Hear Willie Nelson before the outlaw icon emerged: this episode unpacks the early-country sound of his 1962 recording, “Touch Me.” Trist and Elaine examine his jazz-influenced push and pull against the beat, the influence of big-band television, and the remarkable economy of a complete emotional story in just over two minutes. It’s a compact lesson in groove, lyric structure, arrangement, and how a great songwriter makes every second count. In the Mailbag, the conversation tackles whether music training is more isolating than theater or dance, and why that comparison misses the complexity of artistic learning. Responding to a Threads post, Trist argues that music, theater, and dance all combine individual skill-building with collaborative work, whether through ensembles, bands, choirs, orchestras, productions, or troupes. Elaine adds perspective from her own path through solo piano study, choir, band, and martial arts, highlighting how different educational models, from private instruction to classroom and ensemble learning, shape musicians differently. Listen to the song YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2Yx8_gEnHkSpotify - https://open.spotify.com/track/2iX3AiE9eWzEZa3iJwEiKG?si=639ecf48d3a54928Apple Music - https://music.amazon.com/tracks/B00WNX0CE6/?ref=dm_sh_wmWzoAfL6faFTXcOKfyCDQCdsAmazon - https://music.amazon.com/tracks/B00WNX0CE6/?ref=dm_sh_mXyXdQ24Pa0UHePYQ5XW7heDM Other links Playlist of the songs we’ve reviewedYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5bn23baJ4xQ1t0TMqukELY5W95HwuMoTSpotify - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4uCOVpr4NcWT5SGWlZEnnw?si=8j8p7QwlQxmTNNFwFMvCegApple Music - https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/songs-from-the-musicians-loupe-s2/pl.u-e98lkxLs9dqEjAmazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/user-playlists/57132299c0b9470dbd67fcab0b41db79sune?ref=dm_sh_LYPlw2RWiTdf09DUmvLHjqGve About us Trist Curless is a Los Angeles-based vocalist, educator, and sound engineer. As a performer, Trist has toured worldwide as a co-founder of the pop-jazz vocal group m-pact and a 10 year member of the Grammy-award winning The Manhattan Transfer. In addition to these two vocal powerhouse groups, he’s also performed with Take 6, Bobby McFerrin, New York Voices, Vox Audio, Naturally 7, and The Swingle Singers. His latest venture, The LHR Project, is a new vocal group collective celebrating legendary jazz vocal group Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross. As an audio engineer, Trist has toured nationally with several vocal groups and bands in a large variety of venues, working for Grammy award winners Pentatonix and Take 6, as well as prominent a cappella vocal groups Straight No Chaser, VoicePlay, and Accent. Elaine Chao, M.Ed is a San Francisco Bay Area-based vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, vocal percussionist, and songwriter whose career spans a cappella, contemporary worship, and classical music. She has leveraged her training in classical and choral music over the course of her contemporary performance, including in orchestras for musical theatre and in sacred spaces. In addition to music, she also is a martial artist and published author. She currently leads a product management team at a major software company dedicated to creative expression. All statements in this podcast are her own and do not reflect the opinions of her employer.
