Eleemosynary

Music in strange places, from a laundromat to a McDonald's and places in between. Musicians include bassist Ron McClure and experimental violinist Mark Feldman. Also, three characters from a one-woman show about Iraqi women by Heather Raffo. And a close look at the joys and agonies of an adult spelling bee.

Every Story Is Sacred...
...and we'd like to celebrate just one of those stories, as told by a fictional everyday couple who pays a visit to a non-existent story- telling booth in New York City's Port Authority Bus Terminal. Improvised by Mary Purdy and Bradley Dean White, and produced by Curtis Fox.

Spellbound
There are plenty of childhood humiliations we are only too happy to leave behind as adults. But as contributor Dave Johns found out, some folks out there actually go out of their way to relive a particularly embarrassing childhood ritual: the spelling bee. Produced by Amanda Aronczyk.

Three Parts of Desire
Over the course of the past decade, Iraqi-American writer and actress Heather Raffo has conducted interviews with Iraqi women on four continents, in an attempt to understand the place her family comes from. She used those interviews to create the nine characters in her one-woman show, "9 Parts of Desire." Here, in condensed form, are three of those characters. Produced by Emily Botein.

Wash Cycle
It's not easy getting a gig in New York. The indie rock band "El Topo" figured they could improve their odds if they expanded the definition of "gig" to include a neighborhood laundromat. Produced by Amanda Aronczyk.

Large Fries and a Jazz Standard
Jazz bassist Ron McClure has performed and/or recorded with renowned artists such as Chet Baker, Tony Bennett, Joe Henderson, Thelonious Monk, the Pointer Sisters, Buddy Rich, Sarah Vaughan and Dionne Warwick. So why, Dean asks him, do he and his musical partner, pianist Michio Fisher, insist on holding onto a gig at a McDonald's down on Wall Street? Produced by Matt Lieber.

Music on the Run
Experimental violinist Mark Feldman is known for moving across genres — from classical and jazz to avant-garde - in collaboration with John Zorn, Willie Nelson, and many others. Here, he moves across town, playing in unexpected locations throughout lower Manhattan — in search of interesting acoustics and welcoming audiences. Produced by Amanda Aronczyk.

WNYC archives id: 43812