Finding Common Roots of Diverse ‘Music Makers’

Funk trailblazer George Clinton. Latin-rock veteran Carlos Santana. R&B; diva Patti LaBelle. Up-and-coming hip-hop group the Roots. Multifaceted iconoclast Frank Zappa. And eclectic New Orleans legends the Neville Brothers.

The elements tying these six musical acts together might appear tenuous. But an exhaustive 13-hour public radio documentary weaves the music, histories and observations of these artists into a coherent program that also sheds light on the sociology of American pop music in the rock era. Today KCRW-FM (89.9) begins airing the syndicated series titled “Music Makers” with a one-hour overview program at 1 and 7 p.m. On Thursday, two-hour segments on each of these performers will be presented between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. and 7 and 11 p.m.

“The idea was to look at six completely different forms of music that on the surface people would say, ‘What the hell do these people have to do with each other?’ ” says Steve Rowland, the Philadelphia-based producer of the series. “After working on [the project] for a while it was like, ‘How can you not look at them in the same [context] and in the same way?’ They are closely connected to each other in terms of musical [influence] and in their passion and commitment to the music.”

Rowland says he was amazed to find that Santana, Zappa, Clinton and Art Neville of the Neville Brothers all cited doo-wop harmony singing and the electric blues-rock guitar style as their two primary musical influences. “It’s incredible how out of those two elements you can create four completely different genres,” he says.

But the larger sentiment that permeates the documentary is the great appreciation and devotion each artist has for his or her musical heroes. Rowland says he learned that most influential musicians have a deep sense of connection to the timeless music that came before them.

“Music Makers” is noteworthy partly because it’s structured much like a film documentary. Most radio specials about musical performers are content to combine commercially available studio recordings with one or two formal interviews with artists.

But Rowland spent days, weeks and, in one instance, months with the performers and people connected with them in an attempt to gain a deeper understanding of their lives and work. For example, he went on a two-week tour with the Roots; he joined Clinton during a working weekend in Washington, D.C.; and he hung out with Santana over a two-month period.

Part of the Santana segment takes place in Tijuana, where the Mexican-born singer-guitarist performs at a homecoming concert. While south of the border, the listener is treated to an aural tour of Tijuana courtesy of a musician cruising in a ’72 Chevy. We’re also introduced to Santana’s father through an interview.

Though he never met Zappa, Rowland was given access to hours of never-before-released recordings and interviews involving the prolific artist. This segment explores the final years of Zappa’s career. He died of cancer in 1993.

Rowland hopes that “Music Makers” also serves as a window on American culture, particularly racial issues.

“The Neville Brothers’ show is very powerful because they grew up in New Orleans, which is an incredibly racist city,” says Rowland, who also completed an eight-hour documentary in 1991 on Miles Davis that will air on KCRW on Friday. “Each brother has had to combat a number of horrible incidents of racism. Charles Neville won the citywide science fair when he was in high school. He wanted to be a scientist. But he was prevented from going to the state science fair purely because he was black.”

Rowland managed to land an impressive group of mostly recognizable figures to serve as hosts of the various segments. They include actors Edward James Olmos (Santana) and John Goodman (the Neville Brothers), actresses Whoopi Goldberg (LaBelle) and Beverly D’Angelo (Zappa), rapper Chuck D. (the Roots) and writer Ishmael Reed (Clinton).

All were fans and most were friends of the artists whose stories they help tell. Cornell West, a professor of African American studies at Harvard and the author of the book “Race Matters,” hosts the overview program and introduces each segment. Rowland says he produced “Music Makers” partly in the hopes of broadening the parameters of public radio programming.

“On public radio it’s OK to play King Sunny Ade, Fela [Kuti] and Bob Marley because they’re not so hooked up with the commercial music world,” he says. “But when you have George Clinton, Carlos Santana or Frank Zappa, they’re considered taboo because they’re commercial entities. But [commercial music] stations don’t have a structure to seriously evaluate these people. This series kind of came about as a way of addressing those issues.”

* KCRW will broadcast “Overview Program: Streams of American Music” today at 1 and 7 p.m. Airing Thursday: “Two Weeks and Several Generations With the Neville Brothers,” 9 a.m.; “Carlos Santana: Music for Life,” 11 a.m.; “Frank Zappa: Portrait of a Composer,” 1 p.m.; “George Clinton: Funk Is Its Own Reward,” 3 p.m.; “Patti LaBelle: Gospel Into Soul,” 7 p.m.; and “Hip-Hop 101: On the Road With the Roots,” 9 p.m. “The Miles David Radio Project” will air on KCRW on Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.