A recession it may be, but Jazz clubs are flourishing. Live music, our guests argue, is one of the last things people will give up during hard times. Compare the relative good health of live music to the music industry at large: CD sales have plummeted, Barnes and Noble and Borders have been hit hard by weak music sales, and just this month, Virgin Megastores, the last and best known national music retailer, shut its New York venues.

Seth Abramson Artistic Director of the Jazz Standard, Piotr Orlov former Editorial Director of MTV’s Digital Music Site Rhapsody, Alexa Birdsong Director of Special Programs at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, and Brice Rosenbloom Artistic Director of Le Poisson Rouge, on what musicians are making of the economic downturn.

Then, an update on Capitol Climate Action—a day of civil disobedience in DC urging lawmakers to address climate change—with Carroll Muffett, Greenpeace USA Deputy Campaigns Director. Finally, an interview with performance artist and poet Carlos Andres Gomez whose one man show, Man Up, opened recently.

Thanks to the American News Project, Brave New Films, and Carlos Andres Gomez for video in tonight’s show.