Premieres Friday, October 5, 2012, 9:00 p.m. ET on PBS
Featuring stories and exclusive performances by:
One of Africa’s most beloved and soulful singers Youssou N’dour
Nine-time Grammy Award-winning jazz musician Wynton Marsalis
Scottish folk singer Julie Fowlis, who sings the title track for the new Disney/Pixar animated feature Brave
Icelandic indie folk/pop sensation Of Monsters and Men
Host and Emmy Award–winning newsman Marco Werman (public radio’s “The World”) and a savvy team of SOUND TRACKS reporters bring you behind-the-scenes stories about the power of music to touch our hearts and shake things up. SOUND TRACKS follows singer/activist Youssou N’dour during the violent clashes leading up to Senegal’s presidential elections; explores the cultural renaissance in Scotland that helped inspire the movie Brave with Celtic singer Julie Fowlis; and goes on tour in Chicago with acclaimed bandleader Wynton Marsalis as he passes on jazz classics and his philosophy of life to a new generation. The show ends with an exclusive performance by a new band from Iceland, Of Monsters and Men. For more information about the program and additional online-only content, visit pbs.org/soundtracks.
“SOUND TRACKS proves you don't have to understand a country's language to dig the music,” states host Werman, who is also the co-anchor and a senior producer of the weekday public radio show “The World,” where he treats 2.8 million listeners to a daily “Global Hit.” “This is music that matters, and once you see and hear the stories, the songs will sing to you more deeply than words can convey.”
“Music can enchant, it can soothe, it can inspire, it can shake things up,” added SOUND TRACKS executive producer Stephen Talbot of the Talbot Players. “We want viewers to experience the full power and grace of music, the sheer pleasure of it. And to discover, with us, the stories behind the music and the people who create it.”
“The artful combination of music, travel and journalism is what attracted KQED to SOUND TRACKS,” stated Joanne Elgart Jennings, executive producer at KQED. “We are proud to be working with the Talbot Players and PBS to present to national audiences this unique look at how music affects lives here in the U.S. and abroad.”
“PBS is committed to bringing a wide spectrum of art and artists into America’s living rooms,” said Donald Thoms, Vice President, Programming, PBS. “SOUND TRACKS illustrates the power of the arts, and combines great music with vivid storytelling that will take viewers on a profound journey around the world. We’re proud to share this exciting programming with our audiences.”
The four stories featured in SOUND TRACKS are:
“Jazz Ambassador”
with acclaimed jazz musician and author Wynton Marsalis.
SOUND TRACKS reporter Alexis Bloom follows Marsalis and his Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra —celebrating its 25th anniversary this fall — on the road as they perform in Chicago, spreading the gospel of jazz to young people. Does jazz, America’s music, have a future in today’s pop-saturated, commercial music scene? SOUND TRACKS goes backstage with Wynton as he prepares a Duke Ellington concert for kids and then shows him in concert with his “band of brothers” passing on jazz classics to a new generation. Along the way — especially during a visit with a South Side high school’s jazz band — the music lessons become a kind of jazz philosophy of life. Interviews with Marsalis and key band members paint an intimate portrait of Marsalis and his longtime colleagues as they share their stories and music. Producer: Emily Taguchi.
“Shakin’ the Tree”
with Senegal’s star singer and human rights activist Youssou N’dour.
Known in the U.S. for his hit duets “7 Seconds” (with Neneh Cherry) and “In Your Eyes” (with Peter Gabriel), N’dour has been described by Rolling Stone as “perhaps the most famous singer alive” in Africa. N’dour took the unusual step of trying to run for president of his country earlier this year to protest an incumbent accused of corruption. Host Marco Werman follows and interviews N’dour during this tumultuous time as Senegalese musicians led a historic protest movement. SOUND TRACKS cameras capture the riots and violence in the streets as Senegal teeters on the brink and record the celebration at N’dour’s grand finale concert when the reform candidate backed by the musicians won the election and named N’dour the new minister of culture. Producer: Cassandra Herrman.
“Into the Mystic”
with Scottish folk singer Julie Fowlis.
BBC’s Folk Singer of the Year in 2008, Julie Fowlis performs the beautiful theme song for the new Disney/Pixar animated feature Brave. Already renowned in the UK for her unique version of the Beatles song “Blackbird,” she was suddenly thrust into the international spotlight with the release of the film this summer. Reporter Mirissa Neff takes viewers to the remote islands of Uist where Fowlis grew up and to the Scottish highlands, where she lives with her Irish musician husband and their two young daughters. Travel with SOUND TRACKS to this magical landscape to see the real, fiercely independent Scotland that inspired the movie Brave and find out how Julie — an official Scottish Gaelic ambassador — is preserving an ancient language and reigniting Celtic folk music. Producer: Bob Calo.
“Global Hit: Of Monsters and Men”
Indie folk/pop band Of Monsters and Men got their break when they won a battle of the bands in 2010 in their native country, Iceland. That led to their album, “My Head is an Animal,” and a surprise summer hit single in the United States, Little Talks. “It’s been very strange,” band members tell SOUND TRACKS reporter Arun Rath, “we’re even big in Turkey.” The six-piece group, led by two singers, Nanna and Raggi, likes to play what they call ‘honest music’ with all the energy and whimsy you’d expect from a band that comes from the same small island that produced Bjork. During a stop in Los Angeles on their U.S. tour, Of Monsters and Men performed three songs exclusively for SOUND TRACKS — one for the television program (SOUND TRACKS “global hit”) and two more for the online SOUND TRACKS series, Quick Hits.
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About SOUND TRACKS
SOUND TRACKS is produced for PBS by The Talbot Players and KQED, San Francisco. Executive producers are Stephen Talbot for The Talbot Players and Joanne Elgart Jennings for KQED. Host Marco Werman is a music fan and well-traveled journalist who, like other SOUND TRACKS reporters, covered music, politics and culture for PBS’ global affairs show FRONTLINE/World and is also the co-anchor and senior producer of the weekday public radio show “The World,” where he treats 2.8 million listeners to a daily “Global Hit.”
Along with the full-length television program, SOUND TRACKS produces, for PBS Arts, “Quick Hits,” a monthly series of online music videos and interviews with singers and musicians. The web series has showcased a wide range of contemporary musical artists, including KT Tunstall, Ozomatli, soul singer Charles Bradley, classical pianists Yuja Wang and Helene Grimaud, and Levon Helm, the legendary drummer and singer in the Band, who gave one of his last interviews and “midnight rambles” performances for “Quick Hits.” All the “Quick Hits” and the pilot television program can be seen at pbs.org/soundtracks.
SOUND TRACKS is made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as PBS and the members of KQED, San Francisco.
About The Talbot Players
The Talbot Players is a San Francisco story factory specializing in books, documentaries and films. Founded by three siblings with prominent profiles in the media world — Stephen, David and Margaret Talbot — the company is named after a theater troupe organized by their late father, actor Lyle Talbot, a veteran of the golden age of Hollywood movies and the early years of TV. Stephen is an Emmy award-winning former producer for the PBS programs FRONTLINE and FRONTLINE/World. David is the founder and former editor-in-chief of the pioneering web publication, Salon. And Margaret is a staff writer for the New Yorker magazine. Among the Talbot Players' projects are the PBS show SOUND TRACKS: MUSIC WITHOUT BORDERS; Brothers, a documentary feature now in development, based on David Talbot’s best-selling book about John and Robert Kennedy; Season of the Witch: Enchantment, Terror and Deliverance in the City of Love, David Talbot's new book about the wild and bloody birth of “San Francisco values”; and Quick Hits, an online series of music videos and interviews with singers and musicians, featured on the PBS Arts website. In November this year, Margaret Talbot’s book about Lyle Talbot, The Entertainer: Movies, Magic and My Father’s Twentieth Century, will be published by Riverhead.
About KQED
KQED (kqed.org) has served Northern California for more than 50 years and is affiliated with NPR and PBS. KQED owns and operates public television stations KQED 9 (San Francisco/Bay Area), KQED Plus (San Jose/Bay Area) and KQET 25 (Watsonville/Monterey); KQED Public Radio (88.5 FM San Francisco and 89.3 FM Sacramento); the interactive platforms kqed.org and KQEDnews.org; and KQED Education. KQED Public Television is the producer of local and national series such as QUEST; Check, Please! Bay Area; This Week in Northern California; Truly CA; and Essential Pépin. KQED’s digital television stations include KQED 9, KQED Plus, KQED Life, KQED World, KQED Kids and KQED V-me, and are available 24/7 on Comcast. KQED Public Radio, home of Forum and The California Report, is one of the most-listened-to public radio stations in the nation with an award-winning news and public affairs program service delivering more than eighteen local weekday newscasts and news features. KQED Interactive provides KQED’s cross-platform news service, KQEDnews.org, as well as several popular local blogs, video and audio podcasts, and a live radio stream at kqed.org. KQED Education brings the impact of KQED to thousands of teachers, students, parents and the general public through workshops, community screenings and multimedia resources.
About PBS
PBS, with its nearly 360 member stations, offers all Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and online content. Each month, PBS reaches nearly 123 million people through television and more than 21 million people online, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature and public affairs; to hear diverse viewpoints; and to take front row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS’ broad array of programs has been consistently honored by the industry’s most coveted award competitions. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. PBS’ premier children’s TV programming and its website, pbskids.org, are parents’ and teachers’ most trusted partners in inspiring and nurturing curiosity and love of learning in children. More information about PBS is available at www.pbs.org, one of the leading dot-org websites on the Internet, or by following PBS on Twitter, Facebook or through our apps for mobile devices. Specific program information and updates for press are available at pbs.org/pressroom or by following PBS Pressroom on Twitter.