Letters: Dave Brubeck, Los Straitjackets

Melissa Block and Audie Cornish read emails from listeners about Jazz pianist and composer Dave Brubeck and the band Los Straitjackets.

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Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Melissa Block.

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

And I'm Audie Cornish.

It's time now for your comments and one quick correction. Earlier this week, some of you heard us say that J.J. Watt could be the NFL's Defensive Rookie of the Year. What's the problem? Well, Watt is not a rookie. Our apologies.

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BLOCK: Now to your letters. All about music you've heard on our program.

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BLOCK: Yesterday, we remembered jazz pianist Dave Brubeck. Karen Lannon of Grand Rapids, Michigan, sent us her own Brubeck memory. She writes: My husband and I spent our anniversary with Mr. Brubeck at Orchestra Hall in Chicago a few years ago. When he first walked out on stage, so frail that his son had to hold his arm, we were concerned. Then he put his fingers on the keyboard and utter magic. He played with all the joy and energy of a 25-year-old. Such a wonderful night and a beautiful example of how art keeps us alive and vibrant even as our bodies are growing old.

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CORNISH: From this enduring jazz recording to Los Straightjackets live.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: One, two, one, two, three.

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CORNISH: Throughout the program yesterday, we danced along in the studio to the music of Los Straightjackets.

BLOCK: And we really wish you all could have seen those glittering Mexican wrestling masks they wear.

CORNISH: But even without the visual, many of you heard the fun pouring out of the studio, and you wrote in to tell us about it. Like Catherine Hill of Binghamton, New York. She tweeted to us, @npratc: What a cool idea - energetic and inspired.

BLOCK: And Joan Jones of Moscow, Idaho, writes: Interstitial fill never sounded so good.

CORNISH: And while it's not live, here's some festive fill from Los Straightjackets to take us out.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.