In the Groove, Jazz and Beyond

The Kitchen Sink

There is no theme, not one artist or album featured. There is new music, old music, and some classic jazz in this podcast. You will get a taste of some avant-garde jazz, straight ahead hard bop and even some sweet vocals. This is the kitchen sink of jazz in this podcast. For the last few weeks I have been playing some tunes from a fine new CD from Jane Ira Bloom, so I'll place the image and a link to that CD here.

Featured Album

Wingwalker on amazon.com

Track ~ Artist ~ Album
No Turning Back ~ Sharel Cassity ~ Relentless
Live Sports ~ Jane Ira Bloom ~ Wingwalker
How High the Moon ~ Dana Lauren ~ Stairway to the Stars
Abreaction ~ Noah Preminger ~ Before the Rain
Dew Point ~ George Schuller's Circle Wide ~ Like Before, Somewhat After
Bird Calls ~ Charles Mingus ~ Mingus Ah Um
Boogie Stop Shuffle ~ Chris Potter ~ Lift: Live at the Village Vanguard
Ras Abu-Galum ~ Omer Avital ~ The Ancient Art of Giving
From All Angles ~ Albert Rivera ~ Inner Peace

A Slow and Mellow Set

This is a fill-in for another jazz show on WHUS. Since my regular show was mostly pre-empted for sports broadcasting, its a good thing I recorded this one. It turned out to be a very mellow show, but one that features some of the best artists and their most recent releases. Charles Lloyd's latest, Mirror, plays it surprisingly straight though breaks out occasionally within this format. Kieth Jarrett lays down some gorgeous piano lines with full and able support from bass titan Charlie Haden. We hear a couple from young tenor lion Noah Preminger from his soon to be released CD which will be featured on next weeks show. This podcast ends with tracks from trumpeter Wallace Roney and Robert Glasper giving some Herbie love with their interpretation of Hancock compositions.

Featured Album

Mirror

Track ~ Artist ~ Album
Freud's Convertable ~ Jane Ira Bloom ~ Wingwalker
Mirror ~ Charles Lloyd Quartet ~ Mirror
The Water is Wide ~ Charles Lloyd Quartet ~ Mirror
One Day I'll Fly Away ~ Keith Jarrett - Charlie Haden ~ Jasmine
I'm Going to Laugh You Right Out of My Life ~ Keith Jarrett - Charlie Haden ~ Jasmine
Quickening ~ Noah Preminger ~ Before The Rain
Toy Dance ~ Noah Preminger ~ Before The Rain
I Have a Dream ~ Wallace Roney ~ If Only For One Night
Butterfly ~ Robert Glasper Experiment ~ Double Booked
All Matter ~ Robert Glasper Experiment ~ Double Booked

1111

This show was recorded New Years Day 2011. We brought in the New Year with a killin' party in Boston featuring Akashic Record, so they are our featured artists on this show. We look back on some great releases in 2010 from Ralph Peterson, Pat Bianchi, Greg Abate, and Sky Steele among others. There was a lot of great music made in 2010 and it will take a few shows to go through them all. I wish all of my listeners from around the world to a happy, healthy, peaceful 2011 filled with lots of great jazz music.

Partying with Akashic Record and friends on New Years Eve 2010/11. Here is another video from earlier in the evening, more of a jazz groove going on here.

Featured Album

New Days Ahead on amazon.com

Track ~ Artist ~ Album
3 AM Run ~ Akashic Record ~ Theosophy
New Days Ahead ~ Akashic Record ~ New Dayz Ahead
The Moontrane ~ Ralph Peterson's Unity Project ~ Outer Reaches
Litha ~ Pat Bianchi ~ Back Home
Step Aside ~ Bob Reynolds
Y blues ~ Greg Abate ~ Wave Street Sessions
Punta Lullaby ~ Abraham Burton-Eric McPherson ~ Cause and Effect
Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair ~ The Skye Steele Quintet ~ Late Bloomer

Jazzy Christmas 2010

Spiritual means different things to different people. I, for one, would not say I am a spiritual person in the conventional meaning of the word. Yet jazz fans regardless of faith recognize the spiritual nature of John Coltrane's voice on saxophone. Trane's spirituality had a major influence on modern jazz music that I tried to represent on this weeks Christmas day podcast. The show begins with some standard holiday fare from Greg Abate as he swings through The Christmas Song and Greensleeves. We follow with what I feel is the highlight of the podcast, Trane's Spiritual. Branford puts on his best Trane covering Resolution from A Love Supreme. Pharaoh rocks the house carrying on the tradition of Coltrane and then we settle down with tunes from early Chick Corea and finish up with a spiritual ballad, This Little Light of Mine, from Noah Baerman.

Featured Album

Afro Blue Impressions on amazon.com

Track ~ Artist ~ Album
The Christmas Song ~ Greg Abate ~ It's Christmastime
Greensleeves ~ Greg Abate ~ It's Christmastime
Spiritual ~ John Coltrane ~ Afro Blue Impressions
A Love Supreme: Resolution ~ Branford Marsalis Quartet ~ Footsteps of our Fathers
You've Got To Have Freedom ~ Pharoah Sanders ~ Pharaoh Sanders Finest
Misty ~ Pharoah Sanders ~ Crescent With Love
Litha ~ Chick Corea ~ Inner Space
This Little Light of Mine ~ Noah Baerman ~ Soul Force

The Warmth of Jazz

Though I had no preconceived theme for this show, as I listen now, it has a certain warmth to all the selections that hopefully will bring some comfort to the cold winter nights ahead. Listen to the horn arrangements and the vibe from the vibraphones on Noah Bearman's Know Thyself (listen to the entire suite here). Noah Preminger's warm breathy tone on his tenor on his fine new release Before the Rain. Rez Abbasi, Rudresh, and Brian Blade all have that deep warming effect on our soul in their own unique ways. Veejay Iyer's rendition of Somewhere will warm your heart as it did mine. Keep warm, my friends, with these fine jazz tunes.

Featured Album

Know Thyself from CD Baby
Know Thyself from amazon.com

Track ~ Artist ~ Album
Know Thyself (excerpt) ~ Noah Baerman ~ Know Thyself
Abreaction ~ Noah Preminger ~ Before the Rain (pre-order)
Dream State ~ Rez Abbasi ~ Things to Come
Apti ~ Rudresh Mahanthappa's Indo-Pak Coalition ~ Apti
Somewhere ~ Vijay Iyer Trio ~ Historicity
Monk/Trane ~ John Patitucci ~ Remembrance
Crooked Creek ~ Brian Blade ~ Perceptual
Return of the Prodigal Son ~ Brian Blade & the Fellowship Band ~ Season of Changes

Nickle Bag of Funk

This isn't a particularly funky podcast, but we do start off this show with a Nickle Bag from Digable Planets. We continue from there in a fusion vain with a new CD's from Janek Gwizdala with some hot guitar work from Mike Stern. Ralph Peterson is up next with a great new release with his Unity Project. We'll hear two from that one including contributions from Hartford's own Josh Evans (trumpet) and Jovan Alexander (sax) as well as fine Hammond B3 playing by Pat Bianchi. Of course, the great drumming of Ralph Peterson Jr. lays down a foundation for some smokin' tunes. Later in the show we highlight other great Connecticut jazz heroes with the Curtis Brothers, Craig Hartly, and Noah Baerman.

Featured Album

Outer Reaches on amazon.com

Track ~ Artist ~ Album
Nickel Bags ~ Digable Planet ~ Reachin'
Four Brothers ~ Janek Gwizdala ~ The Space Between
Spectrum ~ Ralph Peterson's Unity Band ~ Outer Reaches
Outer Reaches ~ Ralph Peterson's Unity Band ~ Outer Reaches
Villa Palmeras ~ Miguel Zenon ~ Esta Plena
Song to Break the Spell ~ Curtis Brothers Quartet ~ Blood Spirit Land Water Freedom
Wind Dance ~ Dave Holland ~ Pathways
Dial 411 ~ Craig Hartly ~ Dial 411
Atam Bomb ~ Noah Baerman ~ Bliss
Yes, Yes, Oh Yes! ~ Playdate ~ Playdate

Shadow Dance

While this week's show covers a lot of great music by new and perhaps lesser known jazz artists, the jewel of the program is Dave Holland's Shadow Dance from his recent release, Pathways. Dave Holland has had a remarkable career as a band leader, composer, arranger, and bass player. He first came to prominence in the US as a member of Miles Davis's band in the 60's. Since leaving Miles and leading bands on his own, he has released many remarkable recordings, and Pathways is among the best I have heard. I had the honor of interviewing Dave a couple of years ago in Tanglewood, MA. An edited video of our discussion is here:

Also in this podcast are samplings from new CD's by Rudresh Mahanthappa, Ralph Peterson Jr., Albert Rivera, JD Allen and much more.

Featured Album

Pathways on amazon.com

Track ~ Artist ~ Album
Chronic Mistakes ~ Winard Harper ~ Make It Happen
East Boogie (Kolby's Theme) ~ JD Allen ~ Shine!
After All ~ Christian Scott ~ Yesterday You Said Tomorrow
Keeping a Balance ~ Albert Rivera ~ Inner Peace
Zoltan ~ Ralph Peterson Jr. ~ Outer Reaches
Soft ~ Rudresh Mahanthappa ~ Apex
Shadow Dance ~ Dave Holland Octet ~ Pathways
Follow Your Heart ~ Joe Farrell ~ Joe Farrell Quartet

Post-Thanksgiving jazz feast

On this Thanksgiving weekend we feast on some great new jazz that has come through the Hartford area recently for us to savor. Sharel Cassity came with her quintet a couple of weeks ago and showed us her amazing talents on alto and soprano sax. Albert Rivera came to town for a pre-thanksgiving show that blew us all away. Here is a taste of what we got from Albert that evening:

Next up is Tarbaby the hot new group led by Eric Revis and Nasheet Waits representing a new wave of free jazz. From that point on we rock out with some fusion from Wayne Krantz and Mike Stern. Finally we close out this week's podcast with an epic recording from the 70's from Yes.

Featured Album

Relentless on amazon.com or

Track ~ Artist ~ Album
Say What? ~ Sharel Cassity ~ Relentless
Song of Those Who Seek ~ Sharel Cassity ~ Relentless
Exalibur ~ Albert Rivera ~ Inner Peace
The New York Hartford Connection ~ Albert Rivera ~ Re-Introduction
Heads ~ Tarbaby ~ The End of Fear
November '80 ~ Tarbaby ~ The End of Fear
Its No Fun Not To Like Pop ~ Wayne Krantz ~ Krantz Carlock Lefebrvre
Tumble Home ~ Mike Stern ~ Who Let The Cats Outs
All Heart ~ Mike Stern ~ Play
Close to the Edge ~ Yes ~ Close to the Edge