🎧Episode 119: Modern Jazz Nuance, Songwriter Warmth & A Final Round with Derek

Derek joins for one more episode as we move through intricate jazz, classic songwriting, and a quietly brilliant collaboration to close things out.Jonathan opens with a nimble, harmonically rich performance from Gwilym Simcock, blending modern jazz language with lyrical phrasing and subtle complexity. Curtis follows with a reflective, beautifully crafted selection from Dan Fogelberg, leaning into timeless melody and introspective songwriting.Derek then brings a cinematic, emotionally resonant piece from W. G. Snuffy Walden, a track that feels equally at home in television scoring and standalone listening.In the category songs, Jonathan closes things out with a Collaborations pick featuring Chris Thile and Brad Mehldau, highlighting the kind of understated interplay and musical conversation that defines great collaborative work.A thoughtful mix of modern jazz, classic songcraft, and one last contribution from Derek—Episode 119 brings this stretch of episodes to a fitting close.Curtis Gross is a self-employed video editor.Jonathan Workman is an adult learning consultant based in Wichita, KS.---Make sure you are subscribed to Why Is This So Hard For You. Type Why Is This So Hard For You in your podcast provider, hit that subscription button, and leave us a five-star review. This will make it easier for other podcast listeners to find the podcast.---The intro music is the first 30 seconds of the Ornette Coleman tune "Song X" fed into AI software that attempts to output the song to a solo piano transcription. The outro music is the first 30 seconds of Sonny Rollins' version of the tune "St. Thomas" fed into the same software.