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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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.