Jazz Gumbo

Artist | Tune | AlbumBuckshot Lefonque | Music Evolution | Music EvolutionEsther Satterfield | Love is Stronger Far than We | Once I LovedAstrud Gilberto et al | The Girl from Ipanema | Getz / GilbertoJoe Sealy | All Blues | Clear VisionHerbie Hancock | Maiden Voyage | Maiden VoyageRay Charles & Betty Carter | Cocktails for Two | Essential ClassicsRufus, featuring Chaka Khan | Pack'd My Bags | RufusizedNorman Connors | Dreams | SlewfootArt Ensemble of Chicago | Toro | The Paris SessionsSonny Greenwich | Ethiopia | Hymn to the EarthAbdullah Ibrahim & Gato Barbieri | Hamba Khale! | ConfluenceStanley Clarke | Life Suite – Part II | Stanley ClarkeGeorge Duke | Hot Fire | Reach For ItKenny Garrett | The House that Nat Built | SongbookMiles Davis | So What | Kind Of BlueRamsey Lewis | Opus #5 | Another VoyageBilly Cobham | Dippin' the Biscuits in the Soup | The TravellerDonald Harrison & Terence Blanchard | Tacit Approval | Nascence            Anthony Braxton | Joy Spring | Seven Standards, 1985, Vol. 1

Artist - Tune - Album Horace Silver - The Kicker - Song for My Father Pat Martino - Mardi Gras - Joyous Lake Billie Holiday - God Bless the Child - Giants of Jazz – Billie Holiday Blood, Sweat & Tears - God Bless the Child - Blood, Sweat & Tears The Crusaders - Street Life - Street Life Charlie Haden’s Quartet West - The Long Goodbye - Haunted Heart Dionne Warwick - Check Out Time - Very Dionne Ramsey Lewis - Since I Fell for You - Back to the Roots Jay Hoggard - Samba Pa Negra - Days Like These George Benson - White Rabbit - White Rabbit Harry Connick, Jr. - It Had to be You - When Harry Met Sally Anita Baker - Fairy Tales - Compositions Chaka Khan - Take the “A” Train - Echoes of an Era Duke Ellington - Diminuendo & Crescendo in Blue - Ellington at Newport Lou Reed - Walk on the Wild Side - Transformer Mandrill - Mango Meat - Just Outside of Town Fela Kuti & Africa ‘70 - Zombie - Zombie The Playlists of all Jazz Gumbo Sets can be viewed at jazzgumbo.blogspot.com

Artist - Tune - Album Abercrombie, Holland & DeJohnette - Back Woods Song - Gateway Cinematic Orchestra - Burnout - Every Day Aretha Franklin - Dr. Feelgood - I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You Jean-Luc Ponty - Imaginary Voyage, pts 1&2 - Imaginary Voyage George Benson - Thinker - That's Right Branford Marsalis - LonJellis - Random Abstract Dexter Gordon, featuring Johnny Griffin - Blues Up and Down - Great Encounters Jaco Pastorius - Liberty City - Word of Mouth Dianne Reeves - Love for Sale - I Remember Flora Purim - Ina's Song, Transition, Conversation - Open Your Eyes, You Can Fly Tony Williams - The Slump - Civilization Air - Do Tell - 80° Below '82 Music Revelation Ensemble - Time Table - No Wave Buckshot Lefonque - Music Evolution - Music Evolution A complete chronology of Jazz Gumbo Sets can be found at jazzgumbo.blogspot.com

Artist - Tune - Album Sly & the Family Stone - Hot Fun in the Summertime - Greatest Hits Jack DeJohnette - Bayou Fever - New Directions Steps Ahead - Safari - Modern Times Esperanza Spalding - Radio Song - Radio Music Society Booker T. & the M.G.s - Melting Pot - Melting Pot Christian Scott - Lay In Vein - Rewind That Freddie Hubbard - The Black Angel - The Black Angel Luis Gasca - Street Dude - For Those Who Chant Herbie Hancock & Tina Turner - Edith & the Kingpin - River – The Joni Letters Stevie Wonder - Too High - Innervisions Ori Dagan - Sweet Georgia Brown - Less than Three Herbie Hancock - Cameleon - Head Hunters Brian Blade - Red River Revel - Fellowship War - Get Down - All Day Music Banks, Cosey, Henderson, et al - Ife (fast) - Miles from India The Image is from Luis Gasca's "For Those Who Chant" For a catalogue of all JG Sets go to jazzgumbo.blogspot.com This is one of my original Sets from 2012, which means it's 80% all-time favorites. Great atmosphere-evoking music that transports me to luscious summers of younger days. And here summer just ended! That's the kind of year it's been. And I'm thinking that Jazz Gumbo is coming to an end. Time to shift up to the flow of change that's always tugging us into the unknown. If nowhere else, I'll stay online for now at obsidianblooms.blogspot.com , but perhaps I'll pop up somewhere to share this music that I'm still loving and that's still loving me. Thrive! Kirby 22 September 2020 - Equinox

Artist - Tune - Album Buckshot Lefonque - Music Evolution - Music Evolution Jaco Pastorius - Kuru/Speak Like a Child - Jaco Pastorius Wynton Marsalis - Skain’s Domain - J Mood Betty Carter - 30 Years - Droppin’ Things Sonny Greenwich - Time-Space - Evol-ution, Love’s Reverse Kevin Eubanks - Moments Aren’t Moments - Face to Face Dee Dee Bridgewater - All Blues - Live in Paris Art Tatum, Lionel Hampton & Buddy Rich - More Than You Know - - Tatum * Hampton * Rich Bennie Maupin - It Remains to be Seen - Slow Traffic to the Right Public Enemy - Brothers Gonna Work it Out - Fear of a Black Planet Baird Hersey - The Charioteer - The Year of the Ear Herbie Hancock - Heartbeat - Man-Child Jack DeJohnette - PM’s AM - Audio-Visualscapes Joanne Brackeen - Friday the Thirteenth - Special Identity Dianne Reeves - Softly as in a Morning Sunrise - I Remember Donald Byrd - Harlem Blues - Harlem Blues

Artist - Tune - Album Abdullah Ibrahim - The Mountain - The Mountain Taj Mahal - Sweet Home Chicago - Recycling the Blues Dewey Redman - Boody - The Ear of the Behearer Roberta Flack - Tryin’ Times - First Take Mahavishnu Orchestra - Miles Beyond - Birds of Fire Joni Mitchell - Chair in the Sky - Mingus Kenny Garrett - 2 Down & 1 Across - Songbook Wayne Shorter - Beauty & the Beast - Native Dancer Diana Krall - 42nd Street - Stepping Out Michael Gregory Jackson - Unspoken Magic - Gifts Weather Report - Elegant People - Black Market Us3 - Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia) - Hand on the Torch Stanley Clarke - Concerto for Jazz/Rock Orchestra - Journey to Love Michael White - Land of Spirit and Light - Land of Spirit and Light Les McCann & Eddie Harris - Compared to What - Swiss Movement Ramsey Lewis - Upendo ni Pamoja - Upendo ni Pamoja An archive of past Sets is available at: jazzgumbo.blogspot.com One of the very first JG Sets, from almost 8 years ago. A lot of my favorites are here. It's a good time for re-posting, as COVID 19 has shut down our studio along with so much else. Be well out there and enjoy! Thrive! Kirby Obsidian

Artist - Tune - Album Sonny Fortune - Waves of Dreams - Waves of Dreams Al Jarreau - Distracted - This Time Eric Dolphy - Bee Vamp - At the Five Spot James Blood Ulmer - Moon Shines - Tales of Captain Black Dinah Washington - It Isn’t Fair - A Slick Chick (on the Mellow Side) David Sancious - Sound of Love - True Stories Billy Cobham - La Guernica - Depth of Thought Michal Urbaniak - Bahamian Harvest - Fusion Osibisa - Spirits Up Above - Wɔyaya Stéphane Grappelli - Lover Man - Satin Doll Herbie Hancock - Speak Like A Child - Speak Like A Child Art Tatum - Without A Song - Solo Masterpieces, Vol. 11 Chuck Mangione - Floating - The Chuck Magione Quartet Horace Silver - The Kicker - Song For My Father Billy Cobham - Arroyo - Inner Conflicts An archive of Set Lists and Album Covers is available at: jazzgumbo.blogspot.ca Kirby Obsidian

Artist - Tune- Album Branford Marsalis - Love Stone - Renaissance Woody Shaw - Seventh Avenue - Stepping Stones Kevin Eubanks, duet with Ron Carter - Nardis - The Heat of Heat Wayne Shorter - Daredevil - Joy Ryder Clifford Brown - Brownie Eyes - Brownie Eyes Courtney Pine - Inner State (of Mind) - Back in the Day Oregon - Taos - Oregon Billy Cobham - El Barrio - Inner Conflicts Flora Purim & Airto - 20 Years Blue - Humble People Esperanza Spalding - The Peacocks - Junjo Jack DeJohnette - Brown Warm & Wintery - Audio Visualscapes Mike Stern - Mood Swings - Upside Downside Diane Schuur - Take Me to the River - Schuur Thing Johnny Griffin & Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis - Tickle Toe - The Toughest Tenors Nancy Wilson - How Glad I Am - How Glad I Am An archive of Set Lists and Album Covers is available at: jazzgumbo.blogspot.ca Thrive! Kirby Obsidian

Artist - Tune - Album Ramsey Lewis - Les Fleur - Maiden Voyage Charles Mingus - Pithecanthropus Erectus - Pithecanthropus Erectus Sly & The Family Stone - Stand! - Stand! Tania Maria - Sangria - The Real Tania Maria: Wild! John Coltrane - Afro-Blue - The Best of John Coltrane Flower Travellin’ Band - Satori – Part II - Satori Cleo Laine - Hi-Heel Sneakers - I Am A Song Return to Forever - Where Have I Known You Before - Where Have ... You Before Return to Forever - Song to the Pharoah Kings - Where Have I Known You Before Cassandra Wilson - I Thought You Knew - Point of View Courtney Pine - The 37th Chamber - Modern Day Jazz Stories Tom Waits - Way Down In The Hole - Big Time Clifford Brown & Max Roach - Delilah - Jordu Ramsey Lewis - Party Time - Up Pops Ramsey Lewis An archive of all previous Sets is available at: jazzgumbo.blogspot.ca How about Tania Maria? I’m surprised that she isn’t more celebrated. I saw her live, once: Seattle, ’86, a festival in a park, one hot, summer day. I’d never heard of her and she just took the stage and the crowd and romped and rollicked for an hour! Amazing stuff. Yet, I’ve only just got my second album by her, as I comb the second hand stores and yard sales. And I never hear her name on Jazz radio. I’m always discovering new evidence that the world is just that way: you miss almost everything from a distance; highlights and headlines alone don’t tell you very much. About anything. You just have to get in close. There are brilliant people everywhere, brimming over with creativity, and they offer new ways of feeling alive, and of seeing the colors and shapes of the world, and they sparkle us with insights that shake us in our shoes when we are stumbled into them. Let us celebrate sound! With Tania and Clifford and Cleo and Sly. And how about that Return to Forever!? Let the music begin… Kirby Obsidian

Artist - Tune - Album Pharoah Sanders - After The Rain - Journey To The One Michael Gregory Jackson - We’re Connected Now - Heart & Centre Steps Ahead - Safari - Modern Times Big Mama Thornton - Rolling Stone - Sassy Mama! Horace Silver - Mo’ Joe - The Cape Verdean Blues Dionne Warwick - Message To Michael - Golden Hits – Part II GZA - Liquid Swords - Liquid Swords Jamaaladeen Tacuma - Sparkle - Renaissance Man Janis Joplin - Cry Baby - Pearl Miles Davis - Duran - Directions Bob James - Night On Bald Mountain - One Tony Williams - Geo Rose - Civilization Helcio Milito - Māe Preta (Black Mama) - Kilombo A complete chronology of Jazz Gumbo is available at jazzgumbo.blogspot.com Well, it’s been a long while since I recorded and posted a show. Lets say that I’ve had a few distractions these past months. Anyway, it’s good to be back. There will be another break of a couple of months from early March until Mid-May, after which I’ll be back at it again. The next few sets will be entirely from original vinyl, most of that pre-1992. I won’t say anything more but will let the music speak for itself. Thanks for listening! THRIVE! Kirby Obsidian

Artist - Tune - Album Oliver Jones - Olea - Lights of Burgundy Ella Fitzgerald - How High The Moon - The Best of Ella Fitzgerald Robert Cray - Nothin’ Like A Woman - Strong Persuader Ira Sullivan - Portrait of Sal Larosa - Ira Sullivan The Four Tops - Still Water (Love) - Still Waters Run Deep Charles Mingus - Black Bats and Poles - Changes Two Steps Ahead - Trains - Magnetic Earl Hines & Paul Gonsalves - Moten Swing - It Don’t Mean A Thing If It Ain’t Got that Swing! Lambert, Hendricks & Ross - In A Mellow Tone - L,H&R Sing Ellington Freddie Hubbard - Theme For Kareem - Super Blue Sun Ra - Fate In A Pleasant Mood - Fate In A Pleasant Mood Sun Ra - Ankhnaton - Fate In A Pleasant Mood The Isley Brothers - Summer Breeze - 3 + 3 The Isley Brothers - The Highways Of My Life - 3 + 3 Pharoah Sanders - Moment’s Notice - Rejoice Swan's Silvertone Singers - Will The Circle Be Unbroken - Greatest Hits Herbie Hancock - Hidden Shadows - Sextant The Intro number was Pat Martino’s “Pyramidal Vision” from the Line Games album. Playlists and featured album covers for all previous Sets of Jazz Gumbo can be found at: https://jazzgumbo.blogspot.com/ Thrive! Kirby Obsidian

Artist - Tune - Album Freddie Hubbard - Red Clay - Red Clay Hugh Masekela - In the Market Place - I Am Not Afraid Chuck Mangione - Feels So Good - Feels So Good Angie Stone & Calvin Richardson - More Than A Woman - Mahogany Soul Pat Martino - Pyramidal Vision - Joyous Lake Jazz Passengers - Strange Love - Deranges & Decomposed Jazz Passengers - In No Languages - Deranged & Decomposed dj Cheb i Sabbah - Kese Kese (Sarangi Mix) - MahaMaya – Shri Durga Remix Tony Williams - Eris - The Joy of Flying Santana - Guajira - Santana III Chick Corea & Return to Forever - 500 Miles High - Light as a Feather Stevie Wonder - Flower Power - The Secret Life of Plants Vital Information - Sixth Sense - Ray of Hope Horace Silver - Song for My Father - Song for My Father Jack DeJohnette - John McKee - Parallel Realities Anita Baker - Caught Up in the Rapture - Rapture Chaka Khan - Them There Eyes - Echoes of an Era Buddy Miles - Joe Tex - A Message to the People This Set is introduced by Buckshot LeFonque's "Music Evolution". Playlists from all previous Sets of Jazz Gumbo are at: jazzgumbo.blogspot.ca Here's a Replay of an old Set that I've enjoyed myself recently, along with the original notes: The “Masterworks” of Set 18 begin with Return to Forever’s “500 Miles High”. Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, Joe Farrell, Flora Purim and the Great percussionist Airto Moreira (whom I forgot to credit during the broadcast) deliver a piece that, 30+ years after first hearing it, continues to pull me completely into it’s richly textured soundscape. They flesh it out with solos that are technically brilliant and emotively lush. Also in this category of tunes, that create their own unique sonic pocket and then fill it up, are Horace Silver’s “Song for My Father” and DeJohnette’s “John McKee”, which features Pat Metheny and Herbie Hancock. I‘ll slide in Freddie Hubbard’s “Red Clay” right behind these other three; can’t deny what a compelling piece it is. I love presenting lesser known works by artists with a long list of hits – works that would be much better known if not for those hits. In this set, I point to Stevie Wonder’s “Flower Power”, to Santana’s “Guajira” and to Masekela’s “In the Market Place”, all favorites of mine. Artists I’m presenting on Jazz Gumbo for the first time include dj Cheb i Sabbah, who does a wonderful amalgam of traditional Indian music with Club music and Electronica. There’s also the Jazz Passengers, who combine the zany and the funky with straight ahead, driving numbers, reminiscent of Frank Zappa or George Duke. Then There’s Angie Stone, whose duet with Calvin Richardson is a sweet, soul throwback. And finally, Buddy Miles delivers a big, brassy and rollicking tribute to 60’s soul singer “Joe Tex”, to close things out. Thrive! Kirby Obsidian

Artist - Tune - Album Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage - Maiden Voyage Donald Byrd - Flight Time - Black Byrd Pat Martino - Pyramidal Vision - Joyous Lake Nancy Wilson - In The Dark - Nancy–Naturally! Wynton Marsalis - You Don’t Know What Love Is - Standard Time Vol.2 Intimacy Calling Carlos Santana - Shere Khan, The Tiger - The Swing Of Delight George Duke - Ómi (Fresh Water) - Reach For It George Duke - Searchin’ My Mind - Reach For It Duke Ellington - Cotton Tail - Giants Of Jazz Sly & The Family Stone - Family Affair - There’s A Riot Goin’ On Dexter Gordon - Devilette - The Monmartre Collection Vol. 1 Billy Bang - New York After Dark - Rainbow Gladiator Stan Getz - Morning Star - Stan Getz Gold Gato Barbieri - Ruby - Ruby, Ruby Al Di Meola - Short Tales Of The Black Forest - Land Of The Midnight Sun Tom Waits - Strange Weather - Big Time Playlists and featured album covers for all previous Sets of Jazz Gumbo can be found at: https://jazzgumbo.blogspot.com/ You know how a piece of music can just grab you? You’ve heard it before, even really dug it before, but suddenly you’re hearing it for the first time. It pierces something deeper, gets down into your gut at a whole different level. It’s expressing some of YOU, so you want to listen to it over and over again, like to an affirmation, underscoring and emphasizing everything you’re feeling, hungering for, dreaming about, even the stuff you wrestle and struggle with all your life. A piece of music that, were someone to make a film of your life, would have to be the soundtrack, blaring out who you are and who you want to be all at once. You know that feeling? That’s what I felt when I listened to Dexter Gordon blowing out “Devilette”. And I felt it again when I edited the set, finally, two months later. Ain’t this exactly what jazz is supposed to sound like? Ain’t it what life is supposed to taste and smell like – with your mom your dad and all you came from rolled up inside it? Your kin and your neighborhood, all those streets you walked, the courts you played and danced on, places you went to work and sat over sweaty lunches with your buddies made from doing that work, women you loved, and women who loved you and those you wanted to love but never got to, the roads you travelled and those you only dreamt about, all that and a slice of hot cornbread. That’s what this sounds like to me, here today, and that day I played it for the set, and the day I edited it for all of you. And listening to it now, as I write this, I wonder about who Dexter was. He’d up and pulled up stakes, and settled in Europe for a good, long while – a place a black american could feel he was human, and have his music and his self appreciated and loved. I wonder if he played this to remember home, or to bring a chunk of home to Paris, or just to marry up a piece of the world with a piece of heaven. Whatever he was aiming to do, he made a piece of real music right here. A piece of perfection that feeds the soul. I hope it feeds yours like it does mine. Thrive! Kirby Obsidian

Artist - Tune - Album Kevin Eubanks - Ever-Blue - Sundance Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway - Where Is The Love - Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway Wynton Marsalis - When You Wish Upon A Star - Hot House Flowers Wayne Shorter - Who Goes There! - Atlantis Les McCann & Eddie Harris - Compared To What - Swiss Movement Stanley Turrentine - Sister Sanctified - Cherry Taj Mahal - Corinna - The Natch’l Blues War - Where Was You At - The World Is A Ghetto Thelonious Monk - Light Blue - Thelonious In Action Joni Mitchell - Woodstock - Miles Of Aisles Billy Cobham - Spanish Moss - Crosswinds Julian Priester - Eternal Worlds - Love, Love Michael Gregory Jackson - We’re Connected Now - Heart & Center Jimmy Smith - Oh, No, Babe - Organ Grinder Swing Jeff Beck - Come Dancing - Wired Rahsaan Roland Kirk - Make Me A Pallet On The Floor - Boogie-Woogie String Along For Real Sonny Rollins - The Stopper - Sonny Rollins with the Modern Jazz Quartet Wayne Shorter - Crianças - Atlantis Ramsey Lewis - Upendo Ni Pamoja - Upendo Ni Pamoja Chet Baker - Blue Room - The Touch Of Your Lips Playlists and featured album covers for all previous Sets of Jazz Gumbo can be found at: https://jazzgumbo.blogspot.com/ My Sets from this calendar year are almost pure vinyl. And, almost purely musical, since I've cut back so much on my speaking. I didn't intend it. It was caused by a problem with my laptop that prevents me from plugging it into the studio's mixing board to access my digital files. I must say that I'm enjoying it a lot. And I may just stick to it. But how are you liking it? I welcome your thoughts. Enjoy the Set! Kirby

Artist - Tune - Album Kamasi Washington - Leroy and Lanisha - The Epic Woody Shaw - Stepping Stone - Stepping Stones Oliver Jones - Close Your Eyes - Lights of Burgundy Art Tatum - Isn’t This A Lovely Day - The Tatum Solo Masterpieces, vol.4 Mike Nock, Bennie Maupin, Cecil McBee & Eddie Marshall - Symbiosis - Almanac Return To Forever - So Long Mickey Mouse - Musicmagic featuring vocals by Stanley Clarke & Gayle Moran Barre Phillips - Mountainscape IV - Mountainscapes Miles Davis - Miles Runs The Voodoo Down - Bitches Brew King Pleasure - Don’t Get Scared - Moody’s Mood For Love Joanne Brackeen - Ancient Dynasties - Ancient Dynasty Stevie Wonder - Too High - Innervisions Amina Claudine Myers - Do You Wanna Be Saved? - The Circle Of Time Horace Silver - Togetherness - Silver ‘n Voices Tower of Power - Squib Cakes - Back to Oakland Michal Urbaniak - Joy - Serenade for the City Al Jarreau - Roof Garden - Breakin’ Away The intro tune for this set is Wes Montgomery's "Bock to Bock" Playlists and featured album covers for all previous Sets of Jazz Gumbo can be found at: https://jazzgumbo.blogspot.com/ Wow! This is the first time in forever that I’m managing to post a Set in the same month that it was recorded! A little ridiculous, considering that once, I routinely posted Sets within days of recording them. A more interesting and relevant fact is that this Set, and the ones that precede and follow it, are virtually all vinyl. Many of my first Sets were vinyl dominant, all the music from the early nineties or earlier. Since then, I’ve aimed to incorporate more music from the late nineties and the current century. Partly, to show the continuity in jazz, and its growth as a genre-crossing philosophy of music, rather than simply a genre itself. It’s purely accidental that I’ve gone back to my previous show format. My laptop isn’t connecting to the mixing board. I can’t even play Buckshot LeFonque’s “Music Evolution”, the show's theme all these years. I’ve never managed to find a vinyl copy. I could mix it in, but I prefer to post the same show that streams from Radio Regent, with just a little clean-up. I’m enjoying the vinyl only format. I have such a wealth of great vinyl, and the 50’s-80’s was such an amazing time for musical boundaries both stretching out and falling away, that I don't feel that the diversity of the Sets has suffered. I hope the less talking is comfortable with you listeners. I haven’t received much input on the point. No complaints about not being able to figure out what’s been played. So I may just stick to it for awhile. I’m so glad to be back at this, as a regular part of my week. I hope you enjoy the Set! Thank you for your ears! Thrive! Kirby

Artist - Tune - Album (pre-intro) Wes Montgomery - Bock to Bock - Fingerpickin’ Art Blakey - The Sacrifice - Drum Suite Quincy Jones - Soul Serenade - Golden Boy James Blood Ulmer - Big Tree - No Wave Steve Khan - Some Punk Funk - Tightrope Helcio Milito - Aza Branca - Kilombo Bob Moses - Exodus - The Story of Moses John Blake - Maiden Dance - Maiden Dance Keith Jarrett - In Front - Facing You Gil Scott-Heron - The Prisoner - Pieces of a Man Weather Report - The Pursuit of the Woman with the Feathered Hat - Mr. Gone Cannonball Adderley - Hamba Nami - Accent on Africa Judy Garland - Little Girl Blue - Alone Courtney Pine - I’ve Known Rivers - Modern Day Jazz Stories Chet Baker - El Morro - You Can’t Go Home Again Mal Waldron - You’re My Thrill - Blues For Lady Day Deanna Storey - I’m Just A Little Person - Synecdoche, New York soundtrack Playlists and featured album cover for all previous Sets of Jazz Gumbo can be found at: https://jazzgumbo.blogspot.com/ Well…it’s been awhile. This is the first new Set recorded in some time. I thank all of you for your patience these last months. I doubt that I’ll ever manage an absolute adherence to a one-set-per-week schedule, but I hope for be fairly regular for the foreseeable future. You should perhaps know that this Set and the next are basically all original vinyl. I’m unable to link my laptop to the studio computer for the purpose of streaming audio, so can’t access my digital library for the show. When I’ve solved the problem, I’ll be incorporating more current material in the mix, as usual. Thank you for your ears! Thrive! Kirby

Artist - Tune - Album Flora Purim - Open Your Eyes, You Can Fly - Open Your Eyes, You Can Fly Milton Nascimento - One Coin–Tostao - Milton Benny Goodman - Jumpin’ At The Woodside - The Hits of Benny Goodman Sonny Rollins - There’s No Business Like Show Business - Worktime Tony Williams - Juicy Fruit - Native Heart Autorickshaw - Mercy Street - Meter Jowee Omicil - One Note For Miles - Let’s Bash Joshua Redman & The Bad Plus - County Seat - The Bad Plus Joshua Redman John Coltrane - Cousin Mary - Giant Steps Kenny Barron & Dave Holland - In Walked Bud - The Art of Conversation Chaka Khan - I Love You Porgy - Echoes Of An Era Baird Hersey - Night In Tunisia - The Year Of The Ear Peter Erskine - Little Fun - Dr. Um Marcus Miller - Jean Pierre - Marcus Charles Mingus - Slop - Better Git It In Your Soul The ode to musical styles past and present that introduces Jazz Gumbo is “Music Evolution” by Branford Marsalis and Buckshot LeFonque. Playlists for all past Sets of Jazz Gumbo will be found at jazzgumbo.blogspot.ca Finally! The last Set from 2018. For some reason I don't clearly remember, I decided to experiment with a music only format. No chatter from me. That is, no chatter after my very long-winded intro. Seriously though. It would be great getting input from some of you out there. Would you like less talk about the music and artists? Do you appreciate the occasional thoughts I share about artists, albums and tunes? Or would you prefer even more of the history of the featured music? Let me know what your tastes and interests are. Thrive! Kirby

Artist - Tune - Album McCoy Tyner - Uptown - Uptown/Downtown Jazzmeia Horn - Up Above My Head - A Social Call Buster Williams - Where Giants Dwell - Audacity The Crusaders - Night Faces - Street Life Fifth Dimension - Stoned Soul Picnic - Stoned Soul Picnic Ibrahim Maalouf - Nomade Slang - Illusions Charles Mingus - Open Letter To Duke - Better Git It In Your Soul Carmen McRae - My Ship - Carmen McRae Jowee Omicil - Love & Honesty - Let’s Bash Manhattan Transfer - Tuxedo Junction - The Manhattan Transfer Brian Blade - Crooked Creek - Perceptual Horace Silver - Pretty Eyes - Cape Verdean Blues Aretha Franklin - Dr. Feelgood - 30 Greatest Hits Eddie Gomez - Loco Motive - Power Play Sarah Vaughan - Lullaby of Birdland - Golden Hits!!! John Coltrane - Naima - Giant Steps The ode to musical styles past and present that introduces Jazz Gumbo is “Music Evolution” by Branford Marsalis and Buckshot Lefonque. Playlists for all past Sets of Jazz Gumbo will be found at jazzgumbo.blogspot.ca It's been such a long time. And I apologize to all my listeners for the prolonged absence. I haven't got back into the studio yet, but do still have two sets I recorded last August and September that never made it this far. Here is the first. The second will come shortly. Then, I plan to follow that up before long with a fresh Set from 2019. Thanks for your patience and for your ears. And Happy New Year! Let's make it a Great One!!! Thrive! Kirby Obsidian

Artist - Tune - Album John Coltrane - Cousin Mary - Giant Steps Tony Williams - Going Far - The Joy of Flying Dinah Washington - Blues in the Night - The Complete Dinah Washington Charles Mingus - Better Git It In Your Soul - Mingus Ah Um Charnett Moffett - For You - Net Man Julian Priester - Rhythm Magnet - Polarization Howard Johnson - Stolen Moments - Gravity!!! Ornette Coleman - Lonely Woman - The Shape of Jazz to Come The HeadHunters - Ms Yum Yum - Straight from the Gate Linda Lewis - Lark - Lark Mark Ronson, Erykay Badu, etal - A La Modeliste - Ronson’s Re:Generation Return to Forever - 500 Miles High - Light as a Feather George Duke - Crave E Canela - A Brazilian Love Affair Opa - Montevideo - Magic Time David Murray featuring Amiri Baraka - Evidence - Fo Deuk Revue Wes Montgomery - Up and At It - Down Here on the Ground Adam Makowicz - Indiana - Moonray Charles Mingus - Cumbia & Jazz Fusion - Cumbia & Jazz Fusion A complete record of all Jazz Gumbo Sets is available at jazzgumbo.blogspot.ca Hello Jazz Lovers! Sorry that I've been absent for so long. I came across information that has me concerned about copyright issues related to this Podcast. So I'm not sure that I'll be able to continue. In the meantime, here's a Set from the early days for you to enjoy. Thrive! Kirby

Artist - Tune - Album Harlem River Drive - Idle Hands - Harlem River Drive Sonny Fortune - The Afro-Americans - Serengeti Minstrel David Murray - Village Urbana - Fo Deuk Revue Joan Armatrading - Down To Zero - Joan Armatrading Ahmad Jamal - Rossiter Road - Live At The Montreal Jazz Festival 1985 The Bad Plus - Seven Minute Mind - Made Possible Griot Galaxy - XY Moch - Kins Sy Smith - Sometimes A Rose Will Grow In Concrete - Sometimes A Rose Will Grow In Concrete Wayne Shorter - Diana - Native Dancer Wayne Shorter - From the Lonely Afternoon - Native Dancer Aretha Franklin - Bridge Over Troubled Waters - Aretha’s Greatest Hits Charlie Haden & Quartet West - Live Your Dreams - In Angel City Robert Glasper - Consequences Of Jealousy - Black Radio Dinah Washington - What A Diff’rence A Day Made - What A Diff’rence A Day Makes! Ramsey Lewis - Collage - Upendo Ni Pamoja Michael Kaeshammer - Lands End Parade - The Pianist Anita O’Day - The Moon Looks Down And Laughs - Travelin’ Light Phronesis, Julian Argüelles - Herne Hill - The Behemoth Bobby McFerrin featuring Esperanza Spalding - Glory - Spirityouall The ode to musical styles past and present that introduces Jazz Gumbo is “Music Evolution” by Branford Marsalis and Buckshot LeFonque. Playlists for all past Sets of Jazz Gumbo will be found at jazzgumbo.blogspot.ca A glorious Set of music! I can’t help myself. I feel that way about almost every Set, though I did admit to feeling that the last one was kind of a weird mishmash. This Set holds together much better. It flows better. And Aretha’s great cover of the Simon & Garfunkel classic soars right in the middle of it. We’ve lost Aretha. And the last weeks have been full of tributes and memorials to her. My only small addition to the chorus of appreciation and love is to surround her transcendent music with more of the same. And I think this Set manages that. I’ll only draw attention to the two numbers that precede and follow Aretha, The offerings from Wayne Shorter and Charlie Haden. I won’t say any more than that. I’ll just leave it to you to enjoy. Love! Kirby

Artist - Tune - Album Steve Khan - Darlin’, Darlin Baby - Tightrope Benny Maupin & Dr. Patrick Gleeson - The Work - Driving While Black Lonnie Smith - Journey to Within - Gotcha Art Tatum - Gershwin Medley - The Tatum Solo Masterpieces – Vol.4 Keith Jarrett - Diatribe - Shades Roberta Flack - To Love Somebody - Quiet Fire Chuck Mangione - Bellavia - Bellavia Buster Williams - Sophisticated Lady - Something More Joni Mitchell - Shine - Shine Ray Charles - Diane - Essential Classics Norman Connors - Carlos II - Love From The Sun Autorickshaw - Save Me - Meter John Abercrombie, Dave Holland, Jack DeJohnette - Sing Song - Gateway II St. Germain - Sittin’ Here - Electronic Johnny Griffin & Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis - Blues Up and Down - The Toughest Tenors The ode to musical styles past and present that introduces Jazz Gumbo is “Music Evolution” by Branford Marsalis and Buckshot LeFonque. Playlists for all past Sets of Jazz Gumbo will be found at jazzgumbo.blogspot.ca A very weird Set this was. I didn’t feel like I had any consistent direction or inspiration to it. Had no idea whether it would flow or not. Still don’t know, really. If you have an opinion on that, please feel free to let me know. Regardless, some of the music really stuck in my head, both around the time I recorded the Set, and during this last week of editing it bit by bit, while on my commute to and from work. It was edited with about the same lack of focus that went into the recording. Autorickshaw is I group I’d only experienced via fm radio until recently, and even that hasn’t been anytime recently. Frankly, I hadn’t realized they were still performing. Not until I came out of Union Station one day, at the end of my late morning commute, to find them performing as part of a Summer Lunchtime Concerts series at that location. The music stopped me in my tracks. I arrived at work half an hour late, and with a new vinyl purchase under my arm. I got to hear them play this “Save Me” live, as well as a very interesting cover of Paul Simon’s “……”. Another surprise was to recognize Ed Hanley, the most excellent tabla player there on the stage. I’ve had a CD of his table solos for the last few years, and have even featured one or two on this show. I’d never realized that he was a founding member of this unique trio. Anyway, this tune of theirs has been on a replay loop in my mind for weeks now. I love Lonnie Smith and what he can do. That goes for the cut “Journey to Within” featured here. I love that lazy, droopy bass line. But I’ll admit that I otherwise really dislike the album it comes from. I won’t bother to get into why. But it’s one of those not uncommon experiences of the music lover: to encounter that work by an admired artist that has little-to-none of the essence of what makes that artist so beloved. But there is this one cut! A sentence of admiration and appreciation to Aretha Franklin. She will be missed. The outpouring of love, the way people everywhere have been playing and singing her music, in remembrance and tribute, has been heartwarming. I played favorites of mine on the shows that immediately preceded and followed her death, but I’m not likely to have them up for weeks yet. There will never be another like her! Thrive! Kirby

Artist - Tune - Album James Brown - Cold Sweat - 30 Golden Hits Al Jarreau - Morning - Jarreau JoAnne Brackeen - Beagles Boogie - Ancient Dynasties Buckshot LeFonque - Weary With Toil - Music Evolution Pat Metheny - Two Folk Songs – Part II - 80/81 Vital Information - Global Beats - Global Beat Vital Information - Black Eyebrows - Global Beat Joe Williams - Sounds Of The Night - Jump For Joy Max Roach - St. Louis Blues - Drums Unlimited Carla Bley - Sing Me Softly Of The Blues - Dinner Music Dave Douglas - Orujo - Spirit Moves Marcus Miller featuring Macy Gray - Girls and Boys - Silver Rain Michael Gregory Jackson - Gifts - Gifts Nguyên Lê - Evening Glory - Walking On The Tiger’s Tail Nina Simone - Feeling Good - Compact Jazz: Nina Simone Charlie Parker - Ornithology - Anthology Herbie Hancock - Actual Proof - Thrust The ode to musical styles past and present that introduces Jazz Gumbo is “Music Evolution” by Branford Marsalis and Buckshot LeFonque. Playlists for all past Sets of Jazz Gumbo will be found at jazzgumbo.blogspot.ca I guess it’s inevitable that after 160+ shows, much of the music I play on Jazz Gumbo has been played here before. After all, I have my favorite artists, and from each of them, I have favorite cuts. I’m always discovering great new artists and music, but not at the rate of 15 cuts per week. So, I’m pleased that half of tonight’s selections are first time features, and that I’m featuring two artists for the first time, they being Dave Douglas and Joe Williams, the former a contemporary musician I’m just getting to know, and the latter, a great of yesteryear, whom I’ve known about but have never tried to fit here. The opening bass line of the Williams piece is very interesting. With that arrangement, it might be taken as something pretty contemporary. My ear half expected Elizabeth Shepherd to come in for the vocal. From that angle, it strikes the ear as something ‘retro modern’, instead of just old. But Williams has a strong, clear and beautiful voice, so he pulls it off. And it fits nicely into the Set. I want to mention one of the pieces I have featured before. Nina Simone has been around for a long time, and I’ve long been familiar with her work, but only in recent years has she become a personal favorite. Odd, isn’t it, how we grow into and out of music. This tune is so spectacular in its depth of feeling. That’s one of the things that surely set Simone apart. You hear her emotion in just about everything she does. Okay, one more mention. Herbie Hancock’s early fusion albums, Headhunters and Thrust, in particular, just get better and better. The music is so rich and deep, in rhythm and tone and harmony. It’s so layered and complex, yet flows so hard. This fusion is to hard bop what a mango is to a peach! When I really let myself be immersed in it, it carries me places. So brilliant! Love & Happiness, People! Kirby

Artist - Tune - Album Wayne Shorter - Speak No Evil - Speak No Evil John McLaughlin, Jaco Pastorius & Tony Williams - Dark Prince - Trio Of Doom Osibisa - Beautiful 7 - Woyaya Paul Horn - Reflected Moon - China Gerry Niewood - Joy - Gerry Niewood & Timepiece Linda Lewis - Old Smokey - Lark Kenny Garrett - Wheatgrass Shot - Do Your Dance! Return to Forever - Where Have I Loved You Before? - Where Have I Known You Before? Return to Forever - The Shadow of Lo - Where Have I Known You Before? Ryan Porter - The Psalmist - The Optimist Santana - Waiting - Santana Dexter Gordon - In Case You Haven’t Heard - Homecoming Stevie Wonder - Love’s In Need Of Love Today - Songs In The Key Of Life Joe Bonner - Love’s Dance - Angel Eyes Bill Frisell, Melvin Gibbs, Ronald Shannon Jackson - Blame & Shame - Power Tools: Strange Meeting The ode to musical styles past and present that introduces Jazz Gumbo is “Music Evolution” by Branford Marsalis and Buckshot LeFonque. Playlists for all past Sets of Jazz Gumbo will be found at jazzgumbo.blogspot.ca There are a few pieces in this Set that are fairly new to me, and that I really love. We can start with the opening number, Shorter’s “Speak No Evil”. This is an album I’ve wanted to explore for a while, and now having done so, I’m a little annoyed with myself for having taken so long. Shorter has covered such a range of music over the last half century that I’m not surprised that this is so different than the late 60’s and early 70’s music that introduced us. I’ll even go so far as to say that his constant evolution is a reason it’s taken so long for me to get to this one. No only Shorter, but so many leading artists of his generation, continue to be in constant flux, so one could never assume the qualities of an unfamiliar album. This is a sweet one. Another one I really like is “Blame & Shame” by Power Tools. This is from a vinyl album I bought a few years ago, because I liked other work by both Frisell and Jackson, but didn’t much appreciate initially. My ears had to grow into it over time. And as is so often the case, I now can’t hear whatever it was about the album that put me off. This is the arc of listening I often refer to here and on the show as “stretching the ears”. When an artist has spoken to me powerfully in one style, I generally assume that they can still reach me, even if their style has changed. I first experienced this listening arc through following the likes of Trane and Miles, and I think it holds true for just about any artist who truly puts themself into their art. A third new favorite is “The Psalmist” from Ryan Porter. Wow! Is it ever rousing! Unlike the other artists I’m mentioning here, Porter wasn’t even a name to me. I don’t remember when I first heard him, but I have that wonderful Shazam app to thank for getting him into my phone, and his name onto my list to explore. It sure paid off, and I look forward to hearing more from him. A final mention goes to Kenny Garrett’s “Wheatgrass Shot”. Never imagined I’d hear an ode to wheatgrass, but here it is. And it’s great. I haven’t had a shot in a while, and this has me thinking to drop into one of those health juice shops! Love & Thrive! Kirby

Artist - Tune - Album Cleveland Eaton - Here Comes Funky Lou - Half and Half Sonny Rollins - It’s All Right With Me - Worktime Jaco Pastorius, Pat Metheny, - Donkey - Pastorius/Metheny/Ditmas/Bley Bruce Ditmas & Paul Bley Al Green - Love & Happiness - I’m Still In Love With You Wojtek Mazolewski & Dennis Gonzalez - Pushing Le Car - Shaman Abdullah Ibrahim - Cape Town Fringe - Cape Town Fringe Ashley Henry - Pressure - Easter Terence Blanchard & Donald Harrison - Slam - Crystal Stair Joni Mitchell - Don't Interrupt The Sorrow - The Hissing Of Summer Lawns Michel Camilo - Nefertiti - Spirit Of The Moment Michael Buble - Dream A Little Dream - It’s Time Wynton Marsalis - Think Of One - Think Of One Kevin Eubanks - Mellow Fellow - Sundance The ode to musical styles past and present that introduces Jazz Gumbo is “Music Evolution” by Branford Marsalis and Buckshot LeFonque. Playlists for all past Sets of Jazz Gumbo will be found at jazzgumbo.blogspot.ca “Cape Town Fringe”, the long piece in the middle of the Set, sounds to me like I imagine South Africa feels and tastes. It’s a folksy, repetitive number that’s also bright and somewhat festive and also easy-going and fluid. It was my introduction to the music of Abdullah Ibrahim a few decades ago, when he still performed under the name Dollar Brand. It made me a fan. The next of his albums that I got hold of is titled “African Space Program” and features an album cover photo of the broad, dusty Savannah – a nice play on the concepts of folkways and modern progress. I hope you relax into the easy rhythms of the piece. I also came to know Joni Mitchell’s music way back then – must’ve been the 70’s. A friend told me about this album. “The Hissing of Summer Lawns”, is another title that I love, with album art depicting a group of people carrying a python across an expanse of green that fronts a cityscape of both residential homes and skyscrapers. Art & Music. Ideas, Images & Sounds. Mostly old classic works this Set. But give a good listen to the very outstanding newer music. Buble with an oldie but goodie, Ashley Henry with a dynamic pulser, and Polish Mazolewski teaming with American Gonzalez for a very playful and conceptual piece. Thank you for your Ears and for sharing the Love of this Music! Thrive! Kirby

Artist - Tune - Album Gato Barbieri & Don Cherry - Togetherness–First Movement - Togetherness David Friesen - In The Place of Calling - Amber Skies Erykah Badu - On and On - Baduizm Dewey Redman - Daystar Nightlight - Musics Jack DeJohnette - Dancing - Parallel Realities The Friends of Distinction - It’s Time To See Each Other - Friends & People Gary Burton - Summer Band Camp - Easy As Pie Weather Report - Domino Theory - Domino Theory Taj Mahal - Going Up to the Country, Paint My Mailbox Blue - The Natch’l Blues Jean-Luc Ponty - Ethereal Mood - Cosmic Messenger Stan Getz, João Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim - Desafinado - Getz / Gilberto Charlie Christian - Stardust - Solo Flight Pharoah Sanders - Thembi - Thembi Dianne Reeves - Feels So Good - Beautiful Life Tony Williams - Dreamland - Angel Street Frank Lowe - Fresh - Fresh The ode to musical styles past and present that introduces Jazz Gumbo is “Music Evolution” by Branford Marsalis and Buckshot LeFonque. Playlists for all past Sets of Jazz Gumbo will be found at jazzgumbo.blogspot.ca During the live Set, I neglected to mention that the DeJohnette piece features Herbie Hancock as well as Pat Metheny. (Sometimes it seems that Hancock is featured on half the numbers I play, he’s been a guest artist to so many of his colleagues over the decades) Essentially, this is a trio album, and DeJohnette and Metheny co-produced. I can’t help but wonder sometimes, why an album is attributed to one artist instead of another. In this case, DeJohnette and Metheny each wrote three tunes, and they co-wrote the seventh. And in my opinion, the best of them, including “Dancing”, are Metheny’s. Another curious example is “Desafinado”, a huge hit that’s been covered by dozens of artists. It, and almost all the other music on the album, including the even more massive hit, “The Girl from Ipanema”, were composed by Jobim. But the listing above is no mistake. The album is titled “Getz / Gilberto”, while Jobim is ‘featured’. Even more egregiously, Astrud Gilberto, the female voice to her husband’s on “Ipanema”, isn’t properly credited at all, only mentioned in passing in the liner notes. In fairness, she only sang on the one tune, and this was in fact her first ever recording, and it launched a career. A third variety of missing attribution was completely the norm in the 60’s and 70’s. Pop, Rock and Soul groups often failed to list the names of the group’s members. So the name Jessica Cleaves is nowhere to be found in the credits or listings of The Friends of Distinction album (nor those of her male colleagues, Harry Elston and Floyd Butler) though you will find the names of producers, arrangers, technicians, album artists and the guy who wrote the liner notes. Kind of odd, isn’t it? Enjoy the beautiful music, friends! Thrive! Kirby Obsidian

Artist - Tune - Album Abdullah Ibrahim - The Mountain - The Mountain Pat Labarbera - Virgo Dance - Virgo Dance Donny Hathaway - The Ghetto - Everything is Everything Bosho - Atsui Yoro No Kawa - Live at the Knitting Factory, vol. one Charles Lloyd - Night Blooming Jasmine - A Night in Copenhagen Billy Cobham - Spanish Moss - Crosswinds Etienne Charles - Papa Bois - Folklore Robert Glasper - Y’Outta Praise Him – intro - In My Element Robert Glasper - Y’Outta Praise Him - In My Element Adam Makovicz - Django - Moonray Frank Sinatra - Mood Indigo - In The Wee Small Hours Anthony Braxton - Spring Is Here - Seven Standards 1985, vol. 1 Clifford Brown & Max Roach - Joy Spring - Jordu Jazzmeia Horn - People Make The World Go Round - A Social Call Eddie Harris - Abstractions - Bad Luck Is All I Have The ode to musical styles past and present that introduces Jazz Gumbo is “Music Evolution” by Branford Marsalis and Buckshot LeFonque. Playlists for all past Sets of Jazz Gumbo will be found at jazzgumbo.blogspot.ca I hope you can all enjoy the flow of moods in this Set. The serenity of Ibrahim’s “The Mountain” was just what I needed when I entered the studio after a busy and chaotic work day. I was glad for the particular selection of vinyl I’d pulled off the shelves that morning, as lots of it perfectly fit the shifting temperaments of the day. And the special beauty of digital music libraries is that I then had so much else to draw on. The Bosho number, the Makovicz and the Sinatra are all from my vinyl collection, as are the opening and closing numbers, and some others. One of the bits I pulled from the digital library is Glasper’s two-part “Y’Outta Praise Him.” Talk about flowing. That word almost defines Glasper’s style; his structures are almost minimalist, but support so much feeling and depth. I’m glad to finally present a full length version of “Joy Spring”. A real favorite that, until recently, I only had in a 4 minute version. Jazzmeia Horn’s take on the soul classic “People Make the World Go Round” is a perfect update. I was so, so glad to have finally downloaded a full length version of “Joy Spring”, though I still hope to find it on vinyl someday. And I think that Eddie Harris’s “Abstractions” was a fitting finale. I hope you’ll agree. I’ve experienced an explosion of downloads from the site recently. Lots of activity from the Netherlands and Germany, as well as Baltimore in the US. I’d love for some of you folks to send a message now and then. Let me know who you are, and what you like best about the show. It’s good to know you’re out there! Thrive! Kirby Obsidian

Artist - Tune - Album Eddie Palmieri & Harlem River Drive - Harlem River Drive - Harlem River Drive Marquis Hill - Black Harvest - Modern Flows EP, Vol. 1 Erykah Badu - Turn Me Away - New Amerykah, Pt. 2 Cinematic Orchestra - Reel Life (Evolution II) - Man With A Movie Tony Williams - Tony - The Joy Of Flying Dinah Washington - It Isn’t Fair - This Is My Story, Vol. Two Steely Dan - Aja - Aja The Headhunters - Descending Azzizziuh - Straight From The Gate Eddie Jefferson - Sister Sadie - Golden Essentials Sy Smith - Perspective - Sometimes A Rose Will Grow In Concrete Joe Jackson - Jumpin’ With Symphony Sid - Jumpin’ Jive Gladys Knight - Daddy Could Swear - Gladys Knight and the Pips Anthology Grant Green - Brazil - Right Now Jay Hoggard - Startin The Blues En Clave - The Right Place Leszek Możdżer, Lars Danielsson, Zohar Fresco - Karma Party - Polska Freddie Hubbard - Space Track - The Black Angel The ode to musical styles past and present that introduces Jazz Gumbo is “Music Evolution” by Branford Marsalis and Buckshot LeFonque. Playlists for all past Sets of Jazz Gumbo will be found at jazzgumbo.blogspot.ca During my early teens, I lived on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, which was a very diverse community. My junior high school’s population was about a third Black, a third White and a third Puerto Rican. Aside from having lots of Puerto Ricans as school mates, I can’t say that I absorbed a great deal of that culture. Except, that is, for the Music! In the streets, the playgrounds, the shops and apartment buildings, the strains of Puerto Rican music were as prevalent as any other. Unfortunately, I was a product of that bias-blinded time. Back then, the mainstream cultural media covered all things White, and little else. My Black friends and I listened to the Black radio stations. And I guess my Puerto Rican friends had their own stations to listen to. Though our environment brought us all together, and we shared in many ways, there were barriers of behavior and preference and taste that we observed without being consciously aware of them. I remember that there was one Puerto Rican boy who was dating a White girl. I don’t think there was any substantial, negative social reaction to that, but just the fact that I remember it tells me how rare that sort of mixing was. Similarly, though I remember watching the live premiere of the Beatles’ “Hey Jude” one evening, along with just about everyone else, I don’t think I’d ever have spent my money to buy the record. It would’ve seemed disloyal, to all the Black artists – like James Brown – whose talent was hardly acknowledged by the status quo. And on the flip side, though I knew the names of Tito Puente, Willie Colon and Eddie Palmieri, and was drawn to the Puerto Rican music I heard, and even recognized that Puerto Ricans shared a lot with Black Americans as dis-advantaged and disparaged people, it never occurred to me, until decades later, to delve a bit more into this music, these people, their culture. Eddie Palmieri did something about this cultural divide when he formed Harlem River Drive in 1971. The actual expressway for which the band is named, and which the song speaks to, was a way for suburbanites travelling to and from lower Manhattan to by-pass the Black ghetto or Harlem and the Puerto Rican ghetto that was East Harlem. Palmieri’s band brought together the musical styles of these two communities in this music. Their theme song opens up this Set of Jazz Gumbo, and their album cover is this week’s feature. Thrive! Kirby

Artist - Tune - Album Tania Maria - Tranquility - Taurus Terence Blanchard - No Borders Just Horizons - Magnetic Jowee Omicil - Straight In My Pocket - Let’s Do This Jean-Luc Ponty - Echoes Of The Future - Upon The Wings Of Music Jimmy Smith & Wes Montgomery - Night Train - Jimmy & Wes – The Dynamic Duo The Temptations - Psychedelic Shack - Psychedelic Shack Weather Report - Punk Jazz - Mr. Gone Airto Moreira - La De Casa - Promises Of The Sun Nancy Wilson & George Shearing - On Green Dolphin Street - The Swingin’s Mutual Dionne Warwick - This Girl’s In Love With You - The Dionne Warwick Story Miles Davis - Mademoiselle Mabry - Filles De Kilimanjaro Max Roach - Driva Man - We Insist! Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite featuring Abbey Lincoln Billie Holiday - Porgy - The Billie Holiday Story Dizzy Gillespie - Our Delight - In The Beginning Ray Charles & Cleo Laine - I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin’ - Porgy and Bess The ode to musical styles past and present that introduces Jazz Gumbo is “Music Evolution” by Branford Marsalis and Buckshot LeFonque. Playlists for all past Sets of Jazz Gumbo will be found at jazzgumbo.blogspot.ca I never leave the Regent Park Focus studio on a Monday evening not feeling better than when I got there. It just feels so good to spend an hour and a half or so simply sharing great music! There was a time in my life when I spent a lot of time listening to music. I mean really listening. Not doing other things and having music on in the background. I mean hours every week when the listening was the main thing going on. It’s a wonder to me how that was possible, because nowadays there just doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day, in the week, in Life. Honestly, I don’t know if it’s me, society, or just a natural part of that time warp that comes with getting older. Whatever the reason, I haven’t been able to solve the issue of time. I can’t fairly call it a problem because how can a lack of time be a problem when life is made up of time? It would be like a fish complaining about a shortage of water. Clearly, time itself isn’t the issue. It’s rather something to do with how I/we relate to it (because it isn’t just me, is it?). So, one of the very special things about Jazz Gumbo is that it has given me back a quantity of time. It’s time that was always there, obviously. But curating this show has infused a few hours of each week with a quality that was lacking. I’m listening to music again, in the way I used to: carefully, with my attention and my heart. And I’m listening communally, you could say, because I’m listening with an ear to sharing it with you. And I’ve learned from my Podomatic stats sheet that you are literally All Over The World! A vast community of music lovers! And that touches me. Those early times I referred to, when I took time to listen to music carefully…they almost always had some connection to others. Either I was physically with them, or I was exploring music someone had told me about, or I was listening to it being performed live. Or sometimes, it might just be the connection with the musician, who we understand – when we really listen – is sharing something, is telling a Life Story. It was a dynamic exercise in community. And Jazz Gumbo, and YOU, have brought that dimension back to me. I’m very grateful. And I thank you. Enjoy the Music Thrive! Kirby

Artist - Tune - Album Ramsey Lewis - Close Your Eyes And Remember - The Piano Player Christian Scott - Paradise Found - Rewind That Dee Dee Bridgewater - Congo Square - Dee Dee’s Feathers Stanley Clarke, Biréli Lagrène, - To and Fro - D-Stringz Jean-Luc Ponty Bobby McFerrin & Yo-Yo Ma - Hush Little Baby - Hush Flora Purim with Urszula Dudziak & Googie Coppole - Encounter - Encounter Art Ensemble of Chicago - Funky AEOC - The Third Decade Don Cherry - Karmapa Chenno - Hear & Now Raul de Souza - Nana - Colors Opa - Pieces - Golden Wings Lonnie Liston Smith - Desert Nights - Expansions Grant Green - Jan Jan - Live at the Lighthouse Mahavishnu Orchestra - Celestial Terrestrial Commuters - Birds of Fire George Benson - Cast Your Fate to the Winds - The George Benson Collection Quincy Jones - Soul Serenade - Golden Boy Lou Rawls - Dead End Street - Naturally Donny Hathaway & Roberta Flack - For All We Know - Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway The ode to musical styles past and present that introduces Jazz Gumbo is “Music Evolution” by Branford Marsalis and Buckshot LeFonque. Playlists for all past Sets of Jazz Gumbo will be found at jazzgumbo.blogspot.ca A pretty wide variety of styles and sounds in this Set, from Ramsey Lewis to D-Stringz, from the Art Ensemble of Chicago to some old Quincy Jones. Vocal play is a standout, and is all over the map. I particularly like the trio of Purim, Dudziak and Coppola, but both Dee-Dee Bridgewater and Bobby McFerrin bring lots of fun to their offerings. I notice that I sometimes point out a particularly great instrumental player after the selection has played. I’m going to try to point out more of the special performances in advance. So long as I don’t bog things down with too much talk. After all, the music always speaks for itself! Thrive! Kirby

Artist - Tune - Album Hudson: Jack DeJohnette, John Scofield, - El Swing - Hudson John Medeski, Larry Grenadier Yazz Ahmed - Jamil Jamal - La Saboteuse Gerry Bryant - Stormy Weather - Chasing the Clouds Away Michael Gregory Jackson - Lovin’ You - Heart & Center Lester Bowie - I Am With You - Twilight Dreams Nicholas Payton - Intro to Kimathi - Afro-Caribbean Mixtape Courtney Pine featuring - I’ve Known Rivers - Modern Day Jazz Stories Cassandra Wilson Bill Evans - Alice in Wonderland - Sunday at The Village Vanguard Elizabeth Shepherd - What’s Happening - The Signal Bobby McFerrin - Say Ladeo - Vocabularies Michael Brecker - Sea Glass - Michael Brecker Blood, Sweat & Tears - Maiden Voyage - New Blood Paquito D’Rivera - Guataca City - Manhattan Burn The ode to musical styles past and present that introduces Jazz Gumbo is “Music Evolution” by Branford Marsalis and Buckshot LeFonque. Playlists for all past Sets of Jazz Gumbo will be found at jazzgumbo.blogspot.ca The Hudson quartet. Yazz Ahmed. Gerry Bryant. Courtney Pine. Bobby McFerrin. For me, now, these are the standouts for this Set. Brilliant layering of tones and effects from all these sonic engineers. Thrive! Kirby

Artist - Tune - Album Buckshot Lefonque - Music Evolution - Music Evolution Rahsaan Roland Kirk - Goodbye Pork Pie Hat - The Return of the 5000 lb. Man Jamaaladeen Tacuma - Show Stopper - Show Stopper Kevin Eubanks - Who Knows - Sundance Airto Moreira - Parana - Fingers Bennie Maupin - It Remains To Be Seen - Slow Traffic to the Right Jill Scott - A Long Walk - Words & Music: Volume 1 Chick Corea - Quartet No. 2 - to John Coltrane - Three Quartets Michel Camilo - Caribe - Michel Camilo Baird Hersey - Lookin’ for that Groove - Lookin’ for that Groove & The Year of the Ear Osibisa - Adwoa - Happy Children Horace Silver - Sanctimonious Sam - Sterling Silver Billy Cobham-George Duke Band - Do What Cha Wanna - “Live” On Tour in Europe Earth, Wind & Fire - You Can't Hide Love - Gratitude Bill Frisell - Cadillac 1959 - Good Dog, Happy Man John McLaughlin - Do You Hear the Voices that You Left Behind? - Electric Guitarist Sweet Honey in the Rock - Good News - Good News McCoy Tyner - For Tomorrow - Inner Voices Gil Scott-Heron - The Revolution Will Not be Televised - Pieces of a Man Crusaders - Put It Where You Want It - Crusaders 1 Jazz Gumbo just had a birthday. We launched almost exactly six years ago, in May of 2012. And the show and podcast have become one of the great joys of my life. I thank Adonis Huggins, the executive director at Radio Regent for suggesting a show to me. He knew that I’d been spinning vinyl once a week at the nearby jazz bar and restaurant, The Dominion on Queen (thanks to you also Sean Duranovich, for inviting me to that gig!), and said that they were interested in new programmers for Radio Regent! Not only has this opportunity allowed me to introduce the music I love to listeners in more than 40 countries – many of whom I know are hearing much of it for the first time. It’s also pushed me to get more deeply into the music – Yes! The music I already knew and loved. Because I soon realized that I couldn’t just play my favorite tracks over and over. I began to listen more often and more closely to those flip sides of my favorite albums, and the albums I considered the lesser works of favorite artists, and to the albums of the supporting players to those artists. All of which reminded me of great work I’d loved but had forgotten, and got me listening with fresh ears to tunes I’d over-looked. It also got me exploring again, something I hadn’t done in years the way I once had. I’m spending more time in used record shops again, listening to some of my fellow podcasters for classics and for new artists that had escaped me, I’m passing on exciting new talent I’m hearing on my local jazz station, Toronto’s Jazz FM, and I’m even getting out into the clubs a bit more often than I have in awhile. And my hope is that this show is playing a role in keeping the jazz community vibrant, by keeping great, sometimes overlooked music in circulation, by reminding old members and newcomers alike of the great breadth and depth of this communal, improvisational, dynamic and all-embracing music. It’s a music that has never turned away a single cultural influence or source of inspiration. And that’s truly worthy of sharing. So Thanks again for Being here on this listening journey with me. Enjoy this Set from 2012. And come back for another fresh Set in just few days! Thrive! Kirby

Artist - Tune - Album Benny Goodman - Sing, Sing, Sing - Giants of Jazz – Benny Goodman Stanley Clarke - More Hot Fun - Modern Man Donald Byrd - Fly, Little Byrd - Harlem Blues Betty Carter - What Is It? - Betty Carter Album Keith Tippett - Thank You For The Smile - You Are Here…I Am There Kenny Garrett - Doc Tone’s Short Speech - Standard Of Language George Duke - Be Cool - Montreux Summit, Vol.2 Leszek Możdżer, Lars Danielsson, - Weeks/Shavuot - Polska Zohar Fresco Bennie Maupin - The Jewel In The Lotus - The Jewel In The Lotus Ray Bryant - Blues in De Big Brass Bed - Solo Flight Sade - The Moon & The Sky - Soldier Of Love War - Slipping Into Darkness - All Day Music Clara Ward - Just A Little While To Stay Here - We Gotta Shout! & The Dukes of Dixieland The Wood Brothers - River Takes The Town - One Drop Of Truth Louis Armstrong - Stardust - Giants of Jazz – Louis Armstrong The ode to musical styles past and present that introduces Jazz Gumbo is “Music Evolution” by Branford Marsalis and Buckshot Lefonque. Playlists for all past Sets of Jazz Gumbo will be found at jazzgumbo.blogspot.ca Some Highlights: The Benny Goodman Orchestra’s “Sing, Sing, Sing” had become a band and audience favorite by the time they performed at Carnegie Hall in 1938, and they closed a very successful show with the version that opens this Set. Drummer Gene Krupa drives the 8-minute number, but it’s full of great horn flourishes and solos, by Goodman on clarinet, Babe Russin on tenor, Harry James on trumpet, more of Benny, then Jess Stacy of piano. It’s brilliant! What a show that must’ve been. George Duke wrote and arranged “Be Cool” and leads a group of All-Stars for another rousing live performance, this time at Montreux. Many of these musicians had never performed together, and according to all accounts, the rehearsals were horrible. But the live show brought the magic. Solos by Duke and by flautists Hubert Laws and Bobbie Humphrey, with a rhythm section that includes Billy Cobham on drums, Alphonso Johnson on bass and with Bob James conducting. Bennie Maupin’s “The Jewel in the Lotus” is one of those very special albums with a mood all its own, perfect for middle-of-the-night magic and mellowness. It features the most earthy of acoustic bassists in Buster Williams. Thanks to my Polish family for the Możdżer, Danielsson & Fresco cd. I don’t know any of them. Their tune here is shimmering, sizzling & sweet. I’ll be re-visiting this album soon. Ray Bryant delivers a rapturous solo piano performance. Kenny Garrett is his usual driving, dynamic self. And War, probably my favorite group from my teens, shows you why, with their natural, funk and roots sound. That's not even the half of it! I could go on and on and on. But I’ll leave it with you. Thrive! Kirby

Artist - Tune - Album Rahsaan Roland Kirk - Dorthaan’s Walk - Boogie-Woogie String Along For Real Victor Wooten - Me & My Bass Guitar - A Show of Hands 15 Herbie Hancock - Cantaloupe Island - Empyrean Isles Ashley Henry - Moving Forward - Easter – EP Count Basie - Blues for Charlie Christian - Mostly Blues…and some others Dee Dee Bridgewater - Lullaby of Birdland - Keeping Tradition Howlin’ Wolf - Back Door Man - The Best of Chess Blues Edwin Hawkins - Oh Happy Day - Let Us Go Into The House Of The Lord John Coltrane - Africa - Africa / Brass Sly & the Family Stone - Stand! - Stand! Carmen McRae - I’ve Got It Bad and That Ain’t Good - Carmen McRae Klemens Marktl - Elveen - December Lou Rawls - A Natural Man - Naturally Courtney Pine - In The Garden Of Eden - Modern Day Jazz Stories Chick Corea - Humpty Dumpty - The Mad Hatter The ode to musical styles past and present that introduces Jazz Gumbo is “Music Evolution” by Branford Marsalis and Buckshot Lefonque. Playlists for all past Sets of Jazz Gumbo will be found at jazzgumbo.blogspot.ca Isn’t this a wonderful photo of Basie, lovingly working his magic? Lots of beautiful magic in this Set, top to bottom. The newest pieces are from Ashley Henry, Klemens Marktl and Victor Wooten. (Just love Vic and his bass guitar!) And oh, what a remarkable and varied set of oldies: the old Masters Basie and Trane do their thing; Dee Dee and Carmen elevate some standards; We have brilliant, early chapters from the encyclopedic careers of Herbie and Chick. And there’s some funk blues, a pulsing soul classic, and even a slice of stirring gospel. I won’t try to categorize Courtney Pine’s “In the Garden of Eden”, but it’s one of my favorites. Thrive! Kirby

Artist - Tune - Album Sarah Vaughan & Michel Legrand - The Summer Knows - Sarah Vaughan & Michel Legrand Dave Holland - Conference of the Birds - Conference of the Birds Russell Gunn - Neo-So - Krunk Jazz Steps Ahead - Modern Times - Modern Times Bill Evans - Gloria’s Step - Sunday at the Village Vanguard Ella Fitzgerald - Some Of These Days - Live at Carnegie Hall, July 5, 1973 Phronesis - Charm Defensive - The Behemoth Tom Waits - Down In The Hole - Big Time Carlos Santana - Shere Khan, The Tiger - The Swing of Delight Jay Clayton - Freedom Jazz Dance - In and Out of Love Hilton Ruiz - Stolen Moments - Crosscurrents Stevie Wonder - Love Having You Around - Music Of My Mind Freddie Hubbard - Hub-Tones - Hub-Tones Etienne Charles - Kaiso - Kaiso The ode to musical styles past and present that introduces Jazz Gumbo is “Music Evolution” by Branford Marsalis and Buckshot Lefonque. Playlists for all past Sets of Jazz Gumbo will be found at jazzgumbo.blogspot.ca This Set serves as a gentle, invitational offering to Spring. As I listen back to it – a few weeks after it originally aired, unfortunately, but with Spring still struggling for full expression against a tenacious Winter – an opening doorway is evoked, and I’m more than ready to walk through. A few of these musical offerings have overtones of Springtime for me: of fresh beginnings, corners turned, re-births… - The liner notes to the Vaughan-Legrand album refer to the singer being introduced to a recording by the composer/conductor/arranger and deciding to devote the whole of her next album to his work. - Stevie’s “Music Of My Mind” marked the beginning of an extraordinary period of volcanic creativity. Though it was his 14th album, he was only 22, and eager to break out of the Motown mold. And the album title is literal, in that Stevie composed, arranged and performed every note of it, except for the trombone solo on the featured cut and one other guest solo elsewhere. - “Conference” was Dave Holland’s first album as leader, and I don’t think he’s stopped exploring since. - And you’d hardly recognize Santana in the cut bearing his name, he remains so much within the ensemble of jazz greats he’s invited to play, in this foray beyond his wheelhouse. I hope that there is a beautiful Spring sensibility available to you too, wherever you might be in the world. Love & Peace Kirby Obsidian

Artist - Tune - Album Horace Silver - Calcutta Cutie - Song For My Father Taj Mahal - Music Keeps Me Together - Music Keeps Me Together BadBadNotGood - Kaleidoscope - III Cleo Laine - Friendly Persuasion - I Am A Song Miles Davis - Oleo - Relaxin’ with … Russell Gunn - Skate King - Krunk Jazz Luis Gasca - Little Mama - For Those Who Chant Pat Metheny - Tell It All - First Circle Phronesis - Zieding - Walking Dark Jay Clayton - Beginner - Circle Dancing McCoy Tyner - Desert Cry - Sama Layuca Miles Davis - Nem Um Talvez - Live–Evil James Blood Ulmer - Light-Eyed - Are You Glad To Be In America Branford Marsalis - Blues For One - In My Solitude: Live at Grace Cathedral The ode to musical styles past and present that introduces Jazz Gumbo in “Music Evolution” by Branford Marsalis and Buckshot Lefonque. Playlists for all past Sets of Jazz Gumbo will be found at jazzgumbo.blogspot.ca Thanks for Listening! Thrive! Kirby Obsidian

Artist - Tune - Album Buckshot Lefonque - Music Evolution - Music Evolution JoAnne Brackeen - Let Me Know - Keyed In Norman Connors - Revelation - Love From the Sun Sarah Vaughan - Stardust - The Complete Sarah Vaughan Pharoah Sanders - You Got to have Freedom - Journey to the One Anthony Braxton - BOR...H - Five Pieces – Fall 1975 Keith Jarrett - Great Bird - Death and the Flower Dianne Reeves - Chan’s Song - Dianne Reeves Chuck Mangione - Can’t We Do This All Night - Chase the Clouds Away John Coltrane - Welcome - Kulu se Mama Hugh Masakela - Night in Tunisia - I am Not Afraid Lonnie Smith - Son of Ice Bag - Think! Metalwood - The Hipster - The Recline Jack DeJohnette - John McKee - Parallel Realities Soundtrack Cast - America - West Side Story Bobby McFerrin - Blackbird - Simple Pleasures Sekoya - Fugitive Pieces - Sekoya Miles Davis - Right Off - Jack Johnson Steps Ahead - Safari - Modern Times This as the very first Set of Jazz Gumbo, from almost 6 years ago. The featured album back then was from Buckshot LeFonque’s “Music Evolution” album. I knew right away that the title track would be perfect for introducing the show every week. The short-lived group was founded and led by Branford Marsalis, who has forever been a musical explorer, delving into all manner of instrumental groupings and genre-mixing. The composition speaks to the evolution of music over time. This how has always been intended to embrace the wide range of influences that generated jazz in the first place, as well as all the directions it has grown into. And it celebrates the musicians who have loved it and kept it nourished by all they bring to it. The album cover this time around belongs to the group Sekoya. I happened to catch them on late night television about twenty years ago. Loved them immediately and to this day I’m amazed that they didn’t enjoy more success. Such are the ways of the industry and culture. Genius is everywhere, but doesn’t always get heard widely. This show was an opportunity to feature music I love. Some of it I’ve been listening to since I was a child, and some of it is music I’ve discovered relatively recently. Most of it is from the greats, from those whose genius was heard widely. But much of it is from lesser knowns who deserve to be heard, as we deserve to hear them. Most of this music is played from vinyl, because all my life, that’s what I’ve bought and listened to. Not exclusively, because most of the music I’ve come to love during the last two decades wasn’t marketed primarily on vinyl. But most of what I know well enough to share is older music, from what I think of as the age of original vinyl, which ended about 1991. Sekoya is part of the newer generation. I’ve never seen their work on vinyl and don’t know if it’s available in that format. But I play what I Love, that I have. I hope that you love the music too, and that you will support the artists who create it, as you are able. Thrive! Kirby Obsidian p.s. And oh, one other thing: This show, being my very first, is packed with a lot of my very, very favorite music. It's a damn good Set. You're gonna Love it. If you're a regular listener, you've heard many of them over the years. Enjoy them again!

Artist - Tune - Album Marquis Hill - King Legend - Modern Flows EP, Vol. 1 Julian Priester - 1239A - Keep Swingin’ & Spiritsville Sonny Rollins - St. Thomas - Saxophone Colossus Gerry Bryant - Take Five - Interpretations Dee Dee Bridgewater - Angel Eyes - Keeping Tradition Weather Report - 125th St. Congress - Sweetnighter Mahavishnu Orchestra - Lila’s Dance - Visions of the Emerald Beyond Contemporary Noise Sextet - Morning Ballet - Ghostwriter’s Joke Jay Hoggard - Guataca - The Right Place Esbjörn Svensson Trio (e.s.t.) - Tuesday Wonderland - Tuesday Wonderland The ode to musical styles past and present that introduces Jazz Gumbo in “Music Evolution” by Branford Marsalis and Buckshot Lefonque. Playlists for all past Sets of Jazz Gumbo will be found at jazzgumbo.blogspot.ca The featured album cover is for the work of a dear old friend, Gerry Bryant. He’s an artist whose appreciation of jazz and of classical music have always run parallel, and this album features his interpretations of music from both genres. He also leads a band, Pocketwatch, which is referenced in the cover art. This is a shorter Set, but with a nice blend of new and old. But, I did it again. The Marquis Hill piece was featured on the very last Jazz Gumbo. My gray cells are over-taxed. Thanks for your listening ears. I hope the Set brings you the same pleasures it brought me. Thrive! Kirby Obsidian

Artist - Tune - Album Cleveland Eaton - John’s Groove - Taurus Baaba Maal - Soukanayo - Nomad Soul Cassandra Wilson - Closer To You - Thunderbird Herbie Hancock - Riot - Speak Like A Child Marquis Hill - King Legend - Modern Flows EP, Vol. 1 Stanley Clarke, Jean-Luc Ponty, Biréli Lagrène - Paradigm Shift - D-Stringz Gregory Porter & Lalah Hathaway - Insanity - Take Me To The Alley Howard Johnson & Gravity - Yesterdays - Gravity!!! Phronesis - Walking Dark - Walking Dark Sarah Vaughan - Everyday I Have The Blues - Sassy Swings Again Victor Wooten - Cupid - Trypnotyx Horace Silver - Que Pasa - Song For My Father The ode to musical styles past and present that introduces Jazz Gumbo in “Music Evolution” by Branford Marsalis and Buckshot Lefonque. Playlists for all past Sets of Jazz Gumbo will be found at jazzgumbo.blogspot.ca Question: Didn't that cover of "Yesterdays" by Howard Johnson & Gravity just Blow You Away!?! Did you suspect that a Tuba could sound so sweet? Let alone 6 of them?!? Thanks to Keith Coston in Detroit and his Podcast, Jazz Renaisance. He puts out great Sets, through which I’ve been introduced to a number of newer artists, including Marquis Hill and Phronesis who are included in this Set. There’s such a wealth of great talent and great music out there, that friendly guides with similar tastes help us to the artists that will speak to us most deeply. So thanks to this community of sharing people, spreading the love. Most importantly, Thanks to the Musicians! This is pure amateurism on my part – sharing incredible art because I love it. And I hope that this sharing benefits those who pour their entire lives into it, especially those lesser known music makers, like Cleveland Eaton and Howard Johnson, and the side-players, orchestras and choruses. In this world of the 1% and the 99%, the arts world is imbalanced like any other. A precious few musicians live in luxury and renown, while the great multitudes of others – sometimes as great as the revered – share their gifts in obscurity, or lack the opportunity of even that. I’m thinking more these days about how the Arts benefit me, and about how I support Art, or whether I even do that, in its many forms. Thrive! Kirby Obsidian ps - I seem to have become absent minded about what I've recently played. So yes, the Sarah Vaughan piece was played just two Sets ago.

Artist - Tune - Album Eric Dolphy - Juggin’ Around - Eric Dolphy Mike Nock, Bennie Maupin, - Double Split - Almanac Cecil McBee, Eddie Marshall Oscar Peterson - Ellington Medley - Digital at Montreux Chaka Khan, Lenny White, Chick Corea, - All Of Me - Echoes Of An Era Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, Stanley Clarke Jeff Beck - Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers - Blow By Blow Julius Hemphill - Leora - Julius Hemphill Big Band Pat Martino - Line Games - Joyous Lake Oregon - The Rapids - Oregon Hugh Masekela - In The Marketplace - I Am Not Afraid The Heath Brothers - Mellowdrama - Passing Thru… Joan Armatrading - The Weakness In Me - Walk Under Ladders Branford Marsalis - Love Stone - Renaissance Michal Urbaniak - Circular Road - Serenade For The City Nina Simone - I Shall Be Released - To Love Somebody The ode to musical styles past and present that introduces Jazz Gumbo in “Music Evolution” by Branford Marsalis and Buckshot Lefonque. Playlists for all past Sets of Jazz Gumbo will be found at jazzgumbo.blogspot.ca This set was broadcast and recorded shortly after the passing of Hugh Masekela on January 23rd. I never got to see Masekela live, but enjoyed his music from the time of his big hit in the 60’s with “Grazing In The Grass”. The album I played from here, “I Am Not Afraid” has been a favorite for decades. It was only after years of listening to his music, and that of his countryman Abdullah Ibrahim (formerly known as Dollar Brand), and later to Ladysmith Black Mambazo, that I came to recognize the particular South African-ness of this music. There’s a beautiful melancholy in it that evokes a depth of feeling. It’s music that – like the tune I played this night – can’t help but tell a story. It’s just so full of life and memory. How many of the musicians who contributed to this Set have passed, I couldn’t say. Oscar Peterson passed not so many years ago, and in tonight’s offering he makes a dazzling tribute to Ellington, who passed long before him, and to Billy Strayhorn, who wrote “Lush Life”, one of the sweetest, most melancholy tunes ever written. What a thing it must be to leave music behind, and to forever be able to touch hearts with melody and harmony and rhythm, as these great musicians have done. They spread joy, they spread love, and so remain deeply engaged with life. Thrive! Kirby Obsidian

Artist - Tune - Album Courtney Pine - The 37th Chamber - Modern Day Jazz Stories Michal Urbaniak - Y Note - Urban Express The Cinematic Orchestra - All That You Can Give - Every Day Nana Simopoulos - Wings and Air - Wings and Air Nat King Cole - But Beautiful - The Very Thought Of You Abdullah Ibrahim - The Perfumed Forest, Wet With Rain - Africa–Tears & Laughter Jill Scott - A Long Walk - Who Is Jill Scott Chico Freeman - Monk 2000 - The Pied Piper Mandrill - Mango Meat - Just Outside Of Town Marion Brown featuring Allen Murphy - Visions - Vista Pharoah Sanders - Greetings to Idris - Journey To The One Billy Joel - Just The Way You Are - The Stranger Sarah Vaughan - Every Day I Have The Blues - Sassy Swings Again Jamaaladeen Tacuma - The Next Stop - Renaissance Man Quincy Jones - O Happy Day - Walking In Space The ode to musical styles past and present that introduces Jazz Gumbo in “Music Evolution” by Branford Marsalis and Buckshot Lefonque. Playlists for all past Sets of Jazz Gumbo will be found at jazzgumbo.blogspot.ca A pretty broad mix of things this week, and it remains me of the amazing diversity of human expression, of all the many ways we can be moved. And, as I approach six years of producing this Podcast, I delight in playing artists and individual cuts that I haven’t before, as well as favorites that I reintroduce now and again. So I make note of the Courtney Pine piece, from a newly acquired album, to Nana Simopoulos, an artist entirely new to me, and to Billy Joel, who is not someone who normally comes to mind for inclusion, but whose gorgeous pop standard I find irresistible. The Podomatic stats page tells me that I’m drawing listeners from more and more cities and countries. As always, I’d love to hear from any of you who care to share a word about the music, who have a request, a complaint or best of all, a recommendation of an amazing artist you think ought to be heard more widely, that I might share with your fellow listeners. Thanks for your ears; I hope they enjoy this week’s flavors! Thrive! Kirby Obsidian

Artist - Tune - Album Freddie Hubbard - Red Clay - Red Clay King Pleasure - I’m In The Mood For Love - Mr. Jazz Hugh Masekela - Goin’ Back To New Orleans - Union of South Africa Tania Maria - Eruption - Taurus The Modern Jazz Quartet - Django - The Last Concert Lonnie Smith - Mama Wailer - Mama Wailer Billie Holiday - Lover Man - The Billie Holiday Story Bennie Maupin - Just Give It Some Time - Moonscapes Tony Williams - Extreme Measures - Native Heart Moe Kaufman - Neptune - Solar Explorations Cassandra Wilson - Love And Hate - Point Of View Lenny White, Chick Corea - Why Wait - The Griffith Park Collection Freddie Hubbared, Joe Henderson, Stanley Clarke Anita O’Day - The Man I Love - An Evening With Anita O’Day Charles Mingus - Sophisticated Lady - The Great Concert You’ll find a complete record of all past Sets at jazzgumbo.blogspot.ca This is another all vinyl Set. And though none of the music is new, most of the cuts are new to Jazz Gumbo. And they are Amazing! And I’m going to let the music speak for itself. But a couple of these numbers really cling to me these last days. You know how it can be with music: a tune is played; somehow, it burrows down into you; and it faintly colors your mood and thoughts and feelings, lends a different perspective, enlivens your sense of being. Well that’s how it was this week with Cassandra Wilson’s “Love and Hate”, and with Lady Day’s “Lover Man”. The latter carried me even further, to re-reading the many fascinating anecdotes from Holiday’s autobiography, “Lady Sings the Blues” that are contained in the liner notes. A small nugget of her life is shared in relation to each tune, how it came about or what it meant to her. I’ve added that book to my must-read list. I hope you’ll love the Set! Thrive! Kirby

Artist - Tune - Album Chet Baker - Star Eyes - The Touch of Your Lips Jay Hoggard - West End Dancer - Days Like These Harry Connick, Jr. - Stompin’ At The Savoy - “When Harry Met Sally…” soundtrack Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers - Night In Tunisia - A Night In Tunisia Joan Armatrading - Spend A Little Time - Whatever’s For Us Ted Curson - Searchin’ For The Blues - Flip Top Gerry Niewood - Timeless - Gerry Niewood & Timepiece Krystall Klear & the Buells featuring Cecil Taylor - P. O. - Ready for the 90’s Steve Eliovson & Collin Walcott - Africa - Dawn Dance Erroll Garner - Just One Of Those Things - Dreamstreet Luis Gasca - Visions - Collage The Manhattan Transfer - Another Night In Tunisia - Vocalese featuring Bobby McFerrin & Jon Hendricks Chuck Mangione - Bellavia - Bellavia Keith Jarrett - Kuum - Back Hand Sonny Greenwich - Day is Night to Some - Evol-ution, Love’s Reverse The song that introduces Jazz Gumbo is “Music Evolution” by Branford Marsalis and Buckshot LeFonque. You’ll find a complete record of all past Sets at jazzgumbo.blogspot.ca A New Year begins. It was a great, fun year with Jazz Gumbo. I got in 35 new shows last year and re-posted three old ones. A few new listeners have signed on, and it’s gratifying to see more and more downloads from all over the world - 46 countries. I love travelling, but I haven’t seen nearly as much of the world as I’d like to. I feel connected by the notion that this music is meaningful to people in so many places. Wherever you are, I hope that there is peace and freedom in your personal world. As much as there is to be saddened by on this shared planet, I’m inspired by the humility and kindness I encounter everywhere, and I trust that Love will prevail over Fear. Toronto is a particularly blessed place in that it is made up of peoples of the entire world. There is much sharing of what life looks and feels like, from behind skin other than our own. And there’s potential for much more. Thrive! Kirby

Artist - Tune - Album Wes Montgomery - Snowfall - Wes’ Best/Wes Montgomery & His Brothers Stevie Wonder - Jesus, Children of America - Innervisions Lionel Hampton - How High The Moon - Big Bands Revisited The Temptations - I Could Never Love Another After Loving You - Wish It Would Rain Chick Corea - Sometime Ago–La Fiesta - Return To Forever Dave Holland - The Watcher - Prism George Duke - Watch Out Baby! - Reach For It Billy Hart - Waiting Inside - Oshumare Oscar Peterson - Land of the Misty Giants - Canadiana Suite Janis Joplin with Big Brother & the Holding Company - Summertime - Cheap Thrills Clifford Brown & Max Roach - Jordu - Jordu Ray Charles & Betty Carter - Baby, It’s Cold Outside - Essential Classics The song that introduces Jazz Gumbo is “Music Evolution” by Branford Marsalis and Buckshot LeFonque. You’ll find a complete record of all past Sets at jazzgumbo.blogspot.ca This Set features the classic from the first Return to Forever album, “Sometime Ago – La Fiesta”. It is one of the great recordings, and one I never tire of. Forgive me for playing from such a scratchy, overworn album, but I trust that music didn’t lose it’s power despite that. Stanley Clarke is the standout here, with that amazing double bass solo. The things he does with those long fingers! This Set was recorded just before Christmas and features a couple of winter songs, with a couple of performances I want to mention. The Wes Montgomery album features the Montgomery brothers, with Monk on bass and Buddy on vibes and piano. And what a great vibes solo Buddy delivers on “Snowfall”! As great and original a stylist as Betty Carter became, in her duet here with Ray Charles, she’s pretty ordinary. But Ray makes up for it with a very soulful delivery. Getting back to the vibes, Lionel Hampton with his big band orchestrates a rousing “How High the Moon” with great solos by the leader and by the dueling saxes. I wish I could tell you who they are. It’s a great jazz Set, and the pieces by the pop acts: Stevie Wonder, Janis Joplin and the Temptations are pretty damn good, too! Thrive! Kirby

Artist - Tune - Album Charles Mingus - Pithecanthropus Erectus - Pithecanthropus Erectus Ralph Towner - Special Delivery - Old Friends, New Friends GoGo Penguin - Protest - Man Made Object Pharoah Sanders - The Golden Lamp - Wisdom Through Music The Dells - Love Can Make It Easier - Give Your Baby A Standing Ovation Cab Calloway - Jumpin’ Jive - “Stormy Weather” soundtrack Leon Redbone - Ain’t Misbehavin’ - On The Track Bobby Darin - Mack The Knife - The Bobby Darin Story Charles Lloyd - Sombrero Sam - Dream Weaver Chet Baker - Un Poco Loco - You Can’t Go Home Again Brian Auger & Julie Driscoll - Tramp - Open Joni Mitchell - Paprika Plains - Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter The song that introduces Jazz Gumbo is “Music Evolution” by Branford Marsalis and Buckshot LeFonque. You’ll find a complete record of all past Sets at jazzgumbo.blogspot.ca After many years of being a Mingus fan, I recently got hold of his “Pithecanthropus” lp, and I’m excited to feature the great title track here. I’d never heard this music before. Though I started buying vinyl lps almost 50 years ago, I’m not a true collector. While I cherish my roughly 2,000 albums, and the artists they represent, I’ve never been methodical or obsessive about them. I don’t have the complete works of any artists, except perhaps the Uruguayan jazz fusion group Opa, who only ever issued two albums. There are so many holes in my collection. I could easily produce a Greatest Albums list of classics that I don’t have. And it would feature all of my favorite artists, including, Coltrane, Miles, Sarah Vaughan, Corea, Hancock and Joni Mitchell. Sure, I’d love to have all those albums I don’t have. But I’m not rolling in money, and from the beginning, a huge percentage of my lps have come from second hand stores, where buying choices are very much constrained by opportunity. In recent years, many albums have come from yard sales, the odd few from thrift stores, and I’d estimate that a good 20% of my music came to me by way of friends and acquaintances giving me the collections that were growing mold in their basements. A few albums were given new, as gifts, like my very first albums by Dianne Reeves, B. B. King and Bob Moses. I won my first Pat Martino album from a Boston area jazz station, by answering the question, “What was the original name of the Crusaders?” (answer: the Jazz Crusaders). I won one of my Stevie Wonder albums in an amusement park arcade. And let me not forget the early Miles, Trane and Dinah Washington albums I lifted from my parents’ collection when I went away to school. Just last year, I bought 38 albums at $5. a pop from local radio station Jazz FM, after they converted all their music into digital files. And among them was the Heath Brothers’ “Passing Thru”, which I’d added to my wish list about 35 years ago and just never got around to buying. That was a time I might have bought the album at the concert where I heard the Heaths perform. I probably didn’t have the funds. But this week's featured Chet Baker album was bought at a similar concert, an all-night affair in a church – and no, Baker wasn’t there to perform. Adding albums to my collection has very often been a matter of exploration or gut feeling. The very best is when I buy an album because it’s by a sideman from another album I like, or features tunes or instrumentation I like, or because the album art appeals. Then taking it home, playing it and discovering a gem. And let me not forget the great many discoveries that have come by way of hearing something played on the radio, in a friend’s home, on a film soundtrack, or by word of mouth. Getting back to the Mingus album this essay started with: I think that Mingus is one of those artists that simply never issued a bad album. There’s always feeling in his work, which when coupled with artistry equals “can’t lose”. So I’m always on the lookout to add more of his work. And one of the great benefits of collecting music on vinyl as haphazardly as I do, is that there’s always more out there to find. Always another Mingus album still to discover, or an album by some phenom whose name I don’t even know. Thrive & Enjoy! Kirby

Artist - Tune - Album Buckshot Lefonque - Music Evolution - Music Evolution Jamaaladeen Tacuma - Show Stopper - Show Stopper The Manhattan Transfer - Shaker Song - Extensions Horace Silver - New York Lament - Silver ‘N Voices Airto Moreira - Parana - Fingers Louis Armstrong - What Did I Do To Be So Black And Blue - Giants of Jazz Series Bobby McFerrin - Good Lovin’ - Simple Pleasures McCoy Tyner - For Tomorrow - Inner Voices Fats Waller - You’re Not the Only Oyster in the Stew - Giants of Jazz Series Urszula Dudziak - Crazy Kid - Fusion III (M.Urbaniak) Urszula Dudziak - Prehistoric Bird - Fusion III (M.Urbaniak) Ella Fitzgerald - Mack the Knife - Essential Ella Rahsaan Roland Kirk - Goodbye Pork Pie Hat - The Return of the 5,000 lb. Man Sekoya - Heavenly City - Sekoya Dexter Gordon & Eddie Jefferson - It’s Only A Paper Moon - Great Encounters Flora Purim - Summer Night - Butterfly Dreams John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman - Lush Life - John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman K’naan - Hoobaale - The Dusty Foot Philosopher Lambert, Hendricks & Ross - Everyday - Sing A Song Of Basie Sarah Vaughan - Lullaby Of Birdland - Sarah Vaughan’s Golden Hits Sweet Honey In The Rock - Wade In The Water - Live at Carnegie Hall The opening theme for Jazz Gumbo is "Music Evolution" by Branford Marsalis and his group Buckshot LeFonque. For playlists of all past Sets go to jazzgumbo.blogspot.ca This Set was posted in recognition of the fact that probably 80% of the music featured on Jazz Gumbo is instrumental. And while doing it, I was surprised at how many great vocalists and uses of vocals that I didn't even get to. Every piece in this Set contains a vocal element. There are a few straight ahead numbers with a single vocalist fronting a group in a traditional style. Other numbers make use of vocalese (the art of adding words to previously instrumental compositions and using voices in place of the melodic instruments), scat (wordless vocal improvisation) or some other innovative technique. And some numbers feature a cappella or choral, or interesting background singing. My hosting here is pretty sad from an informational point of view. I introduce the Manhattan Transfer with a statement of how they re-popularized vocalese, then play a selection that isn't vocalese at all. Then I discuss how Satchmo invented scat singing, and play a cut on which he doesn't scat. But hey, all the music is brilliant! Enjoy and Thrive! Kirby

Artist - Tune - Album John Coltrane - Welcome - Kulu Sé Mama Sonny Greenwich - Prelune - Evol-ution, Love’s Reverse Jazzmeia Horn - Tight - A Social Call John Mayall - Country Road - Jazz Blues Fusion Abdullah Ibrahim - Tintiyana, Second Part - African Space Program Christian Scott - An Unending Repentance - Yesterday You Said Tomorrow Ornette Coleman - Law Years - Science Fiction Gary Thomas - Traf - Code Violations Jowee Omicil - Something Clear - Let’s Bash! Herbie Hancock - You’ll Know When You Get There - Mwandishi Anthony Braxton - BOR----N-K64... - Five Pieces 1975 John Coltrane - Vigil - Kulu Sé Mama The opening theme for Jazz Gumbo is “Music Evolution” by Buckshot Lefonque. Complete Playlists of all past Sets are available at jazzgumbo.blogspot.ca On balance, this Set is a bit Freer than most. That is, a lot of the music strays beyond the conventions of the mainstream. And this freer music comes in lots of variations. The earliest selections are the opening and closing numbers from Coltrane. The “Kulu Sé Mama” album was recorded in ’65 but not released until two years later. It is a bridge between ‘Trane’s earlier work, which stuck to mainstreams structures, to later work which is far more abstract than anything in this Set. They are perfect numbers for introducing the avant garde, “Welcome” especially so, based as it is on the birthday song we all know, but transformed into something far richer and emotive. The Sonny Greenwich and Jazzmeia Horn numbers are quite accessible, also. The melody and chord structures are there, but relaxed a bit, leaving more room for stretching. One way to look at free jazz (and this is only one way), is to think of improvisation as not just happening within the structure of a melody; instead, the structure itself becomes improvised. Hancock’s tune takes this a little further. The Christian Scott piece is free in a different way, doing so much with tone and atmosphere, and Gary Thomas does something similar. One of the pieces I really love is Braxton’s offering. I freely admit that a lot of Braxton’s music is beyond me – I can’t enjoy it. But there are others, like this one, that floor me! This piece is so dynamic, so driving and insistent, that it just barges beyond any analytics my mind wants to throw up and gets to my core. And I keep listening to Braxton for the occasional number that will get to me in a similar way. In a real sense, I think that gets to the heart of it: music that carries me somewhere emotionally or viscerally, whether I “understand” it or not. So much of the music of Miles Davis (who isn’t represented here, but should be) has been like this for me. From the time I first listened to him, in the late sixties, I could never really catch up to him. “Spanish Key” was the number that pulled me into “Bitches Brew”. But by the time I ‘got’ it, and went out and bought his next thing – “Live/Evil” in this case – he was into a whole other sound, and I had 'deconstruct" what I expected of him before I could ‘get’ that. And it was like that right to the end in my experience of listening to Miles. I hope there’s plenty in this Set for you to love, to be tantalized by, to open up to. Next Set, we’ll slip back into a lower Earth orbit. Thrive! Kirby Obsidian

Artist - Tune - Album Ramsey Lewis - Les Fleur - Maiden Voyage Marion Brown - Maimoun - Vista Chuck Mangione with Esther Satterfield - Soft - Chase the Clouds Away Ralph Towner & Gary Burton - Drifting Petals - Match Book Art Ensemble of Chicago - Joro - The Paris Session Dianne Schuur - Cry Me A River - Talkin ‘Bout You Clarence Wheeler & The Enforcers - The Heebie Jeebie Dance - The Love I’ve Been Looking For Charlie Haden with Keith Jarrett - Ellen David - Closeness Duets Rufus featuring Chaka Khan - Your Smile - Rufusized Horace Silver - Sanctimonious Sam - Sterling Silver Stanley Jordan - ‘Round Midnight - Magic Touch Dionne Warwick - Checkout Time - Very Dionne McCoy Tyner - For Tomorrow - Inner Voices Jay Hoggard - Ruby, My Dear - Overview Alice Coltrane - Journey to Satchidananda - Journey to Satchidananda Joe Bonner - Angel Eyes - Angel Eyes John McLaughlin - My Foolish Heart - Electric Guitarist Fats Waller - Sweet And Slow - Giants of Jazz - Fats Waller Stevie Wonder - Superwoman - Music Of My Mind For playlists from all past Sets, please visit jazzgumbo.blogspot.ca The time I spent in the studio recording and live streaming this set was a sweet and slow evening for sure. I’m grateful that I forgot the iPod at home and had to stick entirely to vinyl. It happens that I’d carried in a few more albums than usual that night, and played from almost all of them. Forgive me that some of the tracks are pretty scratchy. I’ve had some of these albums for decades, and the scratches are almost like the scratches on me – markers of a passage through life, time and perspective, and all that they’ve encompassed. The scratchiest of these tunes, the first and last, the Ramsey Lewis and the Stevie Wonder, are from probably the first twenty or so albums I ever bought, years before I started taking care of them. I also think that these are among the best tunes in the set. Ramsey Lewis has never gotten his due, so far as I’m concerned. He’s a masterful pianist, with a style that can be funky, churchy and bluesy. And the composition, “Les Fleur” or “The Flowers” by another over-looked artist, Charles Stepney, casts a hauntingly beautiful mood. “Music of My Mind” was an extraordinary offering from Stevie Wonder, following closely on the heels of Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” – two early 70’s albums that broke new ground as expressions of individual, musical visions. Not only did Wonder write and produce the entire album. He also – with the exception of two solos – plays all of the instruments. Other Set standouts include McLaughlin’s take on “My Foolish Heart” and the magnificent “For Tomorrow” from McCoy Tyner. Then, there’s Dionne Warwick with the lush and orchestral Bacharach/David tune “Check Out Time”. And if I were to pick out five more favorites, they’d be just great as these five! Thrive! Kirby Obsidian

Artist - Tune - Album Keith Jarrett - In Front - Facing You Dianne Reeves - Better Days - Dianne Reeves Weather Report - Teen Town - Heavy Weather Ramsey Lewis - Ode - Maiden Voyage War - All Day Music - All Day Music Gato Barbieri & Abdullah Ibrahim - 81st Street - Confluence Airto Moreira - Parana - Fingers Flora Purim - Open Your Eyes, You Can Fly - Open Your Eyes, You Can Fly Miles Davis - Pharoah’s Dance - Bitches Brew King Crimson - Sailor’s Tale - Islands Joni Mitchell - Chair In The Sky - Mingus This set of Jazz Gumbo goes out in memory of a dear friend, Mary Christine Lechner Ajzenman, 1 April 1951 – 13 November 2015. She changed my life and my world for the better. And I will miss her. Here is some of the music we enjoyed together. I think of evenings playing backgammon, drinking tea and listening to music. Wonderful times. Thank You, Chris. Love to All of you who Loved Chris. Thrive!

Artist - Tune - Album Buckshot Lefonque - Music Evolution - Music Evolution Aretha Franklin - Precious Lord - Aretha Gospel Aretha Franklin - Spirit In The Dark - 30 Greatest Hits Dinah Washington & Brook Benton - Baby, You Got What It Takes - Dinah Washington - This Is My Story: Vol. Two Ray Charles - I Got A Woman - The Greatest James Brown - Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag - Solid Gold 30 Golden Hits John Coltrane - My Favorite Things - My Favorite Things Audrey Kirby aka Druid Chase - Take Me In Your Garden - CBS 45-UK Production Sam & Dave - Soul Man - The Essentials: Sam & Dave Ramsey Lewis - Soul Man - Up Pops Ramsey Les McCann & Eddie Harris - Compared To What - Swiss Movement Miles Davis - Spanish Key - Bitches Brew Herbie Hancock - Watermelon Man - Head Hunters Gil Scott-Heron - The Revolution Will Not Be Televised - Pieces Of A Man Stevie Wonder - Living For The City - Innervisions Funkadelic - If You Don’t Like The Effect, Don’t Produce The Cause - America Eats Its Young Tony Williams - Coming Back Home - The Joy Of Flying What a joy it was to produce this very personal show! And I want to thank Radio Regent’s program manager, Amil Delic, for the suggestion to do a show in commemoration of Black History Month. Without his nudging, this would not have come about. It was difficult coming to this concept: to simply do a show that traced my life-long love affair with music. But the wonderful thing about history is that it reminds us of those treasures that have enriched our lives, that have brought us to our present graces. I was blessed with parents who introduced me to music as to a mother’s milk and a father’s guiding hand. Music was in my home and my heart from the start, from as far back as I can remember. This is a journey through my first twenty years of life, my first twenty years of music. I did a lot of talking during this broadcast, so I won’t bother to repeat myself here. Only the last number, by Tony Williams, comes from a bit later in my life –when I was 25. Who knows, perhaps I’ll do a Musical, Autobiographical Journey, Part II. I hope that you will enjoy this at least a fraction of how much I did. Thrive! Kirby Obsidian p.s. Forgive the scratches and skips, especially on the Coltrane. I really do have to buy another copy. I think it will be my fourth.