The ultimate musical showdown: jazz vs classical. We bring in conductor Josh Weilerstein from the Sticky Notes podcast to compare, contrast and find the common ground among these two very different schools of music.

From Duke Ellington's swinin' take on Peer Gynt to George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, we explore the tunes and the musicians blurring the line between jazz and classical. Josh, Adam and Peter each bring their own picks to the conversation, and have the best time breaking it all down.

Nerdy? Extremely. Snobby? A little. Fun? Heck yeah!

In this episode you'll hear:
- Ravel's Piano Concerto in G Major: Herbie Hancock vs the Cleveland Orchestra
- How Duke Ellington made classical standards swingin'
- Why Bartók matters to modern music
- Two very different interpretations of Rhapsody In Blue
- Brubeck’s Blue Rondo à la Turk: no improv, still loose
- Miles Davis and Gil Evans doing Adagio

John Coltrane’s Giant Steps isn’t just a jazz classic — it’s a rite of passage. Peter Martin and Adam Maness dig into what makes the album so technically punishing and emotionally electrifying. From the iconic solo on the title track to the symmetrical harmonies, the lightning-fast chord changes, the fiery swing of Cousin Mary, and the full-throttle chaos of Countdown, they unpack the brilliance, the feel, and the mythology. Whether you’ve studied this album or are hearing it with fresh ears, you’ll come away understanding Coltrane — and Giant Steps — like never before.

You’ll hear:

- Adam’s deep dive into Coltrane’s use of symmetrical harmony and lightning fast chord changes — and why it still stumps players today
- A glimpse into Coltrane’s early years with Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie
- The truth about Tommy Flanagan’s controversial solo — was he lost or just playing it cool?
- How Giant Steps became the tune every jazz musician has to face
- Apex moments, desert island tracks, and a spirited debate: is Giant Steps better than Kind of Blue?

We’re sitting down with one of the greats! Organist Larry Goldings is in the house to spin the B3 tracks that shaped him – from Jimmy Smith’s revolutionary runs to Billy Preston’s blending brilliance behind Aretha Franklin. Along the way, Larry breaks down the nuts and bolts (err… drawbars and percs) behind his favorite players, offering expert insights into Larry Young’s pedal-less playing and Ray Charles’ “dry-as-dust” sound. And somewhere in the midst of Larry’s fave five, we get into how to find your own voice (and why it might involve throwing all these great records out the window). Whether you’re chasing that perfect drawbar sound or just here for Hans Groiner’s alter ego, this one will change how you hear the Hammond forever.

In this episode, You’ll Hear:

• Jimmy Smith’s masterful expression pedal comping and turnarounds
• How to build your organ sound through a track like Wild Bill Davis
• Why Larry listens to singers and horn players (it’s all in the breath).
• The power of the organ + guitar combo
• What Larry’s listening to these days

Start your FREE TRIAL to Larry’s new course: Jazz Organ Essentials | Open Studio

Watch Adam’s organ lesson with Larry: Jazz Pianist Has To Learn Organ In 14 Minutes

We’re finally digging into “Voodoo” - D’Angelo’s Grammy-winning album that changed the sound of R&B, soul, and hip-hop forever. And the album a young Adam Maness had on repeat, seriously influencing his playing as well as countless musicians since.
With Questlove’s “Dilla-drag” drumming, Pino Palladino’s funky bass lines, Roy Hargrove’s jazzy horn arrangements, and Charlie Hunter’s chicken-picking guitar, Voodoo is packed with the kind of cross-genre musicality that makes jazz musicians lose their minds.
Twenty-five years later, Voodoo still grooves harder, hits deeper, and sounds more human than many albums of its generation.
In this episode, you’ll hear:

• What makes D’Angelo’s groove so unique (and hard to imitate)
• Isolated tracks, rare demos, and interviews with the artists
• How “Spanish Joint” came together in a single take
• Whether “Feel Like Makin’ Love” tops the Roberta Flack original
• And whether “Voodoo” is even an R&B album at all

ABOUT OPEN STUDIO
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As the premier online jazz education platform, with an ever-expanding course library and 20,000+ members, Open Studio (OS) has everything you need to excel and thrive on your jazz journey.

Featuring everything from beginner to advanced lessons, engaging courses from A-list instructors, step-by-step curriculum, real-time classes and a thriving and incredibly supportive community, OS is the perfect platform to level up your jazz playing, whether you’re a total beginner, or an advanced pro-level improvisor.

You can’t deliver a performance like Shirley Horn’s “Here’s to Life” unless you’ve lived a little – or a lot. It’s an album only an artist with decades of love, loss, and resilience could create. In this episode, we break down Horn’s unmatched ability to accompany herself, the elegance of Johnny Mandel’s string arrangements, and the quiet confidence that defines every track. Whether you’re discovering Shirley Horn for the first time or revisiting a favorite, this episode will leave you hearing her – and your own life – a little differently.

Listen to your favorite YHI jams, original tunes and more: https://osjazz.link/music
Join Open Studio for ALLLLL your jazz lesson needs: https://osjazz.link/yhi

You’ll hear:

• Horn’s piano-first vocal approach
• How Miles Davis helped spark her third act
• The brilliance of Johnny Mandel’s orchestrations
• Peter and Adam's tips for arranging for vocalists
• Why this album is 90's jazz at its finest
• and more!

For the first time ever, we’re digging into an album Peter actually played on. In this episode, we go deep on Spirit of the Moment, saxophonist Joshua Redman’s 1995 double-CD live album, recorded at the legendary Village Vanguard, with Peter on piano, drummer Brian Blade, and bassist Chris Thomas. We explore how Redman rose to stardom in the ’90s, stories from Peter’s New Orleans trio days, and what it’s like to be onstage for a now-classic recording. Plus: crowd gasps, Josh’s nods to Sonny Rollins, Joe Henderson and his father Dewey Redman, the art of laying out, and why this record still inspires a specific crowd of 17-year old jazz pianists 30 years later.

Before Kind of Blue, a 21-year-old Miles Davis was already reshaping jazz with Birth of the Cool. In this episode, we explore how Miles teamed up with arranger Gil Evans and a chamber-like nonet to craft a sound full of singable melodies, tightly arranged horns, and forward-thinking restraint. With French horn in the mix, Gerry Mulligan and John Lewis’ arranging touch, and Lee Konitz’s lyrical solos, we unpack why this album – recorded in 1949-1950 and released years later – still lives up to its name.

ABOUT OPEN STUDIO
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As the premier online jazz education platform, with an ever-expanding course library and 20,000+ members, Open Studio (OS) has everything you need to excel and thrive on your jazz journey.

Featuring everything from beginner to advanced lessons, engaging courses from A-list instructors, step-by-step curriculum, real-time classes and a thriving and incredibly supportive community, OS is the perfect platform to level up your jazz playing, whether you’re a total beginner, or an advanced pro-level improvisor.

Learn what makes Marvin Gaye’s protest album a timeless masterpiece. Adam and Peter go deeper than deep—layer by layer—using stems to find out. Listen to the full arrangement in a way you’ve probably never experienced, even if you’ve heard it a thousand times. Strings, bass, background vocals, Marvin’s multi-tracked leads, percussion, vibes—it’s all here, isolated and exposed.

We also dig into the story behind the album, and how a protest record became a timeless masterpiece.

A must-listen for anyone who cares about music—and how it’s made.

ABOUT OPEN STUDIO
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As the premier online jazz education platform, with an ever-expanding course library and 20,000+ members, Open Studio (OS) has everything you need to excel and thrive on your jazz journey.

Featuring everything from beginner to advanced lessons, engaging courses from A-list instructors, step-by-step curriculum, real-time classes and a thriving and incredibly supportive community, OS is the perfect platform to level up your jazz playing, whether you’re a total beginner, or an advanced pro-level improvisor.