Strong Songs

Kirk sits down with jazz piano legend Peter Martin to talk about Peter's musical background, his momentous early encounters with Wynton Marsalis and Kenny Kirkland, the jazz scene of the 1990s, how the Suzuki method works, and why jazz students today should be less shy about talking to their heroes.  Check out Peter's online jazz education program Open Studio, as well as You'll Hear It, the music podcast he co-hosts with Adam Maness.  DISCUSSED/REFERENCED: “Variations Sur ‘Le Carnaval de Venise” feat. Wynton Marsalis and the Eastman Wind Ensemble from Carnival, 1987 “Path Adjacent” Peter Martin w/ Gregory Hutchinson, Sarah Hanahan & Reuben Rogers from Generation S, 2023 “Bag’s Groove” by Milt Jackson from Miles Davis, Bag’s Groove, 1967 “Tea For Two” by Youmans/Ceasar, played by Art Tatum from Piano Starts Here, 1968 “Broad Way Blues” by Ornette Coleman from New York Is Now, 1968 “Swingin’ at the Haven” by Branford Marsalis from Royal Garden Blues, 1986 “Now’s The Time/Billie’s Bounce” by Charlie Parker from Jamey Aebersold Vol. 6: All Bird “Naima’s Love Song” by Betty Carter from I_t’s Not About The Melody_, 1992 “Mental Phrasing” by Roy Hargrove live w/ Joshua Redman, Ron Blake, Peter Martin, Rodney Whitaker, Greg Hutchinson “Turnaround” by Joshua Redman w/ Pat Metheny from Wish, 1993 “Jig-A-Jug” by Joshua Redman and “St. Thomas” by Sonny Rollins” from Spirit of the Moment: Live at the Village Vanguard, 1995 “Cat Battles” and “One Shining Soul” by Joshua Redman from Freedom in the Groove, 1996 “The Loneliness of a Long Distance Runner” intro and “Mind and Body” from Solo, Live in New York, 2015 “Why Approach Chords Matter” - Adam Maness for Open Studio on YouTube, 2025 “2 Down & 2 Across,” “Sing a Song of Song,” “Before It’s Time to Say Goodbye” by Kenny Garrett feat. Kenny Kirkland from Songbook, 1997 “Phyrzzinian Man” by Wynton Marsalis from Black Codes from the Underground, 1985 “Necessary Evil” by Elvin Jones and “Whatever Possessed Me” by Chet Baker feat. Pat LaBarbera (Tenor) and Kenny Kirkland from Brother John, 1982 “Stella by Starlight” by Hoagy Carmichael, performed by the Miles Davis Quintet on My Funny Valentine: In Concert, 1965 ----LINKS----- SUPPORT STRONG SONGS! Patreon | Paypal HOMEPAGE strongsongspodcast.com MERCH strongsongspodcast.com/store KIRK'S NEWSLETTER newsletter.kirkhamilton.com SOCIAL MEDIA Instagram: @Kirk_Hamilton Bluesky: @kirkhamilton.com STRONG SONGS DISCORD SERVER strongsongspodcast.com/discord STRONG SONGS PLAYLISTS Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Music KIRK'S GEAR & INSTRUMENTS kirkhamilton.com/gear KIRK'S MUSIC kirkhamilton.com/music SHOW ART Tom Deja, Bossman Graphics -------------------- NOVEMBER 2025 WHOLE-NOTE PATRONS AccessViolation Andy Ben Barron Catherine Warner Cesar Christopher McConnell Christopher Miller Corpus Frisky Damon White Daniel Hannon-Barry Dave Florey David Mascetti Elizabeth Culver Greg Jamie White Jay Swartz Jenness Gardner Jeremy Dawson Joe Laska Julie Rowe Ken Hirsh Lisa Crotty Melanie Andrich Melissa Lucas Nathaniel Bauernfeind Paul Delaney Rich Fish Rick Keeler Robyn Metcalfe Rush Sami Samhuri Thomas McIlheran NOVEMBER 2025 HALF-NOTE PATRONS Aaron Cain Aaron Wade Abbie Berg Abraham Benrubi Achint Srivastava Adam Clark Adam Stofsky Adam W Ailie Fraser AJ Schuster Alan Kress Alan Maass Alex Alex Miller Alexander Alexander Polson Alison Dugan Amanda Furlotti Andrew Baker Andrew Fair Andrew Hofer Andrew Knutson Angela Livingstone Anthony Mentz Arjun Sharma Aruni Jayatilleke Ashley Bea Ben Stein Bernard Khoo Betsy Barre Bill Thornton Bonnie Prinsen Brad Callahan Brendan McLeod Brett Douville Brian Amoebas Brian Rinckenberger Brian John Peter Bruno Gaeta Carlos Lerner Caro Field Catherine Clause cbalmain Charles McGee Cheryl Wilke Chris K Christian Hessmann Christopher Selby Spink Clare Holberton Claudia Carty Clint McElroy Colin Hodo Dallas Hockley Dan Cutter Dani Daniel Kaberon Daniel Markoff Daniel Nervo Dave Douglass Dave Kolas dave malloy Dave Sharpe David David Futter David Joske David Noah Deebs Dent Earl Dermot Crowley Dhu Wik Diane Hughes Diane Turner Dick Morgan Donald Mackie Doreen Carlson Doug Belew Douglas H Frazer Dr Arthur A Gray Dubmarine E Margaret Warton Edward Steen Eoin de Burca Eric Helm Eric Prestemon eric sp Eric Stone Erik Ethan Bauman Ethan Laser Freddy Freeman Gary Pierce Gavin Doig Geraldine Butler Glenn Jackson Grettir Asmundarson Heather J Henry Mindlin HiddenJester Ian Karmel Ian Pidd Inmar Givoni irritable James James James Johnson James McMurry Jamie Janice Berry Jason Pratt Jeff Jeff Ulm Jeffrey Bean Jeffrey Olson Jennifer Bush Jez Jim Sellers Joe Gallo John Berry John Domina john halpin Jonathan Daniels Jordan Gatenby Joseph Romero Josh Singer Joshua Hill JRRJ Julie Kellman Justin McElroy Karma Jay Kaya Woodall Kayla Russell Kellen Steffen Kelli Brockington KenIsWearingAHat Kenneth Jung Kevin Marcelo Kevin Potter Kevin Stafford Kym Griffith Lauren Knotts Lauren Reay Lawrence Lee R. LG Linda Duffy Lisa Turner Lottie Aron Luigi Boccia M Shane Borders Maddie S Margaret McReynolds Martín Salías Mathias Schmidt Matt Baxter Matt Betzel Matthew Jones Max max barnes Melanie Stivers Melissa Kuhns Melmaniac Merv Adrian Meryl Allison Michael Michael Berman Michael Casner Michael Martin Michael Singer mino capossela Misty Haisfield mjs Monica St. Angelo Mordok’s Vape Pen Naomi Nathan Gouwens Nell Morse Ol Parker Pascal Rueger Paul Bigelman Paul Wayper Peter Harding PhantomMare Philip Kelly Portland Eye Care Princess of Whales R J Helow Rachel Rand LeShay Randy Souza Richard Sneddon Richard Toller Rishi Sahay Rob Tsuk Robert Granat RsP Ryan Rairigh Sarah Vetters Sean Murphy Seattle Trans And Nonbinary Choral Ensemble Simon Hellman STEPHEN Stephen Tsoneff Stephen Wolkwitz Steve B Steve Martino Steve Paquin Stu Baker Suzanne Crawford Sy Jacobs Tanner Morton TB The Daily Solve with Chris Remo Thomas Tim Rosenwong Tim Sheehan Tom Coleman Tucker Ped Wendy Gilchrist Wiggy Hash Zach Putnam Zak Remer

Writer, composer, and Peabody Award-winning podcaster Jad Abumrad joins Kirk to talk about Fela Kuti: Fear No Man, his new 12-part series on the life, music, and legacy of Afrobeat superstar Fela Kuti. DISCUSSED/REFERENCED: “Miryea’s Death” by Jack Nitzche from Revenge, 1990 “Prologue” by Alexandre Desplat from Birth, 2004 Excerpt from Port(al), music by Paola Prestini and Jad Abumrad, performed by the Brooklyn Youth Chorus “It’s Highlife Time” and “Amaechi’s Blues” by Fela Kuti and his Koola Lobitos, ca. 1963-69 “Jeun Ko Ku,” “Eko Ile,” and “Je’nwi Temi” by Fela Kuti from Afrodesiac, 1973 “Zombie” by Fela Kuti from Zombie, 1976 “The Great Curve” by Talking Heads from Remain in Light, 1980 “Life During Wartime” and “Once in a Lifetime” by Talking Heads from Stop Making Sense, 1984 “The Prince We Never Knew“ - Sasha Weiss’ essential New York Times feature on Ezra Edelman’s unreleased Prince documentary “RITUAL” by Jon Hopkins from Ritual, 2024 “Open Eye Signal” by Jon Hopkins from Immunity, 2013 “A Quiet Glow” by Siavash Amini from Songs for Sad Poets, 2022 “In The Dust of This Planet” - 2014 Radiolab Episode featuring the poetry of Eugene Thacker “The Right Man (Daniele Baldelli & Marco Dionigi Cosmic Remix)” from The Units - Connections, 2011 “quiero sentirme bien” by Kali Uchis from Sin Miedo, 2020 “Looking for Love” by The Tallest Man On Earth from Henry St., 2023 “Sweet Surrender” by Sarah McLachlan from Mirrorball, 1999 ----LINKS----- SUPPORT STRONG SONGS! Patreon | Paypal HOMEPAGE strongsongspodcast.com MERCH strongsongspodcast.com/store KIRK'S NEWSLETTER newsletter.kirkhamilton.com SOCIAL MEDIA Instagram: @Kirk_Hamilton Bluesky: @kirkhamilton.com STRONG SONGS DISCORD SERVER strongsongspodcast.com/discord STRONG SONGS PLAYLISTS Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Music KIRK'S GEAR & INSTRUMENTS kirkhamilton.com/gear KIRK'S MUSIC kirkhamilton.com/music SHOW ART Tom Deja, Bossman Graphics -------------------- OCTOBER 2025 WHOLE-NOTE PATRONS AccessViolation Andy Ben Barron Catherine Warner Cesar Christopher McConnell Christopher Miller Corpus Frisky Damon White Daniel Hannon-Barry Dave Florey David Mascetti Elizabeth Culver Greg Jamie White Jay Swartz Jenness Gardner Jeremy Dawson Joe Laska Ken Hirsh Lisa Crotty Melanie Andrich Melissa Lucas Nathaniel Bauernfeind Paul Delaney Rick Keeler Robyn Metcalfe Rush Sami Samhuri Thomas McIlheran OCTOBER 2025 HALF-NOTE PATRONS Aaron Cain Aaron Wade Aaron Wilson Abbie Berg Abraham Benrubi Achint Srivastava Adam Clark Adam Stofsky Adam W Ailie Fraser AJ Schuster Alan Kress Alan Maass Alex Alex Miller Alexander Alexander Polson Alison Dugan Amanda Furlotti Andrew Baker Andrew Fair Andrew Hofer Angela Livingstone Anthony Mentz Arjun Sharma Aruni Jayatilleke Ashley Bea Ben Stein Bernard Khoo Betsy Barre Bill Thornton Bonnie Prinsen Brad Callahan Brendan McLeod Brett Douville Brian Amoebas Brian Rinckenberger Brian John Peter Bruno Gaeta Carlos Lerner Caro Field Catherine Clause cbalmain Charles McGee Cheryl Wilke Chris K Chris Remo Christian Hessmann Christopher Selby Spink Clare Holberton Claudia Carty Clint McElroy Colin Hodo Dallas Hockley Dan Cutter Dani Daniel Kaberon Daniel Markoff Daniel Nervo Dave Douglass Dave Kolas dave malloy Dave Sharpe David David David Futter David Joske David Noah David Stroud Deebs Dent Earl Dermot Crowley Dhu Wik Diane Hughes Diane Turner Dick Morgan Donald Mackie Doreen Carlson Doug Belew Douglas H Frazer Dr Arthur A Gray E Margaret Warton Edward Steen Eoin de Burca Eric Helm Eric Prestemon eric sp Eric Stone Erik Ethan Bauman Ethan Laser Freddy Freeman Gary Pierce Gavin Doig Geraldine Butler Glenn Jackson Grettir Asmundarson Henry Mindlin HiddenJester Ian Karmel Ian Pidd Inmar Givoni irritable James James Johnson James McMurry Jamie Janice Berry Jason Pratt Jeff Jeff Ulm Jeffrey Bean Jeffrey Olson Jennifer Bush Jez Jim Sellers Joe Gallo John Berry john halpin Jonathan Daniels Jordan Gatenby Joseph Romero Josh Singer Joshua Hill JRRJ Julie Kellman Justin McElroy Karma Jay Kaya Woodall Kayla Russell Kellen Steffen Kelli Brockington KenIsWearingAHat Kenneth Jung Kevin Marcelo Kevin Potter Kevin Stafford Kym Griffith Lauren Knotts Lauren Reay Lawrence Lee R. LG Linda Duffy Lisa Turner Lottie Aron Luigi Boccia M Shane Borders Margaret McReynolds Martín Salías Mathias Schmidt Matt Betzel Matthew Jones Max max barnes Melanie Stivers Melissa Kuhns Melmaniac Merv Adrian Meryl Allison Michael Michael Berman Michael Casner Michael Singer Michael Wisnosky Michelle Laughran mino capossela Misty Haisfield mjs Monica St. Angelo Mordok’s Vape Pen Naomi Watson Nathan Gouwens Nell Morse Ol Parker Pascal Rueger Paul Bigelman Paul Wayper Peter Harding PhantomMare Philip Kelly Portland Eye Care Princess of Whales R J Helow Rachel Rand LeShay Randal Vegter Randy Souza Richard Sneddon Richard Toller Rishi Sahay Rob Tsuk Robert Granat Robert Heuer RsP Ryan Rairigh Sarah Vetters Sean Murphy Seattle Trans and Nonbinary Choral Ensemble Simon Hellman STEPHEN Stephen Tsoneff Stephen Wolkwitz Steve B Steve Martino Steve Paquin Stu Baker Suzanne Crawford Sy Jacobs Tanner Morton TB Thomas Tim Rosenwong Tim Sheehan Tom Coleman Tucker Ped Wendy Gilchrist Whit Sidener Wiggy Hash Zach Putnam Zak Remer

This episode of Twenty Thousand Hertz originally ran in August 2025. Kirk's 2020 episode of Strong Songs about the music of Super Mario TWENTY THOUSAND HERTZ SHOW NOTES: This episode was written & produced by Casey Emmerling. From the springy jump sound to the iconic Overworld Theme, the sound of Super Mario Bros. is instantly recognizable. With just five lo-fi audio channels and 40 kilobytes of space, composer Koji Kondo created a soundscape full of unforgettable melodies. In this episode, we explore how Kondo’s playful instincts, rhythmic trickery, and love of jazz fusion defined the sound of Mario. Featuring Kirk Hamilton of Strong Songs and Thomas of Thomas Game Docs. MUSIC FEATURED IN THIS EPISODE Rocker Jr. - Shake [B]IT DJARTMUSIC - 8 Bit Console from My Childhood moodmode - Game 8-Bit On XtremeFreddy - Bit Beats 1 moodmode - Level VII Wesley Slover - Analog Jam 1103 Space_Cat - Light It Up moodmode - Level VI William Benckert - Dance of the Pixel Birds Subscribe on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to see our new video series. If you know what this week's mystery sound is, tell us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠mystery.20k.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Support the show and get ad-free episodes at ⁠⁠⁠20k.org/plus⁠⁠⁠. Follow Dallas on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Join our community on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Reddit⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Follow Kirk Hamilton’s podcasts ⁠Strong Songs⁠ and ⁠Triple Click⁠. Subscribe to Thomas’ Youtube channel, ⁠Thomas Game Docs⁠.

It's fun to talk about TV theme songs, so that's what Kirk and special guest Leigh Sales did. Does this episode need any more introduction than that? Probably not. Check out Leigh's wonderful podcast Chat 10 Looks 3 A YouTube Playlist of many of the themes discussed (and some they didn't get to) DISCUSSED/REFERENCED: The Office Theme - “Handbags and Gladrags” - 1967 by Mike D’Abo, perf. Big George Webley - US theme 2005 by Jay Ferguson Parks & Recreation - 2009, by Gaby Moreno and Vincent Jones Welcome Back Kotter - by John Sebastian (1974 - 1979) “Suicide is Painless” by Johnny Mandel, from MA_S_H The Nanny Theme by Ann Hampton Callaway The Brady Bunch theme by Frank De Vol & Sherwood Schwartz Gilligan’s Island theme by Sherwood Schwartz (lyrics) & George Wyle (music) Beverley Hillbillies theme by Paul Hennig feat. Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs Money For Nothing/Beverley Hillbillies by Weird Al Yankovic from UHF, 1988 "Money For Nothing" by Dire Straits from Brothers in Arms, 1985 The Americans theme by Nathan Barr "Do Ya Wanna Taste It" by Wig Wam from Peacemaker, 2021 The Pi Song from AsapSCIENCE Symphony No. 8 in B Minor, D. 759 by Franz Schubert “Green Acres Theme” by Vic Mizzy “Woke Up This Morning” by Alabama 3, from The Sopranos "A Beautiful Mine" from Mad Men by RJD2 “Sex and the City Theme” by Douglas J. Cuomo Six Feet Under theme by Thomas Newman Breaking Bad theme by Dave Porter House of Cards Theme by Jeff Beal Tank! by Yoko Kanno and Seatbelts LEIGH'S MUSIC PICKS: Frank Sinatra Live at the Sands, ‘66 with the Count Basie Orchestra conducted by Quincy JonesINXS - Kick, 1987The Villagers - Becoming a Jackal, 2010 ----LINKS----- SUPPORT STRONG SONGS! Patreon | Paypal HOMEPAGE strongsongspodcast.com MERCH strongsongspodcast.com/store KIRK'S NEWSLETTER newsletter.kirkhamilton.com SOCIAL MEDIA Instagram: @Kirk_Hamilton Bluesky: @kirkhamilton.com STRONG SONGS DISCORD SERVER strongsongspodcast.com/discord STRONG SONGS PLAYLISTS Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Music KIRK'S GEAR & INSTRUMENTS kirkhamilton.com/gear KIRK'S MUSIC kirkhamilton.com/music SHOW ART Tom Deja, Bossman Graphics -------------------- OCTOBER 2025 WHOLE-NOTE PATRONS AccessViolation Andy Ben Barron Catherine Warner Cesar Christopher McConnell Christopher Miller Corpus Frisky Damon White Daniel Hannon-Barry Dave Florey David Mascetti Elizabeth Culver Greg Jamie White Jay Swartz Jenness Gardner Jeremy Dawson Joe Laska Ken Hirsh Lisa Crotty Melanie Andrich Melissa Lucas Nathaniel Bauernfeind Paul Delaney Rick Keeler Robyn Metcalfe Rush Sami Samhuri Thomas McIlheran OCTOBER 2025 HALF-NOTE PATRONS Aaron Cain Aaron Wade Aaron Wilson Abbie Berg Abraham Benrubi Achint Srivastava Adam Clark Adam Stofsky Adam W Ailie Fraser AJ Schuster Alan Kress Alan Maass Alex Alex Miller Alexander Alexander Polson Alison Dugan Amanda Furlotti Andrew Baker Andrew Fair Andrew Hofer Angela Livingstone Anthony Mentz Arjun Sharma Aruni Jayatilleke Ashley Bea Ben Stein Bernard Khoo Betsy Barre Bill Thornton Bonnie Prinsen Brad Callahan Brendan McLeod Brett Douville Brian Amoebas Brian Rinckenberger Brian John Peter Bruno Gaeta Carlos Lerner Caro Field Catherine Clause cbalmain Charles McGee Cheryl Wilke Chris K Chris Remo Christian Hessmann Christopher Selby Spink Clare Holberton Claudia Carty Clint McElroy Colin Hodo Dallas Hockley Dan Cutter Dani Daniel Kaberon Daniel Markoff Daniel Nervo Dave Douglass Dave Kolas dave malloy Dave Sharpe David David David Futter David Joske David Noah David Stroud Deebs Dent Earl Dermot Crowley Dhu Wik Diane Hughes Diane Turner Dick Morgan Donald Mackie Doreen Carlson Doug Belew Douglas H Frazer Dr Arthur A Gray E Margaret Warton Edward Steen Eoin de Burca Eric Helm Eric Prestemon eric sp Eric Stone Erik Ethan Bauman Ethan Laser Freddy Freeman Gary Pierce Gavin Doig Geraldine Butler Glenn Jackson Grettir Asmundarson Henry Mindlin HiddenJester Ian Karmel Ian Pidd Inmar Givoni irritable James James Johnson James McMurry Jamie Janice Berry Jason Pratt Jeff Jeff Ulm Jeffrey Bean Jeffrey Olson Jennifer Bush Jez Jim Sellers Joe Gallo John Berry john halpin Jonathan Daniels Jordan Gatenby Joseph Romero Josh Singer Joshua Hill JRRJ Julie Kellman Justin McElroy Karma Jay Kaya Woodall Kayla Russell Kellen Steffen Kelli Brockington KenIsWearingAHat Kenneth Jung Kevin Marcelo Kevin Potter Kevin Stafford Kym Griffith Lauren Knotts Lauren Reay Lawrence Lee R. LG Linda Duffy Lisa Turner Lottie Aron Luigi Boccia M Shane Borders Margaret McReynolds Martín Salías Mathias Schmidt Matt Betzel Matthew Jones Max max barnes Melanie Stivers Melissa Kuhns Melmaniac Merv Adrian Meryl Allison Michael Michael Berman Michael Casner Michael Singer Michael Wisnosky Michelle Laughran mino capossela Misty Haisfield mjs Monica St. Angelo Mordok’s Vape Pen Naomi Watson Nathan Gouwens Nell Morse Ol Parker Pascal Rueger Paul Bigelman Paul Wayper Peter Harding PhantomMare Philip Kelly Portland Eye Care Princess of Whales R J Helow Rachel Rand LeShay Randal Vegter Randy Souza Richard Sneddon Richard Toller Rishi Sahay Rob Tsuk Robert Granat Robert Heuer RsP Ryan Rairigh Sarah Vetters Sean Murphy Seattle Trans and Nonbinary Choral Ensemble Simon Hellman STEPHEN Stephen Tsoneff Stephen Wolkwitz Steve B Steve Martino Steve Paquin Stu Baker Suzanne Crawford Sy Jacobs Tanner Morton TB Thomas Tim Rosenwong Tim Sheehan Tom Coleman Tucker Ped Wendy Gilchrist Whit Sidener Wiggy Hash Zach Putnam Zak Remer