In the Groove, Jazz and Beyond

2024 Jazz Releases Reviewed

This is the time of year where we review some of my favorite releases from 2024. Many of these are from  Hartford CT where I lived for 40+years, and my current home in San Diego. 

Playlist
Artist ~ Name ~ Album
Sarah Hanahan ~ We Bop! ~ Among Giants
Chris Potter ~ Indigo Ildikó ~ Eagle's Point
David Borgo ~ Peace of Mind ~ Persistence
Lori Bell Quartet ~ Shade of Jade ~ Recorda Me - Remembering Joe Henderson
Charles Lloyd ~ Booker’s Garden ~ The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow
Andrew Renfroe ~ BIG COUNTRY ~ BIG COUNTRY EP
Zaccai Curtis ~ Jazzin' ~ Cubop Lives!
Mackenzie Leighton ~ The Obfuscator ~ I Remember
Steve Davis ~ To Wisdom, the Prize ~ We See

RIP Zakir

This episode begins by paying tribute to tabla master Zakir Hussain who passed away last week. He is one of the greatest musicians of my generation, and brought Indian Classical Music awareness to many in the jazz scene. That is followed by a set of music from some of the most influential Hartford jazz mentors.

Playlist
Artist ~ Name ~ Album
Shakti & Shakti ~ Mind Ecology ~ Natural Elements
Dave Holland, Zakir Hussain & Chris Potter ~ Island Feeling ~ Good Hope
Zakir Hussain ~ Zakir ~ Making Music
Zaccai Curtis ~ 52nd Street Theme ~ Cubop Lives!
Steve Davis ~ What Is This Thing Called Love ~ Say When
Rich Goldstein ~ What a Difference a Day Makes ~ Into the Blue
George Benson ~ Take Five ~ Bad Benson
Terell Stafford ~ Hey, It's Me You're Talking To ~ Fields of Gold
The Ed Palermo Big Band ~ Peaches En Regalia ~ Plays the Music of Frank Zappa
Miroslav Vitous ~ Bamboo Forest ~ Universal Syncopations

Episode Dec 15 2024

This week's show starts with 3 guitarists; Goldstein, Bernstein and McLaughlin. The show ends with a couple great trumpet players in Hubbard and McGhee. Lots of great jazz in between.

Playlist
Artist ~ Name ~ Album
Rich Goldstein ~ Hard Days Night ~ Into the Blue
Peter Bernstein ~ You Go to My Head ~ Better Angels
John McLaughlin ~ Binky's Dream ~ Extrapolation
David Borgo ~ Segmented ~ Persistence
Joe Zawinul ~ In a Silent Way ~ Zawinul
Gretchen Parlato ~ Holding Back The Years ~ The Lost And Found
Freddie Hubbard ~ Weaver of Dreams ~ Ready For Freddie
Howard McGhee ~ Maggie's Back In Town ~ Maggie's Back In Town!

Episode Dec 8 2024

After kicking off this episode with classic Miles, we delve into some of jazz's best and most creative pianists. The show ends with Indian/Jazz fusion from McLaughlin's Shakti.

Playlist
Artist ~ Name ~ Album
Miles Davis ~ Seven Steps to Heaven ~ Seven Steps to Heaven
Renee Rosnes ~ Frevo ~ Crossing Paths
Brad Mehldau, Mark Turner & Peter Bernstein ~ Ditty for Dewey ~ Solid Jackson 
Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock & Jack DeJohnette ~ All the Things You Are ~ Standards, Vol. 1
Billy Childs ~ Master of the Game ~ The Winds of Change
George Cables ~ Helen's Song ~ My Muse
John McLaughlin & Shakti ~ India ~ A Handful of Beauty

Thanksgiving Leftovers

Thanksgiving dinner is great, but we also dig chowing down on leftovers. The first set is inspired by those great ingredients transformed. We also have new music by Kenny Barron, Samara Joy and a re-release of early Miles. 

Playlist 
Artist ~ Name ~ Album
Atla DeChamplain ~ Soul Food ~ Pause
Matt Hall ~ Biscuits & Gravy ~ I Hope to My Never
Zaccai Curtis ~ Black Rice ~ Cubop Lives!
Matt Dwonszyk ~ Softly as in a Morning Sunrise ~ Donny Time
David Borgo ~ Tabula Rasa ~ Persistence
Billy Childs ~ The Black Angel ~ The Winds of Change
Kenny Barron ~ The Nearness of You ~ Beyond This Place
Samara Joy ~ Day By Day ~ Portrait
Miles Davis ~ Four ~ Miles '54: The Prestige Recordings

Thanksgiving 2024

This is our Thanksgiving special, with the first set paying tribute to perhaps my favorite holiday. Jimmy Greene and Thelonious Monk provide the musical setting for a Thanksgiving feast. The podcast episode concludes with a modern classical composition depicting a ballroom dance with Madam and Chairman Mao for Nixon's visit from composer John Adams and the San Francisco Symphony. In between, there is new music from Borgo, Z. Curtis and Wilcox as well as a new release from Charles Mingus previously released studio tapes.

Playlist  
Artist ~ Name ~ Album
Jimmy Greene ~ Give Thanks ~ Mission Statement
Thelonious Monk ~ Stuffy Turkey ~ It's Monk's Time
David Borgo ~ Pilgrimage ~ Persistence
Zaccai Curtis ~ Maple Leaf Rag ~ Cubop Lives!
Andrew Wilcox ~ Self-Doubt ~ Dear Mr. Hill
Charles Mingus ~ Re-incarnation Of A Love Bird (1st Version /Take 4) ~ Reincarnations
Edo de Waart & San Francisco Symphony ~ The Chairman Dances (Foxtrot for Orchestra) ~ Adams: The Chairman Dances

Rest In Power Roy, Lou, Quincy

We begin this show with a tribute to three jazz greats that passed away in recent days, Roy Haynes, Lou Donaldson and Quincy Jones. The show continues with other legends of this music, one still living and actively touring, Charles McPherson followed by Bird and Dexter.

Playlist
Artist ~ Name ~ Album
Roy Haynes ~ Moose the Mooch ~ Birds of a Feather
Lou Donaldson ~ Blues Walk ~ Blues Walk
Quincy Jones ~ Walking In Space ~ Walking In Space
Charles McPherson ~ Surge ~ Reverence
Charlie Parker ~ Ornithology~ Ornithology: The Best Of Bird
Charlie Parker ~ Just Friends ~ Charlie Parker With Strings
Dexter Gordon ~ Round Midnight ~ Homecoming - Live At the Village Vanguard

Episode Nov 10 2024

This week's show is an eclectic mix. It was recorded in the week following the elections and perhaps reflective of my emotions during this time. There is no real theme to the selections, and is music I have been listening to recently.

Artist ~ Name ~ Album
Joe Henderson ~ Short Story ~ In 'n Out 
McCoy Tyner ~ When Sunny Gets Blue ~ Today and Tomorrow
Lori Bell Quartet ~ Inner Urge ~ Recorda Me - Remembering Joe Henderson
Nduduzo Makhathini ~ Water Spirits: Iyana ~ uNomkhubulwane
Miroslav Vitous ~ I Will Tell Him On You ~ Infinite Search
Weather Report ~ 125th Street Congress ~ Sweetnighter
Charlie Haden ~ This Is Not America ~ Not In Our Name