Jeff "Tain" Watts

09/05/18 • 48 min

6-time Grammy-award winning drummer, Jeff “Tain” Watts, has been the drummer of choice for some of the most notable acts in jazz including appearances on Grammy-winning albums by both Branford AND Wynton Marsalis. With nearly a dozen albums as leader and countless others as a side-man, Tain has played and recorded with such artists as Michael Brecker, Harry Connick Jr., The Mingus Big Band, Pat Martino, and Alice Coltrane. Tain has also appeared in TV and film including a three-year stint on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and an appearance in Spike Lee’s “Mo’ Better Blues” as the character Rhythm Jones.

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Ronald Mallett

Prof. Ronald L. Mallett received his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in physics from the Pennsylvania State University. He worked for United Technologies from 1973-1975, and in 1975 joined the physics faculty at the University of Connecticut in Storrs where he is currently Research Professor of Physics. Prof. of Theoretical Physics, Dr. Ronald Mallett has published numerous papers on black holes and cosmology in professional journals. His breakthrough research on time travel has been featured extensively in the media around the world, including print media such as New Scientist, Die Zeit, GEO, the Boston Globe, the Hartford Courant, Rolling Stone magazine, and The Wall Street Journal, and broadcast media such as, NPR's This American Life, Science Busters, the History Channel, the National Geographic Channel, the Science Channel, ABC’s Good Morning America, NBC’s Today Show and CNN. Prof. Mallett has appeared in a feature-length documentary "How to Build a Time Machine" which won Best Documentary at the 2017 New York City Sci-Fi Film Festival. Prof. Mallett’s recently published memoir “Time Traveler: A Scientist’s Personal Mission to Make Time Travel a Reality” has been translated into Korean, Chinese, and Japanese. The idea for this podcast came about from our mutual affinity for H.G. Well’s “The Time Machine.” Join us as we discuss the connection between music and time.

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Marcus Miller & Alonzo Bodden

Marcus Miller has been dubbed one of the most influential artists of our time. His characteristic bass sound can be heard on a limitless catalog of musical hits from Bill Wither’s “Just The Two Of Us”, to Luther Vandross’ “Never Too Much”, to songs from Chaka Khan, David Sanborn, Herbie Hancock, Eric Clapton, Aretha Franklin, George Benson, Elton John, and Bryan Ferry to name a few. With his distinctive style - a unique combination of funk, groove, soul and pure technical skills - Miller has been referred to as one of the most significant bass players in jazz, R &B, fusion and soul. Miller has left an indelible mark on the careers of artists as David Sanborn, Roberta Flack, Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, Al Jarreau, Bob James, Lalah Hathaway, and Wayne Shorter. Most notably, after several years of touring in Miles Davis’ band in the early 80’s, Miller developed a close professional and personal relationship with Davis which led to his collaboration on three critically acclaimed albums - the most famous being the ground-breaking album and title song Tutu which is considered to be one of the definitive Miles Davis albums. Alonzo Bodden, winner of Season 3 of NBC’s Last Comic Standing, is a regular on NPR’s “Wait Wait...Don’t Tell Me!” and “Comedy Congress,” as well as being a panelist on the Game Show Network’s “Mind of a Man.” In 2011, he starred in the comedy special “Who’s Paying Attention” on Showtime, released a DVD, and hosts a podcast of the same name. That same year, he was a panelist on the syndicated show “Inside the Vault,” and voiced the character of Thunderon in the Power Rangers movie. Alonzo has made the rounds on the late-night television circuit including appearances on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,” “The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn,” and “The Keenen Ivory Wayans” show. His film credits include “Scary Movie 4,” “The Girl Next Door,” and “Bringing Down the House” starring Steve Martin and Queen Latifah. Alonzo has traveled around the world entertaining USO troops from Iraq to Greenland.