In the Groove, Jazz and Beyond

My 2017 Favorite Releases

2017 was a great year for new jazz releases. There were so many great new albums that this extended podcast is 2 3/4 hours in length. Happy New Years to all my podcast listeners. Looking forward to more great music (and a change in politics) in the coming year.

Playlist
Artist ~ Track ~ Album 
Greg Abate and the Tim Ray Trio ~ Road to Forever  ~ Road to Forever
Billy Childs ~ The Windmills of Your Mind ~ Rebirth
Christian Sands ~ ¡Óyeme! ~ Reach
Christian Sands ~ Somewhere Out There ~ Reach
Harold Mabern ~ Dat Dere ~ To Love and Be Loved
Harold Mabern ~ So What ~ To Love and Be Loved
SFJAZZ Collective ~ Tutu ~ Music of Miles Davis & Original Compositions Live: SFJazz Center 2016
SFJAZZ Collective ~ Joshua ~ Music of Miles Davis & Original Compositions Live: SFJazz Center 2016
Hudson ~ El Swing ~ Hudson (feat. Jack DeJohnette, Larry Grenadier, John Medeski & John Scofield)
Joey Alexander ~ Round Midnight ~ Joey.Monk.Live!
Cécile McLorin Salvant ~ Devil May Care ~ Dreams and Daggers
Joey DeFrancesco ~ So Near, So Far ~ Project Freedom
Joey DeFrancesco ~ Stand Up ~ Project Freedom
Troy Roberts ~ Mr. Pinononnk ~ Tales & Tones
Kevin Eubanks ~ Captain Señor Mouse ~ East West Time Line
Louis Hayes ~ Silver's Serenade ~ Serenade for Horace
Aggregate Prime ~ Fearless ~ Dream Deferred
Mark Whitfield ~ Undiscovered ~ Grace
Vijay Iyer Sextet ~ Down To The Wire ~ Far From Over
Vijay Iyer Sextet ~ For Amiri Baraka ~ Far From Over
Noah Preminger ~ Just The Way It Is ~ Meditations On Freedom
Steve Davis ~ Warrior ~ Think Ahead

Best of 17 and Nutcracker

Let's begin with a Christmas tune from Hartford alumni "The Human Race" led by Dane Scazzari. Then some of the great releases of 2017. Finally you will hear in its entirety Ellington/Strayhorn's arrangement of the Nutcracker Suite, inspired by the Tchaikovsky classic.

Playlist
Artist ~ Track ~ Album
Dane Scazzari and the Human Race ~ Blue Christmas ~ It's Christmas Time Again
Christian Sands ~ Bud's Tune ~ Reach
Christian Sands ~ Use Me ~ Reach
Billy Childs ~ Starry Night ~ Rebirth
Joey Alexander ~ Ugly Beaurty ~ Joey.Monk.Live!
Vijay Iyer Sextet ~ Far From Over ~ Far from Over
Vijay Iyer Sextet ~ Nope ~ Far from Over
Noah Preminger ~ Womens March ~ Meditations on Freedom
Harmonie Ensemble/New York (Steven Richman, cond.) ~ Nutcracker Suite ~ Tchaikovsky/Ellington/Strayhorn Nutcracker Suite

All Women Jazz

Last week I played a set of "Women in Jazz". This week we go full out with an All Women jazz revue. We have some established artists such as Anat Cohen, Maria Schnieder and Helen Sung as well as lesser known players like Tineke Postma, Ingrid and Christine Jensen, Monica Herzig and Sunna Gunlags.

Playlist
Artist ~ Track ~ Album
Anat Cohen ~ Sweet Georgia Brown ~ Clarinetwork Live at Village Vanguard
Anat Cohen ~ Lilia ~ Luminosa
Tineke Postma ~ The Observer ~ The Dawn of Light
Tineke Postma ~ Before the Snow ~ The Dawn of Light
Sunna Gunnlaugs ~ Songs from Iceland ~ Pao Bua Litlir Dvergar
Christine Jensen ~ Upper Fargo ~ Look Left
Ingrid Jensen / Project O ~ Gloria ~ Project O
Maria Schneider ~ Arbitoers of Evolution ~ The Thompson Fields
Monika Herzig ~ The Whole World In Her Hands ~ The Whole World in Her Hands
Helen Sung ~ Epistrophy ~ Anthem for a New Day

Women in Jazz and more

This podcast begins with a set of women instrumentalists in jazz music. This features Rosnes, Brackeen, Carrington and Ingrid Jensen. The balance of the show has mostly new music with a definite groove. 

Playlist
Artist ~ Track ~ Album 
Renee Rosnes ~ Galapogos ~ Written in the Rocks
Joanne Brackeen ~ Nature Boy ~ Popsicle Dreams
Joanne Brackeen ~ I Hear a Rhapsody ~ Fi-Fi Goes to Heaven
Terri Lyne Carrington ~ Grass Roots ~ Money Jungle
Ingrid Jensen / Project O ~ The Night Has A Thousand Eyes ~ Now as Then
Cory Weeds ~ Shining Star ~ Let's Groove: The Music of Earth Wind and Fire
Eric Alexander ~ T-Bone Steak ~ Second Impression
Vincent Herring ~ Use Me ~ Hard Times
Joey Alexander ~ Straight No Chaser ~ Joey. Monk. Live!
Tim Ray Trio ~ Star Eyes ~ Windows
Stan Getz ~ Beatrice ~ Bossas and Ballads: The Lost Sessions

A Nice Vocal Set

We begin with a celebration of Art Blakey's birthday, then a Cyrus Chestnut cover of a Roberta Flack classic. That takes us to a sweet set of great women vocalists. We complete the show with Monk inspired tunes from Joey Alexander and Helen Sung.

Playlist
Artist ~ Track ~ Album 
Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers ~ One By One ~ Ugetsu
Cyrus Chestnut ~ The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face ~ Genuine Chestnut
Roberta Flack ~ Compared to What ~ First Take
Sarah Vaughan ~ Dindi ~ The Best Of Sarah Vaughan
Chick Corea, Stanly Clark, Lenny White feat Chaka Khan ~ I Love You, Porgy ~ Forever
Cecile McLorrin Salvant ~ I Didn't Know What Time It Was ~ Dreams and Daggers
Cecile McLorrin Salvant ~ Devil May Care ~ Dreams and Daggers
Cannonball Adderly and Nancy Wilson ~ Save Your Love For Me ~ Nancy Wilson and Cannonball Adderly
Nina Simone ~ Don't Let Me Be Missunderstood ~ The Best of Nina Simone
Joey Alexander ~ Ugly Beaurty ~ Joey. Monk. Live!
Joey Alexander ~ Epistrophy ~ Joey. Monk. Live!
Helen Sung ~ Brother Thelonious ~ Anthem for a New Day

Morgan Monk and More

 

The heart of this podcast is from Lee Morgan and Thelonious Monk. Monk's set is a celebration of his centenial birthday. But first, this podcast begins with classic Chick Corea and Return to Forever. That is followed by Rahsaan Roland Kirk, new music from Vijay Iyer. Wayne Shorter's takes us on a trip to the jungles of Brazil with wild version of Jobim's Dindi. We are brought down to earth with Hartford's own Ed Fast before we take off with the Monk, Morgan set.

Playlist
Artist ~ Track ~ Album
Chick Corea ~ Armando's Rhumba ~ My Spanish Heart
Return to Forever ~ Sorceress ~ Romantic Warrior
Rahsaan Roland Kirk ~ Theme For the Eulipions ~ The Return of the 5000 Pound Man
Vijay Iyer Sextet ~ Down To the Wire ~ Far From Over
Wayne Shorter ~ Dindi ~ Supernova
Ed Fast and Conga Bop ~ Nature Boy ~ Do or Die
Ed Fast and Conga Bop ~ Insight ~ Do or Die
Lee Morgan ~ Tom Cat ~ Tom Cat
Lee Morgan ~ Riggarmortes ~ Tom Cat
Thelonious Monk ~ Green Chimneys ~ Straight No Chaser
Thelonious Monk ~ Pannonica ~ Bright Corners
Thelonious Monk ~ Blue Monk ~ Greatest Hits

Continue from last week's show

Continued from last week's show.

Playlist
Artist ~ Track ~ Album
Esperanza Spaulding ~ Unconditional Love ~ Emily's D+Evolution
Vijay Iyer Trio ~ Human Nature ~ Accelerando
Harold Mabern ~ So What ~ To Love and Be Loved
Harold Mabern ~ Afro Blue ~ Live at Smalls
Herbie Hancock ~ Toys ~ Speak Like A Child
SF Jazz Collective ~ Joshua ~ The Musc of Miles Davis and Original Compositions
Sims, Bloom, Zinno, Langone ~ Wichita Lineman ~ The New Stablemates
Steve Langone Trio ~ Humpty Dumpty ~ Breath
Cyrus Chestnut ~ Easy Living ~ There's a Sweet, Sweet Spirit
Cyrus Chestnut ~ Rhythm-a-Ning ~ There's a Sweet, Sweet Spirit

Garcia, Chick, John

Back from the NYC jazz club scene, I review performances by Rob Garcia and a duet performance by Chick Corea and John McLaughlin. We go back to the masters, Miles, Trane, Monk, for some of the most important jazz standards. The podcast is bookended with a celebration of birthdays from Jimmy Smith and Donald Byrd. 

Featured Album

Rob Garcia - finding love in an oligarcy on a dying planet

Playlist
Artists ~ Track ~ Album
Jimmy Smith ~ Organ Grinder's Swing ~ Fourmost Returns
Rob Garcia 4 ~ Perennial ~ Perennial
Rob Garcia 4 ~ Boundries ~ The Drop and the Ocean
Rob Garcia ~ Whatever Gets You By ~ Finding Love in an Oligarchy on a Dying Planet
Chick Corea Trio ~ Fingerprints ~ Trilogy
John McLaughlin with The 4th Dimension ~ Not Here Not There ~ Now Here This
Mahavishnu Orchestra ~ A Lotus On Irish Streams ~ Inner Mounting Flame
Miles Davis ~ All Blues ~ Kind of Blue
John Coltrane ~ Naima ~ Giant Steps
Thelonious Monk ~ Well You Needn't ~ Thelonious Monk's Greatest Hits
Donald Byrd ~ Sudwest Funk ~ Off to the Races