Deep Focus features conversations, and sometimes arguments, from hosts Quade Wooten and Nicholas Galligan. As filmmakers, they analyze cinema by breaking down the filmmaking techniques and trying to find the insight in each movie. Nic and Quade agree and quarrel in equal measure as they discuss storytelling philosophies, rate lists of films, talk about great filmmakers, and breakdown aspects of cinema. All storytelling mediums and artforms are fair game, but our hosts have a love for cinema. Welcome to Deep Focus! The podcast where love of cinema and thoughtfulness in storytelling triumphs over pedantic, self-consciousness, and overly clever critiques.
How is it possible for the hitting of a drum to convey a sense of awe? A feeling of absolute splendor? A state of moral conviction? An awareness of human possibility, of self-liberation? Plenty of people play drums but few inspire these feelings as Elvin Jones does. And few have made as close a study of Elvin as fellow drummer/conceptualist William Hooker. #WKCR #JazzAlternatives #MitchGoldman #DeepFocus #WilliamHooker #ElvinJones #Coltrane #JohnColtrane #JazzInterview #JazzRadio Photo credit: Brianmcmillen, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
How is it possible for the hitting of a drum to convey a sense of awe? A feeling of absolute splendor? A state of moral conviction? An awareness of human possibility, of self-liberation? Plenty of people play drums but few inspire these feelings as Elvin Jones does. And few have made as close a study of Elvin as fellow drummer/conceptualist William Hooker. #WKCR #JazzAlternatives #MitchGoldman #DeepFocus #WilliamHooker #ElvinJones #Coltrane #JohnColtrane #JazzInterview #JazzRadio Photo credit: Brianmcmillen, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
How is it possible for the hitting of a drum to convey a sense of awe? A feeling of absolute splendor? A state of moral conviction? An awareness of human possibility, of self-liberation? Plenty of people play drums but few inspire these feelings as Elvin Jones does. And few have made as close a study of Elvin as fellow drummer/conceptualist William Hooker. #WKCR #JazzAlternatives #MitchGoldman #DeepFocus #WilliamHooker #ElvinJones #Coltrane #JohnColtrane #JazzInterview #JazzRadio Photo credit: Brianmcmillen, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
When musicians talk about their "influences," it's not always about a harmonic or rhythmic choice that another musician made. Sometimes it's their life choices, the stories they tell and the way they tell them. This is the bond between bassist Jack Bruce and our guest on this Deep Focus from 2014, guitarist Vernon Reid. Sure, as a member of Cream, Jack Bruce was one of the biggest rock stars of all time. Cream practically invented arena rock and it put Bruce, Ginger Baker and Eric Clapton in the pantheon. But the classically-trained Jack Bruce wasn't content to ride his celebrity to classic rock comfort. He proved to be a seeker who spent the next 50 years smashing musical boundaries. It's thanks to him that many of the doors that the guests of Deep Focus wander through are open. One of Jack Bruce's last great projects was the band Spectrum Road with Reid, John Medeski and Cindy Blackman Santana. Spectrum Road was a tribute to Tony Williams' LIfetime, a band that, 40 years earlier with Bruce as a member, created an entire new genre of musical collaboration. Vernon Reid, in his band Living Colour, as well as countless other groups, collaborations, film soundtracks and multi-media work, frolics joyously in it. Jack Bruce died October 25, 2014. Three weeks later, Vernon Reid joined us on Deep Focus to remember his great friend and inspiration. #WKCR #JazzAlternatives #DeepFocus #MitchGoldman #JackBruce #VernonReid #Cream #LivingColour #JazzRadio #JazzInterview #jazzpodcast Photo credit: Jack_Bruce - F. van Geelen, Omroepvereniging VARA, CC BY-SA 3.0 NL creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/nl/deed.en>, via Wikimedia Commons
When musicians talk about their "influences," it's not always about a harmonic or rhythmic choice that another musician made. Sometimes it's their life choices, the stories they tell and the way they tell them. This is the bond between bassist Jack Bruce and our guest on this Deep Focus from 2014, guitarist Vernon Reid. Sure, as a member of Cream, Jack Bruce was one of the biggest rock stars of all time. Cream practically invented arena rock and it put Bruce, Ginger Baker and Eric Clapton in the pantheon. But the classically-trained Jack Bruce wasn't content to ride his celebrity to classic rock comfort. He proved to be a seeker who spent the next 50 years smashing musical boundaries. It's thanks to him that many of the doors that the guests of Deep Focus wander through are open. One of Jack Bruce's last great projects was the band Spectrum Road with Reid, John Medeski and Cindy Blackman Santana. Spectrum Road was a tribute to Tony Williams' LIfetime, a band that, 40 years earlier with Bruce as a member, created an entire new genre of musical collaboration. Vernon Reid, in his band Living Colour, as well as countless other groups, collaborations, film soundtracks and multi-media work, frolics joyously in it. Jack Bruce died October 25, 2014. Three weeks later, Vernon Reid joined us on Deep Focus to remember his great friend and inspiration. #WKCR #JazzAlternatives #DeepFocus #MitchGoldman #JackBruce #VernonReid #Cream #LivingColour #JazzRadio #JazzInterview #jazzpodcast Photo credit: Jack Bruce by Tiziwiki, CC BY 3.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
When musicians talk about their "influences," it's not always about a harmonic or rhythmic choice that another musician made. Sometimes it's their life choices, the stories they tell and the way they tell them. This is the bond between bassist Jack Bruce and our guest on this Deep Focus from 2014, guitarist Vernon Reid. Sure, as a member of Cream, Jack Bruce was one of the biggest rock stars of all time. Cream practically invented arena rock and it put Bruce, Ginger Baker and Eric Clapton in the pantheon. But the classically-trained Jack Bruce wasn't content to ride his celebrity to classic rock comfort. He proved to be a seeker who spent the next 50 years smashing musical boundaries. It's thanks to him that many of the doors that the guests of Deep Focus wander through are open. One of Jack Bruce's last great projects was the band Spectrum Road with Reid, John Medeski and Cindy Blackman Santana. Spectrum Road was a tribute to Tony Williams' LIfetime, a band that, 40 years earlier with Bruce as a member, created an entire new genre of musical collaboration. Vernon Reid, in his band Living Colour, as well as countless other groups, collaborations, film soundtracks and multi-media work, frolics joyously in it. Jack Bruce died October 25, 2014. Three weeks later, Vernon Reid joined us on Deep Focus to remember his great friend and inspiration. #WKCR #JazzAlternatives #DeepFocus #MitchGoldman #JackBruce #VernonReid #Cream #LivingColour #JazzRadio #JazzInterview #jazzpodcast Photo credit: Jack_Bruce - F. van Geelen, Omroepvereniging VARA, CC BY-SA 3.0 NL creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/nl/deed.en>, via Wikimedia Commons
Since Sun Ra left the planet in 1993, his star just seems to continue to brighten. Not only do his musical ideas grow in relevance but his Afro-Futuristic vision and even his DIY business ethos gain currency. If only we knew someone who was an active participant in his bands in the Seventies and Eighties, maybe even someone who traveled to FESTAC 1977 in Nigeria with Sun Ra and has first-hand stories of Fela Kuti and the truth of the Space Chord. Imagine what we might discover! Hmmm... Yes, trombonist/bandleader Craig Harris joins Mitch Goldman for a Deep Focus on Sun Ra from 2015, featuring previously unheard live solar flares from the WKCR archives. #WKCR #JazzAlternatives #MitchGoldman #DeepFocus #craigharris #SunRa #JazzRadio #JazzInterview #JazzPodcast #spaceistheplace Photo credit: Mundi-Joe Tilburg, The Netherlands, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Since Sun Ra left the planet in 1993, his star just seems to continue to brighten. Not only do his musical ideas grow in relevance but his Afro-Futuristic vision and even his DIY business ethos gain currency. If only we knew someone who was an active participant in his bands in the Seventies and Eighties, maybe even someone who traveled to FESTAC 1977 in Nigeria with Sun Ra and has first-hand stories of Fela Kuti and the truth of the Space Chord. Imagine what we might discover! Hmmm... Yes, trombonist/bandleader Craig Harris joins Mitch Goldman for a Deep Focus on Sun Ra from 2015, featuring previously unheard live solar flares from the WKCR archives. #WKCR #JazzAlternatives #MitchGoldman #DeepFocus #craigharris #SunRa #JazzRadio #JazzInterview #JazzPodcast #spaceistheplace Sun Ra - Impulse!, ABC/Dunhill Records - Photographer uncredited most likely Francis Ing who is credited on Astro Black ., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Since Sun Ra left the planet in 1993, his star just seems to continue to brighten. Not only do his musical ideas grow in relevance but his Afro-Futuristic vision and even his DIY business ethos gain currency. If only we knew someone who was an active participant in his bands in the Seventies and Eighties, maybe even someone who traveled to FESTAC 1977 in Nigeria with Sun Ra and has first-hand stories of Fela Kuti and the truth of the Space Chord. Imagine what we might discover! Hmmm... Yes, trombonist/bandleader Craig Harris joins Mitch Goldman for a Deep Focus on Sun Ra from 2015, featuring previously unheard live solar flares from the WKCR archives. #WKCR #JazzAlternatives #MitchGoldman #DeepFocus #craigharris #SunRa #JazzRadio #JazzInterview #JazzPodcast #spaceistheplace Photo credit: Mundi-Joe Tilburg, The Netherlands, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
What do you need to make great music? Chops? Theory? Encyclopedic knowledge of the music? Yeah, that too, but if you don't have curiosity, a willingness to engage with people, a giving heart, who is going to want to hear what you have to say? Through sixty years of fusing traditions with experimentation, that was always the message from Roswell Rudd and his trombone. Roswell passed away in December 2017 at the age of 82. Trumpeter Steven Bernstein, who was one of Roswell's musical partners, takes this message to heart. We've got music like you've never heard (because I promise you've never heard this!). #WKCR #DeepFocus #MitchGoldman #RoswellRudd #StevenBernstein #SexMob #MTO #JazzRadio #JazzInterview #JazzPodcast Photo credit: Christian Sahm Aschaffenburg, Deutschland, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
What do you need to make great music? Chops? Theory? Encyclopedic knowledge of the music? Yeah, that too, but if you don't have curiosity, a willingness to engage with people, a giving heart, who is going to want to hear what you have to say? Through sixty years of fusing traditions with experimentation, that was always the message from Roswell Rudd and his trombone. Roswell passed away in December 2017 at the age of 82. Trumpeter Steven Bernstein, who was one of Roswell's musical partners, takes this message to heart. We've got music like you've never heard (because I promise you've never heard this!). #WKCR #DeepFocus #MitchGoldman #RoswellRudd #StevenBernstein #SexMob #MTO #JazzRadio #JazzInterview #JazzPodcast Photo credit: Christian Sahm Aschaffenburg, Deutschland, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
What do you need to make great music? Chops? Theory? Encyclopedic knowledge of the music? Yeah, that too, but if you don't have curiosity, a willingness to engage with people, a giving heart, who is going to want to hear what you have to say? Through sixty years of fusing traditions with experimentation, that was always the message from Roswell Rudd and his trombone. Roswell passed away in December 2017 at the age of 82. Trumpeter Steven Bernstein, who was one of Roswell's musical partners, takes this message to heart. We've got music like you've never heard (because I promise you've never heard this!). #WKCR #DeepFocus #MitchGoldman #RoswellRudd #StevenBernstein #SexMob #MTO #JazzRadio #JazzInterview #JazzPodcast Photo credit: Christian Sahm Aschaffenburg, Deutschland, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Sometimes you have to take all the furniture out of the room to see what it really looks like and to decide what belongs in there. Pianist Andrew Hill did that for our music (most memorably on a series of outstanding Blue Note recordings in the 1960's) and then he put it back together in a whole new way. It's still the same room but it feels fresh and vibrant; the angles are better, you can move around in it more easily. He also opened many new doors leading out of that room and entire generations of younger musicians have enthusiastically moved through them. Vijay Iyer is certainly one of them. He could never be called a Hill clone but he learned many lessons from this imaginative bandleader. It's readily apparent today in the many ensembles that he leads and his even more numerous collaborations and multimedia work. He talks about it with clarity and zeal with host Mitch Goldman in this Deep Focus from 2013. #WKCR #JazzAlternatives #MitchGoldman #DeepFocus #AndrewHill #VijayIyer #JazzRadio #jazzpodcast Photo credit: fair use.
Sometimes you have to take all the furniture out of the room to see what it really looks like and to decide what belongs in there. Pianist Andrew Hill did that for our music (most memorably on a series of outstanding Blue Note recordings in the 1960's) and then he put it back together in a whole new way. It's still the same room but it feels fresh and vibrant; the angles are better, you can move around in it more easily. He also opened many new doors leading out of that room and entire generations of younger musicians have enthusiastically moved through them. Vijay Iyer is certainly one of them. He could never be called a Hill clone but he learned many lessons from this imaginative bandleader. It's readily apparent today in the many ensembles that he leads and his even more numerous collaborations and multimedia work. He talks about it with clarity and zeal with host Mitch Goldman in this Deep Focus from 2013. #WKCR #JazzAlternatives #MitchGoldman #DeepFocus #AndrewHill #VijayIyer #JazzRadio #jazzpodcast Photo credit: fair use.
Sometimes you have to take all the furniture out of the room to see what it really looks like and to decide what belongs in there. Pianist Andrew Hill did that for our music (most memorably on a series of outstanding Blue Note recordings in the 1960's) and then he put it back together in a whole new way. It's still the same room but it feels fresh and vibrant; the angles are better, you can move around in it more easily. He also opened many new doors leading out of that room and entire generations of younger musicians have enthusiastically moved through them. Vijay Iyer is certainly one of them. He could never be called a Hill clone but he learned many lessons from this imaginative bandleader. It's readily apparent today in the many ensembles that he leads and his even more numerous collaborations and multimedia work. He talks about it with clarity and zeal with host Mitch Goldman in this Deep Focus from 2013. #WKCR #JazzAlternatives #MitchGoldman #DeepFocus #AndrewHill #VijayIyer #JazzRadio #jazzpodcast Photo credit: fair use.
Sometimes there's a fantastic narrative behind these Deep Focus programs and sometimes we are simply reveling in glorious, never-before-heard recordings of history's greatest musicians with a brilliant scholar of the music to lead us through it. And, by golly, that's good enough. Join host Mitch Goldman and his guest, bandleader Eric Anthony Person for a Deep Focus on John Coltrane and Rahsaan Roland Kirk with music from the WKCR archives. Mitch says, “If you have heard any of these recordings before, I'll eat my hat!” #WKCR #MitchGoldman #DeepFocus #EricPerson #RahsaanRolandKirk #JohnColtrane #ArtEnsembleOfChicago #jazzinterview #jazzradio #jazzpodcast Photo credit: fair use.
Sometimes there's a fantastic narrative behind these Deep Focus programs and sometimes we are simply reveling in glorious, never-before-heard recordings of history's greatest musicians with a brilliant scholar of the music to lead us through it. And, by golly, that's good enough. Join host Mitch Goldman and his guest, bandleader Eric Anthony Person for a Deep Focus on the Art Ensemble of Chicago with music from the WKCR archives. Mitch says, “If you have heard any of these recordings before, I'll eat my hat!” #WKCR #MitchGoldman #DeepFocus #EricPerson #RahsaanRolandKirk #JohnColtrane #ArtEnsembleOfChicago #jazzinterview #jazzradio #jazzpodcast Photo credit: fair use.
Sometimes there's a fantastic narrative behind these Deep Focus programs and sometimes we are simply reveling in glorious, never-before-heard recordings of history's greatest musicians with a brilliant scholar of the music to lead us through it. And, by golly, that's good enough. Join host Mitch Goldman and his guest, bandleader Eric Anthony Person for a Deep Focus on the Art Ensemble of Chicago with music from the WKCR archives. Mitch says, “If you have heard any of these recordings before, I'll eat my hat!” #WKCR #MitchGoldman #DeepFocus #EricPerson #RahsaanRolandKirk #JohnColtrane #ArtEnsembleOfChicago #jazzinterview #jazzradio #jazzpodcast Photo credit: fair use.
This week's show is a Deep Focus unlike any other. It's actually more like one of those sports movies in which The Kid gets to go into the championship game with his big league hero. The hero, in this case, is none other than Jaki Byard (the subject of Deep Focus episodes with both Graham Haynes and with Jason Moran and Alicia Hall Moran) and the part of The Kid is played by drummer Roy Weinberger. Jaki Byard booked a date at SUNY-Binghamton in 1981 and asked the students to provide half of a band for him to play with. The students didn't have to think too hard about whom to call; Roy and his brother, alto saxophonist Bob Weinberger, were pretty much the heaviest cats in town. Was being big fish in that little pond enough to get them through the raging river of a performance with Jaki Byard? Tune in to find out. We have documentary evidence! This one is truly fascinating. #WKCR #DeepFocus #MitchGoldman #JakiByard #RoyWeinberger #JazzRadio #JazzInterview #JazzPodcast Photo credit: Jaki Byard By Source, Fair use en.wikipedia.org-w-index.php-curid=50315026
This week's show is a Deep Focus unlike any other. It's actually more like one of those sports movies in which The Kid gets to go into the championship game with his big league hero. The hero, in this case, is none other than Jaki Byard (the subject of Deep Focus episodes with both Graham Haynes and with Jason Moran and Alicia Hall Moran) and the part of The Kid is played by drummer Roy Weinberger. Jaki Byard booked a date at SUNY-Binghamton in 1981 and asked the students to provide half of a band for him to play with. The students didn't have to think too hard about whom to call; Roy and his brother, alto saxophonist Bob Weinberger, were pretty much the heaviest cats in town. Was being big fish in that little pond enough to get them through the raging river of a performance with Jaki Byard? Tune in to find out. We have documentary evidence! This one is truly fascinating. #WKCR #DeepFocus #MitchGoldman #JakiByard #RoyWeinberger #JazzRadio #JazzInterview #JazzPodcast Photo credit: Jaki Byard By Source, Fair use en.wikipedia.org-w-index.php-curid=50315026
This week's show is a Deep Focus unlike any other. It's actually more like one of those sports movies in which The Kid gets to go into the championship game with his big league hero. The hero, in this case, is none other than Jaki Byard (the subject of Deep Focus episodes with both Graham Haynes and with Jason Moran and Alicia Hall Moran) and the part of The Kid is played by drummer Roy Weinberger. Jaki Byard booked a date at SUNY-Binghamton in 1981 and asked the students to provide half of a band for him to play with. The students didn't have to think too hard about whom to call; Roy and his brother, alto saxophonist Bob Weinberger, were pretty much the heaviest cats in town. Was being big fish in that little pond enough to get them through the raging river of a performance with Jaki Byard? Tune in to find out. We have documentary evidence! This one is truly fascinating. #WKCR #DeepFocus #MitchGoldman #JakiByard #RoyWeinberger #JazzRadio #JazzInterview #JazzPodcast Photo credit: Jaki Byard By Source, Fair use en.wikipedia.org-w-index.php-curid=50315026
How many drummers can you name who changed the whole conversation, just with their playing? Like, to the point that they became the North Star for the next generation or two? How many of those were also great bandleaders, and maybe even solid composers? It's a short list by anybody's count but one name you are probably already thinking of is Jack DeJohnette. Drummer Pheeroan Aklaff joins Mitch Goldman in putting DeJohnette in Deep Focus. Mitch, of course, has some dazzling live music from the archives that you've probably never heard. DeJohnette's band Special Edition is ripe for rediscovery. #WKCR #DeepFocus #MitchGoldman #PheeroanakLaff #JackDeJohnette #JazzRadio #JazzInterview #JazzPodcast Photo credit: Roberto Masotti
How many drummers can you name who changed the whole conversation, just with their playing? Like, to the point that they became the North Star for the next generation or two? How many of those were also great bandleaders, and maybe even solid composers? It's a short list by anybody's count but one name you are probably already thinking of is Jack DeJohnette. Drummer Pheeroan Aklaff joins Mitch Goldman in putting DeJohnette in Deep Focus. Mitch, of course, has some dazzling live music from the archives that you've probably never heard. DeJohnette's band Special Edition is ripe for rediscovery. #WKCR #DeepFocus #MitchGoldman #PheeroanakLaff #JackDeJohnette #JazzRadio #JazzInterview #JazzPodcast Photo credit: Roberto Masotti
How many drummers can you name who changed the whole conversation, just with their playing? Like, to the point that they became the North Star for the next generation or two? How many of those were also great bandleaders, and maybe even solid composers? It's a short list by anybody's count but one name you are probably already thinking of is Jack DeJohnette. This Monday, drummer Pheeroan Aklaff joins Mitch Goldman in putting DeJohnette in Deep Focus. Mitch, of course, has some dazzling live music from the archives that you've probably never heard. DeJohnette's band Special Edition is ripe for rediscovery. #WKCR #DeepFocus #MitchGoldman #PheeroanakLaff #JackDeJohnette #JazzRadio #JazzInterview #JazzPodcast Photo credit: Roberto Masotti
Want a hot-button issue for a Jazz listener? Just mention "electric Miles." If you really want to get them going, talk about the profoundly disruptive years, 1973 to 1975. Some will gush about it-- "visionary," "powerhouse," "mind-bending"-- while others, like Wynton Marsalis, will dismiss Miles at this time as, "...on the bandstand looking like, basically, a buffoon.” But in neither case does the respondent often look under the hood. How did this band actually work? Who was directing the music's movement? How were they doing it? What was the nature of the conversation that was happening in the music? The truth is that, love it or hate it, few people actually know the answers to these questions. One exception: Mitch Goldman's guest on this Deep Focus from 2011, cornetist Graham Haynes. Graham was introduced to Miles as a kid. Then, as a 14-year-old, he hung out on Miles' block until Miles invited him in to the band's rehearsals. Graham actually witnessed the creation of this music and, being the far-reaching bandleader that he is as an adult, he talks about the music with rare passion and insight. Plus, y'know, the WKCR archives bring the ruckus. #WKCR #DeepFocus #MitchGoldman #GrahamHaynes #MilesDavis #JazzRadio #JazzInterview #JazzRockFusion #JazzPodcast Photo credit: Miles_Davis - JPRoche - CC BY-SA 4.0 creativecommons.org-licenses-by-sa-4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Want a hot-button issue for a Jazz listener? Just mention "electric Miles." If you really want to get them going, talk about the profoundly disruptive years, 1973 to 1975. Some will gush about it-- "visionary," "powerhouse," "mind-bending"-- while others, like Wynton Marsalis, will dismiss Miles at this time as, "...on the bandstand looking like, basically, a buffoon.” But in neither case does the respondent usually look under the hood. How did this band actually work? Who was directing the music's movement? How were they doing it? What was the nature of the conversation that was happening in the music? The truth is that, love it or hate it, few people actually know the answers to these questions. One exception: Mitch Goldman's guest on this Deep Focus from 2011, cornetist Graham Haynes. Graham was introduced to Miles as a kid. Then, as a 14-year-old, he hung out on Miles' block until Miles invited him in to the band's rehearsals. Graham actually witnessed the creation of this music and, being the far-reaching bandleader that he is as an adult, he talks about the music with rare passion and insight. Plus, y'know, the WKCR archives bring the ruckus. #WKCR #DeepFocus #MitchGoldman #GrahamHaynes #MilesDavis #JazzRadio #JazzInterview #JazzRockFusion #JazzPodcast Photo credit: Miles_Davis - JPRoche - CC BY-SA 4.0 creativecommons.org-licenses-by-sa-4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
On the next Deep Focus, the band that rewrote all the rules, Joseph Bowie's Defunkt. Bassist Oren Bloedow joins host Mitch Goldman, not to listen to the band's narrow studio discography, but to revel in some of the live shows from the early Eighties that made this band one of the world's most notorious dance floor destroyers (and little did those gambolers realize that they were grooving to the trombone skronker from the Human Arts Ensemble and Black Artists Group... OR DID THEY?!). We now have over 150 episodes with more going up every week. Join our thousands of listeners in over 40 countries. Photo credit: courtesy of Hannibal Records
On the next Deep Focus, the band that rewrote all the rules, Joseph Bowie's Defunkt. Bassist Oren Bloedow joins host Mitch Goldman, not to listen to the band's narrow studio discography, but to revel in some of the live shows from the early Eighties that made this band one of the world's most notorious dance floor destroyers (and little did those gambolers realize that they were grooving to the trombone skronker from the Human Arts Ensemble and Black Artists Group... OR DID THEY?!). We now have over 150 episodes with more going up every week. Join our thousands of listeners in over 40 countries. Photo credit: courtesy of Hannibal Records
On the next Deep Focus, the band that rewrote all the rules, Joseph Bowie's Defunkt. Bassist Oren Bloedow joins host Mitch Goldman, not to listen to the band's narrow studio discography, but to revel in some of the live shows from the early Eighties that made this band one of the world's most notorious dance floor destroyers (and little did those gambolers realize that they were grooving to the trombone skronker from the Human Arts Ensemble and Black Artists Group... OR DID THEY?!). We now have over 150 episodes with more going up every week. Join our thousands of listeners in over 40 countries. Photo credit: courtesy of Hannibal Records
People talk about “the rhythm of New York.” Is there really such a thing? Can you see it in the way people walk? The way they talk? Is it in their music? Are New York drummers a distinct group? Drummer Ben Perowsky says there’s no doubt about it, and who is a better example of it than native New Yorker Al Foster? On tonight’s Deep Focus, Ben and host Mitch Goldman will listen to rare recordings of Al with Miles Davis and with Joe Henderson from the WKCR archives. #WKCR #MitchGoldman #DeepFocus #BenPerowsky #AlFoster #JazzRadio #JazzInterview Photo credit: Al_Foster Giacomo Petronio Trieste, Italy, CC BY-SA 2.0 creativecommons.org-licenses-by-sa-2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
People talk about “the rhythm of New York.” Is there really such a thing? Can you see it in the way people walk? The way they talk? Is it in their music? Are New York drummers a distinct group? Drummer Ben Perowsky says there’s no doubt about it, and who is a better example of it than native New Yorker Al Foster? On tonight’s Deep Focus, Ben and host Mitch Goldman will listen to rare recordings of Al with Miles Davis and with Joe Henderson from the WKCR archives. #WKCR #MitchGoldman #DeepFocus #BenPerowsky #AlFoster #JazzRadio #JazzInterview Photo credit: Al_Foster Giacomo Petronio Trieste, Italy, CC BY-SA 2.0 creativecommons.org-licenses-by-sa-2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
People talk about “the rhythm of New York.” Is there really such a thing? Can you see it in the way people walk? The way they talk? Is it in their music? Are New York drummers a distinct group? Drummer Ben Perowsky says there’s no doubt about it, and who is a better example of it than native New Yorker Al Foster? On tonight’s Deep Focus, Ben and host Mitch Goldman will listen to rare recordings of Al with Miles Davis and with Joe Henderson from the WKCR archives. #WKCR #MitchGoldman #DeepFocus #BenPerowsky #AlFoster #JazzRadio #JazzInterview Photo credit: Al_Foster Giacomo Petronio Trieste, Italy, CC BY-SA 2.0 creativecommons.org-licenses-by-sa-2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Liberty Ellman on John McLaughlin part 2: The One Truth Band? Zakir Hussain? Trilok Gurtu? Miles Davis?? WOT?! "Is he serious?" "I guess he must be. I mean, he definitely said it." "Well, I have to hear this...".
Liberty Ellman on John McLaughlin part 2: The One Truth Band? Zakir Hussain? Trilok Gurtu? Miles Davis?? WOT?! "Is he serious?" "I guess he must be. I mean, he definitely said it." "Well, I have to hear this...".
Liberty Ellman on John McLaughlin part 2: The One Truth Band? Zakir Hussain? Trilok Gurtu? Miles Davis?? WOT?! "Is he serious?" "I guess he must be. I mean, he definitely said it." "Well, I have to hear this...".
Just a suggestion: if you're going to name your band (in Hindi), "Absolute protector of the universe beyond human comprehension and all attributes," you'd better have the nuts to back it up. I mean, your stuff had better be incontrovertibly immaculate. You had better be doing something no one else has ever done and that no one else will do for at least another 50 years. You would look like a complete ass if you delivered anything less than that nearly impossible achievement. In this edition of Mitch Goldman's Deep Focus from 2016 with guest Liberty Ellman, find out if John McLaughlin is revered to this day by every knowledgeable plectrist or is a complete laughing stock (hint: no one's laughing and Mahavishnu Orchestra's reign is unending). And do the WKCR archives deliver unassailable evidence that even the band's greatest fans have never heard? What kind of a question is that?! #WKCR #MitchGoldman #DeepFocus #LibertyEllman #JohnMcLaughlin #MahavishnuOrchestra #JazzRadio #JazzInterview Photo credit: JohnMcLaughlin - Zirkus Krone, Munich, West Germany - 1973 June 9 PublicDomain File
Just a suggestion: if you're going to name your band (in Hindi), "Absolute protector of the universe beyond human comprehension and all attributes," you'd better have the nuts to back it up. I mean, your stuff had better be incontrovertibly immaculate. You had better be doing something no one else has ever done and that no one else will do for at least another 50 years. You would look like a complete ass if you delivered anything less than that nearly impossible achievement. In this edition of Mitch Goldman's Deep Focus from 2016 with guest Liberty Ellman, find out if John McLaughlin is revered to this day by every knowledgeable plectrist or is a complete laughing stock (hint: no one's laughing and Mahavishnu Orchestra's reign is unending). And do the WKCR archives deliver unassailable evidence that even the band's greatest fans have never heard? What kind of a question is that?! #WKCR #MitchGoldman #DeepFocus #LibertyEllman #JohnMcLaughlin #MahavishnuOrchestra #JazzRadio #JazzInterview Photo credit: JohnMcLaughlin - Zirkus Krone, Munich, West Germany - 1973 June 9 PublicDomain File
Just a suggestion: if you're going to name your band (in Hindi), "Absolute protector of the universe beyond human comprehension and all attributes," you'd better have the nuts to back it up. I mean, your stuff had better be incontrovertibly immaculate. You had better be doing something no one else has ever done and that no one else will do for at least another 50 years. You would look like a complete ass if you delivered anything less than that nearly impossible achievement. In this edition of Mitch Goldman's Deep Focus from 2016 with guest Liberty Ellman, find out if John McLaughlin is revered to this day by every knowledgeable plectrist or is a complete laughing stock (hint: no one's laughing and Mahavishnu Orchestra's reign is unending). And do the WKCR archives deliver unassailable evidence that even the band's greatest fans have never heard? What kind of a question is that?! #WKCR #MitchGoldman #DeepFocus #LibertyEllman #JohnMcLaughlin #MahavishnuOrchestra #JazzRadio #JazzInterview Photo credit: JohnMcLaughlin - Zirkus Krone, Munich, West Germany - 1973 June 9 PublicDomain File
If tenor saxophone giant Lester Young said someone has "big ears" it was a high compliment. It meant they were hearing everything that was there to be heard. They had acumen and they had discernment (and what higher aspiration is there for a studious listener?). If Lester Young had heard the music of guitarist Gary Lucas, he would certainly have cited his auricular capaciousness. Captain Beefheart? Sure. 1930's Chinese pop? Certainly. Classical composition? Why not. Gary takes all his food on the same plate, and everything is the subject of profound scrutiny. In this Deep Focus from 2018, Gary Lucas turns his attention to Charles Mingus. Know this, adepts and newbies alike: nothing will prepare you for the impact of what you will hear on this show (unless, of course, you heard this show in 2018). #WKCR #JazzAlternatvies #DeepFocus #MitchGoldman #GaryLucas #CharlesMingus @JazzRadio #JazzInterview Photo credit: Charles_Mingus_1976 Tom Marcello Webster - New York - CC BY-SA 2.0
If tenor saxophone giant Lester Young said someone has "big ears" it was a high compliment. It meant they were hearing everything that was there to be heard. They had acumen and they had discernment (and what higher aspiration is there for a studious listener?). If Lester Young had heard the music of guitarist Gary Lucas, he would certainly have cited his auricular capaciousness. Captain Beefheart? Sure. 1930's Chinese pop? Certainly. Classical composition? Why not. Gary takes all his food on the same plate, and everything is the subject of profound scrutiny. In this Deep Focus from 2018, Gary Lucas turns his attention to Charles Mingus. Know this, adepts and newbies alike: nothing will prepare you for the impact of what you will hear on this show (unless, of course, you heard this show in 2018). #WKCR #JazzAlternatvies #DeepFocus #MitchGoldman #GaryLucas #CharlesMingus @JazzRadio #JazzInterview Photo credit: Charles_Mingus_1976 Tom Marcello Webster - New York - CC BY-SA 2.0
In the Jazz world, Steve Lacy is like Broadway: doesn't fit neatly into the grid but, wherever he intersects it, magical things happen. No wonder he loved Monk and no wonder Phillip Johnston is an acolyte. Phillip and I put Steve Lacy in Deep Focus. Roswell Rudd's trombone also contributes some open-handed wonder. #WKCR #DeepFocus #MitchGoldman #PhillipJohnston #SteveLacy #JazzRadio #JazzInterview #JazzPodcast Photo credit: Steve Lacy by Lioneldecoster, CC BY-SA 3.0 creativecommons.org-licenses-by-sa-3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.jpeg
In the Jazz world, Steve Lacy is like Broadway: doesn't fit neatly into the grid but, wherever he intersects it, magical things happen. No wonder he loved Monk and no wonder Phillip Johnston is an acolyte. Phillip and I put Steve Lacy in Deep Focus. Roswell Rudd's trombone also contributes some open-handed wonder. #WKCR #DeepFocus #MitchGoldman #PhillipJohnston #SteveLacy #JazzRadio #JazzInterview #JazzPodcast Photo credit: Steve Lacy by Lioneldecoster, CC BY-SA 3.0 creativecommons.org-licenses-by-sa-3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.jpeg
In the Jazz world, Steve Lacy is like Broadway: doesn't fit neatly into the grid but, wherever he intersects it, magical things happen. No wonder he loved Monk and no wonder Phillip Johnston is an acolyte. Phillip and I put Steve Lacy in Deep Focus. Roswell Rudd's trombone also contributes some open-handed wonder. #WKCR #DeepFocus #MitchGoldman #PhillipJohnston #SteveLacy #JazzRadio #JazzInterview #JazzPodcast Photo credit: Steve Lacy by Lioneldecoster, CC BY-SA 3.0 creativecommons.org-licenses-by-sa-3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.jpeg
The subject that a guest chooses for an episode of Deep Focus tells me something about who the guest is. When Jorge Sylvester, an alto saxophonist and composer of a deeply expressive sound and of great discipline, tells me that he wants to talk about Jimmy Lyons, I know that the Focus is going to be Deep indeed. Jorge, in this Deep Focus from 2012, does not disappoint. And what about the WKCR archives? Did they yield live, unreleased recordings? Riches, I tell you. No king, no czar ever had such profound wealth. #WKCR #MitchGoldman #DeepFocus #JorgeSylvester #JimmyLyons #JazzRadio #JazzInterview Photo credit: Jimmy_Lyons by Brian McMillen - CC BY-SA 4.0 creativecommons.org licenses-by-sa-4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The subject that a guest chooses for an episode of Deep Focus tells me something about who the guest is. When Jorge Sylvester, an alto saxophonist and composer of a deeply expressive sound and of great discipline, tells me that he wants to talk about Jimmy Lyons, I know that the Focus is going to be Deep indeed. Jorge, in this Deep Focus from 2012, does not disappoint. And what about the WKCR archives? Did they yield live, unreleased recordings? Riches, I tell you. No king, no czar ever had such profound wealth. #WKCR #MitchGoldman #DeepFocus #JorgeSylvester #JimmyLyons #JazzRadio #JazzInterview Photo credit: Jimmy_Lyons by Brian McMillen - CC BY-SA 4.0 creativecommons.org licenses-by-sa-4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The subject that a guest chooses for an episode of Deep Focus tells me something about who the guest is. When Jorge Sylvester, an alto saxophonist and composer of a deeply expressive sound and of great discipline, tells me that he wants to talk about Jimmy Lyons, I know that the Focus is going to be Deep indeed. Jorge, in this Deep Focus from 2012, does not disappoint. And what about the WKCR archives? Did they yield live, unreleased recordings? Riches, I tell you. No king, no czar ever had such profound wealth. #WKCR #MitchGoldman #DeepFocus #JorgeSylvester #JimmyLyons #JazzRadio #JazzInterview Photo credit: Jimmy_Lyons by Brian McMillen - CC BY-SA 4.0 creativecommons.org licenses-by-sa-4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
As a young Jazz drummer in the Seventies, improvising drummer William Hooker frequently found himself on the bandstand as part of an organ trio. The sonic thunder of a Hammond B3 organ in the hands of a vibrant musician scorched an impression into him that will stay with him to his last days on earth. Although he heard the organ played night after night during that era, no organist that he heard then or since has matched the tumult that Larry Young brought. Larry Young, AKA Khalid Yasin, had a sound and textural approach unlike anyone else who has played the instrument. His early blues-inflected playing yielded to a harmonic concept inspired by John Coltrane wedded to an unequaled rhythmic and sonic range. Although he died under mysterious circumstances in 1978 at the age of 37, his work with everyone from Hank Mobley to Jimi Hendrix, Tony Williams to Miles Davis (That's him on "Bitches Brew") as well as his many exceptional dates as a leader have endeared him to a small coterie of very dedicated fans. In this rebroadcast of a Deep Focus from 2014, William and host Mitch Goldman will explore the WKCR archives for rarities and unreleased gems. #WKCR #MitchGoldman #DeepFocus #WilliamHooker #LarryYoung #JazzRadio #JazzInterview #jazzpodcast Photo credits: Larry Young by Francis Wolff/Mosaic Images. William Hooker photo courtesy of William Hooker.
As a young Jazz drummer in the Seventies, improvising drummer William Hooker frequently found himself on the bandstand as part of an organ trio. The sonic thunder of a Hammond B3 organ in the hands of a vibrant musician scorched an impression into him that will stay with him to his last days on earth. Although he heard the organ played night after night during that era, no organist that he heard then or since has matched the tumult that Larry Young brought. Larry Young, AKA Khalid Yasin, had a sound and textural approach unlike anyone else who has played the instrument. His early blues-inflected playing yielded to a harmonic concept inspired by John Coltrane wedded to an unequaled rhythmic and sonic range. Although he died under mysterious circumstances in 1978 at the age of 37, his work with everyone from Hank Mobley to Jimi Hendrix, Tony Williams to Miles Davis (That's him on "Bitches Brew") as well as his many exceptional dates as a leader have endeared him to a small coterie of very dedicated fans. In this rebroadcast of a Deep Focus from 2014, William and host Mitch Goldman will explore the WKCR archives for rarities and unreleased gems. #WKCR #MitchGoldman #DeepFocus #WilliamHooker #LarryYoung #JazzRadio #JazzInterview #jazzpodcast Photo credits: Larry Young by Francis Wolff/Mosaic Images. William Hooker photo courtesy of William Hooker.
As a young Jazz drummer in the Seventies, improvising drummer William Hooker frequently found himself on the bandstand as part of an organ trio. The sonic thunder of a Hammond B3 organ in the hands of a vibrant musician scorched an impression into him that will stay with him to his last days on earth. Although he heard the organ played night after night during that era, no organist that he heard then or since has matched the tumult that Larry Young brought. Larry Young, AKA Khalid Yasin, had a sound and textural approach unlike anyone else who has played the instrument. His early blues-inflected playing yielded to a harmonic concept inspired by John Coltrane wedded to an unequaled rhythmic and sonic range. Although he died under mysterious circumstances in 1978 at the age of 37, his work with everyone from Hank Mobley to Jimi Hendrix, Tony Williams to Miles Davis (That's him on "Bitches Brew") as well as his many exceptional dates as a leader have endeared him to a small coterie of very dedicated fans. In this rebroadcast of a Deep Focus from 2014, William and host Mitch Goldman explore the WKCR archives for rarities and unreleased gems. #WKCR #MitchGoldman #DeepFocus #WilliamHooker #LarryYoung #JazzRadio #JazzInterview #jazzpodcast Photo credits: Larry Young by Francis Wolff/Mosaic Images. William Hooker photo courtesy of William Hooker.
A band cannot be a great band if it doesn't have its own distinctive sound. The sonorities of the instruments and the writing are part of it but it's really the character of the players and how they blend, how they respond to one another. Ellington had it, of course; Mingus had it; Ornette always had it, no matter how far flung the instrumentation but... What is it exactly?! It's ineffable, yes, but Brandon Ross spreads light in this edition of Mitch Goldman's Deep Focus from 2015 on Keith Jarrett's American Quartet. #WKCR #DeepFocus #MitchGoldman #BrandonRoss #KeithJarrett #KeithJarrettAmericanQuartet #JazzRadio #JazzInterview #jazzpodcast Photo credit: Enid Farber
A band cannot be a great band if it doesn't have its own distinctive sound. The sonorities of the instruments and the writing are part of it but it's really the character of the players and how they blend, how they respond to one another. Ellington had it, of course; Mingus had it; Ornette always had it, no matter how far flung the instrumentation but... What is it exactly?! It's ineffable, yes, but Brandon Ross spreads light in this edition of Mitch Goldman's Deep Focus from 2015 on Keith Jarrett's American Quartet. #WKCR #DeepFocus #MitchGoldman #BrandonRoss #KeithJarrett #KeithJarrettAmericanQuartet #JazzRadio #JazzInterview #jazzpodcast Photo credit: Enid Farber
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