In the Groove, Jazz and Beyond

This podcast is a reprise of a podcast from May 16 2010, due to a preemption of my radio show this week. Tenor saxophone is front and center on this show. We'll hear some jazz artists from today's generation of tenor players along with some grand masters of the past. Representing players on the scene today are Marcus Strickland, Jimmy Greene and Abraham Burton. Of course there are so many great players out there, that it would be impossible to hear them all on one broadcast. From the past, two of the greatest are represented here with Ben Webster and Lester Young.

Featured Albums
Idiosyncrasies on amazon.com	Soulmates on Amazon.com

Track * Artist * Album
The Child * Marcus Strickland * Idiosycracies
Middleman * Marcus Strickland * Idiosycracies
Love In Action * Jimmy Greene * Mission Statement
Forbidden Fruit * Abraham Burton Eric McPherson Quartet * Cause and Effect
How High the Moon * Ben Webster * At Ronnie Scott 1964
Trav'lin' Light * Ben Webster * Soulmates
Soulmates * Ben Webster * Soulmates
Ad Lib Blues * Lester Young * Tea for Two
Jean De Fleur * Grant Green * Idle Moments

Quite an eclectic show. It all starts off with some swinging Joshua Redman, early in his career (1995). It continues with some New Orleans sounds from Skerik and John Ellis. Then we begin our ascent into the avant garde with Greg Osby and then full out (out to lunch) with Eric Dolphy. We then come back down to earth with some gorgeous piano work from Yoko Miwa to conclude this show.

Featured Album

Out To Lunch on amazon.com

Track ~ Artist ~ Album
Jig-A-Jug ~ Joshua Redman Quartet ~ Spirit of the Moment: Live at Village Vangard
Just In Time ~ Joshua Redman Quartet ~ Spirit of the Moment: Live at Village Vangard
Summer Pudding ~ Skerik's Syncopated Taint Septet ~ Husky
Fauxfessor ~ John Ellis and Double Wide ~ Puppet Mischief
Optimism ~ Greg Osby ~ Nine Levels
Hat and Beard ~ Eric Dolphy ~ Out To Lunch
La Estacion ~ Yoko Miwa ~ Canopy of Stars
Golden Slumber ~ Yoko Miwa ~ The Day We Said Goodbye

This week's show begins with a tribute to Gil Scott-Heron, who sadly passed away yesterday. Gil was an innovator. His contribution to jazz came with the fusion of his music, spoken word and poetry. He is credited as having a major influence on the Hip-Hop genre. Perhaps the most famous of his writings The Revolution Will Not Be Televised is included in this podcast. Following that set we feature Steve Davis, Greg Abate and others.

Featured Album

Winter In America on amazon.com

Track ~ Artist ~ Album
The Bottle ~ Gil Scott-Heron ~ Winter In America
A Talk: Bluseology/Black History/The Revolution Will Not Be Televised ~ Gil Scott-Heron ~ Midnight Band: The First Minute of a New Day
Your Daddy Loves You ~ Gil Scott-Heron ~ Winter In America
Peace Be With You Brother ~ Gil Scott-Heron ~ Winter In America
Echo Park ~ Skye Steele ~ Late Bloomer
L.Z.C.M ~ Donny McCaslin ~ Perpetual Motion
Bird Lives ~ Steve Davis ~ Update
Grove's Groove ~ Steve Davis ~ Update
The Little Men ~ Greg Abate ~ Evoloution
Silveresque ~ Greg Abate ~ Wave Street Sessons
Messaien's Gumbo ~ John Pattitucci ~ Rememberance
Quickening ~ Noah Preminger ~ Before the Rain

This show is dedicated to The Groove. Does anyone signify The Groove better than Tower of Power and James Brown? I don't think so. That is followed by a classic (but dated) sound of Jimmy McGriff. The rendition of All Blues here is one of the more soulful versions of the Miles Davis composition you'll hear. Next up is a set featuring Victor Wooten, a bassist that can can display pyrotechnic chops yet never losing that groove. From their we go to a Far Eastern influenced groove of Mynta, Fareed Haque, and Connecticut's own Noah Baerman. We keep it local with a Hartford area guitarist Frank Varela and Mystery Feet.

Featured Album
   
Palmystery on amazon.com        Book - The Music Lesson by Victor Wooten.

Track ~ Artist ~ Album
So I Got the Groove ~ Tower of Power ~ Soul Vaccination
Licking Stick ~ James Brown ~ Star Time
Canadian Sunset ~ Jimmy McGriff ~ Groove Grease
All Blues ~ Hank Crawford and Jimmy McGriff ~ Blues Groove
The Lesson ~ Victor Wooten ~ Palmystery
Left, Right and Center ~ Victor Wooten ~ Palmystery
The Grapevine ~ Prasanna ~ Be the Change
First Summer ~ Mynta ~ First Summer
The Chant ~ Fareed Haque + The Flat Planet Ensemble ~ Flat Planet
Satyagrahi ~ Noah Baerman ~ Soul Force
Ganja Groove ~ Mystery Feet ~ Upstream

I wouldn't say that this is a show about the roots of jazz, but I did play many selections from the Jazz Roots CD featured here. We start with a guitar set with Benson, Coryell, Scofield and Cory Christenson. Then we groove to Turrentine and Dirubbo. We follow that with some of the greatest female vocalists. Ella, Sarah, Aretha and Diana Reeves. The podcast ends with Ben Webster and Stan Getz. That is quite a collection of great jazz artists.

Featured Album

Jazz Roots: The Music of the Americas on amazon.com

Track ~ Artist ~ Album
Take 5 ~ George Benson ~ Jazz Roots: The Music of the Americas
Alone Together ~ Corey Christiansen Quartet ~ Awakening
Trinkle Trinkle ~ Larry Coryell ~ Monk, Trane, Miles and Me
Piggies ~ Beatle Jazz ~ With A Little Help From Our Friends
Sugar ~ Stanley Turrentine ~ Sugar
Minor Progress ~ Mike DiRubbo ~ Chronos
He's A Tramp ~ Dianne Reeves ~ Disney Jazz - Everybody Wants to be a Cat
Taking A Chance on Love ~ Ella Fitzgerald ~ Jazz Roots: The Music of the Americas
Black Coffee ~ Sarah Vaughan ~ Jazz Roots: The Music of the Americas
Muddy Water ~ Aretha Franklin ~ Jazz Roots: The Music of the Americas
Trav'lin Light ~ Ben Webster ~ Soulmates
Day Waves ~ Stan Getz ~ Captain Marvel

This podcast comes from the second half of a show recorded two weeks ago. It's another New Orleans based theme featuring Wynton Marsalis, Galactica, John Ellis, Skerik and more. We really cover a wide range of sounds and styles. Open your minds and ears and enjoy.

Featured Album

Ya-Ka-May on amazon.com

Track ~ Artist ~ Album
New Orleans (Tribute to Marsalis Family) ~ Chucho Valdez ~ Cucho's Steps
School Boy ~ Wynton Marsalis ~ He and She
Poem ~ Wynton Marsalis ~ He and She
The Rasor Rim ~ Wynton Marsalis ~ He and She
Fry His Ass ~ Skerik's Syncopated Taint Septet ~ Husky
Sprung Monkey ~ Garage A Trois ~ Emphasizer
Okra & Tomatoes ~ John Ellis & Double Wide ~ Puppet Mischief
Cineramascope ~ Galactic ~ Ya-Ka-May
Bacchus ~ Galactic ~ Ya-Ka-May
You Don't Know ~ Galactic ~ Ya-Ka-May
Breakdown ~ Walt Weiskopf Quartet ~ Live

In the Groove gets down and funky in this set. I've been in this state of mind for a few weeks now, and we continue with a funky set featuring some low horns and a big brass sound. We start with Joshua Redman's Elastic band and then move into some heavy horns with Nomo, Bonerama and Dirty Dozen Brass Band. We then lay you on to some Akashic Record. A great New England based band that you will often hear in the Boston area featuring the Hammond B3, trombone and baritone sax. Then we will take you back to the 70's with a couple of tunes from War and Return To Forever.

Featured Album

Theosophy on amazon.com

Track ~ Artist ~ Album
Jazz Crimes ~ Joshua Redman ~ Elastic
Put It In Your Pocket ~ Joshua Redman Elastic Band ~ Momentum
We Do We Go ~ Nomo ~
Bayou Betty ~ Bonerama ~ Bringing It Home
Epistrophy ~ Bonerama ~ Bringing It Home
Dead Dog In the Street ~ The Dirty Dozen Brass Band ~ Buck Jump
Jammer Time ~ Akashic Record ~ New Dayz Ahead
3 A.M. Run ~ Akashic Record ~ theosophy
City, Country, City ~ War ~ The World is a Ghetto
The Shadow of Lo ~ Return to Forever ~ The Anthology

Back from N'awlins y'all. We had a great time diggin' the music scene down there. This podcast reflects the music we heard, and the musicians that were performing throughout the city and particularly in the clubs on Frenchman Street near the French Quarter. We start with the man that started it all, Louis Armstrong, and move into the big brass sound of The Dirty Dozen Brass Band. We caught trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis leading his own 15 piece band, so he is represented here though in a quintet setting. I picked up Pat Casey's and the New Sound's CD at his performance at the Spotted Cat Music Club. These young cats represent some of the fine musicians playing all kinds of jazz throughout the city, and keeping the jazz scene fresh in New Orleans. Here is a video I took of a fine street band on Jackson Square.

Featured Album

Buck Jump on amazon.com

Track ~ Artist ~ Album
Honeysuckle Rose ~ Louis Armstrong and His All-Stars ~ Satch Plays Fats
Unclean Waters ~ The Dirty Dozen Brass Band ~ Buck Jump
Inner City Blues ~ The Dirty Dozen Brass Band ~ Buck Jump
Brer Rabbit ~ Delfeayo Marsalis ~ Minions Dominion
Lost In The Crescent ~ Delfeayo Marsalis ~ Minions Dominion
New Orleans Stomp ~ McCoy Tyner ~ Illuminations
Canteloupe Island ~ Pat Casey & The New Sound
Israel ~ Pat Casey & The New Sound
Three Legged Tango in Jackson Square ~ John Ellis ~ Dance Like There is No Tomorrow
Summertime ~ Herbie Hancock ~ Gershwin's World
In Time of Need ~ Terence Blanchard ~ A Tale of God's Will (A Requiem for Katrina)