a living cannonball, and a few animals (among others). Most characters are performed by three puppeteers at once, so the performers have to work together very closely, in both the mental and physical sense.

The Cruel Circus is written by Trouble Puppet artistic director Connor Hopkins and features original music by Justin Sherburn.

The Cruel Circus

At Salvage Vanguard Theater, 2803 Manor Road

Thursdays – Saturdays at 8:00 pm, Sundays at 6:00 pm

Through May 25

After selling out the cafetorium for last year’s musical (The Wizard of Oz), the kids of Rawson Saunders School for children with dyslexia are moving to a larger venue this year – the Stateside at the Paramount. They’ll be staging the musical Peter Pan, with not just a student cast, but also a student crew. It’s the first time the Stateside has partnered with a school; the young actors will get a chance to perform on a real-deal stage while the student tech crew will get to work with the professional staff of the Stateside.

Peter Pan stars Surya Garcia-Crow in the title role, Ruth Black as Captain Hook, and Emmett Griffin-Baldwin as Hook’s right hand man, Smee. All the ensemble parts (pirates, lost boys, etc) are played by younger students at the school, and the show is directed by Rawson Saunders drama teacher Emily Beatty.

Peter Pan

At the Stateside at the Paramount, 719 Congress Ave.

Thursday May 23 and Friday May 24 at 7:00 pm

Hey, it’s the weekend, almost! Time to get your relaxation on with a little podcast action. So pour yourself a nice cool glass of lemonade, settle into your hammock, and blast this ‘cast into your earholes.

We’ll start off with a little “theater of the mind” from Joseph Dougherty and the fine folks at Handwritten Theatre. And if that’s not enough for you, we’ll bring you a new edition of KUT’s own Views & Brews Remix from O’Dark alum Rebecca McInroy. It’s a very compelling look at the changing face of celebrity through the work of photographer Arnold Newman. Good stuff.

It’s the kind of rainy morning that makes you want to stay inside and listen to podcasts all day. Luckily for you, we’re providing a brand-new ‘cast to get you started. So we’ll handle the first 41 and a half minutes of your pod-fest, but you’re on your own after that.

Things will kick off with Decode DC, a show we’ve discovered pretty recently. It’s hosted by former NPR Washington reporter Andrea Seabrook, who’s given herself the daunting task of trying to figure out the wacky world of our elected officials.

Then we’ll pop in a new installment of KUT/KUTX’s own Liner Notes, hosted by Rabbi Neil Blumofe. The good Rabbi will be chatting a bit about Benny Goodman. It’s good, man. See what we did there? It’s a pun.

And hows about a little How Sound? It’s the “Curiosity City” edition of the show that gives you the dirt on public radio production.

Hey everybody! We’ve got a nice long podcast for you today; at a little over 90 minutes, this thing is like half a complete O’Dark broadcast. And you can put it right on your portable listening device, because of technology!

We’ll bring you the “Benny Goodman and The Art of Intersection” episode of Views and Brews Remix. I don’t know if you guys know much about Benny Goodman, but let me tell you this: that dude could intersect like a sun of a gun.

What else? Well, that Views and Brews is putting us in the mood to keep on listening to nice people talking about music, so we’ll bring you a new edition of Bonjour Chanson, in which the always delightful Charles Spira will play and discuss his favorite French popular music.

And we’ll have a quick little surprise piece at the end for dessert. Enjoy!

The series is hosted by Rabbi, historian and jazz musician Neil Blumofe and produced for KUT and KUTX by Rebecca McInroy. You can hear Liner Notes every Sunday morning at 8am on KUTX 98.9 FM during Jazz with Jay Trachtenberg, or check them out by clicking on the links below.

We would love to know your thoughts on this new project, email us at viewsandbrews@kut.org and put “Liner Notes” in the subject line.

Connect with Views and Brews’ Liner Notes on PRX

Sunday April 21, 2013 Dizzy Gillespie

With his conception of harmonics and driving tempos, Dizzy Gillespie was an architect of the modern sound (bebop), daring others to reach for the stars, alongside him. His virtuosity and creativity helped to define a whole new approach to improvisation and self-expression, as his career spanned more than 50 years. An entertainer as well as an accomplished artist, Dizzy brought intelligence and wit to his playing – an example of confidently showcasing what is possible. In this short feature Rabbi Neil Blumofe explores what Gillespie’s legacy can teach us about the revolutionary aspect of humor, and how we can live in accordance with an authentic self, while understanding what masks we wear and what they may represent.

Liner Notes: Dizzy Gillespie

Sunday April 14, 2013 Clifford Brown

Jazz trumpeter Clifford Brown is known for his precise and captivatingly smooth technique, and as a musician who died before his time in a tragic car crash at the age of 25. He recorded most notably with drummer Max Roach and saxophonist Sonny Rollins, and his compositions Joy Spring and Daahoud are jazz standards to this day. His lasting impact on the jazz cannon is profound. In this short feature Rabbi Neil Blumofe discusses what Brown’s legacy teaches us about the strength and importance of following ones own path in spite of contradictory expectations.

Liner Notes: Clifford Brown

Sunday April 07, 2013 Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday once said, “No two people on earth are alike, and it’s got to be that way in music or it isn’t music.” As we look back on her life and legacy we gain a deep appreciation for her unique voice, and the authenticity and openness of her approach to music. Even as she struggled with drugs, alcohol, abusive relationships and racism she maintained a raw understanding of her perspective. When she is judged by everything but the genius of her body of work, we recognize and fear that it might happen to us as well. However, as we listen and connect with her through her music we gain a deeper understanding of both the vulnerability and strength in our passions.

Liner Notes: Billie Holiday

Sunday March 31, 2013 Bud Powell

As we recognize Bud Powell as one of the most influential jazz pianists of the 20th century, we must also acknowledge how much of his greatness and potential was muted beneath the cruelty and inhumane treatment that marked so much of mid 20th century America. Yet, even through the pain he suffered, when he sat down to perform at the piano he would continue to amaze audiences and musicians alike with his remarkable dexterity, speed and timing.His legacy reminds us of the tightrope we walk each day as we try to remain close to those things we need to sustain our souls in a time when exterior elements beyond our control are battling for our attentions, our bodies, our minds and our spirits. When listening to the genius of Bud Powell we can hear and feel the sheer force of human will, and the power one exudes when fully present amidst the chaos both inside and out.

Liner Notes: Bud Powell

Sunday March 24, 2013 Benny Goodman

In the 1930’s, the clarinetist and bandleader, Benny Goodman, brought jazz stylings to mainstream America. With this short feature jazz historian and Rabbi Neil Blumofe muses on how Goodman offered a space for freedom and expression which combated early 20th century ideologies based on fear and tyranny. In an age of segregation, creeping fear, and xenophobia, Goodman boldly set forth a new agenda for American music, integrating his band and exasperating the assumptions of culture, sophistication, and assumed ways of life. His legacy reminds us to reconsider regimented ideas of identity and forge our own paths against repression.

Liner Notes: Benny Goodman

Sunday March 10, 2013 Louis Armstrong

Trumpeter Louis Armstrong is consider one of the most important musicians of the 20th century. With his innovations in ensemble playing and his distinctive personal voice, he helped to inspire generations of musicians.  In his long career, Armstrong modeled both accommodation and radicalism in confronting issues of segregation, poverty, violence, and the perils of commercialism. Satchmo’s skills as a soloist furthered the development of jazz and the improvisational arts and codified the characteristic sound of New Orleans in the wider American imagination. Possessing many aspects of a complex character, Armstrong at once embodied the innovative spirit of America and also the challenges brought against hypocrisy, elitism, and repression.  He was simultaneously the gallant and the rascal. We hope you enjoy this short feature as Rabbi Neil Blumofe shares a unique take on Louis Armstrong.

Liner Notes: Louis Armstrong

Sunday March 03, 2013 Charles Mingus

The music that Mingus wrote was rooted in standard musical forms and grounded in the blues, yet he challenged these conventions with new perspectives and unorthodox juxtapositions, encouraging his bands to do the same. In this short feature Rabbi Neil Blumofe examines at how interpretation of these forms in performance might bring about the transformation of a musician, a listener, and potentially, the world.

Liner Notes: Charles Mingus

Sunday February 24, 2013 Thelonious Monk

Thelonious Monk was an original voice in the shaping the sound of American music. Both his compositions and his inimitable piano playing continue to confound and resound decades after their inception. In this short feature, Rabbi, historian and jazz musician Neil Blumofe explores how the idiosyncratic nature, presence and genius of Thelonious Monk can influence our perspective on how to develop and maintain creativity and authenticity amidst the unique challenges of our time.

Liner Notes: Thelonious Monk

Sunday February 17, 2013 Miles Davis and Kind of Blue

The 1950s were a time of great uncertainty in America. The Cold War, segregation and homophobia added to social fears and neurosis. When Kind of Blue was released in August of 1959 it was received as a collective deep breath among a generation on edge. In this feature rabbi Neil Blumofe highlights the significance of this album at it’s time, and offers a spiritual perspective on what it means to us even today.

Liner Notes: Miles Davis and Kind of Blue

Sunday February 10, 2013 John Coltrane

Jazz legend John Coltrane offered a spiritual dimension to the jazz conversation and continues to inspire innovation amongst musicians today. In this short segment rabbi Neil Blumofe highlights some of Coltrane’s most transformational works and adds a spiritual perspective to the importance of his music in our lives today.

Liner Notes: John Coltrane