The Tiny Desk is working from home for the foreseeable future. Introducing NPR Music's Tiny Desk (home) concerts, bringing you performances from across the country and the world. It's the same spirit — stripped-down sets, an intimate setting — just a different space.

Abby O'Neill | August 4, 2021
Melbourne alt-soul collective Hiatus Kaiyote tricked out its avant-garde recording studio, The Villa, and lathered it with props: a miniature desk, alien costumes, and loads of furry friends. Frontwoman Nai Palm shared with me the impetus behind the design. "I'm a treasure hunter at heart," she said, "and the beautiful thing about dressing a set with sentimental artifacts from my house is that I feel super comfy to perform." Every intricate detail of this Tiny Desk (home) concert evokes feelings of coziness, psychedelia and joyful performance art.

Launching into this brilliant performance with "Sip Into Something Soft," Hiatus takes us on a sweet and sultry journey through a host of selections from their new album, Mood Valiant. On "Rose Water," the tightness of the band (comprised of Paul Bender, Simon Mavin and Perrin Moss, and joined by their longtime backing vocalists) is on full display.

Hiatus Kaiyote came onto the scene with their debut album, Tawk Tomahawk, back in 2012 and created a groundswell of buzz among global music heads. Since then, they've gone on to win varying international awards and were the first Australian group to get nominated in the R&B category at the Grammys for best R&B performance in 2013. This uber-fun and exhilarating set will appease diehards and new fans alike.

SET LIST
"Sip Into Something Soft"
"Rose Water"
"And We Go Gentle"
"Get Sun"
"Blood And Marrow"

MUSICIANS
Nai Palm: vocals, guitar
Paul Bender: bass
Simon Mavin: keys
Perrin Moss: drums, percussion, vibraphone
Alejandro 'Silentjay' Abapo: vocals, keys
Laura Christoforidis: vocals
Jace Excell: vocals

CREDITS
Video: Claudia Sangiorgi Dalimore, Nick Mckk, Leah Oborn
Audio: Phil Noy, Haima Marriott
Extras: Marissa Matar, Sam Kuzich (aliens); Daniela Lucchetti, Matt Kelly (birds); Kiki Megumi (mothman)

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Abby O'Neill
Video Producer: Kara Frame
Audio Mastering: Josh Rogosin
Series Producer: Bobby Carter
Tiny Production Team: Bob Boilen, Maia Stern, Gabrielle Pierre
Executive Producer: Keith Jenkins
Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

#hiatuskaiyote #tinydesk #nprmusic

Chuck Berry and John Lennon in 'The Mike Douglas Show' played "Memphis, Tennessee" and "Johnny B. Goode".

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Suraya Mohamed | August 10, 2022
How exciting to see so many all-star jazz greats performing together. The SFJAZZ Collective is a talented cohort of artists who perform arrangements of works by modern composers and also newly commissioned pieces by each member of the band.

In 2020, the Collective was scheduled to perform an in-person Tiny Desk concert, but it was canceled due to the pandemic. We are still working to make that happen — but in the meantime, let’s enjoy this uplifting Tiny Desk (home) concert, recorded in The Joe Henderson Lab at SFJAZZ, a large, sunny venue that serves as both a live performance space and as the Collective’s rehearsal space.

Earlier this year, the ensemble released New Works Reflecting the Moment (Live from the SFJAZZ Center 2021), an album addressing racial injustices, the ongoing pandemic and political polarization. In this concert, the musicians perform three songs from that project. “Ay Bendito” was written by tenor saxophonist David Sánchez, and its title is slang for “oh my God'' or “aw man”; it’s also subtitled “The Struggle Continues.”

Written to reflect the present moment, especially the isolation and social upheaval many of us continue to endure, “Mutuality” by tenor saxophonist Chris Potter was inspired by a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. quote that reads, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.”

Vocalist Gretchen Parlato’s “All There Inside '' was written with fellow SFJAZZ Collective vocalist Martin Luther McCoy in mind. Their voices fit together beautifully, and both the warm harmonies and the charming melody are the perfect foundation for Parlato’s inspiring message of hope and positive change: “Because it’s all there inside, all there inside of you.”

SET LIST
“Ay Bendito”
“Mutuality”
“All There Inside”

MUSICIANS
Chris Potter: music director, tenor saxophone, winds
David Sánchez: tenor saxophone
Etienne Charles: trumpet
Warren Wolf: vibraphone
Edward Simon: piano
Matt Brewer: bass
Kendrick Scott: drums
Gretchen Parlato: vocals
Martin Luther McCoy: vocals

CREDITS
Video: Robert Bambey, Diego Munguia
Audio: Jeff Cressman, Josh Badura

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Suraya Mohamed
Video Editor: Joshua Bryant
Audio Mastering: Josh Rogosin
Tiny Production Team: Bob Boilen, Bobby Carter, Kara Frame, Michael Zamora, Maia Stern, Ashley Pointer
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

#TinyDesk #NPRMusic #SFJAZZCollective

This year, NPR Music is celebrating Black Music Month with an array of brand new Tiny Desk concerts — both from home and from behind our beloved Desk. Together, these artists represent the past, present and future of Black music. This month of carefully curated shows is a celebration of Black artists expressing themselves in ways we've never seen before, and of the Tiny Desk's unique way of showcasing that talent.

Suraya Mohamed | June 27, 2022
Mezzo-soprano J'Nai Bridges is a rising star who recently won a Grammy Award and other accolades too long to list here. We're glad she accepted our invitation to record this Tiny Desk (home) concert, which features Damien Sneed on piano, Nolan Nwachukwu on bass and Christian Xavier McClendon McGhee on drums. She opens with "Habanera" from Carmen by Georges Bizet, a character she calls "one of the strongest women in all of opera." She also performs "Prayer" by Carlos Simon, a close collaborator, and "Heaven" by Duke Ellington, before closing out her set with the hymn "His Eye Is on the Sparrow."

In a message to the Tiny Desk team, she wrote: "I remember NPR's Tiny Desk series premiering and thinking how refreshingly authentic and intimate these performances were. I often had dreams of performing here, but admittedly, I didn't think it was possible for opera singers to effectively express themselves in this way. I was wrong."

Bridges loves to sing opera but has also discovered that she holds many different voices within herself, which comes across in her wide-ranging set. "When I meet people and tell them I'm an opera singer, it's almost always met with surprise, enthusiasm, and curiosity about what led me to this career," she writes. "My upbringing — singing in the church — helped me discover other aspects of my voice, and then when I was exposed to opera it immediately opened a world of possibility. The voice is not limited to skin color, but it took me seeing someone who looked like me to realize that I too can sing opera."

SET LIST
"Habanera" (Georges Bizet from Carmen)
"Prayer" (Carlos Simon) / "Heaven" (Duke Ellington)
"His Eye Is On The Sparrow" (Civilla Martin/Charles Gabriel)

MUSICIANS
J'Nai Bridges: vocals
Damien Sneed: piano
Nolan Nwachukwu: bass
Christian Xavier McClendon McGhee: drums

CREDITS
Produced and Directed by: Carlos Ibarra and Andrew McLain
Cameras and Audio by: Derek Hallquist
Production Company: FutureSelf Media
Filmed in the Clearlight Performance Space at The Blue Building

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Bobby Carter
Video Editor: Joshua Bryant
Audio Mastering: Andie Huether
Animator: Kaz Fantone
Tiny Production Team: Bob Boilen, Josh Rogosin, Kara Frame, Michael Zamora, Maia Stern, Ashley Pointer
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

#tinydesk #JnaiBridges #BMM

Bob Boilen | July 14, 2022
The resonant voice of Felix Bechtolsheimer has me obsessed with his band Curse of Lono. For the group's Tiny Desk (home) concert, the six musicians set up shop in the office at Bechtolsheimer's house above his home studio in South London. They begin their set as they do their evocative 2022 album, People In Cars, with the song "Let Your Love Rain Down On Me." Bechtolsheimer's baritone is set against the dreamy wail of the pedal steel as he sings, "I'm gonna make my move, hear the engine roar / Roll the windows down, slam my foot to the floor / Now I'm driving hard in this big machine / When they kill the pain, we'll all get clean." All that angst leads to the chorus which, for me, offers one of the few glimmers of hope: "Let your love rain down on me." This isn't hope-filled, uplifting music; these are dark songs written following the losses of Felix's father, uncle and former girlfriend. That former partner is the subject of the final spine-chilling song. "So Damned Beautiful" tells the tale of her drug-filled weekend affair that ends in tragedy. It's the first duet Felix Bechtolsheimer has written; originally recorded with Tess Parks, it's sung here with Bo Lucas of the Brighton duo Lucas & King. The fragile characters and cinematic storytelling make their impact thanks to a band that knows how to delicately weave its sound and pulsing textures with an underpinning of drama and plenty of open space that leaves me mesmerized.

SET LIST
"Let Your Love Rain Down On Me"
"Steppin' Out"
"So Damned Beautiful"

MUSICIANS
Felix Bechtolsheimer: vocals, guitars
Bo Lucas: vocals
Joe Harvey Whyte: pedal steel
Tom Sansbury: bass, vocals
Chris Jones: drums, percussion
Carlos de los Santos: keys, vocals

CREDITS
Video by Babysweet
Audio by Toby Hulbert

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Bob Boilen
Video Producer: Joshua Bryant
Audio Mastering: Josh Rogosin
Tiny Production Team: Bobby Carter, Kara Frame, Joshua Bryant, Michael Zamora, Maia Stern, Ashley Pointer
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

#TinyDesk #NPRMusic #CurseOfLono

May 14, 2018 | Bob Boilen -- I am so proud of our 2018 Tiny Desk Contest winner, Naia Izumi. The band he brought and the songs they played for this winning Tiny Desk Concert made us all even prouder.

Naia was chosen after we reviewed nearly 5,000 video entries. And the talent that came to us through all those submissions was astonishing. Naia Izumi won us over with his mind-boggling and unique style of guitar playing — a combination of tapping on the fingerboards and soul-filled whammy bar-note bending. And his multi-octave singing range blended so eloquently with his guitar stylings.

"Soft Spoken," the song he submitted, felt singular and unparalleled to our panel of judges which included past Tiny Desk contest winner Tarriona "Tank" Ball, Tiny Desk alum Sylvan Esso and Gaby Moreno, along with NPR family members Talia Schlanger (WXPN), Russ Borris (WFUV), Toki Wright (The Current) and the All Songs Considered team of Robin Hilton and myself. It's a song, as I hear it, that speaks to the power inherent in the gentle and quieter voices that are often drowned out by the outspoken and boisterous ones. Its title was originally "Soft Spoken Woman" and, as we later learned, Naia had identified as a woman for nearly seven years. More recently, as he said in an interview with Washingtonian Magazine, "I'm not into that anymore because I just want to relax with biology and be comfortable with what I have."

Naia is often a one-man band playing on the streets with a drum machine. But for his Tiny Desk Concert he brought bassist Adam Matijasevic and drummer Kynwyn Sterling. He'd met Kynwyn after submitting one of his songs to a math rock Facebook group. And that's the thing: Naia's music draws from so many spheres of sound. There's that punctual, rhythmic, mathematical pulse to what he does, but there's also a fluid, almost African Kalimba sound in there as well. They're two sounds I wouldn't often think of as coexisting.

We're about to go out on the road with Naia Izumi to 10 cities. We'll be joined by some of the other Contest entrants that captured our attention and they'll share the bill alongside Naia. And though there is only one Contest winner, we discovered so many other great talents that we hope to feature in the future.

Remember that the spirit of the Contest is intended to bring out the best in you, to gather with friends and to create. Thank you for being a part of something so filled with magic. It was an honor to watch what you created.

SET LIST
"Soft Spoken"
"As It Comes"
"Soul Gaze"

MUSICIANS
Naia Izumi (vocals, guitar), Adam Matijasevic (bass), Kynwyn Sterling (drums)

CREDITS
Producers: Bob Boilen, Morgan Noelle Smith; Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Audio Engineers: Josh Rogosin, James Willetts; Videographers: Morgan Noelle Smith, Maia Stern, Niki Walker, Beck Harlan; Production Assistant: CJ Riculan; Photo: Eslah Attar/NPR.

Bob Boilen | May 31, 2022
It surely was a day of joyful tears. And those joyful tears for Alisa Amador, the winner of the 2022 Tiny Desk Contest, came at a time when she had been considering putting her music career on hold. For the staff of NPR and the Tiny Desk crew, it was our first Tiny Desk concert with an audience in over 800 days, and Alisa’s captivating music surely intensified our spinning emotions.

Alisa Amador opened with her Contest-winning entry “Milonga accidental,” a song about embracing your contradictions. It’s a song that our judges — iLe, Big Krit, Michelle Zauner (of Japanese Breakfast), Raveena, Nate Chinen (of member station WBGO), Tiny Desk producer Bobby Carter and I — all found to be so filled with passion. I often fall for a song because of the lyrics, and this is the first Tiny Desk Contest winner whose winning song is in Spanish. Despite the fact that I don’t speak Spanish, I felt the conflict, the yearning and the song's questioning.

Alisa grew up in Boston, Maine, Puerto Rico and Argentina, and was raised by Rosi and Brian Amador, her Latin-folk musician parents who play in the band Sol y Canto; they were also in attendance. She’s been singing since she was four, and has been entering the Tiny Desk Contest every year since 2018. In fact, the song “Together,” which closes this concert, was an astonishing entry from 2020. For COVID safety, we limited the audience to a small group of masked NPR employees, yet the sing-along for the closing track was still powerful.

Alisa also set her winning song to a lovely string arrangement performed by a Washington D.C. quartet and rehearsed for the first time just hours before the performance. The arrangements were originally done by Jamie Oshima after a recording session a few years back, and then Alisa’s friend Noah Fishman transcribed the arrangement. For the next three songs, she’s joined by Jamie Oshima (guitar, keys), Noah Harrington (bass) and Jacob Thompson (drums, keys).

“When will I know how to decipher my purpose? / When will I feel at home in my voice?” As Alisa sings those words to her winning entry in Spanish at the Tiny Desk, I’m thinking: Perhaps that moment is now.

SET LIST
“Milonga accidental”
“Timing”
“Slow Down”
“Together”

MUSICIANS
Alisa Amador: vocals, guitar
Jamie Oshima: guitar, keys
Noah Harrington: bass
Jacob Thompson: drums, keys
Kristin Bakkegard: violin
Nick Montopoli: violin
Paul Bagley: viola
Carol Anne Bosco: cello

TINY DESK TEAM
Producers: Bob Boilen, Kara Frame, Lia Crockett, Elle Mannion
Audio Recording & Mix Engineer: Josh Rogosin
Series Producer: Bobby Carter
Editor: Joshua Bryant
Videographers: Kara Frame, Joshua Bryant, Alanté Serene, Estefania Mitre
Production Assistant: Jill Britton
Tiny Desk Team: Michael Zamora, Ashley Pointer, Dwi Partowardojo, Bill Wright, Stacey Foxwell, Maia Stern, Suraya Mohamed
Tiny Desk Contest Team: Jessica Goldstein, Devon Williams
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

#tinydesk #tinydeskcontest #alisaamador

May 22, 2019 | Bob Boilen -- Jeremy Dutcher came to the Tiny Desk with sparkling, purple streams of glitter draped around his shoulders. Then he set his iPad on our Yamaha upright piano, not to read his score as pianists do these days, but to play a centuries-old wax cylinder recording of a song sung in the incredibly rare language of Wolastoq. Jeremy Dutcher, along with cellist Blanche Israel and percussionist and electronics wizard Greg Harrison, wove that old recording into a remarkably passionate performance that was very 21st-century, with a deep nod to a century past.

There is no one making music like this 27-year-old, classically trained opera tenor and pianist. He's not only a member of the Tobique First Nation in New Brunswick, Canada, but one of fewer than 100 people who still speak — and in his case also sing — in Wolastoq. His Tiny Desk performance illustrates his deep respect for his heritage, even as he sings through vocal processors and looping devices of the very present. It's a dialog with the past that earned him a Polaris prize for his 2018 album Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa (one of NPR Music's top albums of that year). But more importantly, he stresses awareness of a people nearly extinct, to a culture often too steeped in the present.

Watch this remarkably artful performance and take a moment to reflect on those who inhabited our recent past and remain a part of who we are.

SET LIST
"Mehcinut"
"Pomok naka Poktoinskwes"
"Koselwintuwakon"

MUSICIANS
Jeremy Dutcher: lead vocals, piano; Blanche Israel: cello; Greg Harrison: percussion, electronics

CREDITS
Producers: Bob Boilen, Morgan Noelle Smith; Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Audio Engineers: Josh Rogosin, Patrick Boyd; Videographers: Morgan Noelle Smith, CJ Riculan, Nick Michael ; Associate Producer: Bobby Carter; Photo: Michael Zamora/NPR

What happens when the wait is over & greatness collides? Peep the latest episode of The Influence Of Hip-Hop, hosted by LL COOL J and featuring DJ Z-Trip, and find out. Tune in as Mount Westmore's Ice Cube, Too $hort & E40 slide through to talk music, gatekeepers, and how they continue to push the culture forward!

Curtis Mayfield

The theme song to the old Batman TV show. Starring Adam West.

All Rights Go To John Williams And The Makers Of This Song I Didn't Make This Only Uploaded This Music

Пол Маккартни в Белом Доме.
Cэру Полу Маккартни вручили награду за «личный вклад в дело превращения популярной песни в музыкальный инструмент культурного взаимодействия».

INTERVIEWS SHOOT AND EDITED BY: JIMMIE JAMES 1992

Enjoy.⁣Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin I (1969) (Full Album)

Full performance of John Mayer at Pinkpop 2014. Subscribe for (more) upcoming John Mayer content!

Setlist:
Queen of California 0:00 - 6:10
Belief 6:35 - 12:10
No Such Thing 12:27 - 16:08
Half of My Heart 16:25 - 21:03
I Don't Trust Myself (With Loving You) 21:31 - 30:35
Who Says 31:01 - 35:05
Wildfire 35:25 - 39:23
Going Down the Road Feelin' Bad (Henry Whitter cover) 39:55 - 43:32
Slow Dancing in a Burning Room 43:32 - 50:40
Waiting on the World to Change 51:02 - 54:37
Gravity 54:55 - 1:01:47