Carole King’s Tapestry is so cozy, you'll want to hug it; sit with it. It sounds simple, warm, and totally unassuming. But it’s way more impressive than it seems at first.

Adam and Peter break down what’s actually going on beneath the surface of Tapestry ... and what most people miss. Carole King was already an elite songwriter long before this album. You know Aretha Franklin's “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman”? Carole wrote that. “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” by The Shirelles? She wrote that, too. When she was just 17!

Listen closely and you hear it everywhere: in the chord choices, in the way the she actually PLAYS the piano instead of just accompanying her vocals, and in the way her melodies and lyrics lock together so naturally you barely notice how intentional it all is.

Add in that soulful, sweet voice, and you start to understand how this unassuming record became a chart-topping, Grammy-dominating classic when it came out in 1971.

Tapestry sounds easy, but it's not. Check out this episode, and you'll never hear this album the same way again.

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00:00 - Opening Tune: It's Too Late
01:25 - Introducing Carole King's Tapestry
05:00 - That Time Young Paul Simon and Carole Played Together
07:10 - Carole's Early Doo-wop Sound
10:20 - "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" - Aretha Franklin
13:30 - When Songwriter Became Performer
16:30 - B.B. and Carole 
18:00 - "I Feel the Earth Move"
22:00 - "So Far Away"
30:45 - "It's Too Late"
40:50 - "Home Again"
44:00 - "Beautiful"
45:35 - "Way Over Yonder" 
50:00 - "You've Got a Friend"
58:20 - "Where You Lead"
1:02:30 - "Will You Love Me Tomorrow"
1:04:40 - "Tapestry"
1:08:45 - "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman"
1:13:10 - Apex Moments of Tapestry
1:21:20 - Coming Up On on You'll Hear It
1:22:00 - Outro: "It's Too Late"

We're looking at the best jazz releases of January 2026! Listen with pianist Adam Maness as he breaks down and reacts to these great tracks.

Start your free Open Studio trial for ALLLLL your jazz lesson needs: 
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00:00 - Intro
00:50 - Why Don't You - Sam Fribush, Corey Fonville, Charlie Hunter
03:09 - Talking Drum - Julian Lage
04:58 - Flim - Winderman, Colman, Kimock
06:53 - Nacho Supreme - Motion II
08:51 - Wisdom Is Eternal (For Barry Harris)
10:49 - Unpersuadable Extern - N∆BOU
12:11 - Free Walk - Vladko
14:17 - Fireball - John Ellis & Double Wide
15:52 - Giant Steps - Billy Hart
18:50 - Parks Lope - Aaron Parks

New episode drops February 2, 2026! Keep your eyes on the feed for episodes on artists like Carole King, Michael Jackson, Ornette Coleman, Miles Davis, Radiohead, Tears for Fears, D'Angelo and so much more!

We're looking back at the best jazz releases of 2025. Listen with pianist Adam Maness as he breaks down and reacts to these great tracks.

This is a new segment from the team behind You'll Hear It, and we're looking to continue this music discovery pod as a weekly series in 2026. Help us shape this series and leave us a comment with your feedback.

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00:00 - The Best New Jazz of 2025
00:55 - "Spiral Dance" - Branford Marsalis Quartet
02:30 - "Minor Blues Redux" - Kenny Barron
4:54 - "Icarus" - Joshua Redman
6:55 - "Thou Swell" - Gillian Margot, Geoffrey Keezer
9:30 - "Southern Nights" - Sullivan Fortner
12:30 - "Anything but now" - Cécile McLorin Salvant
16:30 - "Everything Means Nothing to Me" - Brad Mehldau
22:00 - "Over (feat. Yebba)" - Robert Glasper
24:40 - "Carved From" - Mary Halvorson
26:45 - "Old Folks" - Christian McBride
29:00 - "Windows" - Chick Corea, Christian McBride, Brian Blade
33:00 - "Mood Indigo" - Dee Dee Bridgewater, Bill Charlap

What does it really mean to live a musical life?

As we look ahead to 2026, Adam and Peter talk about music as a way of being. Not a checklist, or a finish line, or something reserved for “professionals.” They share why they believe everyone is a musician, and why taste and curiosity matter more than optimization.

Whether you're a musician, or a lover of music, anyone can lead a musical life.

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00:00 - How to Live a Musical Life in 2026
07:00 - There is No Finish Line
08:45 - All Humans Are Musicians
19:10 - Find Your Own Taste
28:00 - How We Choose Topics for You'll Hear It

Prince's Sign O' the Times is one of our most requested albums at You'll Hear It. But, there is a certain window of millennial that doesn't really "get" Prince. If that’s you, this episode is your on ramp into his music. 

We start with Prince's earliest albums, tracing his incredible run from 1978 through to 1986. By the time we hit 1987 (around the time our dear mid-millennials were born), you can hear exactly why Sign O’ the Times has become so beloved by critics and music-lovers alike.

If you’re already a Prince fan (like us!), get comfy. Put on your purple rain coat. We talk through the influences we hear all over this music: James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Parliament, Earth, Wind & Fire. We share our apex moments from Sign O’ the Times. And yes… we’ve got a few quibble bits too.

We'll be taking a short break in January, and returning with more great episodes in February 2026. We'll be dropping a few special episodes in the meantime, so keep an eye on the feed. 

00:00 - Intro Jam: "U Got the Look"
02:10 - Welcome + New at Open Studio
03:50 - Coming Up Next Season
05:10 - How We Make Decisions for the Show
08:35 - Why "Sign O' the Times"?
11:35 - "Soft and Wet" from For You (1978)
14:50 - "I Wanna Be Your Lover" from Prince (1979)
17:50 - "Head" from Dirty Mind (1980)
19:15 - "Controversy" from Controversy (1981)
22:35 - "1999" from 1999 (1982)
25:15 - "Purple Rain" from Purple Rain (1984)
28:40 - "Raspberry Beret" from Around the World in a Day (1985)
29:45 - "Kiss" from Parade (1986)
40:20 - "Sign O' the Times"
45:40 - "Housequake" 
47:20 - "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker"
51:50 - "Starfish and Coffee"
53:05 - "Slow Love"
55:20 - "Hot Thing"
57:10 - "U Got the Look"
59:25 - Miles on Prince
1:02:25 - "If I Was Your Girlfriend"
1:04:00 - "Strange Relationship"
1:05:20 - "The Cross"
1:08:00 - "Adore" 
1:09:50 - Apex Moments
1:14:55 - Categories
1:19:35 - Snobometer
1:23:55 - Coming Up on YHI
1:24:20 - Outro Jam: "U Got the Look"

Could this be peak Frank? Sinatra at the Sands captures the energy, the cool, and the incredible voice that made this crooner so iconic. Backed by the Count Basie Orchestra with arrangements by a young Quincy Jones, this live album still swings 60 years later!

Sinatra at the Sands was recorded at a moment when Sinatra was emerging from a slump. Rock and roll dominated the airwaves, the Beatles were redefining popular music and crooning just wasn't cool anymore. But this album, recorded live in Vegas, shows a 50-year-old Frank sounding loose, confident, and completely at home in front of a band that swings like nothing else. 

Listen with us as we break down and react to the best of this swingin' album.

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00:00 - Intro Jam: Fly Me To the Moon
01:35 - The Sinatra-Basie Episode!
03:45 - Is This Peak Frank?
05:45 - The Mid-60s Culture Shift
07:45 - "Come Fly With Me" 
12:00 - The Quincy Influence
14:45 - "I've Got You Under My Skin"
17:30 - What To Listen For
22:30 - "The Shadow of Your Smile"
26:20 - Freddie Green's "Chunking" Technique
28:15 - Sinatra's Vocal Gift
33:30 - "Street of Dreams"
35:50 - "One For My Baby (And One More for the Road)"
38:40 - "Fly Me To the Moon"
45:00 - "One O'Clock Jump"
49:50 - Desert Island Tracks
54:05 - Apex Moments
59:05 - Categories
1:03:20 - Coming Up Next Week

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:
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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?
 
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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!

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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!

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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"