How much do you know about Peter Martin? In this conversation with Kirk Hamilton of the Strong Songs podcast, Peter shares his musical influences and trajectory as a young jazz pianist. He brings us right back to the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s with stories of meeting Wynton Marsalis, and playing with jazz legends like Betty Carter, Roy Hargrove and Joshua Redman.

Plus, he shares his take on jazz education, the marathon runner's mindset and why anyone and everyone can play music.

Check out the Strong Songs podcast: https://strongsongspodcast.com/

Start your free Open Studio trial for ALLLLL your jazz lesson needs:
https://osjazz.link/yhi

00:00 - Introducing Today's Episode
02:50 - Peter's Strong Songs Interview
06:00 - Peter's Musical Background
08:00 - The Suzuki Method
14:30 - Nurturing Talent
16:30 - How Peter Discovered Jazz
20:30 - Meeting Wynton Marsalis
27:00 - The Midwestern Jazz Scene
33:20 - Juilliard, Roy Hargrove and the Young Lions
35:40 - Moving to New Orleans
38:30 - The Economics of Jazz in the 90s
40:00 - Playing with the Legendary Betty Carter
44:30 - Jazz Musicianship Then and Now
47:15 - Roy Hargrove and the Summer of '94
52:15 - Joining Joshua Redman
57:45 - Rethinking Jazz Education
1:02:15 - The Marathon Runner's Mindset
1:07:20 - Kenny Kirkland: Awe & Inspiration
1:15:00 - Roy Hargrove, The RH Factor and Hard Groove
1:20:00 - My Funny Valentine - Miles Davis
1:25:00 - How to Find the Recommendations in this Episode

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill was one of the BIGGEST records of the 90s. When you sell 20 million records, like Lauryn Hill did, you're into mass market territory; you're selling records all over the world and reaching across genres. With Miseducation, Lauryn Hill struck a nerve with humanity. How did she do it?

As you'll hear in this episode, the album sounded unlike other chart-topping hits at the time. It features tons of acoustic instruments, beautiful chord progressions, Stevie Wonder vibes, palatable melodies, a D'Angelo cameo and deeply personal storytelling. And Lauryn Hill herself has the presence of an actor with the soul of an underground musician.

Listen with us as we parse through Lauryn Hill's only album track-by-track to answer the question: What makes this album great?

Start your free Open Studio trial for ALLLLL your jazz lesson needs:
https://osjazz.link/yhi

00:00 - Intro Jam: "Doo Wop (That Thing)"
02:05 - A Concept Album About Love
04:55 – The Fugees, Sister Act II & Stardom
07:40 - "Intro" + "Lost Ones"
10:50 - “Ex-Factor”
13:15 - "To Zion (Feat. Carlos Santana)"
20:05 - "Doo Wop (That Thing)"
21:45 - "Superstar"
23:30 - “When It Hurts So Bad”
25:50 - "I Used to Love Him (feat. Mary J. Blige)"
33:00 - Hitting a Nerve with Humanity
37:20 - "Every Ghetto, Every City"
40:20 - "Nothing Even Matters"
42:50 - "Everything Is Everything"
45:10 - "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill"
47:30 - "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You - (I Love You Baby)"
52:35 - Desert Island Tracks + Apex Moments
1:01:50 - Up Next

Keith Jarrett's "The Köln Concert" is the best selling solo piano album of all time. But why this album? Possibly because it sounded like nothing else in popular music at the time of its release in 1975. It is cinematic, genre-fluid and masterful – in many ways ahead of its time.

Jazz musicians Adam Maness and Peter Martin listen to one of the most popular albums in the history of jazz, pulling apart all the elements that make it great: the melodies, the vamps, even the "soul" of Jarrett's notoriously flawed piano.

If you know "The Köln Concert" well, watch for the analysis and hot takes. If you haven't heard this album before, it may just become the soundtrack to your life!

Start your free Open Studio trial for ALLLLL your jazz lesson needs:
https://osjazz.link/yhi

00:00 - Is it Köln or Cologne?
06:30 - Part I
09:20 - How Jarrett Made Music for the Moment
17:00 - Jumping Back Into Part I
23:00 - Joyful and Fearless
29:00 - All the Genres
33:20 - Legit Amazing AND Popular
36:05 - The Harp
42:00 - Part II a
48:25 - 80s Cinema Vibes
54:20 - Part II b
1:00:55 - Part II c
1:04:00 - Apex Moments & Categories
1:11:45 - GALA + Black Friday at Open Studio!

Songs in the Key of Life stands apart, even next to the other four albums in Stevie Wonder's classic period. It resulted in the most hit singles: "I Wish", "Sir Duke", "As" and "Another Star".

Chris Molanphy of the Hit Parade podcast leads us through this album's incredible charts story. Not only did it produce FOUR singles, but it inspired two other chart-topping hits: Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise" and Will Smith's "Wild Wild West".

Plus — Peter and Adam nerd out on the keys, dissecting every track to highlight the musical complexity that makes Songs in the Key of Life a favorite among jazz musicians. You may have heard Songs in the Key of Life ... possibly many times. But you've never heard it quite like this!

Start your free Open Studio trial for ALLLLL your jazz lesson needs:
https://osjazz.link/yhi

00:00 - Intro Jam: "As"
02:13 - The Chart Story Behind SITKOL
05:40 - The Long Wait for Songs in the Key of Life
12:45 - "Love's In Need of Love Today"
19:40 - Comparing Stevie to Prince
20:30 - "I Wish"
24:00 - The Ultimate Crossover Hitmaker
27:25 - "Sir Duke"
32:30 - Making Jazz Fun
37:25 - "Passtime Paradise"
40:00 - Stevie the Synth Innovator
43:50 - How Stevie Commanded the Charts
46:40 - How Was This Track Not a Hit Single?
52:00 - This Hit Was NOT On an Album
56:00 - The SITKOL Jazz Standard
1:00:30 - "Another Star"
1:04:05 - "As"
1:15:00 - How SITKOL Singles Broke Ground
1:22:20 - Our Favorite SITKOL Tracks
1:25:35 - The Best Moments on SITKOL
1:29:50 - Bespoke Spotify Playlists
1:32:45 - What to Listen to Next
1:35:20 - Quibble Bits
1:37:50 - How "Snobby" is This Record?
1:40:50 - Is it Better than Kind of Blue?
1:42:40 - Packaging Gets a 10/10
1:45:00 - Outro: "As"

1959 gave us Kind of Blue, Time Out ... and Mingus Ah Um. Adam and Peter dig into Charles Mingus’s most adventurous, soulful record: gospel, bebop, and pure Mingus genius. You’ve never heard it quite like this.

Charles Mingus was one of jazz's greatest bass players AND composers. Listen with us as we break down the genius in every track of his best-selling record, and share stories of the brilliant, chaotic, occasionally volatile man behind Mingus Ah Um.

Start your free Open Studio trial for ALLLLL your jazz lesson needs:
https://osjazz.link/yhi

00:00 — Opening Jam: "Better Git It In Your Soul"
01:40 — What's happening at Open Studio
3:15 — 1959: What a Great Year!
5:40 — Early Mingus
10:40 — "All the Things You Can C#" from Mingus at the Bohemia
11:40 — "A Foggy Day" from Pithecanthropus Erectus
16:15 — "Better Get Hit In Your Soul"
23:35 — This One is For the Nerds
27:50 — "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat"
34:36 — "Boogie Stop Shuffle"
38:30 — "Self-Portrait in Three Colors"
40:30 — The Duke Ellington Influence
45:10 — "Open Letter to Duke"
48:05 — "Bird Calls"
49:00 — "Fables of Faubus"
56:40 - "Pussy Cat Dues"
58:15 — "Jelly Roll"
1:00:15 — Categories
1:10:50 — GALA

At Town Hall captures a pivotal moment in Nina Simone's story, when she left behind her dream of being a concert pianist and embraced her identity as an indefinable and remarkable talent.

At Town Hall shows off Nina’s classical chops, infused with the jazz influences from working in nightclubs and mixed with the folk and gospel sounds of her youth. Adam and Peter pull apart the tracks to highlight each element of her unique musical blend.

This may not be one of her most recognizable albums, but it is one of her most interesting. It's made even more fascinating by the fact that Nina met bassist Wilbur Ware and drummer Ben Riley only as they walked on stage! Listen to hear her arranging and composing on the spot.

Subscribe to the You'll Read It newsletter for stories that didn't make the pod: https://youllhearit.com/newsletter

Start your free Open Studio trial for ALLLLL your jazz lesson needs:
https://osjazz.link/yhi

In 1981, Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones set out on one of the most ambitious projects in pop music history: an album where every song was a hit. The result was Thriller. The record-breaking, chart-topping masterpiece produced six top-ten hits, became the best-selling album of all time, and propelled Black American music into global pop dominance.

Watch as jazz musicians Peter Martin and Adam Maness react to this iconic '80s pop album. They break it down track-by-track: MJ's timeless ad-libbed melodies, Ndugu Chancler's drum intros (the greatest in pop history?!), Greg Phillinganes's synths, and Rod Temperton's songwriting.

Thriller is so much more than "Thriller". Listen with us, and you'll never hear this record the same way again.

Michael Jackson unveils the moonwalk at NBC's Motown 25 special: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dB7TqzPVt_M&t=538s

Greg Phillinganes breaks down the bass line on "Thriller": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UqxOg3M-OM

Adam and Peter analyze Off the Wall: https://youtu.be/jR9zxGueeq4

Start your free Open Studio trial for ALLLLL your jazz lesson needs: https://osjazz.link/yhi

In light of D'Angelo's passing, we're replaying our episode on Voodoo from June 2025. This Grammy-winning, genre-defying album changed the sound of R&B, soul, and hip-hop forever. And it has seriously influenced the playing of so many musicians, including our own Adam Maness.

From Questlove’s behind-the-beat drumming to Roy Hargrove’s horn arrangements, Voodoo is packed with the kind of deep musicality that jazz musicians truly connect with.

Twenty-five years later, Voodoo still hits harder than many albums of its generation. We've heard from so many of you in the comments on Spotify and YouTube about what this album, and D'Angelo's music, means to you.

Tell us how D'Angelo has influenced you in the comments on Spotify or YouTube: https://youtu.be/AYqmFNF2s0U

Watch Open Studio perform D'Angelo's "Spanish Joint":
https://youtu.be/CG5yqmkj0G4