America, Out Loud with Kwame Alexander

Kwame Alexander is an Emmy® Award-winning producer, and #1 New York Times bestselling author of 46 books, including Why Fathers Cry at Night, How Sweet The Sound, The Door of No Return (2025 Audie Award Winner), The Undefeated, the National Book Award nominee, Newbery Honor, and Caldecott Medal-winning picture book illustrated by Kadir Nelson, and The Crossover, his Newbery-Medal winning novel-turned Disney+ TV series, his most recent book, J  vs K, an illustrated novel he penned with Jerry Craft, and the motivational primer for graduates, creatives, and professionals, entitled Say Yes. He is also the executive producer of Acoustic Rooster and his Barnyard Band and Acoustic Rooster: Jazzy Jams, a PBS KIDS special and series of shorts produced by GBH Kids based on his beloved children’s book of the same name.  The recipient of a 2025 NAACP Image Award, Kwame is also the founder of AuthorStudy.com, and the Michael I. Rudell Artistic Director of Literary Arts for Chautauqua Literary Arts. He regularly shares his passion for literacy, books and the craft of writing around the world, including Ghana, West Africa, where he opened the Barbara E. Alexander Memorial Library and Health Clinic. His new 501(c)(3) non-profit, One Word at a Time, strives to advance the literacy skills of children in intermediate and middle grades by helping them rediscover and expand a deep love of reading and writing.   

Cleve Francis is a physician, country music recording artist, and author whose life journey spans medicine, music, and social change. Raised in rural Jennings, Louisiana during segregation, he learned early the values of perseverance, self-reliance, and personal growth from his mother, Mary B. Francis, a young, adopted woman whose strength and determination shaped his life.

Francis attended Southern University, the College of William and Mary, the Medical College of Virginia (VCU), and completed his postgraduate medical training in Internal Medicine and Cardiovascular Diseases at the George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C.

After earning a medical degree and building a successful career as a cardiologist, Francis pursued a second calling in country music. Signing with a major Nashville label, he became one of the few African American artists to achieve national success in modern country music, charting multiple singles on Billboard's Hot Country charts and performing on some of the genre's most prominent stages in the United States, England and Scotland.

Throughout his life, Francis has sought not only personal achievement but also to serve as a bridge between worlds. His goals were simple yet profound: to be accepted as an individual, to represent his race with dignity, to prove equality through excellence, and to help open doors for those who would follow. He is also regarded as one of the first Black artists in folk music for his 1968 recording of Beyond the Willow Tree in 1968.

His writing explores themes of resilience, identity, faith, medicine, race, and the human heart—both physical and metaphysical. Drawing on experiences as a physician, musician, and pioneer, he reflects on the lessons that shaped him: compare yourself only to your own growth, know what you know and what you do not know, and remember that one learns more by listening than by talking.

Francis is the author of Do My Heart Good, My Life’s Odyssey through Country Music, Medicine and History, a memoir that chronicles his remarkable journey through the changing landscapes of American life, medicine, and country music. Through his speaking and writing, he continues to inspire audiences with a message of perseverance, gratitude, purpose, and hope.

Rachel Martin is the co-creator and host of Wild Card, an interview game show about life's biggest questions. She invites notable guests to play a card game that lets them open up about the memories, insights, and beliefs that have shaped their lives.

Martin spent six years as a host of Morning Edition, and was the founding host of NPR's award-winning morning news podcast Up First. She previously hosted Weekend Edition Sunday.

She served as National Security Correspondent for NPR, where she covered both defense and intelligence issues, and also worked as a NPR foreign correspondent, where she covered the London terrorist attacks, issues surrounding immigration and shifting cultural identities in Europe.

Martin worked extensively in Afghanistan, covering the reconstruction effort after the U.S. invasion and the country's first democratic presidential election. She also reported from Iraq, where she covered U.S. military operations and the strategic alliance between Sunni sheiks and the U.S. military in Anbar province. She traveled to Saudi Arabia in 2015 to report on women's rights, and in 2022, she reported from Ukraine's border with Belarus in the leadup to the Russian war.

Martin was part of the team that launched NPR's experimental morning news show, The Bryant Park Project, a live two-hour daily multimedia program that she co-hosted with Alison Stewart and Mike Pesca.

Martin also previously served as NPR's religion correspondent. Her piece on Islam in America was awarded "Best Radio Feature" by the Religion News Writers Association in 2007. In 2011, her story on racial discrimination in Hollywood won a Salute to Excellence Award from the National Association of Black Journalists and her series on the effects of the opioid epidemic on children won a Gracie award in 2019.

She started her career at public radio station KQED in San Francisco as a producer and reporter.

She holds an undergraduate degree in political science and an honorary doctorate from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Wash., and a Master's degree in international affairs from Columbia University.

She lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband, two sons and dog named Lola F. Bear, Esq.

Amy Shook is one of the most in-demand acoustic bassists in the mid-Atlantic, coveted for her huge sound and infectious, driving groove. In addition to being a premier performing and recording artist, and a multi-instrumentalist (acoustic bass, electric bass, violin, viola, and cello), she is an accomplished composer, and her personality truly comes through in her writing.

Amy co-leads the all-women powerhouse trio the 3D Jazz Trio (3Divas), with drummer Sherrie Maricle and pianist Jackie Warren. 3D is the super-swingin’ trio that sparked the fire that ignited the award-winning show Maurice Hines is Tappin’ Thru Life, described by the New York Times as “blistering hot.” Released spring of 2025, A Celebration of Maurice Hines: Tappin' Thru Life is a posthumous cast album honoring Maurice with the music from his award-winning show Tappin Thru Life; essentially the soundtrack of his storied and wonderful life. This recording features original cast members John Manzari (tap dancer and vocalist), Leo Manzari (tap dancer and vocalist), Sherrie Maricle (Music Director and drummer) and The DIVA Jazz Orchestra with 3D as the rhythm section, along with special guests Grammy-nominated vocalist Clint Holmes and Tony-nominated vocalist Ann Hampton Callaway. Find it on Bandcamp.

In 2017, 3D’s eagerly awaited debut CD, simply titled 3Divas, was met with widespread critical acclaim. Both of 3D’s 2020 recordings, I Love To See You Smile, (released in April 2020), and Christmas in 3D (released October 2020) were recorded at Red Rock Recording Studio in Saylorsburg, PA. Both albums received widespread critical acclaim, with I Love To See You Smile landing a four-star review in Downbeat Magazine and inclusion on Downbeat’s year end “Best of 2020 albums,” and a ranking of #10 overall on RMR’s “Top Jazz Album Chart 2020,” as well as in the top 50 of “Top Albums of 2020” on the NACC year end chart. Christmas in 3D was featured first in line in the New York Times “20 Albums That Put a New Spin on the Holidays,” and Ranked #4 overall with Christmas in 3D on RMR’s Top Holiday Album Chart for the Year of 2020, peaking at #1. All of their recordings can be purchased directly through their website, Amazon, downloaded from Bandcamp and iTunes, and streamed on your favorite service. 3D is also featured on baritone saxophonist Leigh Pilzer’s debut CD Strunkin’, recorded live at the Washington Women in Jazz Festival in March 2016, and released in October 2016. The 3D Jazz Trio’s most prestigious honor to date was being invited to perform at legendary music icon Nancy Wilson’s 80th Birthday Party, held on February 20, 2017 at the Taglyan Complex in Los Angeles, CA, performing at the request of Ms. Wilson herself. 3D was also featured on The Kate TV’s “live” music series with Maurice Hines (on PBS), and twice on WVIA radio’s Homegrown Music Series, the first performance having been recorded and released as 3D's debut album 3Divas. For more info about the 3D Jazz Trio, please visit their website.

In addition to the 3D Jazz Trio, Amy's most recent musical collaboration is as a member of the Temporal Taal Collective, an ensemble comprised of tenor saxophonist and bansuri flute artist Anjan Shah, Nabin Shrestha on tabla, Jonathan Epley on guitar, Amy on bass and Kathak dance artist Sarah Morelli. Together, they are committed to forging new sonic landscapes that unite Eastern and Western musical traditions. Building on her extensive background performing in swing and straight-ahead jazz ensembles, Amy embraces the Collective’s mission to create vibrant, surprising “journeys” for listeners. Amy’s recent work with the ensemble highlights the exhilarating fusion of East and West, incorporating improvisation with rhythmic and harmonic elements drawn from across the globe. As she describes it, each performance becomes “an unexpected, colorful journey, wondering what delights to experience around the next corner,” ultimately weaving “a tapestry of music…each independent yet woven together to create a new dream and vision.” To learn more about the group, please visit temporaltaalcollective.com.

To celebrate the National Education Association's 2025 "Read Across America" week, Amy had the honor of joining Newbery Award-winning author Kwame Alexander for a live reading of his novel in verse, The Crossover, performing her original solo bass score to underscore his verse. In front of a live audience, the performance celebrates the 10th anniversary of the publishing of The Crossover, and was recorded in five episodes, a new episode debuting daily the week of March 3-7. The episodes are available to watch indefinitely at nea.org/crossover and on YouTube.

​In the spring of 2025, Amy was featured in a cartoon short on PBS Kids as part of Kwame Alexander’s children’s book-turned animation of Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band. Amy is featured as herself, as a bass playing cat named Kitty Shook, in the short entitled Jazzy Jams: Rooster’s Big Bass Song, where she’s passing through the barnyard to teach about the role of the bass in music, and specifically jazz. Watch it here on YouTube.

​Amy's longest standing ensemble, the Shook/Russo 4tet, is a band she started in 2004 with her husband, tenor saxophonist Pat Shook, and drummer Frank Russo. Along with their guitarist Jonathan Epley, the SR4tet’s focus has always been to compose and perform their own original music within the jazz idiom, honoring the masters by carrying on the tradition. The result is an incredible and unique sound, and a whirlwind of grooves, melodies, and diverse textures that are a true delight to hear. In 2017, Amy (with the SR5tet, which included trumpeter Tim Leahey) was a featured artist for the D.C. Jazz Festival’s “Bass-ically Yours” series at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, celebrating D.C.’s premier jazz bassists. The SR4tet currently has two CDs on Summit Records featuring Greg Gisbert.

In the spring of 2021, Amy had the honor of playing bass as well as serve as executive co-producer with Scott Silbert on his eagerly awaited recording, Introducing the Scott Silbert Big Band: Jump Children, released in October of 2021. It features some lesser known big band gems from the 1930s and 1940s performed by a premiere collection of world-class musicians in the Washington, D.C. area. This incredibly swinging album can be purchased at scottsilbertmusic.bandcamp.com/.

​COMING SOON! This fall, the Scott Silbert Quartet is releasing a new album celebrating Zoot Sims in what would be his centennial year. The album, Dream Dancing: Celebrating Zoot Sims at 100 features Scott Silbert on tenor and soprano saxophones, Amy Shook on bass, Robert Redd on piano and Chuck Redd on drums, and it will be available for purchase on CD, as a download, as well as streaming on your favorite platforms. Stay tuned!

Additionally, Amy can be heard on three critically acclaimed albums with the Fred Hughes Trio (Love Letters, I’ll Be Home For Christmas, and Matrix). In addition to her jazz bass discography, Amy can be heard on various recordings playing auxiliary string parts, many that she both wrote and arranged, for various indie rock and blues artists such as Future Islands, Mary Prankster and the Kelly Bell Band. Amy holds two bachelor's degrees (performance and composition) and a master's degree (performance) from the University of Idaho in Moscow, ID.

Amy has performed with Maurice Hines in Maurice Hines’ Tappin Thru Life, Sherrie Maricle and the DIVA Jazz Orchestra, Lionel Hampton, Charles McPherson, Greg Gisbert, George Mesterhazy, Wessell Anderson, Ali Ryerson, Walt Weiskopf, Tim Warfield, Wycliffe Gordon, the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, Hubert Laws, and Kurt Elling to name a few. She has performed at the Kennedy Center, Blues Alley, Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, the Blue Note NY, the Blue Note Beijing, Lincoln Center Damrosch Park, The International Forum (Tokyo, Japan), the Freespace Jazz Festival (Hong Kong), The Gilmore International Keyboard Festival, The Jazz Kitchen, the Birchmere, Arena Stage, the Cleveland Playhouse, The Tri-C Jazz Festival, the Delaware Theater Company, off-Broadway at New World Stages in NYC, the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival, the Mid Atlantic Jazz Festival, the Washington Women in Jazz Festival, the Waterloo International Jazz Festival (Canada), the Scarborough Jazz Festival (UK) and performed with the Eli Yamin Quintet at the White House twice in 2009 by special invitation.