More from Lu Olkowski
The Cutting Place
(00:05:03)
From: Lu Olkowski
A documentary poem about DJ Guerin, who’s 32, with 7 kids.
Just a Girl
(00:04:59)
From: Lu Olkowski
A documentary poem about an afternoon spent with Billie Jean Hill at the Flag Day parade in Troy, New York. Billie Jean is a 25-year-old woman with a young son, who recently ...
In the Office of Temporary Assistance
(00:04:00)
From: Lu Olkowski
A documentary poem about an afternoon that poet Susan B.A. Somers-Willett spent with Billie Jean Hill at the New York State Office of Temporary Assistance.
Choosers, Not Beggars
(00:29:05)
From: Lu Olkowski
Two men more or less allow themselves to become homeless in order to dedicate their time to writing poetry
Life In A Dream, Life On Film
(00:08:40)
From: Lu Olkowski
A profile of Jeremiah Zagar whose award winning documentary, "In a Dream" opens in theaters Spring 2009.
http://www.inadreammovie.com/
Grandpa
(00:08:46)
From: Lu Olkowski
A father and son have a contest to take the best pictures of their dying grandpa, the result is an up-close portrait of death.
Meet the Bees
(00:06:35)
From: Lu Olkowski
How I roped my parents into becoming characters on Creature Comforts, a claymation show on CBS. (Come on, listen to it... my parents are funny people.)
Physics for Poets
(00:07:16)
From: Lu Olkowski
People often depict scientists as coldly rational. Physicist Michael Salamon takes issue with that. He explains how Walt Whitman misunderstood the beauty of the universe. ...
Cell Tower
(00:06:16)
From: Lu Olkowski
Don Ingber is a cell biologist from Harvard Medical School, Children's Hospital. One day he saw a piece of modern sculpture and was inspired to make a major breakthrough in ...
I'm Not a Doctor, but I Play One at the Holiday Inn
(00:16:27)
From: Lu Olkowski
A former heroin addict realizes that he wants to help other addicts kick their habits. The problem is, he wants to do this using a hallucinogenic drug - Ibogaine - that is ...
Related Pieces
Piece Description
Trombonist J. Walter Hawkes, who now plays with Norah Jones, almost quit music. He was going to pursue a more regular-guy path in computer programming. But then a horrible accident changed his life.
Broadcast History
Originally broadcast on PRI's Studio 360 on March 30, 2007.
Transcript
I was such a horrible trombone player.
Yeah, so, I never felt that I had what it took to make a living in music ? much less see any success. I was definitely never given the encouragement from my peers, nor my professors, to really go out there and do it - because there were so many other guys who were just so much better than me.
When I graduated, I was planning on working on cruise ships for a while ? having a good time (smile) sowing my oats, as such. Here I was, I was going to work on a ship and go to all these places all over the world - and you know ? and all I have to do is play my horn (laugh), it was going to be a blast ? and it was ? you know, I was having a great time?
And then saving my money for graduate school where I would get my master?s degree in computer science.
?until the accident that sorta changed everything.
That day we docked in Cabo San L...
Read the full transcript
Musical Works
| Title | Artist | Album | Label | Year | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sinkin Soon | Norah Jones | Not Too Late. | Blue Note | 2007 | 00:54 |
| What Is This Thing Called Love? | JJ Johnson | JJ In Person!. | Warner | 00:57 | |
| Blue's Clues - Great Clue Chase, Pt 1 | J Walter Hawkes | N/A. | Nickelodeon | 00:24 | |
| Sinkin Soon | Norah Jones | Not Too Late. | Blue Note | 2007 | 00:57 |
Related Website
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Hans Anderson
Posted on July 05, 2007 at 12:36 PM | Permalink
Review of J Walter Hawkes' Near Death Experience
This is a short piece about a life-twist that turned J Walter Hawke around. He wasn't a good enough musician until an accident and eight months in a wheelchair gave him enough free time to do nothing but play music and get better.
This is a good piece with snappy editing and good music. But the style is of the "interview with just the interviewee's voice answering the questions" though it's pretty clear this was pre-written, practiced and carefully read (and it's listed on PRX as first-person-essay). To me, it sounds a bit strange this way.
I would have loved to hear more about his writing music for cartoons. I always thought the music in Tom and Jerry was so amazing.
For PD's, this is clearly something that would fit in a Jazz show where people might know of Hawkes, or at least Norah Jones, and it would probably work in a broader sense (musicians, accidents, things to do when you are temporarily in a wheelchair).