Jazz Bastard Podcast

RSD - or Record Store Day for you vinyl virgins- comes but once, er, or twice a year, and while the main focus is who will win the privilege to buy a color-vinyl edition of the Wicked soundtrack, there's a little bit of jazz sprinkled in there, too.  The boys talk about four selections, three recently uncovered live dates on the prolific Resonance Records, and a studio date from German stalwart MPS.  Kenny Dorham  - BLUE BOSSA IN THE BRONX; Charles Mingus – IN ARGENTINA – THE BUENOS AIRES CONCERTS; Freddie Hubbard – ON FIRE: LIVE FROM THE BLUE MOROCCO; Nathan Davis – HAPPY GIRL.

The boys ponder a batch of 2025 releases on the search for memorable, hummable melodies.  These being 2025 jazz albums, you can guess the results of the search.  Still, much to enjoy is these very diverse selections.  Sean Imboden Large Ensemble– COMMUNAL HEART; Dayna Stephens – HOPIUM; Chicago Jazz Orchestra – MORE AMORE; Camila Meza- PORTAL.

At Mike's suggestion, today's podcast explores the truncated career of hard bop trumpeter Carmell Jones.  We listen to four albums featuring the little-known musician and talk about the arc of his career, his work with running buddy Harold Land, and why he could'a been a hard-bop contender given the right circumstances.  Carmell Jones – BUSINESS MEETIN'; JAY HAWK TALK; Charles McPherson – BEBOP REVISITED!; Harold Land – JAZZ IMPRESSIONS OF FOLK MUSIC.

The venerable bastards have made it to their twelfth anniversary, so time to dress us in silk and pearls (if you weren't already in your fantasies).  While you attempt to scrub that hideous image from your minds, we'll mention that today's episode looks back to 2013, the origin year of the podcast, covering five releases from that epochal year we missed.  Can you guess who appears for the first time on the 'cast and exactly which ways he's oriented?  Dave Holland – PRISM; Robbie Williams – SWINGS BOTH WAYS; Alex Cline – FOR PEOPLE IN SORROW; Christine McBride – PEOPLE MUSIC; Rene Marie – I WANNA BE EVIL.

Normal service resumes with a podcast devoted to tributes celebrating the still-obscure pianist and composer Herbie Nichols.  Nichols spent his truncated career in the shadow of Thelonious Monk (a big guy who cast a big shadow).  He released roughly four albums in his lifetime and spent much of his career scuffling in Dixieland bands, but those initiated into his cult realize he was a truly gifted and unique composer.  These tributes encompass a fairly straight ahead quintet date, a more adventuresome guitar trio, a solo piano recital, and a vocal set with brand new lyrics (and titles!) for many of Herbie's songs.  Eric T. Johnson – HERBIE NICHOLS VOL 1; Enrique Heredia Trio – PLAY HERBIE NICHOLS; Simon Nabatov – SPINNING SONGS OF HERBIE NICHOLS; Fay Victor – LIFE IS FUNNY THAT WAY.

As we noted so succinctly way back in 2014:  Some trios play nicer together than others - Pat and Mike investigate.   Duke Ellington – MONEY JUNGLE; Terri Lyne Carrington – MONEY JUNGLE PROVOCATIVE IN BLUE; Jean-Michel Pilc – WELCOME HOME; Herbie Nichols – LOVE, GLOOM, CASH, LOVE.  Tune in next time as the Herbie Nichols connection leads to a brand new episode covering four albums devoted solely to his music.

All lists come to an end at some point (often after ten entries) and this third and final podcast on the New York Times' selections for best jazz albums of 2024 considers the final two entries plus two more 2024 releases which the boys - spoiler alert - like quite as much as the chosen ten.  Hummable melodies and beautiful woodwind playing highlight the also-rans.  Meanwhile, in pop matters Mike's man crush on Sturgill Simpson continues and Pat thinks eighties band The Church is still pretty cool.

The boys are back to take on four more entries from the New York Times' Best of 2024 list and Mike especially is happy with these selections.  "Spiritual Jazz" leaves a imprint on several of this episode's albums and bastard number 2 loves it.  Pat meanwhile is relieved that Blue Note's entry is the best yet, in his opinion, by a rising young artist, but he finds one of the other entries just an almighty racket.  Melissa Aldana – ECHOES OF THE INNER PROPHET; Frank London – SPIRIT STRONGER THAN BLOOD;  THE MESSTHETICS AND JAMES BRANDON LEWIS; Isaiah Collier – THE ALMIGHTY.

At the end of the year, media outlets make lots of lists, so many lists that there's even one for best jazz recordings.  At the start of the following year, the bastards pick one lucky list to listen through and question every step of the way.  This time it's the Times' turn, and Mike is especially skeptical of the paper's first four choices.  Pat's just happy things didn't turn out worse.  Honestly, these are all good records and who can say which are the "best"?  In pop matters, Peter Gabriel gets the boys talking well past closing time.  

There's a new Record Store Day ritual in the jazz world - archival live releases from one of the many labels Zev Feldman has a hand in running.  This year's two RSD days saw several releases on labels like Resonance, Reel to Real, and Elemental Music and the boys take a gander at one release from each of these wizards of the archive as well as pondering a brand new live release recorded (as well as let into the wild) in 2024.  Recorded in Brooklyn because, well, of course it was.  Emily Remler – LIVE FROM THE 4 QUEENS; Mal Waldron and Steve Lacy – THE MIGHTY WARRIORS; Charles Tolliver – LIVE AT THE CAPTAIN'S CABIN; The Fury – LIVE IN BROOKLYN.

To start off what is certain to be an interesting new year, Mike and Pat look at leader dates by the deepest of the regularly-used saxophones, the baritone.  All four leaders are specialists on the unwieldly horn, though some do dabble in doubling from day to day.  Two are composers and one has a crush on that greatest and most irascible of bassists, Charles Mingus.  Serge Chaloff – BLUE SERGE; Fred Ho – MONKEY: PART ONE & TWO; Gerry Mulligan – AGE OF STEAM; Pepper Adams – PLAYS THE COMPOSITIONS OF CHARLES MINGUS.

Every musician, it seems, does a holiday album sooner or later, and visions of residuals dance in their heads.  But given the flood of releases each year, it's hard to stand out, and the canon of Christmas favorites is already pretty crowded.  How to make your mark?  You could try to do one or two distinctive things well.  Or, you could try a little bit of everything.  Listen as Mike and Pat dissect three brand new holiday offerings and a historic issue by one of jazz's most popular performers.  Band of Other Brothers – THIS YEAR AT CHRISTMAS; Joy Lapps - THE CARRIBEAN CHRISTMAS MIX TAPE; Matt Wilson Christmas Tree-O – TREE JAZZ – THE SHAPE OF CHRISTMAS TO COME ; George Shearing – CHRISTMAS WITH THE GEORGE SHEARING QUINTET.

A couple releases exploring older repertorie, a out-ish excursion that goes all over the map, a young woman singer with our time on her hands.  Yep, it's a classic mixed bag courtesy of eclectic Mike, with the bastardy mostly courtesy of Pat.  Melody Gardot – LIVE IN EUROPE: Micah Thomas – MOUNTAINS; Brian Landrus – PLAYS ELLINGTON & STRAYHORN; Warren Wolf – HISTORY OF THE VIBRAPHONE.

Jazz has gone some pretty wacky places - Russia, South America, the White House - but believe it or not, sometimes it even invades that princess-industrial complex we know and love as the Disney corporation.  Listen and learn as Mike leads us deep into this heart of darkness and we see how a rainbow of different jazz artists come to terms with the musical productions of that most profit-driven rodent of them all.  Various Artists – JAZZ LOVES DISNEY; Various Artists – EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE A CAT; Dave Brubeck – DAVE DIGS DISNEY; Duke Ellington – PLAYS WITH THE ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SCORE MARRY POPPINS: Kat Edmonson – DREAMERS DO.

Halloween's in the rear view mirror but the boys still have a mixed bag of treats on offer, including an album whose cover boasts the best costumes of the year.  A piano playing Duke makes his appearance on the 'cast for the first time in roughly 300 episodes and we dig deep into a percussionist's tricky second album from 2006.  Like a trick or treater, this episode is short and sweet.  Joel Ross – NUBLUES; Duke Pearson – HONEYBUNS; Dafnis Prieto  - ABSOLUTE QUINTET; Melinda Sullivan and Larry Goldings– BIG FOOT.

Podcast 301 picks up where 300 left off, looking at albums from 1993, 2003, 2013, and 2023.  Jazz trends get a little harder to pick out once the new millennium begins, but at least our 1990's selection is REALLY 1990's, right down to the haircut and clothes colors.  In Pop Matters, Pat discusses seeing Ben Wendel live at the Jazz Kitchen.  Look out - that saxophonist has effects pedals!  Marcus Miller- THE SON DON'T LIE; Ted Nash – STILL EVOLVED; Jonathan Finlayson – MOMENT AND THE MESSAGE; Maddie Vogler – WHILE WE HAVE TIME.

Three hundred podcasts is the kind of milestone worth of an echo chamber at the very least and a themed episode at the very, er, leaster.  Pat had the bright idea (he thought) of reviewing albums from 1953, 1963. 1973, and 1983.  Mike explained that was in fact a stupid idea and so they might as well make this celebration a two-parter with 301 covering 1993, 2003, 2013, 2023.  The rules were simple - pick an artist we hadn't discussed to death already and accept that while the album might be characteristic of its time it cannot be expected to be the "best" of a given year in any way, shape, or form.  Oscar Pettiford - THE NEW OSCAR PETTIFORD SEXTET;;  Prince Lasha – THE CRY; Flora Purim – BUTTERFLY DREAMS; Microscopic Sextet – TAKE THE Z TRAIN (Koch 1983)

Back in the saddle again, the boys look at three recent releases and one cute little two-year-old.  Two of the recordings are lead by bassists and two by drummers, so you could say all four were led by a member of the rhythm section - if you liked saying things like that.  They are mostly fairly easy-going albums as well, but, spoilers, Mike doesn't like them all equally.  No further clues here - tune in to find out which ones make the grade.  In pop matters, Mike once again offers Adele a sandwich to assuage her suffering while Pat waxes eloquent about the first two days of the Chicago Jazz Fest.  Bruno Raberg – EVOLVER; Jake Leckie - PLANTER OF SEEDS; Ari Hoenig – GOLDEN TREASURES; Ivanna Cuesta – A LETTER TO EARTH.

Never mind what your podcast feed may seem to imply - the bastards haven't recorded a podcast together in two months, and this one got completed by the skin of their teeth.  In this episode we look at two alto sax players from two very different generations (and degrees of reverence for the "tradition") and a piano player few have heard of and fewer still can understand.  Pop matters covers the gamut from Dylan to the Blue Man Group with a few hobbits tossed in for good measure.  Eric Kloss - ONE, TWO FREE; Sarah Hanahan - AMONG GIANTS; Hasaan Ibn Ali - RETROSPECT IN RETIREMENT OF DELAY.

Summer's winding down.  How'd you spend yours?  Pat spent his immersed in the music and life of Sonny Rollins, one of the greatest improvisers to grace the story of jazz.  In this podcast, which is kind of an upcoming article in summary (and audio) form, Pat looks at the massive new biography of Sonny as well as four recent reissues of some of his best loved music, most of which involve trios.  Aiden Levy - SAXOPHONE COLOSSUS - THE LIFE AND MUSIC OF SONNY ROLLINS (book); Sonny Rollins - FREEDOM SUITE; GO WEST! THE CONTEMPORARY RECORDS ALBUMS; COMPLETE LIVE AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD; FREEDOM WEAVER.

Those crazy hazy lazy days of summer got us in their thrall and scheduling's been tough, so please enjoy this flashback to episode 81:  Mike and Pat discuss Walk on the Wild Side; Shine On You Crazy Diamond; Aja; Waiting on a Friend; Baker Street; Just the Way You Are; Logical Song; Old and Wise; Still Crazy After All These Years; Man Eater; Modern Love; Your Latest Trick; Brass Monkey; Edge of Glory; Get It Right; Talk Dirty to Me; Problem.

What's the most famous jazz album in the world?  Don't say Duke Ellington Plays Mary Poppins unless you have a really good excuse, like you work for Disney.  And please don't name some album by Kenny G even if that's sort of true.  No, of course the most famous jazz album is Kind of Blue, and our special guest this episode wrote a book on the three geniuses who brought it into being.  Please enjoy this interview with author James Kaplan and stay turned until the end when he reveals the subject of his next book.  Miles Davis - KIND OF BLUE.  Also, stay tuned to the end to see how many ways Pat avoids including clips from the most famous jazz album in the world.  

A lot of listeners worry that jazz has ossified in the last, say, fifty years or so, but Mike decides to do something about it, terminological speaking, anyway.  So this fortnight's episode explores the difference between curating a tradition and trying to create something new within it. Our test subjects comprise three brand-new releases (two instrumental, one vocal) and a vocal album from the nineties paying tribute to the Prince of Darkness himself, Miles Davis.  Curtis Taylor – TAYLOR MADE; Brandon Goldberg– LIVE AT DIZZY'S; April Varner – APRIL; Shirley Horn – I REMEMBER MILES.

Jazz releases these day fight a game of inches.  Almost everybody releasing music in the genre is technically accomplished and the rules have been laid out so long that almost everybody knows how to meet the listener's basic expectations.   What makes an album stand out in the flood of new music unleashed every week?  Sometimes it's as simple (and hard to define) as a sense of intensity, commitment, energy.  These four 2024 releases all demonstrate that quality to one degree or another.  Erik Friedlander – DIRTY BOXING: Deron Johnson – FREE TO DANCE; Michael Eaton – THE PHENOMINAL; Basher – MAY DAY.

The boys warned you things were going to get eclectic, but they may have outdone themselves this time, as the selections run the gamut from a jazz trio reimagining Bach preludes to a cutting edge big band arranger/composer tipping the cap to Cab Calloway to a night it the Georgia woods and is what we're hearing even music?   Plus, a thoughtful look at what happens when one of the better known ensembles of the eighties loses a pivotal member and expands its horizons past its signature format.  Adam Birnbaum – PRELUDES; Marion Brown – AFTERNOON OF A GEORGIA FAUN; WSQ  - METAMORPHOSIS; Darcy James Argue – DYNAMIC MAXIMUM TENSION.  During the pop matters segment strap yourself in for a quick trip to Japan.

In the last (for a little while, at least) of our one-artist focused podcasts, the boys take a deep dive into bassist/composer/bandleader Ben Allison's latest four releases.   Ben's an exact contemporary of our intrepid podcasters, if a bit better looking and more talented, and they followed his career from early days until a few years back when they stopped picked up releases for a hot minute.  Anyway, here's all the news on two projects by Ben's new trio as well as two quartet projects with slightly different line-ups.  In pop-matters, Pat discusses some recent pick-ups from the seventies while Mike has made it all the way into the eighties.   Ben Allison – LAYERS OF THE CITY, TELL THE BIRDS I SAID HELLO, HEALING POWER: THE MUSIC OF CARLA BLEY, MOMENTS INSIDE. 

The record store day madness continues as the boys take two Cannonball Adderley air-shots from France for a spin.  Whether he's Poppin in Paris or Burning in Bordeaux, the listener can hear Adderley's group transitioning from the sixties to the seventies, even if things get bumpy from time to time.  To put the great alto saxophone player's creativity into context, two of his more surprising releases on Capitol Records also get a look in.  Once you've heard the man's stone classics, here's something else for you to try.  Cannonball Adderley:  ACCENT ON AFRICA; QUINTET WITH ORCHESTRA; BURNIN' IN BOURDEAUX; POPPIN' IN PARIS.

Where jazz drumming's concerned, sometimes Blakey makes ya shaky and Buddy's too thud-y.  Where to turn?  Go West, young man, and samples the wares of one Shelly Manne.  Manne, a transplanted Easterner, made a career in California logging studio work, appearing on countless sessions, and leading his own group with varying personnel that was always know as Shelly Manne's men.   Now, just in time for Record Store Day, Reel to Real is issuing live days by the Manne and, with luck, bringing his artistry back into our consciousnesses.  Stay cool, cats!  Shelly Manne:  MUSIC FROM MY FAIR LADY; 2,3,4; JAZZ FROM THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST; Sonny Rollins - WAY OUT WEST.

Sometimes podcast hosts just want to watch the world - or at least their co-host - burn.  Hence the explanation for the inclusion of a pretty inexplicable pander-fest in this otherwise august and serious podcast.   The other selections (all recent releases) incorporate humor in a couple of cases, and, well, don't in the most serious selection.  Pat reports on a live concert by the more furrowed-browed of the alto saxophonists while Mike catches a few much needed zzzz's.  Grace Kelly with Strings – AT THE MOVIES; Moppa Elliot – JONESVILLE; DISASTERS VOL 2; Jennifer Wharton's Bonegasm – GRIT & GRACE; Jim Snidero – FOR ALL WE KNOW.

After a couple episodes away, we return to the New York Times list of best jazz albums of 2023 and finish it off.  It's happier days for the most part.  The boys acknowledge that these selections are all, more or less, actually jazz, and some are even pretty enjoyable.  Jonathan Suazo – RICANO; Mendoza Hoff Revels – ECHOLOCATION; Micah Thomas – REVEAL;  Matana Roberts - COIN COIN CHAPTER FIVE: IN THE GARDEN.

For some fans, the story of jazz saxophone begins with John Coltrane.   This episode, the boys interview Owen Broder, who gives propers to Coltrane's old boss, Johnny Hodges.  Mainstay of the Duke Ellington band and lover of lettuce and tomato sandwiches, the Rabbit (as he was known) possessed the most sumptuous sound ever heard from an alto saxophone and knew every microtone of the territory between each note of the scale.  Owen talks about his Hodges Front and Center duology, other projects in the pipeline and his influences on alto and baritone sax among other topics in this interview.  Owen Broader:  HODGES FRONT AND CENTER:  VOLUMES 1 & 2.  

Many years ago, bastard Mike suggested that our anniversary shows feature groups comprised of as many members as the anniversary was of years.  How's that for a mouthful (mindful?)  Anyway, good idea until right about now.  Eleven is an awkward number unless you're fielding a footie team, and the boys have some issues finding albums that fit the bill or even glance in the direction of this anniversary. Next year, all bets are off.  Nat Adderly – THAT'S RIGHT;  Bobby Selvaggio – STORIES, DREAMS, INSPIRATIONS; Gil Evans – PLUS TEN;  Jeff Lorber and Mike Stern – ELEVEN.  IN a very special Pop Matters, Mike mocks the Cocteau Twins and Pat (with Mike's help) questions the sanity of Atlantic Records latest deluxe reissues.

Join our intrepid but grumpy explorers Mike and Pat and they continue their journey through the New York Times Top Ten list of Best Jazz Albums from 2023.  The boys look at three more albums off the list and once again have questions about the selections.  Then they discuss an album from 2023 not on the list, and, naturally, emit rainbows.  We don't recommend you make a game of drinking whenever one of them calls "category error" unless you have a high tolerance for alcohol - and bastardy.  Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah - BARK OUT THUNDER;  Enji – ULAAN; Ambrose Akinmusire - OWL SONG; Myra Melford – HEAR THE LIGHT SINGING. 

Humans love making lists, and it's likely this activity will continue until the cockroaches take over.  (Cockroaches mostly love hiding under cabinets).  Some humans on the New York Times made a list of the top 10 jazz albums of 2023.  Pat and Mike take about three selections from that list and one other interesting release from that recently past year. Do they take issue with some of the NYT's choices?  They wouldn't be bastards if they didn't.  Jaimie Branch – FLY OR DIE FLY OR DIE FLY OR DIE (WORLD WAR); Kassa Overall – ANIMALS; Zoh Amba – THE FLOWER SCHOOL; Lafayette Gilchrist – UNDAUNTED.

This episode's title is a wee bit misleading.  The boys don't meet Mr. Mahavishnu (John McLaughlin, of course) but rather Matt Phillips, long-time listener to the podcast who just happened to write a very good book on the famous fusion guitarist called "John McLaughlin - From Miles and Mahavishnu to the 4th Dimension."  The book covers the whole of McLaughlin's recorded career - not just his best known years with the Mahavishnu Orchestra - and our conversation is also wide-ranging.  And, no, Mike hasn't turned into a robot. He just sounds like one because recording zoom is trickier than it seems.

Few players have made the splash in the archival jazz game as Zev Feldman, who has discovered many lost jazz gems (and a little Fool's Gold) and shown how these issues can be events when packaged properly with good artwork and notes.  This fortnight's show looks at two of his recent productions and two historical albums in the Latin Idiom.  Did the jazz detective uncover more classics, or did his deductions go awry?  Tune in to find out.  Cal Tjader – CATCH THE GROVE; Wes Montgomery – MAXIMUM SWING; Ramsey Lewis – GOING LATIN; Grant Green -THE LATIN BIT.

Sometimes Mike's dreams do come true.  Take this all-tuba led episode, for instance.  He's always loved the big horn in jazz groups, and here we delve into five albums spanning the decades led by tuba players.  (Oddly, though, five of the featured leaders were all born within a five year span).  Will the boys come up with deep insights?  Please listen to ascertain.  Howard Johnson – GRAVITY!; Jim Self & John Chiodini – TOUCH AND GO; Dave Bargeron & Michel Godard – TUBA TUBA; Ray Draper – THE RAY DRAPER QUINTET FEATURING JOHN COLTRANE; Bob Stewart – THEN & NOW.

One of the bastards loves holiday music (Mike loves to flex his knowledge-of-obscure-Xmas-tunes-muscles) and so the holiday episode has become an annual tradition.  Luckily, every year at least a few jazz musicians put out a holiday album (if under duress) and archival and historical finds are always there to enjoy as well.  Various Artists – A JAZZ CHRISTMAS; Shorty Rogers – THE SWINGIN' NUTCRACKER; Louis Armstrong – WISHES YOU A COOL YULE; George Burton – the YULE LOG    Ken Serio – A JAZZY YULETIDE.

At Mike's suggestion, we devote an episode to the recently departed European avant-garde powerhouse Peter Brotzmann.  The sound quality is a bit off.  Pat says he forgot to press "record."  Listeners know he was probably just cowering behind the couch.  Mike  shows us the breadth of the fire-breather's career, touching on a mid-size ensemble session, an electric gig with rock elements, a more introspective duet, and Brotzmann's uncompromising debut.  Pat whimpers.  Peter Brotzmann:  FOR ADOLPHE SAX; GOING ALL FANCY; Last Exit - THE NOISE OF TROUBLE - LIVE IN TOKYO; Chicago Tentet - STONE/WATER.

Jazz - mysterious, challenging, expressive . . . funny?  Rarely, one might think, but some artists display a sense of humor, even if it's subtle.  In this episode, the boys listen to five albums with at least some humorous aspects.  Things rarely get "funny ha ha" but hey, this isn't a Zappa podcast, now is it?  Karen Mantler – BUSINESS IS BAD; George Benson – WHITE RABBIT; Mostly Other People Do the Killing – THIS IS OUR MOOSIC; Horace Silver – JAZZ HAS A SENSE OF HUMOR; Ray Anderson – BLUES BRED IN THE BONE.

It's been a crazy few weeks with an extra order of cray cray on the side coming up, so we're running our first "classic" episode, this one a throw-back to 2013!  Come for the insights you missed, stay to appreciate the slightly more sophisticated editing you've been enjoying the last few years.  Covers are the order of the day as the bastards look at three albums that hew closely to earlier inspirations, with a special focus on Coltrane. John Coltrane – INTERSTELLAR SPACE; Greg Bendian – INTERSTELLAR SPACE REVISITED; Don Cherry – COMPLETE COMMUNION; Tom Varner – SECOND COMMUNION; John Coltrane – A LOVE SUPREME; Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra – A LOVE SUPREME.

We all know "smooth jazz" is a forbidden genre among hard-core jazzbos, but sometimes you run across albums that have no interest in pandering to the listener, but also don't display any rough edges or dirty elbows.  Call it "polished," "refined," "plush," or "mellow" - but don't file it next to Kenny G - or Albert Ayler, for that matter.  Noah Haidu – STANDARDS; Javier Nero – KEMET, THE BLACK LAND; Brad Turner – THE MAGNIFICENT; Matt Ulery – MANNERIST.

Most jazz fans know Dizzy Gillespie's crucial role in the creation of bebop and every good collection should have at least a few tracks from his glory days of the forties.  The man wrote "Night in Tunisia" for heaven's sake!  But what happened later on, after his partner Bird was gone and the listening public had moved on from ooh-bop-sh-bam madness?  In this episode we look at five recordings from the following decade and ponder why a genius-level player like Dizzy struggled after the bebop revolution.  Dizzy Gillespie: SONNY SIDE UP;  HAVE TRUMPET WILL EXCITE; AFRO;  DIZZY GILLESPIE WITH STUFF SMITH;  A PORTRAIT OF DUKE ELLINGTON.

There are many storied jazz venues, but for a great recorded legacy, none quite matches the Village Vanguard.  So many epochal improvised moments put to tape!  So many clinking wine glasses captured for eternity!  Such a matchless, smoky atmosphere of creation in the heat of the moment!  (Insert record scratch here.)  The boys don't look at the best known monuments from the place, but rather start with a lesser known session from the end of the seventies and then examine three brand new "Live from the Vanguard" recordings and ask - is the magic still there?   Kris Davis – LIVE AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD; Mark Turner – LIVE AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD; Kurt Rosenwinkle – UNDER COVER, LIVE AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD; Woody Shaw – STEPPING STONES: LIVE AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD.

The boys love chasing after the esoteric, the brand new, the little known.  But sometime, we also like to talk about the, well, big label bangers.  That is, big labels in jazz terms, which really means small subsidiary branches of huge media conglomerates, but let's not get into that now.  Some famous names are back this episode and we talk about their latest releases - sometimes a great deal later than their date of death.  Artemis – IN REAL TIME; Brad Mehldau – YOUR MOTHER SHOULD KNOW;  Brandee Younger – BRAND NEW LIFE; John Coltrane / Eric Dolphy – EVENINGS AT THE VILLAGE GATE.

The theme this episode is  - got ya! - there isn't a theme.  What we do have are two mildly historical piano-led recordings by musicians who couldn't be more different if they tried, and two new releases by musicians also pulling in different directions.  Get a large group together and go for eclecticism?  Or just multi-track yourself and add a duet partner to the mix?  You, dear listeners, can pick the approach you like.  Chucho Valdez – LIVE AT VILLAGE VANGUARD; Misha Mengelberg – NO IDEA; Ben Wendel – ALL ONE;   Mehmet Ali Sanlikol - TURKISH HIPSTER .

A music with as complicated and rich a history as jazz is always going to be subject to rediscoveries and reappraisals and we wouldn't want it any other way.  This fortnight's episode focuses on a pioneering practitioner on that truly rare avis, the jazz harp.  Yes, we're diving into the early work of Dorothy Ashby in honor of a new box set celebrating her first six albums.   So throw aside those conceptions of cartoon animals going to heaven and bourgeoisie travelers grooving at the Holiday Inn and join us as we string along with Dorothy.  Dorothy Ashby:  WITH STRINGS ATTACHED (THE JAZZ HARPIST, HIP HARP W/ FRANK WESS, IN A MINOR GROOVE W/ FRANK WESS, SOFT WINDS: THE SWINGING HARP OF DOROTHY ASHBY, DOROTHY ASHBY, and THE FANTASTIC HARP OF DOROTHY ASHBY) .

Summertime, and the livin' is sweaty - at least for us in the Midwest right now.  Along with being the most perspiration-friendly season, Summer is also consecrated to travel, which can make it difficult to align two bastard's schedules.  Hence this solo podcast looking at jazz box sets.  Yes, the vinyl revival is all grown up enough to get its own self-indulgent shelf-benders and Pat is hear to talk about several of them.  Various Artists – THE BIRTH OF BEBOP; Bill Evans – TREASURES:  SOLO, TRIO, AND ORCHESTRA RECORDINGS FROM DENMARK; Eddie Lockjaw Davis – COOKIN' WITH JAWS AND THE QUEEN; John Coltrane – '58: THE PRESTIGE SESSIONS; Stan Getz – STAN GETZ (BOOK OF THE MONTH CLUB).

We all know about fusion - the (sometime unholy) union of jazz and rock that tried to find a new audience for instrumentalists in the 1970s.  But there have always been, well, odder experiments with electricity in jazz, more like intrusions of the rock world than integrations, and we look at four rather varied examples in this here podcast.  Running the gamut from harmolodic blues-slinger to fusion axe-hero to . . . Herbie Mann? - these artists let the guitar off da hook and, possibly, into your hearts.  Herbie Mann - MEMPHIS UNDERGROUND ; James Blood Ulmer – BLACK ROCK;  Alan Holdsworth – NONE TOO SOON; Jay Hoggard - RIVERSIDE DANCE.

After an all-female vocalist episode, let's shift gears at look at some big band albums, shall we?   We look at a brand new release with material from the thirties, fresh from somebody's closet, a retro-style outfit having the most fun they can while the pandemic closes in, an Indiana ensemble celebrating an influential Indiana record label, and an arranger for hire let out in the green fields of inspiration.  Then in pop matters, quick detours to prison and cover bands.  Vince Mendoza – BLAUKLANG; Eyal Vilner – THE JAM!;  Buselli-Wallarab Jazz Orchestra  - THE GENNETT SUITE; Luis Russell – AT THE SWING CATS BALL.

Time for an all-singing, no-dancing, some joke-telling show featuring four female vocalists.  We've got three brand newish releases and one catalogue item which, given it debuted after we were out of college, is making us feel old.  Like everything else.   Tune in to find out which Grammy Winner (TM) we annoy.  Esperanza Spalding / Fred Hersch – LIVE AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD;  Holly Cole – BLAME IT ON MY YOUTH; Lizzie Thomas – DUO ENCOUNTERS; Nadia Washington – HOPE RESURGENCE.