George Wein Never Stopped Listening

Plus, new music from Mitski, James Blake and more.

View this email online by Marissa Lorusso Rick Diamond/Getty Image Last month, music impresario George Wein died at the age of 95. Wein helped launch the Newport Jazz Festival in1954 and the Newport Folk Festival in 1959 — events that set a standard for outdoor music festivals that’s still being followed today. Our colleague Nate Chinen, the director of editorial content for member station WBGO, shared an appreciation of Wein’s impact and legacy this week. Nate knew Wein for over two decades, and co-wrote his memoir, Myself Among Others. He says he’ll always remember Wein “pursuing epiphanies and building connections on a distinctly human scale.” Wein was a musician himself, and despite booking (and befriending) some of jazz’s biggest names, he never lost his appetite for listening in small rooms and connecting on an individual level. In his essay, Nate reflects on Wein’s commitment to jazz both as a supporter of its largest stages and as a believer in up-and-coming talent across the genre. Wein “really did care about where jazz was headed,” Nate writes, “and he understood that the answer could often be found at ground level.” His spirit will live on in the colleagues he mentored, the spaces he supported and the artists he championed. Newsletter continues after sponsor message New Music This week on New Music Friday from All Songs Considered: James Blake writes about friendships that fell apart; artists including Margo Price, Valerie June, Jason Isbell and Emmylou Harris pay tribute to John Prine; Susana Baca gives a vital history lesson in Afro-Peruvian music and more great new releases out Oct. 8. Each month, we ask our colleagues: What’s the one album or song you couldn’t stop listening to this month? The picks for September include the bubblegum sweetness of MUNA’s “Silk Chiffon,” the contemplative new album from Little Simz and Mon Laferte's Spanish cover of Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters." Mitski is back. “Working for the Knife,” the singer-songwriter's first new song since going on indefinite hiatus in mid-2019, is about feeling hollow and adrift, but Mitski builds it into something transfixing and staggeringly alive. We covered that track on #NowPlaying this week, plus the punk rave sounds of Ghösh, the lush neo-soul of Masego and more.  Featuring In Afghanistan, the Taliban forbids artistic self-expression; even listening to music is prohibited. So for weeks, the international community, including members of Congress and musicians like Yo-Yo Ma, have been trying to help musicians living under Taliban rule escape. Finally, this week, members of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music and Zohra Orchestra were airlifted to Doha, Qatar. Karen Dalton was an enigmatic artist beloved by contemporaries Bob Dylan and Phil Ochs and idolized by followers like Nick Cave and Courtney Barnett. She’s the subject of a new documentary, Karen Dalton: In My Own Time, which came out in theaters last week and will arrive on streaming platforms Nov. 16. The U.S.-Mexico border stretches 1,954 miles from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico — and, as our friends at Alt.Latino say, “the intersection of humanity along that imaginary line is very real.” The show recently featured three stories from the border about an unlikely music festival, musician/activist La Muna and a bullfighting training center in Texas. This week, our friends at WNXP in Nashville shared a video of My Morning Jacket performing “Love Love Love” live at RCA Studio A. Tiny Desk NPR This week, the “El Tiny” takeover of the Tiny Desk series continues: Panamanian singer Sech celebrates reggaetón; Dominican-American superstar Prince Royce performs from an unassuming barbershop chair in the Bronx and Dominican-Italian singer YEИDRY gives a performance that radiates with a feminine strength of many lives lived. One More Thing A new ad campaign from Virginia's governor has him hoping he can keep his state from turning … Red Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to hear live radio from WUFT 89.1 (edit station). What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: nprmusic@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Books, Pop Culture, Health and more! Need a new playlist? Follow NPR Music on Spotify and Apple Music! You received this message because you're subscribed to NPR Music emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy