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

Tribute 2017

This podcast pays tribute to the victims and families of the Sandy Hook massacre on its 5 year anniversary. Jimmy Greene pays homage to his daughter, a victim of the attack. We also pay tribute to another tragedy; the murder of John Lennon with jazz covers of several of his tunes. Also in this episode is a set of McCoy Tyner music to celebrate his birthday. 

Playlist
Artist ~ Track ~ Album
Jimmy Greene ~ Ana's Way (feat. Kurt Elling) ~ Beautiful Life
Jimmy Greene ~ Second Breakfast ~ Flowers, Beautiful Life vol2
SFJazz Collective ~ Superstition ~ The Music of Stevie Wonder
Mike Casey ~ Norwegian Wood (Single) ~ Live From SoFar NYC
Bill Frisell ~ Give Peace a Chance ~ All We Are Saying
Craig Hartley ~ Imagine Peace Piece ~ Books on Tape Vol II
Craig Hartley ~ Happy Xmass Prelude 1, C Major ~ Craig Hartley remixes the Beatles
McCoy Tyner ~ Impressions ~ Trident
McCoy Tyner ~ My Favorite Things ~ Echoes of a Friend
MCoy Tyner ~ Song For My Lady ~ Song For My Lady
Anat Cohen Tentet ~ Anat's Doina ~ Happy Song

Wynton Miles Donald Joe Wayne

A podcast of heavy hitters in the jazz world. Wynton, Donald, Miles, Joe, Wayne are represented here. I also threw in some heavy hitters from the Hartford scene led by tenor saxophonist Jovan Alexandre. 

Playlist
Artist ~ Track ~ Album
Wynton Marsalis ~ Winter Wonderland ~ A Jazzy Wonderland
Donald Byrd ~ Fly Little Bird Fly ~ Mustang
Donald Byrd ~ Off To the Races ~ Off To The Races
Miles Davis ~ Shhh/Peaceful ~ In A Silent Way
Jovan Alexander ~ Red Blues ~ Collective Conciousness
Joe Henderson ~ A Shade of Jade ~ Mode for Joe
Joe Henderson ~ Inner Urge ~ Inner Urge
Wayne Shorter ~ Witch Hunt ~ Speak No Evil
Wayne Shorter ~ Black Nile ~ Night Dreamer

Standards New and Old

We have a different take on jazz standards in this week's podcast. Inspired by a Facebook post, I assembled this program of modern compositions that may or may not be considered new standards along with more traditional covers of older standards. 

Playlist
Artist ~ Track ~ Album
Earl MacDonald ~ Appointment in Ghana ~ Open Borders
Stan Getz ~ Voyage (comp. Kenny Barron) ~ Soul Eyes
Roy Hargrove ~ Strasbourg/St. Denis ~ Earfood
Roy Hargrove ~ To Wisdom the Prize (comp. Larry Willis) ~ Earfood
Joshua Redman ~ Jazz Crimes ~ Elastic
Harold Mabern ~ The Gigolo ~ To Love and Be Loved
Harold Mabern ~ So What ~ To Love and Be Loved
Benny Golson ~ Grove's Groove ~ New Time, New'Tet
Benny Golson ~ Whisper Not (feat Al Jareau) ~ New Time, New'Tet
Jimmy Greene ~ Anthem of Hope ~ The Overcomers Suite

Day After Thanksgiving

This podcast was recorded the day after Thanksgiving. We begin with music inspired by this, my favorite holiday. Since Thanksgiving is centered around eating food, we will begin with Arthur Blythe's Stuffy Turkey. Then we "Give Thanks" with saxophonist Jimmy Greene, and partake of some Soul Food with Cyrus Chestnut and Atla DeChamplain. Lots more music follows.

Playlist
Artist ~ Track ~ Album
Arthur Blythe ~ Stuffy Turkey ~ Focus
Jimmy Greene ~ Give Thanks ~ Mission Statement
Hank Mobley ~ No Room for Squares ~ No Room For Squares
Hank Mobley ~ Up a Step ~ No Room For Squares
Cyrus Chestnut ~ Soul Food ~ Soul Food
Atla and Matt Dechamplain ~ Soul Food ~ Pause
Atla and Matt Dechamplain ~ Two for the Blues (feat. Jon Hendricks) ~ Pause
Nicole Zuraitis ~ Sunny Side ~ Hive Mind
Marian McPartland ~ Naima ~ n/a - Internet Download w/Lee Konitz
Jane Ira Bloom ~ Emily & Her Atoms ~ Wild Lines: Improvising Emily Dickinson
Jane Ira Bloom ~ One Note from One Bird ~ Wild Lines: Improvising Emily Dickinson
Jen Allen ~ Pieces of Myself ~ The Repurcussions

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