The summer of 19..., well, it was long ago and far away. I was living in Astoria, Queens and on Friday nights on WNYC there appeared a radio serial, Moon Over Morocco produced by ZBS. It became deeply imprinted on my head. So I did some research and learned that this was one of several different radio productions from ZBS and that it has a long and
illustrious history as a recording facility in Fort Edward, NY.
The first, and most important thing about ZBS productions is how well written they are. The second thing to notice is how well-produced they are. Using a technique called binarual recording, they are able to capture and create sounds that are some of the most amazing things you'll ever hear.
After listening to many different productions, my favorite is still Moon Over Morocco and highly recommend it. It tells the story of Jack Flanders, a recurring character across many different shows under the title, Travels With Jack. In the case of Moon Over Morocco, ZBS also incorporates sounds recorded by Paul Bowles.
Recently, I had a wonderful experience. Just to see what would happen, I played the opening of Moon Over Morocco for my nine-year-old, a very opinionated young lady. And she fell headlong in love with it and couldn't listen to it fast enough. And I always hear something new every time I listen. Recently, ZBS announced it is releasing Moon Over Morocco in its original radio format, fifty episodes, and is even making it available for free download before offering on CD.
And it wouldn't be fair for me to conclude this post without attributing the source of the title, Steer with you ears." This is from another master of audio production, Ken Nordine, who produced a series of programs called Word Jazz. Mr. Nordine is due many kudos too.
