Sit back, relax and groove to this playlist curated by Jenni Muldaur and David Brendel Joni Mitchell - "Big Yellow Taxi” - Live at Isle of Wight, 1969. Gilberto Gil - “Eu Vim Da Bahia” Ike & Tina Turner - Live in Ghana, 1971 - from the film “Soul To Soul.” Caetano Veloso - "Cuccurcucu Paloma” Van Morrison & Bob Dylan - “Crazy Love” Anita O’Day - “Tea For Two” - from "Jazz On A Summer’s Day.” Big Maybelle - “All Night Long” - from "Jazz On A Summer’s Day.” Sam Amidon - “As I Roved Out” Bob Dylan - “Mr. Tambourine Man” - from the film “Festival." Louis Armstrong - “Up A Lazy River” - from "Jazz On A Summer’s Day.” Anita O’Day - “Sweet Georgia Brown” - from "Jazz On A Summer’s Day.” Cello - Live from Newport - from "Jazz On A Summer’s Day.” Mississippi Fred McDowell - "Highway 61” - from the film “Festival. Joni Mitchell - “Coyote” Simon & Garfunkel - “America” Toquinho & Gilberto Gil - "Tarde em Itapoã” U2 - “I Will Follow” The Voices of East Harlem - “For What’s Worth” - from the film “Soul To Soul.” “Jazz On A Summer’s Day” Bruce Springsteen & Guest - “Growin’ Up” Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Donald O'Connor - “Singin’ In The Rain” Wilco & Billy Bragg - “California Stars” Notes On The Music from David Brendel •. Joni Mitchell - "Big Yellow Taxi” - Live at Isle of Wight, 1969. “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.” What else is there to say? •. Gilberto Gil - “Eu Vim Da Bahia” - Gil is a mythic figure in Brazilian Popular Music. Musically and culturally he has the presence of a Stevie Wonder or a Bob Marley. Gilber, and his frequent collaborator Caetano Veloso, were architects of the artistic and counter-cultural movementTropicalia’. They combined traditional samba and Bossa Nova with music American psychedelic music, resulting in music that many found revolutionary - especially Brazil’s dictators. Gil and Caetano were exiled to London in 1969, a gloomy three-year sentence for the founders of Tropicalia. Both returned to Brazil as conquering heroes. Gil even became Minister of Culture - he’s one of our greatest living artists. • Ike & Tina Turner - Live in Ghana, 1971 - from the film “Soul To Soul.” A little seen film chronicling black American musicians as they brought the modern American soul and rock music back to where it all began. Featuring Wilson Pickett, Carlos Santana, and The Voices of East Harlem. Ike - who recorded “Rocket 88,” perhaps the first rock & roll single ever, fronts a version of Tina and the Ikettes that has never been topped - by anyone. • Caetano Veloso - "Cuccurcucu Paloma” - Like Bob Dylan, Brazilian singer/songwriter Caetano Veloso is also considered one of the foremost poets of his generation. Yet he’s equally well known for his interpretations. This performance of an overused Mexican folk song transforms the mundane into a masterpiece. The exquisite arrangement is by the legendary Jacques Morelenbaum, who plays cello and conducts. This outdoor performance is from Pedro Almodovar’s “Talk To Her.” It’s become a cult perfornance, even making President Obama’s summer playlist on his final summer in office. • Van Morrison & Bob Dylan - “Crazy Love” - Van and Bob play an acoustic duet in the hills above Athens, performing a beloved song from Van Morrison’s “Moondance.” Royalty meeting Royalty. • Anita O’Day - “Tea For Two” - from "Jazz On A Summer’s Day.” A flawless performance from a flawless film. Not only are the performances flawless, and the setting magnificent, but one can literally see people discovering the power of this music. America is realizing that, instead of turning to Europe for culture, some of the most important music in the world is right here. • Big Maybelle - “All Night Long” - from "Jazz On A Summer’s Day.” Big Maybelle had a gorgeous powerhouse of a voice, tapped directly into the Holy Spirit, perfect for the blues. She recorded “A Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” two years before Jerry Lee Lewis - and was in all ways ahead of her time. • Sam Amidon - “As I Roved Out” - Sam is a master interpreter, able to transform anything form an old murder ballad to a contemporary pop song into something unique and fresh. Here, he steps out into the wilderness, figuratively and literally, unleashing a bold, beautiful, stark performance. • Bob Dylan - “Mr. Tambourine Man” - from the film “Festival." At 1964’s Newport Folk Festival Bob seems to be as astonished by this song as everyone else. • Louis Armstrong - “Up A Lazy River” - from "Jazz On A Summer’s Day.” Pops, the King himself, towers over Newport Jazz, 1958, with another of his definitive Hoagy Carmichael covers. • Anita O’Day - “Sweet Georgia Brown” - from "Jazz On A Summer’s Day.” Another one for the history books from one of bebop greatest singers. One of the original bad girls, Anita was could knock off a filling station by day, then sing with flawless virtuosity by night - without ever missing a beat. • Cello - Live from Newport - from "Jazz On A Summer’s Day.” Bach’s cello suite, rehearsed to the sights and sounds of Newport, Rhode Island, 1958, “Jazz On A Summer’s Day." • Mississippi Fred McDowell - "Highway 61” - from the film “Festival. McDowell, a slide guitar master in the 1920s and 30s, wasn’t rediscovered and recorded until 1959. This glimpse of Newport, circa 1957, captures the way folk and blues had begun to spread like wildfire. • Joni Mitchell - “Coyote” - In 1980 Joni assembled a band featuring some of the best musicians on the planet, featuring both Pat Metheny and Jaco Pastorius, with percussionist Don Alias on traps. A unique ensemble the likes of which we haven’t seen since. A masterful performance. • Simon & Garfunkel - “America” - From their legendary 1982 reunion concert in Central Park, a song and sound that conjures of the vastness of this country. at a time when our resources have never been in such danger. • Toquinho & Gilberto Gil - "Tarde em Itapoã” - Toquinho, also Brazilian musical royalty, wrote this masterpiece, capturing the natural sunniness and optimism both he and Gil are known for. • U2 - “I Will Follow” - Yes - they were that young. And yes - they were that good. Epic settings like Red Rocks can generate epic performances. • The Voices of East Harlem - “For What’s Worth” - from the film “Soul To Soul.” A rare glimpse of Harlem’s fiercely political response to The Jackson 5, The Voices of East Harlem. Glimpsed by many for the first time in “Soul To Soul,” this rare performance of a Stephen Stills concert in 1970 is a snapshot of a time when music and politics were inextricably intertwined. • “Jazz On A Summer’s Day” - a glimpse of Newport, Rhode Island, during the 1958 jazz festival. Coachella for the mid-20th century set. • Bruce Springsteen & Guest - “Growin’ Up” - Bruce makes a kid’s dream come true. Has to be seen to be believed. • Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Donald O'Connor - “Singin’ In The Rain” - this is where it all began! • Wilco & Billy Bragg - “California Stars” - a joyous performance of one of the unfinished Woody Guthrie songs Wilco and Bragg reconstituted on the legendary “Mermaid Avenue.”.