For the latest edition of Reading Is Funktamental, we speak with Richie Unterberger, author of more than a dozen of the great books on rock ' n ' roll history. His latest work was as a contributor to a great book of essays on underappreciated record producer Tom Wilson, Everybody’s Head Is Open To Sound. Wilson was a black Harvard graduate who produced the debut recordings of jazz greats Sun Ra and Cecil Taylor, who produced the incredible early work of Bob Dylan and discovered not only Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention but the Velvet Underground. For more, read my earlier piece, a review of the book for PopMatters here: https://www.popmatters.com/tom-wilson-underrated-icon

"Reading is Funktamental" is a monthly one-hour show about great books written about music and music-makers. In each episode, host Sal Cataldi speaks to the authors of some of the best reads about rock, jazz, punk, world, experimental music, and much more. Occasionally, the host is joined by notable musicians who have written about their careers. Recent guests have included eccentric British singer-songwriter Robyn Hitchcock, Roxy Music’s Phil Manzanera, Traffic co-founder Dave Mason, and Moon Zappa. Expect a great conversation and a playlist of great music to go with it.

Sal Cataldi is a musician and writer based in Saugerties. He is best known for his work with his genre-leaping solo project, Spaghetti Eastern Music, and is also a member of the ambient guitar duo, Guitars A Go Go, the poetry and music duo, Vapor Vespers, the jazz ensemble Hari Karaoke Trio of Doom and the quartet, Spaceheater. His writing on music, books and film has been featured in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, PopMatters, Seattle Times, Huffington Post, Inside+Out Upstate NY, and NYSMusic.com, where he is the book reviewer.