Sessions at West 54th is an American television program that featured music performances, and was in some ways a pop music variation on the theme set by the long-lived Austin City Limits, though the featured musicians represented a number of musical genres. It was called Sessions at West 54th because it was taped at Sony Music Studios on West 54th Street in Manhattan. Jeb Brien and Niki Vettel, APS senior v.p. for program development, developed the series after working on APS concert specials with Suzanne Vega and Ottmar Liebert. It was produced for public television syndicator American Program Service (APS) (now American Public Television, Boston) and was carried on many public television stations. It first aired in most places on July 5, 1997, when it was included in the Saturday late-night lineup of stations covering 85% of the country. After the program ended, an edited commercial television version also aired on the commercial Trio cable television network.
It was first hosted by radio disc jockey Chris Douridas of KCRW in Santa Monica, California, while former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne took over hosting duties during the second season and John Hiatt was the host during the third, and final, season.
Episode list
Season 1 (1997)
Season 2 (1998)
Season 3 (1999–2000)
Releases
CD releases
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Release date
! Title
! Artists
! Label
|-
|September 4, 2001
|The Best of Sessions at West 54th
|Sheryl Crow<br />
David Byrne<br />
John Hiatt<br />
Ben Folds Five <br />
Natalie Merchant <br />
Suzanne Vega<br />
The Mavericks <br />
Richard Thompson <br />
Ani DiFranco <br />
Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach<br />
Shawn Colvin <br />
Emmylou Harris <br />
Sinéad O'Connor <br />
Lou Reed
|Sony
|-
|July 13, 2018
|The Complete Sessions at West 54th
|Ben Folds Five
|Real Gone Music
|-
|Oct 7, 1997
|Sessions at West 54th
|Suzanne Vega
|A&M Records
|}
DVD releases
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Release date
! Title
! Artists
! Label
|-
|December 10, 1997
|The Best of Sessions at West 54th Volume 1
|Wynton Marsalis with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra<br />
Suzanne Vega<br />
Richard Thompson <br />
Shawn Colvin <br />
Ani DiFranco <br />
Nil Lara <br />
Rickie Lee Jones <br />
Daniel Lanois <br />
Emmylou Harris <br />
Ben Folds Five <br />
Keb' Mo' <br />
Sinéad O'Connor <br />
Yo-Yo Ma <br />
Patti Smith <br />
Jane Siberry <br />
|Columbia Music Video
|-
|December 5, 2000
|Sessions at West 54th: Recorded Live in New York
|Keb' Mo'
|Sony Pictures
|-
|December 19, 2000
|Sessions at West 54th
|Neil Finn
|Sony Pictures
|-
|March 13, 2001
|The Best of Sessions at West 54th Volume 2
|The Mavericks <br />
Imani Coppola <br />
Kronos Quartet <br />
Neil Finn <br />
Lyle Lovett <br />
Afro-Cuban All Stars <br />
Natalie Merchant <br />
John Hiatt <br />
Randy Newman <br />
Ozomatli <br />
Lucinda Williams <br />
Steve Earle <br />
Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach <br />
Lou Reed
|Columbia Music Video
|-
|September 11, 2001
|John Prine - Live from Sessions at West 54th
|John Prine
|Oh Boy Records Music Video
|-
|October 9, 2001
|Ben Folds Five – The Complete Sessions at West 54th
|Ben Folds Five
|Epic Music Video
|}
VHS Releases
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Release date
! Title
! Artists
! Label
|-
|December 8, 1998
|Painted from Memory: Sessions at West 54th
|Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach
|Polygram Music Video
|}
References
- Steve Behrens (June 23, 1997). With public TV's new Saturday night concerts, younger viewers can 'eavesdrop' on diverse musicians at work. Current.
External links
- KET: Sessions at West 54th Episode List
- TV.Com: Episode guide: Sessions at West 54th