SAM BRIGER, HOST:
This is FRESH AIR. I'm Sam Briger, sitting in for Terry Gross. Loudon Wainwright is best known for his confessional songs about family dysfunction and satirical songs about politics and other issues. But last year he took a slight turn, teaming up with Vince Giordano for a set of songs from the '20s and '30s, songs by Fats Waller, Harold Arlen, Frank Loesser and others. Giordano plays tuba, bass and bass saxophone and leads the 11-piece jazz band The Nighthawks. Before this project, he and Wainwright collaborated on the HBO gangster series "Boardwalk Empire" about bootlegging in Atlantic City during Prohibition. Terry invited them to bring their instruments to Hobo Sound Studio in New Jersey to talk and play a few tunes - socially distanced, of course. The title of their album is "I'd Rather Lead A Band." Here's a track from it.