The Third Story podcast features long-form interviews with musicians and members of the creative class, hosted by me, Leo Sidran.
Their stories of discovery, loss, ambition, identity, improvisation, risk, and reward are deeply moving and compelling for all of us as we embark on our own creative journeys.
Most recent episode: Madison Cunningham
Leo Sidran (photo by Tom Warburton)
Singer Theo Bleckmann on growing up in Germany, training as a soprano and figure skater before discovering jazz and moving to New York to study with Sheila Jordan, building a life in music, collaborating with artists like Meredith Monk, Laurie Anderson, and Ben Monder, community, teaching, queerness, and the meaning of “a life in music” rather than “a career in jazz,” and his new album Love & Anger.
Singer-songwriter dodie on growing up online, setting boundaries, mental health, and finding peace in her new album Not For Lack of Trying.
Fifty years ago, an 18-year-old concert German promoter named Vera Brandes helped make one of the most iconic nights in jazz history possible - Keith Jarrett’s The Köln Concert. Here Vera shares the unbelievable true story behind that night, and the new film Köln 75 that brings it to life.
Singer-songwriter Madison Cunningham on the personal and artistic transformations behind her new album Ace, her early musical influences, navigating young adulthood, the difference between happiness and contentment, and how a “slow burn” approach has shaped her voice, her craft, and her career.