The Tonearm

This week we're putting The Tonearm's needle on tenor saxophonist Azar Lawrence.Lawrence is a veteran of Elvin Jones and McCoy Tyner's bands and a leader of his own group, The Azar Lawrence Experience, whose new album, Turn the Music Up, arrives September 25th.We talk about his unique relationship with Pharoah Sanders, dodging McCoy Tyner’s broken piano strings, and how the fifty years between the first and latest recordings of his own songs trace his evolution as a musician.(The musical excerpts heard in the interview are from Azar Lawrence’s Turn The Music Up)—Dig DeeperArtist and Album:Visit Azar Lawrence at azarlawrence.com and follow on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTubeTurn the Music Up (Trazar Records, September 25, 2026) — artist shopDiscography and video — Lawrence's own catalog page, as leader and sidemanShadow Dancing — the 1985 Riza album, reissued by Light in the AtticBridge into the New Age — the 1974 Prestige debut, with cover art by his brother Vincent CollierThe Cookers:The Cookers — the collective he joined alongside Billy Hart, Cecil McBee, George Cables, and Eddie HendersonAzar Lawrence at The CookersDavid Weiss — trumpeter and the band's organizer, who also sat in with Lawrence's group on the West CoastMentors and Collaborators:McCoy Tyner — five and a half years in the band, and the subject of the acoustic-piano argumentAtlantis — the 1974 Tyner album recorded live at Keystone Korner with Lawrence in the group; TALE's version of the title track opens side two of the new recordElvin Jones — NEA Jazz Master profile of the drummer who gave Lawrence his first major gigDark Magus — Miles Davis, recorded live at Carnegie Hall on March 30, 1974, the night Lawrence was called to the stage without warningWoody Shaw — the trumpeter from the after-hours group with George Cables, Larry Gales, and Candy FinchPharoah Sanders:Pharoah Sanders — NEA Jazz Master profileKarma — the 1969 Impulse! album containing "The Creator Has a Master Plan," which Lawrence covers on Turn the Music Up as a tribute"The Creator Has a Master Plan" — background on the Sanders–Leon Thomas compositionLos Angeles Roots:Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra — Horace Tapscott's ensemble, Lawrence's entry into the L.A. sceneHorace Tapscott — pianist, organizer, and the Arkestra's founderThe Lighthouse Café — the Hermosa Beach club where Lawrence first spent time around SandersConcerts by the Sea — Howard Rumsey's Redondo Beach room, 1971–1985, the other place they would go to hear himSpiritual Study:Alfred and Bernice Ligon — the Aquarian Book Shop and Aquarian Spiritual Center, where Lawrence studiedAlfred Ligon obituary — on the country's oldest Black-owned bookstore, opened in 1941 and destroyed in 1992Venues:Village Vanguard — where the line ran out the door for Tyner's band, and where McCoy sat in with Elvin on his birthdayNN North Sea Jazz Festival — where Cecil McBee joined Lawrence's quintetTeaching:UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, Global Jazz Studies — where Lawrence has taught since 2024—Dig into this episode's complete show notes at podcast.thetonearm.com—• Did you enjoy this episode? Please share it with a friend! You can also rate The Tonearm ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. • Subscribe! Be the first to check out each new episode of The Tonearm in your podcast app of choice. • Looking for more? Visit podcast.thetonearm.com for bonus content, web-only interviews + features, and the Talk Of The Tonearm email newsletter. You can also follow us on Bluesky, Mastodon, YouTube, and LinkedIn. • Be sure to bookmark our online magazine, The Tonearm! → thetonearm.com

This week we're putting The Tonearm's needle on Florida sound artist Josh Mason.Mason’s new album, Kicking A Dark Horse, is out now on greyfade as a hardcover book paired with modular synthesizer music, the two built to zipper together rather than stand apart.We talk about the punk rock roots underneath all that circuitry, why only the album's first and last tracks have a fixed place, and what Cortázar's Hopscotch has to do with any of it.(The musical excerpts heard in the interview are from Josh Mason's Kicking A Dark Horse)—Dig DeeperArtist and Album:Visit Josh Mason at joshmason.info and follow on Instagram and BandcampPurchase Kicking A Dark Horse — Bandcamp (FOLIO hardcover + digital)European orders — SoundohmKicking A Dark Horse — full catalog page, credits, and pressLabel and Format:greyfadeThe FOLIO format — greyfade's hardcover book music edition; Kicking A Dark Horse is the third releaseJosh Mason's greyfade artist pagegreyfade listening platformCollaborators:Joseph Branciforte — greyfade founder, co-producer, mastering engineer, and FOLIO interior designer"In Conversation: Josh Mason & Joseph Branciforte" — the long-form interview at Branciforte's Patch Notes, covering the gear, the writing, and the punk ethos in Mason's own wordsInstruments and Method:Xaoc Devices Leibniz subsystem — the binary-logic modular system the record was built on, which Mason has called "the final boss… in terms of instrument design that made no sense to me"Literary References:Hopscotch by Julio Cortázar — the 1963 novel with an alternate scrambled reading order, translated by Gregory RabassaThe Unfortunates by B.S. Johnson — the 1969 "book in a box," 27 unbound sections with only the first and last fixedHow to Write One Song by Jeff Tweedy — the songwriting book Lawrence cites on writing by removalArt References:Mark Rothko at Tate Modern — the Rothko Room, hung according to the artist's own lighting stipulations: "The light, whether natural or artificial, should not be too strong"Selected Press for Kicking A Dark Horse:IGLOOPopMattersBrainwashedTextura15 QuestionsFoxy Digitalis—Dig into this episode's complete show notes at podcast.thetonearm.com—• Did you enjoy this episode? Please share it with a friend! You can also rate The Tonearm ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts.• Subscribe! Be the first to check out each new episode of The Tonearm in your podcast app of choice.• Looking for more? Visit podcast.thetonearm.com for bonus content, web-only interviews + features, and the Talk Of The Tonearm email newsletter. You can also follow us on Bluesky, Mastodon, YouTube, and LinkedIn.• Be sure to bookmark our online magazine, The Tonearm! → thetonearm.com

This week we're putting The Tonearm's needle on drummer, composer, and educator Terri Lyne Carrington.Carrington has just released Trip the Night Fantastic, the second album from her group, Social Science. It’s built for the dance floor but unflinching on the topics of deportation, prison abolition, and climate collapse.We talk about trusting collaborators before they've earned it, playing to a rare, fully attentive crowd at Newport, and calling herself a "frustrated drummer" on a record built from words as much as rhythm.(The musical excerpts heard in the interview are from Trip the Night Fantastic, the new album from Terri Lyne Carrington and Social Science.)—Dig DeeperArtist and Album:Visit Terri Lyne Carrington at terrilynecarrington.com and follow on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and BandcampPurchase Trip the Night Fantastic from Candid Records, Bandcamp, or Qobuz, and listen on your streaming platform of choice.Candid RecordsSocial Science:Aaron Parks — piano; wrote "Climate Song"Matthew Stevens — guitar; proposed the album's title phrase and wrote the "Solidarity Song" riffMorgan Guerin — multi-instrumentalist and the album's co-producer"Riddim Song" Collaborators:Fatoumata DiawaraDebo RayBrenda Navarrete"Blues Song" and June Jordan:June Jordan — the poet's official site"These Poems" — the poem set to music on the albumaja monet — the surrealist blues poet who performs itRelated Recordings:We Insist 2025! with Christie Dashiell, the Max Roach reimagining that interrupted this album — BandcampWaiting Game, the 2019 Social Science debut given to its label without an advance — BandcampMax Roach's We Insist! Freedom Now Suite (1960) — JazzTimes on the reissueInstitutions and Festivals:Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice — founded and directed by CarringtonNewport Jazz Festival — where Social Science played on August 1, 2026Also Mentioned:13th — Ava DuVernay's documentaryBest Alternative Jazz Album — the Grammy category Carrington helped create, first awarded in 2024—Dig into this episode's complete show notes at podcast.thetonearm.com—• Did you enjoy this episode? Please share it with a friend! You can also rate The Tonearm ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. • Subscribe! Be the first to check out each new episode of The Tonearm in your podcast app of choice. • Looking for more? Visit podcast.thetonearm.com for bonus content, web-only interviews + features, and the Talk Of The Tonearm email newsletter. You can also follow us on Bluesky, Mastodon, YouTube, and LinkedIn. • Be sure to bookmark our online magazine, The Tonearm! → thetonearm.com

This week we're putting The Tonearm's needle on pop-chart analyst Chris Molanphy.For almost a decade, Chris has hosted Hit Parade, Slate's monthly show on the history behind the Billboard charts. He also writes Slate's long-running Why Is This Song No. 1? column, and wrote a book on Lil Nas X's Old Town Road for Duke University Press.We talk about how a Netflix episode can send a forty-year-old song back onto the charts, why he refuses to believe in a guilty pleasure, and what changes in an artist's career when they keep reinventing instead of repeating a formula.—Dig DeeperOur Guest:Visit Chris Molanphy at chris.molanphy.com and follow him on BlueskyListen to Hit Parade on SlateRead the "Why Is This Song No. 1?" seriesPurchase Old Town Road, Chris's book on the Lil Nas X hit, from Duke University PressHit Parade Episodes Discussed:Feet on the Ground, Reaching for the Stars Edition — the 100th episode, on Casey Kasem and a life spent with the chartsDancing With Himself Edition — Billy Idol from the Bromley Contingent to MTVCountry Roads and Summer Nights Edition — John Denver and Olivia Newton-JohnStarman to Blackstar Edition — David Bowie's chart careerThe Queen of Disco Edition — Donna SummerNear-Miss Hits: '70s Edition — the songs that stalledLegacy Hits Are Flops-Turned-Classics — the "Tiny Dancer" episodeThe "Angry Young Men" Who Turned Punk into New Wave — Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson, and Graham ParkerHow Britpop Ruled '90s U.K. MusicThe Christmas Music Edition — the UK Christmas number ones show from 2018Chart History and Reference:Hit Men: Power Brokers and Fast Money Inside the Music Business by Fredric DannenFred Bronson's The Billboard Book of Number One Hits [Link unverified — recommend manual check]Paul Grein's "Chart Beat" column at BillboardCasey Kasem's American Top 40—Dig into this episode's complete show notes at podcast.thetonearm.com—• Did you enjoy this episode? Please share it with a friend! You can also rate The Tonearm ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. • Subscribe! Be the first to check out each new episode of The Tonearm in your podcast app of choice. • Looking for more? Visit podcast.thetonearm.com for bonus content, web-only interviews + features, and the Talk Of The Tonearm email newsletter. You can also follow us on Bluesky, Mastodon, YouTube, and LinkedIn. • Be sure to bookmark our online magazine, The Tonearm! → thetonearm.com

This week we're putting The Tonearm's needle on synthesist and producer Danalogue.Danalogue is a founding member of The Comet Is Coming and half of Soccer96, and he’s recently released his debut solo album, Teleportations. The record imagines grief and upheaval as a science-fictional voyage and was sparked by a chance encounter with the artist Moebius that grew into an imagined civilization.We talk about recording alone, with no one else’s voice in the room; why he calls his editing process a “distilled vodka”; and why he still believes imagination is the first step toward hope.(The musical excerpts heard in the interview are from Danalogue’s Teleportations)—Dig DeeperArtist and Album:Visit Danalogue on Bandcamp and follow on InstagramPurchase Danalogue's Teleportations from Castles in Space, Bandcamp, or Qobuz, and listen on your streaming platform of choiceWatch Danalogue playing live at Total Refreshment CentreBands and Projects:The Comet Is ComingSoccer96FlockLabel and Studio:Castles in Space (label)Total Refreshment CentreCollaborators:Alabaster DePlumeSnapped AnklesInstruments:Roland Juno-60 (Vintage Synth Explorer)Roland SH-09 (Vintage Synth Explorer)Cultural References:Moebius (Jean Giraud) — the comics artist behind the album's originRobert Anton Wilson, Cosmic Trigger (Hilaritas Press)C-Smash VRS with Ken Ishii — the VR game he scored (NME feature)—Dig into this episode's complete show notes at podcast.thetonearm.com—• Did you enjoy this episode? Please share it with a friend! You can also rate The Tonearm ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. • Subscribe! Be the first to check out each new episode of The Tonearm in your podcast app of choice. • Looking for more? Visit podcast.thetonearm.com for bonus content, web-only interviews + features, and the Talk Of The Tonearm email newsletter. You can also follow us on Bluesky, Mastodon, YouTube, and LinkedIn. • Be sure to bookmark our online magazine, The Tonearm! → thetonearm.com

This week, we're putting The Tonearm's needle on five-time Grammy-nominated composer Suzanne Ciani.Suzanne has spent decades innovating electronic music on the Buchla synthesizer, an instrument as intimate to her as any acoustic musician's.Suzanne has multiple projects out this year: CIANI/ORKEST, a live album with the fifty-piece Metropole Orkest, conducted by Simon Dobson; a collaborative live album with British electronic producer Actress; and the score for John Wilson's idiosyncratic new documentary, The History of Concrete.We talk about why an artist who's needed total control throughout her career said yes to an orchestra, a producer, and a filmmaker all in one year, what it's like hearing an instrument built for one pair of hands answered by fifty more, and her pet peeve about volume at live shows.(The musical excerpts heard in the interview are from Suzanne Ciani’s CIANI/ORKEST)—Dig DeeperArtist and Album:Visit Suzanne Ciani at sevwave.com and follow on Instagram and YouTube; her catalog is on Bandcamp.Purchase CIANI/ORKEST on quadraphonic vinyl from AKP Recordings and digitally from Bandcamp or Qobuz. You can also listen on your streaming platform of choice.Collaborators:Metropole Orkest — the 50-piece orchestra behind CIANI/ORKEST.Simon Dobson — composer and conductor of the album.Actress and Suzanne Ciani, Concrète Waves (Werkdiscs) — on Bandcamp, with coverage from The Quietus.Instruments and Makers:Buchla U.S.A. — the modular synthesizer at the center of Ciani's work, designed by Don Buchla.Film:The History of Concrete (dir. John Wilson, 2026), which Ciani scored — film page on Letterboxd.Live and Catalog:Age of Reflections — the immersive concert series behind Ciani's cathedral performances.Seven Waves — on Bandcamp.—Dig into this episode's complete show notes at podcast.thetonearm.com—• Did you enjoy this episode? Please share it with a friend! You can also rate The Tonearm ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. • Subscribe! Be the first to check out each new episode of The Tonearm in your podcast app of choice. • Looking for more? Visit podcast.thetonearm.com for bonus content, web-only interviews + features, and the Talk Of The Tonearm email newsletter. You can also follow us on Bluesky, Mastodon, YouTube, and LinkedIn. • Be sure to bookmark our online magazine, The Tonearm! → thetonearm.com

This week we’re putting The Tonearm's needle on trumpeter, composer, and bandleader Steven Bernstein. Amongst his many activities, Steven leads Sexmob and the Millennial Territory Orchestra and serves as Laurie Anderson's musical director. He's out now with an entwined set of albums. ResoNation Trio pares him down to valve trumpet, bass, and drums with Scott Colley and Nasheet Waits. Ultra Resonance is producer Scotty Hard's full reinvention of that same recording. We talk about why a trumpet trio gave him a blank slate, what Burning Spear has to do with Ultra Resonance, and what it means to still be playing Levon Helm's music twenty-two years from when he started. (The musical excerpts heard in the interview are from Steven Bernstein’s albums, ResoNation Trio and Ultra Resonance)—Dig DeeperSteven Bernstein:Visit Steven Bernstein at stevenbernstein.net and browse his projects — including Sexmob and the Millennial Territory OrchestraPurchase ResoNation Trio and Ultra Resonance from Royal Potato Family, Bandcamp, or Qobuz, and listen on your streaming platform of choiceRead the All About Jazz review.The Trio and Collaborators:Scott Colley — bassNasheet Waits — drumsScotty Hard — producer of Ultra ResonanceBands, Projects, and Company Kept:Laurie Anderson with Sexmob, Let X=X (Live) on NonesuchLevon Helm Studios and the Helm Family Midnight Ramble, Woodstock, NYMusical Touchstones:Burning Spear, Garvey's Ghost (1976) — the dub companion to Marcus Garvey that seeded the Ultra Resonance concept: Wikipedia · streamingMiles Davis, Panthalassa: The Music of Miles Davis 1969–1974, reconstructed by Bill Laswell — a precedent for reworking improvised recordings: Wikipedia · streamingButch Morris, who gave Bernstein some of his earliest New York gigs, and his theory of Conduction—Dig into this episode's complete show notes at podcast.thetonearm.com—• Did you enjoy this episode? Please share it with a friend! You can also rate The Tonearm ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. • Subscribe! Be the first to check out each new episode of The Tonearm in your podcast app of choice. • Looking for more? Visit podcast.thetonearm.com for bonus content, web-only interviews + features, and the Talk Of The Tonearm email newsletter. You can also follow us on Bluesky, Mastodon, YouTube, and LinkedIn. • Be sure to bookmark our online magazine, The Tonearm! → thetonearm.com

This week, we're putting The Tonearm's needle on trumpeter and composer Dave Douglas.Douglas’s latest album, Transcend, came out in April. It's the second record from GIFTS, his band with Rafiq Bhatia, James Brandon Lewis, Tomeka Reid, and Ian Chang. His last several records were openly political. This one turns toward the sacred, though we explore where that either/or framing falls short.We also talk about painter and sculptor Jack Whitten, why Dave stayed with this band instead of moving on (his usual m.o,), and whether, at 63, he's summing anything up.(The musical excerpts heard in the interview are from Dave Douglas's Transcend )—Dig DeeperArtist and Album:Visit Dave Douglas and explore his catalog at Greenleaf MusicFollow Dave Douglas on Bluesky, Instagram, and FacebookPurchase Transcend from Greenleaf Music, Bandcamp, or Qobuz, and listen on your streaming platform of choiceCheck out the debut GIFTS album on BandcampDave Douglas's podcast, A Noise From the DeepThe Band — GIFTS:Rafiq Bhatia — guitarist, composer, producer; member of Son LuxJames Brandon Lewis — tenor saxophonist and composerTomeka Reid — cellist, composer, 2022 MacArthur FellowIan Chang — drummer, composer; member of Son LuxReferenced Works and Artists:Duke Ellington's Sacred Concerts — three landmark works premiered between 1965 and 1973Jack Whitten: The Messenger — the retrospective at MoMA (March–August 2025) that shaped TranscendBooker Little — the trumpeter whose 1960–61 records broke open Douglas's compositional thinkingJaimie Branch — trumpeter and composer, 1983–2022Steve Reich — composer, discussed in the context of minimalism and processBooks:A Poetry Handbook by Mary Oliver — the book on craft that Douglas cites as an analog to his compositional methodTeaching:Dave Douglas at the New School — where he teaches Creating Music Workshop and Advanced Ear Training: Monk and Bach—Dig into this episode's complete show notes at podcast.thetonearm.com—• Did you enjoy this episode? Please share it with a friend! You can also rate The Tonearm ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. • Subscribe! Be the first to check out each new episode of The Tonearm in your podcast app of choice. • Looking for more? Visit podcast.thetonearm.com for bonus content, web-only interviews + features, and the Talk Of The Tonearm email newsletter. You can also follow us on Bluesky, Mastodon, YouTube, and LinkedIn. • Be sure to bookmark our online magazine, The Tonearm! → thetonearm.com