New Podcast! The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey

[80sFan 76]

Sad to see the podcast end. I have enjoyed the insights and think this series will be looked back as a valuable resource for info on John Williams. I've learned so much from each episode (and liked the comments from your guests as well) 

 

Thanks again for the great work!

[Jurassic Shark 8,689]

Now, Jeff should collect the highlights in a book.

 

[Dr. Rick 870]

I found this interview on Twitter last night.  I have finally started to listen to this podcast, currently on Daddy-O

 

 

 

 

[WampaRat 623]

Congrats @Trumpeteeron wrapping up a terrific series. As a fellow Arizonan (grew up in Glendale) and swimmer, I’m doubly proud. Bravo!

[SingeMoisi 3]

Reunion of Friends was a great pick. It filled me with nostalgia and a bit of sadness.
Thank you for the podcast, it was truly amazing. I am so glad to have learned so much about John Williams' work.

 

[bollemanneke 2,512]

What a great, great, final episode. Congratulations.

[Erik Woods 372]

 

 

 

[aescalle 115]

It was a great journey. Congratulations.

[Trumpeteer 241]

Thanks for posting those videos, @Erik Woods. I was trying to inform as many people as possible, and forgot the most important place!

 

Here is background on these videos: I hosted a virtual roundtable for 18 John Williams fans, all of whom cohosted "The Baton" with me. We talked for two hours about a lot of topics, including John Williams' legacy and the state of film scoring in the 21st century. There was also some lengthy debate about the music for two Indiana Jones films. But the highlight (at least for me) was a WORLD PREMIERE of a trombone overdub by Jim Nova of "Wide Receiver," the composition Williams wrote for NBC's football coverage.

 

I hope everyone enjoys this special bonus episode of "The Baton."

[Bayesian 828]

I just finished watching the first part of the roundtable, @Trumpeteer, and I loved it. Such enthusiasm for JW's music, and such obvious admiration of you and your tireless efforts expressed by your cohosts!

 

I've been collecting all your episodes for the better part of the past year and am eager to listen to them in order in the weeks and months ahead, now that your cycle is complete. (I've listened to parts of several episodes over the past year but held back from doing more than that until I could find time to devote the proper attention to them. That time has finally come.)

 

What you accomplished with The Baton -- an immersive, complete survey of JW's film scores -- will be long recognized as an important and necessary contribution to JW appreciation and scholarship. That alone is worthy of the highest praise. But the fact that you did it like clockwork, 60-90 minutes weekly without fail, is basically superhuman to the likes of procrastinators like me. I am in awe. You are my role model for 2021.

 

Bravo for a wonderful podcast! And thank you!

[Biodome 536]

I'd also like to thank @Trumpeteerfor this amazing journey. For me, being in my 20s, it's difficult to really comprehend what a 60+ year musical career really means, and what it means to have composed 100+ film scores. The realisation that you'd have to spend an hour each week for 2 years in order to get an overview of every John Williams film score, really puts things in perspective. I've never fully appreciated John Williams until I started listening to The Baton, and it really helped me grasp the sheer scale and variety of his creative output. Watching all of those films is now on my bucket list!

[Sergeant 1,084]

Just found this!! Wonderful addition for my daily 1-2 hour corona isolation walks. I started it the other way round, from newest to oldest. Today BFG😎

[Trumpeteer 241]

Thanks @Biodome and @Bayesian for the kind words. They are much appreciated. I am happy that you discovered more music from John Williams and are going to watch some of the films. Many of the scores will be greatly enhanced from matching the music with visuals.

 

Hey @T.RASK you are the first to say that you are going backwards. That feels like reading a book from the last chapter to the beginning, "Memento"-style. Hope you find it enjoyable. 

[bruckhorn 50]

I started in the middle and listened to a few episodes (scores I was familiar with).  I have now downloaded all of the episodes.

I highly recommend them.  The approach is amateur in the truest sense of the word: for the love of it.  Very little techie talk (e.g.: chord progressions, use of pedal tones, use of modes) which usually comes from co-hosts.  Heck, I think he misidentified a recorder as a flute, but I don’t expect him to point out the Wagner tubas in Empire.  (Star Wars Oxygen didn’t mention it).

 

And yet, with all I’ve read/heard about Stars Wars, there was something in his Star Wars episode that was new to me.  That’s something, right?

No, I’m not going to say what it was: you have to listen to it yourself.

 

[Trumpeteer 241]

18 hours ago, bruckhorn said:

I started in the middle and listened to a few episodes (scores I was familiar with).  I have now downloaded all of the episodes.

I highly recommend them.  The approach is amateur in the truest sense of the word: for the love of it.  Very little techie talk (e.g.: chord progressions, use of pedal tones, use of modes) which usually comes from co-hosts.  Heck, I think he misidentified a recorder as a flute, but I don’t expect him to point out the Wagner tubas in Empire.  (Star Wars Oxygen didn’t mention it).

 

And yet, with all I’ve read/heard about Stars Wars, there was something in his Star Wars episode that was new to me.  That’s something, right?

No, I’m not going to say what it was: you have to listen to it yourself.

 

Just as a reminder: I mention in the first episode that I am not a trained musician, so approach this podcast knowing that. Plus, I would personally be bored if every episode was a music theory lecture. My frequent cohosts add that when needed and I am very thankful for that.

 

@bruckhorn I am curious to know the new piece of information you learned in the Star Wars episode. Send me a private message.

[Trumpeteer 241]

As we all know, John Williams' 89th birthday is tomorrow (Monday), and I will be posting a special video episode of "The Baton" to celebrate. I will be joined by 12 of my podcast's cohosts as we share how we celebrate the Maestro's birthday, and talk about some of Williams' music we would use to introduce a new fan.

 

This video will make its debut as a YouTube "live" Premiere at 9 am Eastern on Monday, February 8. Link is below. I invite you to the Premiere to chat with other John Williams fans as the video plays. If you can't make the "live" video, it will be available at the same link as an on-demand video.

 

Celebrating John Williams' 89th birthday

[Jurassic Shark 8,689]

Will JW make a guest appearance?

[Trumpeteer 241]

6 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Will JW make a guest appearance?

I would love that, but unfortunately no. The biggest celebrity I could get for this show was @Erik Woods.

[Jurassic Shark 8,689]

Not bad - even I have heard of that guy!

[Trumpeteer 241]

Hi, folks! I brought in some of my cohosts from my John Williams podcast to offer their thoughts about the upcoming Indy 5 film and score. And since we recorded this close to Star Wars Day, I asked everyone to let me know their favorite "Star Wars" musical moments. Some were surprising, but most gave responses that were expected. Enjoy!

 

[Toillion 19]

Started listening to the podcast recently and just made it through the 60s. I don’t listen to podcasts often but I’m enjoying this one very much! I’m also taking this opportunity to go through my personal collection and hopefully fill in some of the holes.