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BBC Four Sessions

BBC Four Sessions

BBC Four Sessions

Reality

60

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Overview

Leading musical artists perform live for the cameras

Status: Returning Series

First Air Date: 2007-07-20

Runtime: 0h 59m

Director: Unknown

Writer: Unknown

Episodes - Season 1

Nick Lowe

At East London's LSO St Luke's, singer-songwriter Nick Lowe performs a set comprising of familiar songs from his long and illustrious career alongside new songs from his latest album At My Age. He's joined by a specially assembled band including longtime cohorts Robert Treherne on drums and Geraint Watkins on keys, plus a horns section featuring legendary bandleader and trombonist Chris Barber.

Ryan Adams

Ryan Adams, with his band The Cardinals, performs a unique session from the intimate setting of LSO St Luke's, London. Songs include Winding Wheel, Goodnight Hollywood Blvd, Two, Halloween Head and a cover of Alice in Chains' Down in a Hole.

Ray LaMontagne

Concert of soul-infused country-folk by American singer-songwriter Ray LaMontagne and his band, recorded at St Luke's in East London at the conclusion of a UK tour. Bolstered by specially assembled string and brass sections, it features familiar favourites like Trouble and Jolene, alongside tracks from the album Till the Sun Turns Black.

kd lang

Canadian country singer and four-times Grammy award winner kd lang performs together with a 30-strong strings section from the BBC Concert Orchestra. The set features songs from across her 25-year career, including her biggest hit Constant Craving, covers of Neil Young and Leonard Cohen songs, and material from her 2008 album Watershed.

Van Morrison

Van Morrison showcases tracks from albums including Keep It Simple, Magic Time and Vanlose Stairway, backed by a full band and joined by guests including guitarist Mick Green and organ maestro Georgie Fame.

Rosanne Cash

This edition features American singer and songwriter Rosanne Cash, who reflects on her 25-year musical career. Her acclaimed album Black Cadillac confronts the recent losses of her father Johnny Cash, her mother Vivian Liberto and her stepmother June Carter Cash. The concert features songs from Black Cadillac, 80s country hits and covers of Johnny Cash's Tennessee Flat Top Box and Big River.

Bruce Springsteen with the Seeger Sessions Band

Bruce Springsteen with the Seeger Sessions Band

This edition features Bruce Springsteen in a departure from his rock 'n' roll superstar persona, singing the songs made famous by Pete Seeger in the 50s. Backed by a hootenanny-style 18-piece ensemble including horns, fiddles and accordion, he performs songs from his album We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

Nick Cave and his band perform a set drawn from their latest album Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!! and a 20-year repertoire including The Mercy Seat, Red Righ Hand and Deanna. By turns menacing and hilarious, Cave comes on stage like a Southern preacher in the festooned, converted church and soon has the appreciative crowd hanging off his every word, while the Bad Seeds are at the top of their game behind him.

Loudon Wainwright III

Loudon Wainwright III

Series of unique concerts featuring musicians from around the world. Loudon Wainwright III plays tracks from his latest album Here Come The Choppers alongside such classics as One Man Guy and Hard Day on the Planet to an enthusiastic audience. Footage shot during his recent British tour is at once hilarious and moving, revealing a complex and talented character who has spent decades turning everyday personal matters into public art.

Tony Bennett in Concert

Tony Bennett in Concert

The legendary Tony Bennett performs an intimate concert for BBC Four in the setting of LSO St Lukes, London, accompanied by a four piece band.

Bert Jansch

Legendary Scottish singer, songwriter and guitarist Bert Jansch performs a career retrospective concert at LSO St Luke's in East London to celebrate his 60th birthday. Guests include ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, ex-Suede guitarist Bernard Butler, Ralph McTell and fellow Pentangle member Jacqui McShee. Bert Jansch was one of the key trailblazers of the British folk scene of the 1960s. As a soloist, and then with folk-jazz outfit Pentangle, Jansch blazed a trail for an iconoclastic blend of folk, blues, jazz and original songs that has made him a hero to the likes of Neil Young and Jimmy Page. His guitar and singing style remain unique. This concert features many of the songs that Jansch has played throughout his career, including Davy Graham's Anji, Jackson C Frank's Blues Run The Game and traditional material like Blackwaterside, together with more recent songs like Riverbank and Crimson Moon.

John Cale

The maverick singer/songwriter in a concert specially filmed for BBC4 at LSO St. Luke's in London's East End. The performance features material from Cale's the album Hobosapiens alongside classics dating back to Venus In Furs from his days as a founder member of Velvet Underground, plus many of the best moments from solo albums Paris 1919, Slow Dazzle and Music For A New Society.

James Brown

Series of concerts featuring musicians from around the world at LSO St Luke's in London's East End. The late James Brown, aka the Godfather of Soul, is joined by a 19-piece band including two drummers, three backing vocalists, two dancers in hot pants and a brass section. He performs some of his most famous songs, including Papa's Got a Brand New Bag, It's a Man's Man's World, I Feel Good and Sex Machine.

Radio Tarifa and Javier Ruibal

Radio Tarifa and Javier Ruibal

Series of unique concerts featuring musicians from around the world. At the Union Chapel in Islington, north London, Madrid-based Radio Tarifa show off their unique combination of flamenco, ancient Iberian, Moorish, Yiddish, North African and Middle Eastern music. Also, Spanish singer-songwriter Javier Ruibal is joined on stage by guitarist Tito Alcedo to perform numbers from Javier's album Las Damas Primeras.

Antony and the Johnsons

Antony and the Johnsons

Series of unique concerts featuring musicians from around the world. Antony Hegarty and the Johnsons perform a selection of tracks from their award-winning album I Am a Bird Now.

Kronos String Quartet In Concert

Kronos String Quartet In Concert

Concert performance from an ensemble synonymous with musical innovation, San Franciso's Kronos Quartet. They perform works from their 2002 recording, Nuevo, a project based entirely around Mexican composers, musical traditions and influences spanning nearly 100 years. Tracks featured include Mini Skirt by the late Juan Garcia Esquivel, whose early experimentation with stereo caused him to be dubbed the king of space-age bachelor pad music, Chavosuite, which features music from three wildly popular Mexican TV programmes and an explosive Prutsman arrangement of Silvestre Revueltas' Sensemaya. Playing with a fascinating array of samples and backing tracks which culminates in an encore of a drum-backed version of Misirlou, as featured in Pulp Fiction, this is a truly unique performance by a classically trained quartet absolutely committed to playing new music in new ways.

Yusuf Islam

Series of unique, intimate performances by some of the greatest legends and contemporary stars around. The artist formerly known as Cat Stevens gives his first full concert in nearly three decades, in an exclusive BBC performance at the Porchester Hall, London. In an exotic Morrocan cafe-style set, he and his band treat the audience of friends, family and fans to songs from across his career, including classic tracks like Father and Son, Peace Train, Wild World and Where Do the Children Play.

P J Harvey

Series of unique concerts featuring musicians from around the world. P J Harvey brings some real rock and roll to the intimate venue of LSO St Luke's in London, following the release of her solo album Uh Huh Her. She performs a set that includes hits such as Big Exit, Dress, The Letter and Shame.

Damien Rice

Series of unique concerts featuring musicians from around the world. In an exclusive specially-staged performance at St Luke's church in east London, Irish singer/songwriter Damien Rice and his band bewitch the audience with songs from his platinum-selling album O.

Martin Carthy and Friends

Martin Carthy and Friends

Recorded at Islington's Union Chapel, this concert brings together English folk legend Martin Carthy and some of his most important collaborators - including wife Norma and daughter Eliza, known collectively as Waterson-Carthy. Fiddling partner Dave Swarbrick, who joined Fairport Convention in the late 1960s, also features, as does extraordinary brass band Brass Monkey.

Eliza Carthy

Folk star Eliza Carthy in concert at the Union Chapel in London. The set includes songs from her album Angelicana, nominated for Album of the Year at the Radio 3 Awards for World Music. Carthy often takes liberties with people's preconceptions about folk music, pushing the boundaries with style, dynamism and flair. Daughter of British folk golden couple, Martin Carthy and Norma Waterson, she has almost single-handledly invigorated, revitalised and made folk music revelant to younger audiences.

June Tabor

One of England's greatest folk voices in session at LSO St Luke's in East London, with material drawn from her entire career including songs from her award-winning Topic album, An Echo of Hooves, and some of our best songwriters, including Richard Thompson. June is accompanied by her regular band featuring Huw Warren on piano, Tim Harries on double-bass, Mark Emerson on viola and Mark Lockheart on saxophone. They are joined by guitarist Martin Simpson and accordionist Andy Cutting.The concert mixes love songs and meditations on the state of England.

Gillian Welch

Series of unique concerts by musicians from around the world. This edition features acclaimed country-folk singer/songwriter Gillian Welch, accompanied by guitarist and collaborator David Rawlings. Welch draws on folk, country, bluegrass and Appalachian mountain ballads to create her own sometimes bleak American music which somehow sounds both ancient and modern.

Dick Gaughan: A Different Kind of Love Song

Dick Gaughan: A Different Kind of Love Song

The extraordinary Scottish singer and guitarist Dick Gaughan has been grabbing audiences for four and a half decades with his mix of traditional ballads and agit-folk songs. Here in a special concert at London's Bush Hall, Gaughan shows why he has been such a defining figure of the folk revival, performing both solo and with a specially assembled star band of harpist Mary Macmaster, guitarist Martin Simpson and piper Michael McGoldrick. In the interweaving documentary footage, Gaughan shows the cameras around his hometown of Leith and travels to a festival appearance, giving insights into life on the road and what informs his passionate beliefs and work.

David Byrne

From the Union Chapel in Islington, an exclusive performance from multi-talented former Talking Heads frontman and world music guru David Byrne. Featuring classic Talking Heads numbers, songs from his solo album Look into the Eyeball, as well as excerpts from the opera La Traviata and Cape Verde's Cesaria Evora, and a special version of his hit single with X-Press 2, Lazy.

Beck

Series of unique concerts featuring musicians from around the world. At London's Union Chapel, Beck performs a solo and acoustic set that includes numbers from his album Sea Change, along with special renditions of some of his extensive back catalogue, including Loser. Songs are performed using half a dozen guitars, including some slide blues along with piano, harmonica and drum machine. Beck also covers Nelly's Hot in Herre, along with a few bars of Justin Timberlakes Cry Me a River.

Randy Newman

The great American master of irony, singer-songwriter Randy Newman graces the stage at LSO St Luke's in London for an intimate concert. Balancing songs of scathing wit with affecting romantic ballads, he is joined by the strings of the BBC Concert Orchestra under the baton of Robert Ziegler. There is a selection from his critically-acclaimed album Harps and Angels, including the critique of the Bush administration A Few Words in Defence of Our Country, and Newman also cherrypicks songs such as Short People, I Think It's Going to Rain Today, Political Science and Marie from his impressive back catalogue.

Youssou N'Dour

The crown prince of African music, Youssou N'Dour, in fiery form on the last night of his 2003 European tour at the Union Chapel in London. Mixing material from his highly acclaimed album Nothing's In Vain (Coono Du Reer) with classic songs like Immigres and Seven Seconds from his back catalogue, Dakar's favourite son mixes acoustic intimacy with all-singing, all-dancing showstoppers in a joyous celebration of his music.

Paul Weller

In an exclusive BBC4 session filmed at BBC Television Centre, Paul Weller performs numbers from his album 22 Dreams, solo hits including From the Floorboards Up and Peacock Suit, and a couple of classics from The Jam's back catalogue. Weller performs with his regular five-piece band and is joined on some numbers by the Wired Strings and a brass section. He also has special guests, including Oasis guitarist Gem Archer on Echoes Round the Sun, fiddle player Eliza Carthy on Wild Wood and Where'er You Go and former Blur guitarist Graham Coxon on Black River.

Mariza

Portuguese star Mariza in concert at the Union Chapel in London. The Mozambique-born Fado singer was voted the Best Newcomer at the Radio 3 Awards for World Music in 2003, and her remarkable voice and astonishing performances have been winning her fans all over the world.

India Arie

Atlanta-based singer-songwriter India Arie in concert at the Union Chapel in London. The set includes songs from both her Grammy-nominated albums, Acoustic Soul and Voyage to India, and she also slips in a couple of cover versions, including a version of Sade's The Sweetest Taboo.

Georgie Fame - The Birth of Cool

Georgie Fame - The Birth of Cool

Series of unique concerts by musicians from around the world. Georgie Fame, who burst onto the scene in the 60s and continues to entertain fans with his cocktail of jazz and blues, plays a set at LSO St Luke's in London. Performing with him are some original members of his first band The Blue Flames, British trumpet impresario Guy Barker and Fame's sons James and Tristan. Features classics such as Yeh Yeh, Getaway and Flamingo Allnighter.

Salif Keita

Singer-songwriter Salif Keita performs songs from his album Moffou at Islington's Union Chapel. Includes a profile of the man widely regarded as being one of the founders of the Afro-pop genre and who received a Grammy nomination for his first album Amen.

Marianne Faithfull

Marianne Faithfull

1960's It Girl-turned-arthouse singer, Marianne Faithfull, exudes charm in a performance in front of an intimate audience of friends and fans at LSO St Luke's in east London. A great band accompany her on an eclectic mix of songs from her critically-acclaimed covers album Easy Come Easy Go, including The Decemberists' The Crane Wife 3, Morrissey's Dear God, Please Help Me, Dolly Parton's Down From Dover and Randy Newman's chilling In Germany Before the War. There are also dips into the past, with her first ever live performance of the original 1960s arrangement of As Tears Go By, plus the early Jagger-Richards song Sister Morphine.

Reggae Britannia

Reggae Britannia

An all-star cast celebrates the influence of reggae on the UK's music and culture in a live concert coinciding with BBC Four's Reggae Britannia documentary season. Expect to hear hits from the 1960s to the present day telling the story of the musical evolution from ska, through rocksteady, roots, dub, lovers rock and beyond. Music director Dennis Bovell assembles a big band featuring some of the most important reggae musicians in the British scene to back up a star cast of singers and toasters including Big Youth, Ken Boothe, Neville Staple, Ali Campbell, Dave Barker, Brinsley Forde, Dennis Alcapone and Winston Reedy, Pauline Black, Janet Kay, Carroll Thompson and Rico Rodriguez. The concert celebrates the journey that captured the turmoil and channelled the dreams of Jamaicans who came to Britain, those who were born here and the white kids who grew up alongside them and embraced their culture and their roots.

Japan in Colour: The Wonderful World of Albert Kahn

Japan in Colour: The Wonderful World of Albert Kahn

In 1908, the French banker and philanthropist Albert Kahn launched one of the most ambitious projects in the history of photography. A pacifist, internationalist and utopian idealist, Kahn decided to use his private fortune to improve understanding between the nations of the world. To this end, he created what he called his Archive of the Planet. For the next two decades, he dispatched professional photographers to document the everyday lives of people in more than 50 countries all around the world. Kahn's wealth enabled him to supply his photographers with the most advanced camera technology available. They used the autochrome - the first user-friendly camera system capable of producing true-colour photographs. Some of the most important of all the 72,000 colour images in Kahn's Archive were shot during three separate visits (in 1908, 1912 and 1926) to Japan.

The Christmas Session

The Christmas Session

BBC Four celebrates merry midwinter in unique style, with an exhilarating blend of folk tradition and burlesque fun. Energetic 11-piece Bellowhead and Mercury-nominated alternative folkies The Unthanks get together with the impressive young singers Thea Gilmore and Lisa Knapp, plus other special guests. Steered by genial host Paul Sartin, the assembled artists perform seasonal songs of their own alongside yuletide favourites, ranging from folk ballads and carols to parlour songs and carousing dance numbers, with everyone coming together for a final knees-up. Filmed at the atmospheric Shoreditch Town Hall, the setting evokes an old music hall combined with a festive Victorian family parlour, bedecked with garlands, period lamps and fireplace. Even the audience are dressed up in old-fashioned finery and prove themselves ready to kick up their heels.

The Great American Songbook

The Great American Songbook

Highlights of a unique gathering of eclectic artists at Air Studios in London to celebrate the songs and composers of the Great American Songbook. Paolo Nutini sings the classic composition Nature Boy, popularised by Nat King Cole, and has fun with the songs of Louis Prima. Melody Gardot enigmatically explores the songbooks of Cole Porter and Harold Arlen, while Claire Martin swings it and performs classic songs by Rogers and Hart and Irving Berlin. Sharleen Spiteri presents her accomplished interpretation of the Billie Holiday classic God Bless the Child and Gwyneth Herbert reinterprets the Walter Donaldson and Gus Kahn classic Love Me or Leave Me with loops and beats. Jose James delivers a smooth and swinging version of Just Squeeze Me, a song made popular by Duke Ellington, while Krystle Warren performs a bluesy version of Cole Porter's risque Love for Sale and a string-laden performance of A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square.

Tom Jones

Sir Tom Jones in a unique session of folk, blues and beyond from the beautiful LSO St Lukes in the City. Jones and a special band put together by Ethan Johns, the producer of his last two albums Praise & Blame and Spirit in the Room, deliver songs of guilt, redemption and judgement drawn from those records and also collaborates with special guests Seasick Steve on Mississippi Fred McDowell's You Gotta Move, with 84 year-old American folk legend Tom Paley on the Mississippi Sheiks' Sitting on Top of the World and young Londoner Josh Osho on Big Bill Broonzy's Black Brown and White Blues.

Richard Thompson: Goodbye Television Centre

Richard Thompson: Goodbye Television Centre

As part of the Goodbye TV Centre celebrations, guitarist, singer and songwriter Richard Thompson plays a one-off concert filmed in TC8. Thompson has been performing in BBC TV studios since 1969, starting on Top of the Pops with Fairport Convention and then making frequent appearances on the Old Grey Whistle Test, The Late Show and Later with Jools Holland as a solo artist and bandleader. Filmed before the opening night of the tour celebrating the Top 20 placing of his album Electric, Thompson leads his current power trio through songs from that album, including Salford Sunday and Stony Ground, alongside classics from his songbook like I Want to See the Bright Lights and Tear Stained Letter. Thompson is joined on a couple of acoustic songs by former Fairport bandmate and master fiddler Dave Swarbrick, frequent collaborator Pete Zorn adds sax to Al Bowlly's In Heaven and his daughter Kami Thompson harmonises on Waltzing for Dreamers.

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