10) PONCHO SANCHEZ AND HIS LATIN BAND – LIVE IN HOLLYWOOD (Concord Records)
Latin legend Sanchez and his mighty band, smokin’ hot in front of an appreciative audience. This album, along with Sanchez’ lifetime achievement award from the Latin Recording Academy, cap a long and illustrious career. And the music? Percolating polyrhythms (Promenade), sultry sambas, tributes to Clare Fischer (Morning), and Mongo Santamaria (Afro Blue) (both key figures in Poncho’s career), cool solos. If you’re not dancing during this disc, even in your chair, see a doctor.

9) ROBERT GLASPER EXPERIMENT – BLACK RADIO (Blue Note Records)
Pianist Glasper flirted with Neo-Soul and Hip Hop on his previous releases, but with his Experiment band he goes all in. The first track tips off his intent: the studio is a laboratory for developing ideas and motifs that break through barriers and labels. A load of guests, including Erykah Badu and Laiah Hathaway, and enticing covers (David Bowie! Nirvana!) keep things fresh and interesting. A very chill, kicked back session.

JAZZ SOUL SEVEN – IMPRESSIONS OF CURTIS MAYFIELD (BFM Music)
Ironically, one of the best ‘straight ahead’ sessions of the year isn’t an homage to Duke or Monk or Bird, but to soul singer Curtis Mayfield. The Jazz Soul Seven is stacked with ringers: Terri Lynne Carrington on drums, Bob Hurst on bass, Phil Upchurch on guitar, Ernie Watts on sax and Wallace Roney on trumpet. Russ Ferrante holds down the piano chair while Mayfield alum Master Henry Gibson is on percussion. And all of the hits you’d want to hear are present: Freddie’s Dead, Superfly, People Get Ready and much more.

7) WADADA LEO SMITH & LOUIS MOHOLO-MOHOLO – ANCESTORS (TUM)
Trumpeter Leo Smith has one foot in the Delta of his youth, and one in the avant garde of the AACM. He had a busy year, his four disc set, Ten Freedom Summers, is supposedly superlative, but I didn’t hear it (see Bill Murray’s turn on Oscar predictions via his stint anchoring the news on SNL back in the day). This duet with the unique percussionist Louis Moholo-Moholo is better than alright. The first track (Moholo-Moholo/Golden Spirit) is my favorite, shifting from a skitterish entry to a throbbing promenade of somber melody. A long time civil rights advocate, this year that saw a real threat to suppress the vote reminds us of the need for musicians who carry a message as well as a tune.

6) RAVI COLTRANE – SPIRIT FICTION (BLUE NOTE)
Son of jazz legend John Coltrane, Ravi (named after recently departed sitarist Ravi Shankar) mines some of the territory of his ancestry, but rather than taking after his father, Coltrane seems more interested in the free bop of Ornette Coleman, filtered through the aesthetics and methods of mid-60s Miles Davis. That’s a lot of name dropping for music that is actually very much it’s own. Surprisingly organic, given the different line ups of the band and recording sites. This strikes just the right balance between the loosey goosey of free jazz with yet enough structure and melody to keep the listener engaged. Check out the lovely ballads, The Change, My Girl, or Yellow Cat. Joe Lovano produces the recording!

5) BILLY HART – ALL OUR REASONS (ECM)
Billy Hart has had an extensive career, playing with jazz giants Jimmy Smith, Miles Davis (On The Corner & Big Fun), McCoy Tyner and was a part of Herbie Hancock’s Sextet. His penchant for exploration is fully realized in this long standing quartet, rounded out by saxist Mark Turner (Fly), pianist Ethan Iverson (The Bad Plus) and bassist Ben Street. This is state of the art music from some dedicated artists: nocturnal, cerebral, open and flowing. The abstractions tend towards the beautiful.

4) BRAD MEHLDAU TRIO – WHERE DO YOU START (Nonesuch)
Start by acknowledging that this trio has been working together for the better part of a decade, achieving near telepathic chemistry. Start by recognizing that these (mainly) covers were culled from the same sessions that produced the originals recorded for the excellent ODE, also released this year. But I like this one better. Why? Well, let’s start with Holland, Mehldau doing Sufjan Stevens (from his Michigan album!), a cool simmer of a meditation, complete with Larry Grenadier’s dancing bear of a bass line, and Mehldau gently stroking the bittersweet melody. This trio is so well documented and never disappoints. The ballads carry the day, in spite of burners such as Airegin (Sonny Rollins) and Brownie Speaks (Clifford Brown).

3) LINDA OH – INITIAL HERE (Green Leaf Music)
The Australian born Malaysian bassist may get less press than Esperanza Spalding, but her skills on the big acoustic instrument are no less impressive. Highly influenced by Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Oh is funky and groove oriented yet also has her head in the clouds as a composer and band leader. Meaning, much free playing and an ear for the clever. Bernstein’s “Something’s Coming”, for instance, is given a totally new work up. But her compositions are worthy of covering themselves. Ultimate Persona features the aforementioned groove. Mr. M conjures Mingus without quite mentioning his name. The quartet (Dayna Stephens on sax, Rudy Royston on drums and Fabian Almazon on keyboards) sounds anything but derivative.

2) PAT METHENY – UNITY BAND (Nonesuch)
Metheny has been on a tear in recent years, his idiosyncratic Orchestrion project, followed by a gorgeous rendition of covers for solo guitar (What’s It All About), and now the Unity Band. Much is made of the guitarist working again with a sax player (Chris Potter). But the rhythm section of Antonio Sanchez on drums and wunderkind bassist Ben Williams makes this a true band, the grooves and swing just as enjoyable as what’s layered on top. My favorite track is Come And See, which features Potter’s bass clarinet on the head before a mercurial guitar solo by Metheny, followed by a turgid tenor workout by Potter, one of jazz’ finest players (both for his solo career and his playing in various Dave Holland projects). Ben takes a chorus, melodic and woody, before the band kicks into the head again. Don’t miss this one.

1) AHMAD JAMAL – BLUE MOON (ACM)
In a year given to fabulous piano releases, octogenarian pianist Ahmad Jamal gets my nod for album of the year. He opens his masterpiece, piling one set of chords atop another, a virtual recreation of Autumn Rain complete with new theme. And again with the title track. The rhythms set up by drummer Herlin Riley, at times a funky throb, another a busy contrapuntal crossing of patterns, underscored by the bubbling percussion of Manolo Badrena. Reginald Veal is set more for grooves than for walking the bass. All this creates a playground for Jamal, oft said to be Miles Davis’ favorite pianist. And he is a font of creativity, playing hide and seek with the melody, using technique with such mastery that it disappears. He’s playing. In every sense of the word. Really delightful music.

http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Moon-Ahmad-Jamal/dp/B0065HDMAC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356843169&sr=8-1&keywords=ahmad+jamal

11/10/12 brought the opening of the new Broad Art Museum on the campus of MSU. A truly unique building, a work of art itself, a spaceship that has landed on Grand River that announces (loudly) that here is something quite different. You might prepare for a greater appreciation of the museum by reading City Pulse writer Lawrence Cosentino’s voluminous cover. He wrote a novella, 22,000 words, a treasure of details about the process of the creation of the museum.

To put it simply the building, designed by Zaha Hadid, is stunning. Or in the words of Eli Broad, it’s an unreasonable structure. The angles and the lines and the asymmetrical design offers a wildy different perspective at every glance. The building looks as if it’s leaning from one direction, at another it appears to be a ship, carving it’s way free from the campus of MSU.

The art inside is primarily from the Broad collection, though some of the collection from the Kresge is featured as well. An example is Damien Hirst’s The Kingdom of the Father, a trinity of apparent stained glass in the tradition of stained glass found in churches throughout the U.S. and Europe. Upon closer inspection, the design of the ‘windows’ is made up of butterflies. The tacit implication is of transformation, metamorphosis. Particularly since on the opposite side of the gallery is a wood paneled representation of The Crucifixion, circa 1400, by Paolo di Giovanni.

There is a surprising amount of space in the museum, which is carved into a number of galleries, each with it’s own shape and character.

Elsewhere in the museum is art by Andy Warhol, a Salvador Dali piece, some haunting portraits by Sam Jury, and quite a number of interesting videos. My favorite is found in the basement and needs 3-D glasses to be fully appreciated: Marco Brambilla’s Evolution (Megaplex). He’s isolated hundreds of images from films into a rotating videoscape to suggest some of mankind’s greatest themes. Chen Quilin’s floating bodies are haunting, and Nguyen Phuong Linh’s Boat made from Vietnamese sea salt is a contrast of sturdy fragility, apparently quite solid, but the docent that lingers at it’s side to prevent any touching (some might be tempted to lick it) reveals how frail it is.

But finally the star of the Broad is the building itself. Inside and out, you are struck by it’s unique beauty. It really needs to be seen, and seen again and again, for those of us lucky enough to live in the neighborhood.

I don’t hear everything (thank God) but of the 43 discs I reviewed in October 11 of them earned at least a 4 star review. Wow. That’s a lot of good music in one month. Hard to eliminate the Pharez Whitted and Houston Person discs, and honorable mentions to Pete Escovedo and the imaginative Jaiman Crunk (a great month for latin and guitarists!); Ed Cherry’s guitar trio came very close to making the final cut, as did Winard Harper’s powerful post bop Jeli Posse. Here’s my final five:

**** Rez Abassi Trio – CONTINUOUS BEAT (Enja)
One finds only slight whiffs of Abassi’s Indo-Pak influences on this disc, which is primarily a straight ahead guitar trio thing. There are some cool covers of tunes by Gary Peacock, Keith Jarrett and Thelonious Monk. Use any of those: #3 (Major Major), #6 (The Cure). My favorite Abassi composition is #4 (Rivalry). The album ends with an acoustic solo version of the Star Spangled Banner, played straight.

**** Diana Krall – GLAD RAG DOLL (Verve)
I’ve heard some call this Krall’s ‘country album’, which is inaccurate. It’s her T-Bone Burnett project (Robert Plant & Allison Krause, Oh Brother Where Art Thou, Greg Allman). Steeped in the the Americana of tin pan alley, this is a change of pace for the laconic Krall. I espescially like #1 (We Just Couldn’t Say Goodbye) #6 (I’m A Little Mixed Up), which is a little bit of a rocker; also #11 (Lonely Avenue).

**** LaVerne Butler – LOVE LOST AND FOUND AGAIN (High Note)
Strong offering by New Orleans vocalist Butler, under the musical direction of Bruce Barth and featuring Houston Person on several tracks. Several could work on air, the best is #8 (Be Anything, But Be Mine). Something from “Cinderella” (#9 – In My Own Little Corner) always catches my attention.

**** Poncho Sanchez & His Latin Jazz Band – LIVE IN HOLLYWOOD (Concord)
A live recording by Sanchez carries with it all the excitement you’d imagine. Pick almost any track, and it’s cool. The long medley (#2) gives us a number of Poncho’s hits; #3 (Mambo Inn/On Green Dolphin Street) is another medley. #4 (Crosscut Saw) is funky, bluesy, but still picante flavored. He even does a Clare Fischer tune #5 & 6 (Morning). #8 (Afro Blue) is great, too, the full force of the horn section in full effect, a cool flute solo followed by a percussion passage. #9 (Son Son Charari) is a salsa climax.

**** Project Trio – WHEN WILL THERE BE NOW
This Brooklyn trio’s second disc isn’t quite as good as it’s first. But still, flute, cello and violin, performing Beethoven and Miles, it’s imaginative and funky. Use #3 (Raga Raja), #5 (TV Theme Show) or #6 (The Stacks).

Why wouldn’t we want to do our best possible work, and use modalities that have the highest success rates?

In the past several years I’ve run a group for attorneys, judges and law students for early recovery. After some time I developed a second group, for people who didn’t identify with the idea of recovery, and I called that group a ‘discovery’ meeting.

This addresses the stages of change modal that we all go through when considering making a change in our behavior.

Looking forward to presenting some of these ideas and many more. I’ve also just learned that Child & Family Services has a new grant for treatment with adjudicated youth and I’ll be doing some training and supervision for them over the next year.

***** Fred Hersch Trio – ALIVE AT THE VANGUARD (Palmetto)
The only reason I have this disc is that I bumped into Hersch eating a bagel at the Starbucks in the Marriott during the Detroit Jazz Festival. In the midst of my flattering him and telling him how much I liked his recording with Nancy King, he asked if I had his latest. When I said no, he took my card and said he’d make sure I got a copy. Turns out it’s great. A unique voice on piano, and the trio works the post Evans field of empathically equal voices sharing these compositions.

**** 1/2 Kurt Elling – 1619 BROADWAY (Concord)
Elling’s tribute to the Brill Building school of tunesmithery. Some of the songs are so reconstructed that it is disconcerting. Take “I Only Have Eyes For You”, if the words were changed, you wouldn’t know what song it was, the melody is so altered. For airplay, try #5 (I’m Satisfied), #9 (Pleasant Valley Sunday), the Monkees tune. Though several of these tracks may find their way on air. What’s usual with Elling recordings is that they grow on you as time goes on.

**** Brad Mehldau Trio – WHERE DO YOU START (Nonesuch)
Well, let’s start with track #2 (Holland), Mehldau doing Sufjan Stevens, a cool, melancholic simmer of a meditation. This trio is so well documented yet never disappoints. #4 (Baby Plays Around) is an Elvis Costello tune taken nice and slow. Just when you think the ballads will win the day Mehldau burns through Sonny Rollins’ Airegin (#5), then smolders through Hey Joe (#6). (Half of these tracks were recorded in 2008.)

**** Donny McCaslin – CASTING FOR GRAVITY (Green Leaf)
I searched this CD out in Detroit after catching the end of McCaslin’s set on the Pyramid stage, then decided to see if I already had it. I didn’t, and I was disappointed. Until this arrived in the mail. This quartet has a lot of funk and drive and rawk. And Donny is on fire. #3 (Losing Track Of Daytime) starts off all neo-soul groove and builds and builds to a tough tumble. #9 & #10 show the electronica influence.

**** Wadada Leo Smith & Louis Moholo-Moholo – ANCESTORS (TUM Records)
Smith is the real deal: he has one foot in the heady avant clouds of the AACM and the other in the roots of his Mississippi Delta upbringing. The opening track (Moholo-Moholo/Golden Spirit) is a little masterpiece, the throbbing beat from drummer Louis (who Smith says has invented a new approach to drums) over which Wadada drizzles his language of smears, blues and blurts. The rest of the album is more free form improvs from drums and trumpet.

**** 1/2 Chick Corea & Gary Burton – HOT HOUSE (Concord)
40 years since Crystal Silence (is that possible? Yes it is, I just looked it up!) Corea and Burton reunite (again) to explore the sonorities of the piano/vibes union. This is all beautiful stuff. Check out the Beatles cover, #2 (Eleanor Rigby), those rippling lines and the seemingly effortless interplay that can be found all through the session. The title track (#5) sets off some sparks as well. There is a Monk cover (Light Blue, #7). #10 (Mozart Goes Dancing) uses arrangements for string quartet (a Corea composition) and is the sole original on the album. The covers take the day.

**** Cheryl Bentyne – LET’S MISBEHAVE (THE COLE PORTER SONGBOOK) (Summit Records)
She of the Manhattan Transfer, #1 track (Love For Sale) is killer, the rest ranges from good to very good, including #6 (Night and Day) and James Moody’s last session #13 (Every Time We Say Goodbye).

**** Bruce Barth – THREE THINGS OF BEAUTY (Savant)
Steve Nelson! Dana Hall! Use title track (#5) or for a ballad try #6 (Night Shadows). Love that piano/vibes sound.

**** Marcus Miller – RENAISSANCE (Concord)
Good and funky, with that slap bass that makes you think of Seinfeld and the 1990s. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Use #1 (Detroit), #2 (Redemption), #4 (Slippin’ Into Darkness).

Twenty five years ago this month (August 2012 – August 1987) I approached Jacque Miller at 2001 Abbott Road and inquired about office space. That started twenty five years of private practice, moving from working at agencies such as Health Central and Child and Family Services.

Mainly I want to take a moment to express gratitude to a number of people who have inspired me throughout my career.

First, all of the mentors and individuals who encouraged me, either directly or by example. That would include great therapists like my colleagues Jane Roraback and Tish Vincent, Jean Brickman and all the folks at the Grand Ledge Counseling Center, espescially Art and Cindy Myers. My supervisors, Char Berry and Carla Soliz, who helped me learn the trade.

The post graduate training I received in Ann Arbor from Charles Fishman, Zona Scheiner, Bennet Wolper and all of the trainees I came to know during my three years sharpening my skills there. The EMDR training I took in Lansing and the advanced training from Francine Shapiro in New York. The week I spent with Monkey Business Consultants at Bill O’Hanlon’s training on giving presentations.

But mainly I want to thank my clients. People who have placed their trust in me during their struggles and transitions. People dealing with loss or trauma or addictions or just plain trouble. I have been blessed to work with you. You inspire me. And yes, I am speaking directly to YOU. Thank you for letting me get to know you and allowing me to help.

I doubt I have another 25 years of work in me (yet, who knows?) but I’m not close to retiring. Here’s to what the future will bring….

A couple of weeks ago I participated in my second triathlon sprint at Hawk Island in Lansing. Last year’s event was such a joy, I had so much fun, I’d lost a bunch of weight and it was a good excuse to get in reasonable shape for the summer.

This year was a little different. I trained for a shorter period of time. Instead of having lost weight, I’d put ten pounds back on (!), and the weather looked like it would be appreciably cooler than last year.

Based on this, for some reason I decided to go out with ‘the wave’ instead of individually, which I’d done last year. I just didn’t want to stand out in the cool air waiting my turn to go into the drink for the quarter mile swim. My strategy was to hang near the end of the pack, and not get bumped, kicked or swum over. Here’s what went wrong:

In the rear of the pack were a small group of guys (around my age) who were struggling. They’d either gone out way too fast and were exhausted by the first turn (about a third of the way through) or weren’t strong swimmers and had overestimated their abilities. As I neared the first pyramid I could hear calls for ‘Help!’ and ‘We need help here!’ I couldn’t see who was in danger, but I saw a life preserver fly past me and a life saver jump from his perch on a paddle boat to offer assistance. Then there was another swimmer holding onto the first pyramid, gasping for breath. And now the next wave of swimmers, the women forty and over, had been let loose behind us.

A few strokes in the deepest part of the waters I became convinced I couldn’t take a deep enough breath. The problem, I decided, was my wet suit shortie. I tried to loosen it around my neck. But that didn’t help. Maybe if I unzipped it, or even if I could just get out of it…. it was here that I realized that I wasn’t thinking rationally. That the anxiety had become contagious, That I was in the grips of it. So, for a bit, I just floated on my back and looked at the sky and remembered my goal was to finish and enjoy the experience, that I was a strong swimmer, that I was making headway, that I’d done this before, etc. etc.

So I finished.

But it reminded me of how powerful anxiety can be, and how it can move us to act irrationally and against our own best interests. The brain becomes convinced, based on some information that may or may not be accurate, that we are in terrible danger. Maybe life and death danger.

Are you plagued by worries? Does the future look bleak? Are you concerned about how others think of you? Are you sometimes knocked off balance out of the blue? Do you have numerous physical symptoms that doctors find a hard time diagnosing? You might have anxiety.

I have a whole treatment regimen for dealing with anxiety in my practice, from a screen to CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) techniques. Anxiety tends to have specific manifestations. And it is treatable! There are also a good number of books on the subject. I like The Feeling Good Handbook by David Burns, The Anxiety & Phobia Workbook by Edmund Bourne and The Mindful Way Through Anxiety by Susan Orsillo and Lizabeth Roemer. Or give me a call @ 517 336-7721.

As of this May, 2012, I’ve been producing a weekly jazz radio show, called The Vinyl Side of Midnight, at 89.7fm WLNZ from the campus of Lansing Community College, 9-midnight every Sunday night, for 15 solid years. It’s been a blast, and mainly I want to express my gratitude for the folks at LCC for giving me a shot and a platform to do the show, and for the listeners for tuning in. And for the musicians, without whom there would be nothing to celebrate.

The show began in the Student Services building down the street. At that time the station signed off at midnight and I had to play the Star Spangled Banner and shut the station down at the end of my show. After doing that a few time the generic version started to sound just too jarring after a great evening of jazz, so I substituted Marvin Gaye’s version. Eventually the station started to broadcast 24-7.

Highlights of my experience are many:

The musicians
I’ve interviewed so many folks on the air, I almost hesitate to start listing because I’m bound to leave some out. But locally there’s been Sunny Wilkinson (my first), Betty Joplin, Ed Fedewa, Ron Newman, Andrew Speight, Betty Baxter, Jim Alfredson, Mike Daniels, Dennis Therrian, Rodney Whitaker, Diego Rivera, “Uncle G” Randy Gilespie, Etienne Charles, Derrick Gardner, Rick Roe, Kris Johnson, Wess “Warmdaddy” Anderson, “Sister Swing” Lynne Gruenwald, Mike Sailor, John Beshay, Sarah Slonin, Thom Jayne and the Nomads, Ray Kamalay, Elden Kelly, Tia Hannah, Adam Rongo, Lawrence Cosentino, Meegan Holland, Robert Busby and many more. I’ve also interviewed Wynton Marsalis, Kenny Werner, Karrin Allyson, Bill Summers, and bunches of other national artists who have played int he Lansing area. Thanks to all of you, espescially the local folks who have done so much for the show over the years.

The callers and fans
Two favorites: a guy called saying he’d just moved from New York and was dreading living in the midwest. Then he turned on my show and I was doing a 3 hour tribute to Thelonious Monk. He called and said it lifted his spirits and made him think “This might not be so bad…”
A second story, much in line with the first, a cabbie called said on Sunday nights he always made sure he was tuned into my show to give visitors he picked up at the airport a good first impression of Lansing. “You make us sound like a cool city, man, thanks!” he said. I’ve just always known we are a cool city.
There’s Anne Serotkin and Greg Graham, two of the biggest supporters of the show. Greg did a piece on local TV covering the show back at the dawn of the jazzfest to link up the burgeoning jazz scene in Lansing.
And, one of my most amusing encounters, was with Holly Brown: we were both in line at the counter of the Better Health Food Store getting lunch one day when the short order cook (who knew us both) said, “You are both big jazz fans.” I asked Holly if that was true and she turned away from me dismissively, stating, “I listen to Vinyl Side.” Just like that. I couldn’t resist. I went into my promo. It was big fun for us both. Holly started calling into the show regularly, winning tickets to the Creole Gallery.

PLUS

My Top Tracks From The Past 15 years

I recently played NPR’s Top 25 Jazz Songs on a recent program. Great groovy stuff, like Ramsey Lewis’ “The In Crowd” or Cannonball Adderly’s “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy”; historical pieces like Louis Armstrong’s “West End Blues”, Coleman Hawkins’ “Body & Soul” or Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit”; iconic compositions like Miles’ “All Blues” or Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme”. The real creme de la creme. But what else do they have in common? They were all recorded decades ago. The most recent song was Weather Report’s “Birdland”.

I had to think, “That’s not right.”

There are so many great artists playing and creating jazz today, what are we missing as DJs and fans and writers about the music? So, in celebrating my 15 years on the air I challenged myself to come up with a program that focused on my Top 25 tracks from the past 15 years. The challenge, it turns out, was limiting the number to 25. The other (self imposed) challenge was to limit myself to one selection per artist. Tough choices were made (which Diana Krall cut? The Look of Love or Peel Me A Grape? The answer is below…) and many outstanding artists and tracks are left behind. But this is the fun of it, no?

Search out these tracks via iTunes or in your local record store. Each one is either a deeply grooving or moving cover, a brilliant composition, or breaking some new ground, going where no jazz has gone before. Some innovate, some motivate, some make you feel a new emotion.

Christian McBride & Inside Straight – Brother Mister; INSIDE STRAIGHT (Mack Avenue Records)
Cyrus Chestnut – Soul Food; SOUL FOOD (Atlantic)

Bill Frisell – 1968; UNSPEAKABLE (Nonesuch)
John Scofield (w/Medeski, Martin & Wood) – A Go Go; A GO GO (Verve)

Esperanza Spalding – Ponta De Areia; ESPERANZA SPALDING (Heads Up)
Dave Holland Big Band – What Goes Around; WHAT GOES AROUND (ECM)

Dave Douglas – Blue Heaven; SOUL ON SOUL (RCA Victor)
Wayne Shorter Quartet – Masquelero: FOOTPRINTS LIVE! (Columbia)
James Carter – Layin’ In The Cut; LAYIN’ IN THE CUT (Atlantic)

Maria Schneider – The ‘Pretty’ Road; SKY BLUE (Artist Share)

Chris Potter 10 – Closer To The Sun; SONG FOR ANYONE (Sunnyside)
Kurt Elling – I Like The Sunrise; NIGHTMOVES (Concord)

St. Germain – Sure Thing; TOURIST (Blue Note)
Christian Scott – Angola, LA & The 13th Amendment; YESTERDAY YOU SAID TOMORROW (Concord)
Brad Mehldau – Paranoid Android; LARGO (Warner Brothers)

Vijay Iyer – Revolutions; REIMAGINING (Savoy Jazz)
Rudresh Mahanthappa – Ganesha; KINSMEN (Pi Recordings)

Pat Metheny – Betcha By Golly Wow; WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT (Nonesuch)
Joe Lovano – Joyous Encounter; JOYOUS ENCOUNTER (Blue Note)

Diana Krall – The Look of Love; THE LOOK OF LOVE (Verve)
Herbie Hancock (w/Tina Turner) – Edith & The Kingpin; RIVER (Verve)
Robert Glasper – Smells Like Teen Spirit; BLACK RADIO (Blue Note)

Bobby Broom – Witchita Lineman; SONG AND DANCE (Origin Records)
Karrin Allyson – Footprints; FOOTPRINTS (Concord)

Wynton Marsalis Septet – The Majesty of The Blues; LIVE AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD (Columbia)

Since some have asked, here is a list of 10 of my favorite things from our recent trip to Paris:

1)Our first walk through Montmarte my wife, Cathie Blumer started taking pictures of doors. “I’ve fallen in love with doors,” she said. It wasn’t until we returned that the metaphoric meaning of this statement hit me. We were walking through a door, of history and place and culture. I have hopes to post some of these photos here in the future.

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2) A couple of days into our trip we were going to go on a boat trip on the Seine at dusk. We exited the metro to see the sun setting, with a view of the Eiffel Tower right next to it. Add Jupiter and Venus and it took our breath away. We had marvelous views along the waterfront as the night stole the day away from us.

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3) The cafes were numerous and marvelous. When I was first in Paris in 1993 there were no chains. Now there are many: Starbucks, McDonald’s, Burger King, Subways abound. But there are still many little cafes with tables that creep out into the sidewalk. Perfect for relaxed coffee drinking and people watching.

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4) My dad was in Paris in WWII. I have a picture of him on a bookshelf in my living room, dressed in his uniform with the Eiffel Tower in the background. I dreamed of my dad again and again in Paris. Hemingway was his literary hero. One morning I awoke at 5 a.m. and felt urged to take a walk in St. Germain and the Latin Quarter, where I found where Hemingway had written Big Two Hearted River

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Hemingway drank with the likes of F. Scott Fitzgerald, James Joyce, Ezra Pound here, as did Jean Paul Sartre and Henry Miller.

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The home of Gertrude Stein.

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Where Pablo Picasso painted Guernica.

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Where Ben Franklin worked out details with the British to end the war of the American Revolution.

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I liked the walk a lot, and I think dad loved it.

5) Cathie and I walked the cemetery at Pere Lachaise. She bought flowers for Oscar Wilde and Proust. I played The End at Jim Morrison’s grave. The only overcast day of our trip, which was perfect for this occasion. The cawing of ravens helped, too.

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6) Speaking of creepy, the tour of the catacombs in Paris was actually worth the 2 1/2 hour wait it took to enter.

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7) Of course the museums. The Louvre was bustling. I was really moved by the Cezannes at the Musee D’orsey as well as the Kandinskys in the Pompidou.
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The people on the streets of Paris. So chic and hip.

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9) The miracle of modern travel: the ability to be on the other side of the globe in a matter of hours. The chance to catch up with old friend Cathy Lundey at Bert’s.

10) The camaraderie between Blumer, Holland & Stratton. We laughed ourselves to tears several times. What fun and what good memories!

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10) SUSANA BACA – AFRODIASPORA (Luaka Bop)
Peruvian vocalist Susana Baca cooks with fire on this strong recording. She stirs in a little N’Awlins flavor at one point, but the main ingredients are South American. Her ability to work a groove is reminiscent of some of the great soul singers of the 1960s.

9) WADADA LEO SMITH’s ORGANIC – HEART’S REFLECTIONS (Cuneiform Records)
The ghost of Miles hovers over this double disc set by trumpeter Smith, espescially on the badass back beat opener (dedicated to Don Cherry). Between the blues and the funk there is some old fashioned AACM style avant garde.

ROBERTA PIKET – SIDES, COLORS (Thirteenth Note Records)
Brooklyn pianist and composer Piket has one of the freshest releases of the year. At turns pretty (Laurie) and complex (check out the deconstructed gospel dedication to Sam Rivers, My Friends and Neighbors), Roberta is a force to be reckoned with and one to watch.

7) KEITH JARRETT – RIO (ECM)
Jarrett has built a career not just on his superlative trio recordings, but on his solo improv recitals as well. The newest, recorded in Rio (naturally) is maybe his best. Hard to believe that this fountain of ideas is conceived in the moment, so coherent and certain is Jarrett’s playing. Whereas in some of his earliest solo offerings there are extended and roiling sequences, here the pieces are compact and dense. Jarrett has astounding facilities as a pianist, and this may be his best work yet.

6) KARRIN ALLYSON – ‘ROUND MIDNIGHT (Concord Records)
Karrin has recorded a string of wonderful albums over the past decade or so, but this one stands alone. Like Frank Sinatra’s “Only The Lonely” or Joni Mithcell’s “Blue”, this recording relentlessly builds a mood for those with a need for expression of the ennui of love lost and longing. A heartbreaker of an album, from a heartbreaking singer.

5) BOB BELDEN – MILES ESPANOL (E One)
Like a previous project (Miles From India), Belden collects a small army of musicians (this time of the Hispanic persuasion) to interpret the Gil Evans / Miles Davis collaboration, Sketches of Spain. The double disc allows the conception to expand even further, utilizing some alum from Davis’ groups to romp cross cultures. And such delightful colors, utilizing exotic percussions, strings (Oud! Harp!) and even bagpipes. Not to be missed.

4) ETIENNE CHARLES – KAISO (Culture Shock)
Trinidad trumpeter Etienne Charles combines straight ahead with calypso to create a new and diverse dish. Sure, Blue Mitchell or Sonny Rollins have shown an influence from the isles, but Etienne goes the full monty here, including guest shots from Lord Superior, Ralph MacDonald and Monty Alexander. Another very young talent to watch.

3) SONNY ROLLINS – ROAD SHOWS VOL. II (Doxy Records)
This is a birthday party and a victory lap for octogenarian and living legend Sonny Rollins. Buoyed by a great band (Christian McBride, Roy Haynes and Russell Malone) Rollins is joined at turns by old friends Jim Hall and Bob Cranshaw, with a special guest appearance by Ornette Coleman. This document is a cherry that tops a stellar career.

2) JOE LOVANO US FIVE – BIRD SONGS (Blue Note)
Imagine Donna Lee as a ballad, or Dewey Square as a percussive rhumba, and you get the notion behind Lovano’s set of Charlie Parker music. Yet another entry in the book of Lovano, who is a perennial in the ‘best of’ lists at year’s end. One of the great sax players of our time, but also has the imagination to consistently find new ways to arrange and display the music of jazz.

1) LAURA KAHLE – CIRCULAR (Dark Key Music)
Laura has been known to refer to this album as ‘my little project’ (see Facebook), such is her modesty. This year may have been devoted to raising twin girls of she and husband Jeff “Tain” Watts, but the creation of this music is also more than noteworthy. This one seemed to get by most critics, but to my ears it’s the best thing I’ve heard in 2011. Why? First of all, the blend of Kahle’s pocket trumpet set against the uber powerful drumming of her husband creates a dynamic that reminds me of Miles and Tony Williams, or Don Cherry and Ed Blackwell. Her ideas are pithy, his funk is furious. This is music not to be missed. Claudia Acuna’s singular contribution is a rose in the forest. Beautiful.

This is the playlist for this week’s Vinyl Side of Midnight, which can be heard on 89.7 FM WLNZ in the Greater Lansing area, or you can tune in internationally on the web on http://www.lcc.edu/radio/ – hosted by Mike Stratton, Sunday nights, 9- midnight, Eastern Standard Time.
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Preview: Detroit Jazz Festival 2011

The Detroit Jazz Festival will be celebrated on Hart Plaza and a few blocks of Woodward Avenue in downtown Detroit on Labor Day Weekend, September 2-5, 2011.

Art has always been a reflection of culture. And jazz has been the story of different peoples interacting and adapting to one another. Primarily reflecting the experience of African Americans, jazz has been called a gumbo, a veritable goulash of various elements.
This year the Detroit Jazz Festival has gathered a group of international artists who will exhibit a tapestry of the world’s take on jazz. New flavors will enter the goulash.
Famous for a series of thematically organized weekends, Terri Pontremoli conceptualized that for this year, “We Bring You The World.” So your tour for this experience might be organized by genre or by geography. Go listen to old favorites, or make a point to try something completely new. You can’t lose.
Friday, September 2nd, opens in the evening with the Soul Rebels Brass Band, out of New Orleans, second lining and testifying their way down the streets of Detroit. This year’s Artist in Residence is drummer fantastic Jeff “Tain” Watts, famous for his work in the Branford Marsalis Quartet. “Tain” will lead an original aggregation of musicians that he’s titled Drum Club: vibist Joe Locke, the experimental percussionist Susie Ibarra, a pair of cuban drummers (Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez & Pedro Martinez), the legendary Nigerian drummer who powered Fela Kuti’s sound (Tony Allen) and bassist Robert Hurst.
The evening will top off with Sing The Truth: three vocalists who will pay homage to the legacies of Mariam Makeba, Abbey Lincoln and Odetta. The singers, Angelique Kidjo, the West African Grammy winner, Dianne Reeves (another Grammy winner), and Lizz Wright. Backed by the international crew of Geri Allen, Terri Lyne Carrinton, James Genus, Munyungo Jackson and Romero Lubambo, expect a magical night that will explore new flavors.

Saturday, September 3rd, gives us an amazing lineup gracing seven stages that dot Hart Plaza and down Woodward Street in downtown Detroit. All stages are within easy walking distance of each other, and it’s entirely possible to catch more than one or two acts that are playing opposite of each other. And it’s a good thing, because there are some very tough choices.
Here’s what I’m planning to do on Saturday: start the day by being part of the live audience at the Jazz Planet Stage at 10 a.m. (Even if you can’t attend the Detroit Jazz Festival in person, you can follow the happenings, hear interviews with the artists, and even catch some of the performances by checking out Jazz Planet on line.) Then I’ll head over to the Waterfront Stage to catch the hot trumpeter, Derrick Gardner & The Jazz Prophets. His performance is opposite the University of Michigan Jazz Ensemble with guests Robert Hurst and Geri Allen at the Ampitheatre Stage, the Russ Miller Quartet at the Pyramid Stage, and Jeff “Tain” Watts giving a talk on the role of the drum at the Jazz Talk Tent.
Vibist Warren Wolf (of Christian McBride’s Inside Straight band) has a new release on Mack Avenue records, and he follows Derrick on the same Waterfront Stage. I’ll want to hear some of that set, beginning at 1:30 p.m., but then I’ve just got to slide over to the Pyramid Stage for my current favorite Brazilian vocalist, Luciana Souza, performing in duet with guitarist Romero Lubambo.
I may stick around to catch the first part of the Soul Rebels Brass Band, but I’d be a fool to miss the veteran trombonist Curtis Fuller, who played in a classic lineup of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers that had featured Wayne Shorter and Freddie Hubbard. Fuller will also feature tenor man Eric Alexander and drummer Carl Allen in a good sextet.
By now it’s late afternoon. The dilemmas become harder to reconcile: where to be in the early evening? Going to listen to trumpeter Sean Jones’ Quintet at the Ampitheatre? Or the harmonica/piano duo of Toots Thielemans and Kenny Werner on the Waterfront? How about some Latin spice by visiting the Pyramid again for Dayramir & Habana enTRANCE? Or take a break from the music, go to the Jazz Talk Tent, to meet Jason Moran and Dave Holland? Maybe I’ll try to do it all?
If you have a taste for funky organ jazz, park yourself in the Pyramid Stage for the night to hear Gerard Gibbs & (the return of) ORGANized Crime, followed by the Tony Monaco Trio. On the other hand, I’m going to be challenged by bouncing between Sun Ra Arkestra at the Ampitheatre, Downbeat Critic’s Award winner for jazz artist of the year, Jason Moran & the Bandwagon, performing at the Waterfront Stage, and then listening to the very dynamic Dave Holland Octet, again at the Ampitheatre. It will break my heart to miss the funk soul sounds of Mandrill on the Main stage up Woodward, but sacrifices must be made.
In fact, you could have a very fulfilling day sitting yourself down at that Main stage, hearing Detroit’s Kimmie Horne, the Japanese jazz of Vertical Engine, the Motown crooner Chuck Jackson, followed by the Deacon Jones Blues Revue, finishing with Mandrill. That’s the thing about this festival. Four or five different people could each have a great festival and never cross paths. The veritable embarrassment of riches.
Saturday night ends with fireworks on Hart Plaza at 11 p.m., as though the musical fireworks during the day weren’t enough.

I’m missing the usual sanctified gospel choir on Sunday morning. However, there is a great lineup of some superb big bands on the Ampitheatre stage, each one featuring a special guest: Wayne State Big Band with guest Joe Lovano, the US Airforce Airmen of Note with Joe Locke, MSU’s Jazz Orchestra with Jeff “Tain” Watts, a J.C. Heard Tribute led by Walt Szymanski and the EMU Jazz Ensemble with Christian McBride. Great to see so many youngsters get a chance on the big stage. However, linger here too long and you’ll miss Regina Carter & Reverse Thread, her sweet violin playing music from her most recent African homage on the Waterfront stage; or Anat Cohen, the hot clarinetist from Tel-Aviv, playing at the Pyramid. There’s great Latin jazz up Woodward at the Main stage, first Los Gatos (who just burned down the stage at the recent Lansing Oldtown Jazz Festival), then Sammy Figueroa & the Latin Jazz Explosion. It’s just not fair. Just in case you aren’t already exhausted, you can head over to the Jazz Talk tent, meet Joe Lovano at 4:15, and get yourself over to Jazz Planet for a chance to witness “Tain’s” Downbeat Blindfold Test. But you really need to get back to the Ampitheatre, where you can hear Jeff “Tain” Watts 4 play the sun down, followed by Joe Lovano’s Us Five on that same stage. And, see if you can slip over to the Pyramid to catch at least some of Vijay Iyer trio. This is my hardest choice of the weekend: on the one hand you have Lovano, a terrific sax player, with a tone out of the tradition of Coleman Hawkins or Ben Webster. His band, Us 5, features duo drummers and bassist Esperanza Spalding, and it’s a fountain of invention. On the other hand, Vijay (the son of Indian immigrants) is a master of deconstruction on the piano. He’s got a unique and firmly original approach that he uses on not only his own compositions, but also interprets everyone from Thelonious Monk to John Lennon.
Have I mentioned that you should have a schedule? You can download one on line at detroitjazzfest.com. It will show you what you’re missing. Which, again, is the biggest frustration of the festival. You have to clone yourself to see everything. On the other hand, if you’re not digging whatever concert you are attending, there’s more music right around the corner.
Now, on to Monday. Oh, here’s the gospel choirs! Larry Callahan SOG & Second Ebenezer Majestic Voices at noon on the Main stage. Catch a few minutes of memories with the owner of the VIllage Vanguard (Maxine Gordon, speaking with Tad Herschorn) at the Jazz Talk Tent before you find your way back to the Ampitheatre stage to hear Gary Burton’s New Quartet. You can either go back to the Jazz Talk Tent to listen to Norman Granz or reserve your seat at the Ampitheatre to hear the Northern Illinois University Jazz Orchestra with special guest Paquito D’Rivera. Because after that, hip hop poet and movie star Common with have a special performance with Detroit drummer Karriem Riggins. Common was a recent invitee to the White House, and raised some controversy by haters who misinterpreted his message. I’m told that we might expect some special guests during this set.
The festival will end at the Ampitheatre, where an all star Detroit Jazz Festival Orchestra will play the music of Christian McBride. Last time I interviewed Terri Pontremoli, Creative Director of the festival, she related she’d just gotten off the phone with Christian. She relat that he loves the Detroit Jazz Festival and wants to find a way to be there every year. I feel the same way.
Check out my interview with Terri Pontremoli on Sunday night, August 21st, on The Vinyl Side of Midnight. Following that interview I’ll be playing highlights from the 2010 Detroit Jazz Festival. The next week, August 28th, I’ll devote the evening to featuring artists that will be playing the festival this year.

(Mike Stratton is the author of the novel Everybody Dreams. As a jazz DJ he hosts The Vinyl Side of Midnight on 89.7FM WLNZ. He’ll report on the Detroit Jazz Fest for MLive with Meegan Holland and photographer Cathie Blumer.)

One of the most fun and interesting things I’ve been involved with this past year was producing 9 radio shows for the Vinyl Side of Midnight called DECADES; exploring, in depth, the history of jazz through recordings has been an enlightening experience. Below I’ve included the set lists for each of the shows, in case anyone wants to check out some of the music I played.

After putting these shows together, here is my BIG INSIGHT:

Jazz is all about collision. One musical stream from one culture smashing into another. Then a dedicated small army of musicians and composers set about to perfect the form. Then, another BIG BANG! Check it out:

We first get recorded jazz in the late teens and early twenties. By and large it’s the musical gumbo arising from New Orleans, the sound of rags, cakewalks, marching bands, second line, Congo Square, flat out blues and breaking through in an exuberant noise called jass, or jazz. Louis Armstrong. Jelly Roll Morton, emphasizing “It has to have that Latin tinge…” foreshadowing Duke Ellington’s exhortation that “It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing…” Satchmo and Duke embody the importance of spontaneous improvisation and composing, a tension that will stay with the music throughout her history.

In the 1930s jazz collides with the Great American Songbook; Gershwin, Berlin, Porter, and many others give musicians the musical jumping off point for jams and dance. See Billie Holiday, Count Basie, Lester Young.

The 1940s discovers be-bop through Bird, Monk and Dizzy, and a new vocabulary launches the music into a more cerebral and esoteric direction. Jazz becomes counter culture. The velocity of bop forecasts the changes ahead in wider society over the next three decades.

Bebop is solidified in the 1950s, and branches out into cool and hard streams. Ornette and Cecil launch the avant garde at the end of the decade. Bop hits it’s “Sistene Chapel” with Coltrane’s Giant Steps while Miles cools us out with Kind of Blue.

In the 1960s the wheels come off. Jazz collides head on with rock, with politics, with a movement and a war and civil rights and assassination. Never before (nor since) has the music been furiously propelled to discover the limits of improv. Coltrane spawns a generation of devotees, while Miles conducts an apprenticeship for a dozen young geniuses who will define the following decade.

The 1970s brought people back to dance, hence the funk. Put on a dashiki and plug in. Fusion music and smooth jazz is born. ECM launches a European version of jazz. Even Ornette goes electric. Anthony Braxton makes a strong case for the use of jazz mixing with the avant garde classical music of the 20th century. We’re just now catching up to that.

Wynton Marsalis started a school of neo-traditional jazz. Let’s not just remember Coltrane, he seemed to urge, but how about Duke and Louis? The country takes a hard turn to the right as the young lions bring the music back to mainstream. A strong counter culture continues to thrive with the AACM. The 1980s also begin to spawn tribute albums and projects. Jazz becomes nostalgic.

In the 1990s new threads emerge. Everybody’s everything. World music is influenced by, and influences jazz. Jazz begins to move into the universities while keeping a foot in the clubs and another on the festival scene.

This past decade has seen another collision or two: the Indo-Pak movement unites Coltrane with traditional eastern sounds via Rudresh Mahanthappa and Vijay Iyer, while John Hollenbeck combines Steve Reich with Mingus. The music continues to evolve, always sounding amazingly vital, both reflecting and forecasting the zeitgeist of the times. Jazz, a term disowned by both Ellington and Miles, is the state of constant change, of influences and colors merging and changing, a flow of sound and intellect and culture. I have never tired following her shifting moods and textures.

DECADES: 2000s

What a long, strange trip it’s been. The Vinyl Side of Midnight wraps up the series of DECADES shows with a review of the past ten years. The line up is strong and some tough choices made. What, no Keith Jarrett? New influences are felt from world to hip hop to classical spheres. The Lansing area experiences a renaissance of jazz with the twin influences of a top notch jazz department at MSU (under the guidance of Rodney Whitaker) and the jewel of Old Town, the Creole Gallery, through the efforts of Robert Busby and Meegan Holland. An amazing decade indeed. Musical ‘beds’ are made up from popular and significant records of the last few years. Check it all out on Sunday night.

Dave Douglas – Blue Heaven; SOUL ON SOUL (RCA Victor)
Joe Lovano – Don’t Ever Leave Me; JOYOUS ENCOUNTERS (Blue Note)
Jason Moran – Planet Rock; MODERNISTIC (Blue Note)
Justin Timberlake – Sexyback; FUTURE/SEX/LOVESOUNDS (Jive)

Dianna Krall – The Look of Love (title track); (Verve)
Maria Schneider Orchestra – Sky Blue (title track); (artist share)
Amy Winehouse – Back to Black (title track); (Universal Republic)

Herbie Hancock w/Tina Turner – Edith and the Kingpin; RIVER (Verve)
Wayne Shorter Quartet – Masquelero; FOOTPRINTS LIVE! (Verve)
No Doubt – Hella Good; ROCK STEADY (Interscope Records)

Kenny Garrett – Realization; BEYOND THE WALL (Nonesuch)
Dave Holland Big Band – Blues For C.M.; WHAT GOES AROUND (ECM)
Snoop Dogg – It Blows My Mind; THE NEPTUNES PRESENT…CLONES (Arista Records)

Greg Osby – Ashes; THE INVISIBLE HAND (Blue Note)
Andrew Hill – Tough Love; DUSK (Palmetto Records)
LCD Soundsystem – North American; SOUND OF SILVER (Capitol)

John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble – Folkmoot; A BLESSING (Omnitone)
Chris Potter 10 – Closer to the Sun; SONG FOR ANYONE (Sunnyside)
Bjork – The Pleasure is All Mine; MEDULLA (Elektra)

David Murray Octet – Giant Steps; OCTET PLAYS TRANE (Justin Time Records)
Ornette Coleman – Turnaround; SOUND GRAMMAR (Phrase Text)
William Parker Quartet – Wood Flute Song; SOUND UNITY (AUM Fidelity)
Toumani Diabate – Mali Sadio; BOULEVARD DE L’INDEPENDANCE (Nonesuch)

Vijay Iyer – Infogee’s Cakewalk; REIMAGINING (Savoy Jazz)
Rudresh Mahanthappa – Ganesha; KINSMEN (Pi Recordings)
M.I.A. – Pull Up The People; ARULAR (Interscope Records)

Tomasz Stanko Quartet – I; SOUL OF THINGS (ECM)
Charles Lloyd – Tales of Rumi; SANGAM (ECM)
Hamsa Lila – Eh Mustapha; GATHERING ONE (BRG)

Karrin Allyson – Never Say Yes; FOOTPRINTS (Concord)
Kurt Elling – I Like The Sunrise; NIGHTMOVES (Concord)

DECADES: 1990s

This can’t possibly be an oldies show, can it? Well, tonight we climb back into the time machine and travel back to the era of the Clintons, O.J., tribute albums, hip hop, world and some surprisingly excellent jazz.

Medeski, Martin & Wood – Sugar Craft; COMBUSTICATION (Blue Note)
John Scofield – Chank; A GO GO (Verve)
John Scofield – Away With Words; QUIET (Verve)
Common – The Light; HIP HOP GOLD (Hip-O)

Carmen McRae – Dear Ruby; CARMEN SINGS MONK (Novus)
Cassandra Wilson – You Don’t Know What Love Is: BLUE LIGHT ‘TIL DAWN (Blue Note)
BLACKstreet w/Dr.Dre – No Diggity; 90s SOUL NUMBER 1s (Hip-O)

Jimmy Cobb’s Mob – Gingerbread Boy; ONLY FOR THE PURE AT HEART (Fable)
Joe Chambers – Caravanserai; MIRRORS (Blue Note)
Ali Farka Toure w/Ry Cooder – Bonde; TALKING TIMBUKTU (World Circuit)

Herbie Hancock – The Man I Love; GERSHWIN’S WORLD (Verve)
Joe Henderson – Isfahan; LUSH LIFE (Verve)
Macy Gray – I Try; ON HOW LIFE IS (Epic)

Diana Krall – I Don’t Know Enough About You; LOVE SCENES (Impulse)
Charlie Haden Quartet West – Haunted Heart; HAUNTED HEART (Verve)
Tom Ze – Ogodo, Ano 2000; THE HIPS OF TRADITION (Warner Brothers)

Don Grolnick – Nothing Personal; WEAVER OF DREAMS (Blue Note)
Bob Moses – Trevor; WHEN ELEPHANTS DREAM OF MUSIC (Gramavision)
Paul Simon – Spirit Voices; THE RHYTHM OF THE SAINTS (Warner Brothers)

Wynton Marsalis – The Majesty of the Blues; LIVE AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD; (Columbia)
Los Lobos – Kiko and the Lavender Moon; KIKO (Warner Brothers)

Joshua Redman – Turnaround; WISH (Warner Brothers)
Marcus Roberts – Nebuchadnezzar; DEEP IN THE SHED (Novus)
Snoop Doggy Dog – What’s My Name? HIP HOP PARTY (Rhino)

Joe Lovano – Birds of Springtimes Gone By; QUARTETS (Blue Note)
Dave Douglas – Everyman; MAGIC TRIANGLE (Arabesque Recordings)
Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit; NEVERMIND (sub pop)

Kenny Barron – Take The Coltrane; WANTON SPIRIT (Verve)
Brad Mehldau – Moon River; LIVE AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD (Warner Brothers)
D’’Angelo – Feel Like Makin’ Love; VOODOO (Virgin)

Henry Threadgill – Too Much Sugar for a Dime (Title Track); (Axiom)
Steve Coleman – Day Three; GENESIS (RCA Victor)
Tom Waits – I Don’t Wanna Grow Up; BONE MACHINE (Island Records)

Charlie Haden/Hank Jones – Steal Away (Title Track); (Verve)
Frank Morgan – You Must Believe In Spring (Title Track); (Antilles)

DECADES: 1980s

The most schizophrenic of decades, with a plethora of adventurous trailblazers and the advent of the young lions, led by Wynton Marsalis. Dance music, MTV, and rap lead popular music further away from jazz than it has ever been before. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Tune in Sunday night and we’ll have a great time.

Miles Davis – Jean Pierre; WE WANT MILES (Sony)
Miles Davis – Full Nelson; TUTU (Warner Brothers)
Miles Davis – The Doo Bop Song; DOO-BOP (Warner Brothers)
Rick James – Super Freak; 80s SOUL GOLD (Universal Music)

Wynton Marsalis – Father Time; WYNTON MARSALIS (CBS)
Marcus Roberts – In A Mellow Tone; THE TRUTH IS SPOKEN HERE (Novus)
Michael Jackson – Billie Jean; NUMBER ONES (Epic)

Wayne Shorter – Joy Rider; JOY RIDER (Sony)
John Scofield – Rule of Thumb; STILL WARM (Rykodisc)
Herbie Hancock – Rockit; FUTURE SHOCK (Columbia)
Michael Sembello – Maniac; 80s DANCE GOLD (Universal Music)

Eberhard Weber – Maurizius; RARUM; (ECM)
Dave Holland – You I Love; RARUM; (ECM)
Prince – 1999; THE HITS (Warner Brothers)

Sun Ra – Quest; THE SINGLES (Evidence)
Sun Ra – Outer Space Plateau; THE SINGLES (Evidence)
Max Roach – Ghost Dance (Pt. II); TO THE MAX (Blue Moon)
Bobby Brown – My Perogative; 80s SOUL NUMBER ONES (UNIVERSAL MUSIC)

David Murray Octet – Ming; MING (Black Saint)
World Saxophone Quartet – Hattie Wall; DANCES AND BALLADS (Nonesuch)
Sugarhill Gang – Rapper’s Delight; HIP HOP GOLD (Universal Music)

Don Pullen – Jana’s Delight; NEW BEGINNINGS (Blue Note)
Charlie Haden – The Ballad of the Fallen; THE BALLAD OF THE FALLEN (ECM)
Muhal Richards Abrams Orchestra – Bermix; THE HEARINGA SUITE (Black Saint)
Arrested Development – Tennessee; MILLENNIUM HIP HOP PARTY (Rhino)

John Zorn – The Big Gundown; THE BIG GUNDOWN (Nonesuch)
Sonny Clark – Voodoo; VOODOO (Black Saint)
Public Enemy – Bring The Noise; IT TAKES A NATION OF MILLIONS TO HOLD US BACK (Def Jam Records)

The Art Ensemble of Chicago – The Sun Precondition; URBAN BUSHMEN (ECM)
Erik B. & Rakim – Paid In Full; COLORS (Warner Brothers)

The Art Farmer Quintet – Blame It On My Youth; BLAME IT ON MY YOUTH (Contemporary)
Archie Shepp/Horace Parlan – Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out; TROUBLE IN MIND (Steeplechase)

DECADES: 1970s

Time to plug in and turn out the funk. A bunch of alums from the University of Miles Davis, from Zawinul to Corea, a lion in winter (Mingus) and a big dollop of avant garde in the shank of the evening will explode the decade of Have A Nice Day. This was one of the most fun shows I’ve ever put together. Enjoy listening!

Billy Cobham – Some Skunk Funk; Anthology; Rhino
Stanley Clarke – Silly Putty; JOURNEY TO LOVE; Epic
Parliament – Tear The Roof Off The Sucker; FUNK PARTY; Rhino

Ronnie Laws – Always There; PRESSURE SENSITIVE; Blue Note
Freddie Hubbard – Red Clay; RED CLAY; CTI
Al Green – Call Me; GREATEST HITS; Hi Tone

Mahavishnu Orchestra – One Word; BIRDS OF FIRE; Columbia
Return To Forever – Duel Of The Jester And The Tyrant; ROMANTIC WARRIOR; Legacy
The O’Jays – For The Love Of Money; THE PHILLY SOUND; Epic

Weather Report – Boogie Woogie Waltz; SWEETNIGHTER; Columbia
Steely Dan – Aja; AJA; MCA

George Benson – Masquerade; BREEZIN’; Warner Brothers
Chick Corea/Gary Burton – What Games Shall We Play Today?; CRYSTAL SILENCE; ECM
John Klemmer – Touch; TOUCH; MCA
The Trammps – Disco Inferno; DISCO GOLD; HIP-O Records

Herbie Hancock – Chameleon; HEADHUNTERS; Columbia
Stevie Wonder – You Haven’t Done Nothin’; ORIGINAL MUSIQUARIUM; Tamla

Rahsaan Roland Kirk – Bye Bye Blackbird; DOES YOUR HOUSE HAVE LIONS; Rhino
Charles Mingus – Sue’s Changes; PASSION OF A MAN; Columbia
Marvin Gaye – What’s Going On?; WHAT’S GOING ON? Motown

Dexter Gordon – Fenja; HOMECOMING, LIVE AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD; Columbia
Curtis Mayfield – Pusherman; THE ANTHOLOGY; MCA

Anthony Braxton – Piece One; CREATIVE ORCHESTRA MUSIC; RCA
Ornette Coleman – Theme From A Symphony, Variation One; DANCIN’ IN YOUR HEAD; Polygram
James Brown – There It Is; STAR TIME; Polydor

Miles Davis – On The Corner; ON THE CORNER; Columbia

DECADES: 1960s

A tumultuous decade and it was both a trick and a treat to try and line up the most iconic tracks of the 1960s. Enjoy.

Ramsey Lewis – The “In” Crowd; FINEST HOUR; Verve
Cannonball Adderly – Mercy, Mercy, Mercy; CANNONBALL PLAYS ZAWINUL; Capitol
Hugh Masekela – Grazin’ In The Grass; 60s SOUL; Universal Music

Bill Evans Trio – Gloria’s Step; SUNDAY AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD; Riverside
Wayne Shorter – Witch Hunt; SPEAK NO EVIL; Blue Note
Temptations – Ain’t Too Proud To Beg; HITSVILLE U.S.A.; Motown

Grant Green – I Wish You Love; STREET OF DREAMS; Blue Note
The Drifters – On Broadway; Atlantic Rhythm & Blues; Atlantic

Miles Davis Quintet – E.S.P.; 1965-68 Box; Columbia
Miles Davis Quintet – Nefertiti; 1965-68 Box; Columbia
Percy Sledge – When A Man Loves A Woman; Atlantic Rhythm & Blues; Atlantic

John Coltrane Quartet – Chasin’ The Trane; THE COMPLETE 1961 VILLAGE VANGUARD RECORDINGS; Impulse
Marvin Gaye – I Heard It Through The Grapevine; HITTSVILLE, U.S.A.; Motown

Eric Dolphy – Out To Lunch; OUT TO LUNCH; Blue Note
The Bar-Kays – Soul Finger; ATLANTIC RHYTHM & BLUES; Atlantic

Herbie Hancock – Maiden Voyage; MAIDEN VOYAGE; Blue Note
John Coltrane Quartet – Acknowledgement; A LOVE SUPREME; Impulse
James Brown – Cold Sweat; THE HARDEST WORKING MAN IN SHOW BUSINESS; Polydor

Ornette Coleman Double Quartet – Free Jazz; BEAUTY IS A RARE THING; Rhino
Sly & The Family Stone – I Want To Take You Higher; THE ESSENTIAL…; Epic

Miles Davis – Pharoah’s Dance; BITCHES BREW; Columbia
Jimi Hendrix – Third Stone From The Sun; ARE YOU EXPERIENCED; Reprise

DECADES: 1950s

A great decade or the GREATEST decade? Check out this ridiculous playlist! Mingus, Monk, Trane, Miles, Lady Day and Bird. A time when giants walked the earth and were at the heights of their powers. Bebop becomes hard bop, the vocabulary of new jazz becomes fully integrated into the mainstream. But wait… who’s that on the horizon? Ornette? Join me Sunday night. Destination radio.

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers – Moanin’; MOANIN’; Blue Note
Charles Mingus – Better Git It In Your Soul; MINGUS AH UM; Columbia
Howlin’ Wolf – Smokestack Lightnin’; CHESS BLUES; Chess

Charlie Parker – Kim; CONFIRMATION; Verve
Charlie Parker – In The Still Of The Night; CONFIRMATION; Verve
Miles Davis Nonet – Rocker; BIRTH OF THE COOL; Capitol
Miles Davis Nonet – Darn That Dream; BIRTH OF THE COOL; Capitol
Muddy Waters – Got My Mojo Workin’; CHESS BLUES; Chess

Clifford Brown – Quicksilver; THE COMPLETE BLUE NOTE…; Blue Note
Jimmy Smith – The Champ; A NEW SOUND, A NEW STAR; Blue Note
Elvis Presley – Good Rockin’ Tonight; THE SUN STORY; Rhino

Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong – Autumn In New York; BEST OF…; Verve
Dave Brubeck Quartet – Take Five; TIME OUT (Legacy); Columbia
Anita O’Day – A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square; Verve
Carl Perkins – Honey Don’t; THE SUN STORY; Rhino

Thelonious Monk/Sonny Rollins – I Want To Be Happy; THELONIOUS MONK/SONNY ROLLINS; Prestige
John Coltrane – Theme For Ernie; SOULTRANE; Prestige
T-Bone Walker – You Don’t Love Me; COMPLETE IMPERIAL RECORDINGS; Imperial

THELONIOUS MONK/JOHN COLTRANE – Evidence; …AT CARNEGIE HALL; Blue Note
Sonny Rollins – St. Thomas; SAXOPHONE COLOSSUS; Prestige
T-Bone Walker – Blues Is A Woman; COMPLETE IMPERIAL RECORDINGS; Imperial

Miles Davis Quintet – Bye Bye Blackbird; ROUND ABOUT MIDNIGHT; Columbia
John Coltrane – Giant Steps; GIANT STEPS; Atlantic
The Diamonds – A Beggar For Your Kisses; ATLANTIC RHYTHM & BLUES (‘52-’54)

Roy Eldridge & Dizzy Gillespie – Trumpet Blues; ROY AND DIZ; Verve
Billie Holiday – Body And Soul; THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION; Hip-O
Herbie Nichols – The Third World; THE COMPLETE BLUE NOTE…; Blue Note
Ray Charles – I Got A Woman; ATLANTIC RHYTHM & BLUES (‘52-’54)

Art Pepper – Yardbird Suite; THE RETURN OF…; Blue Note
Sarah Vaughan/Clifford Brown – I’m Glad There Is You; SARAH VAUGHAN; Verve
Ray Charles – Drown In My Own Tears; ATLANTIC RHYTHM & BLUES (‘55-’57)

Ornette Coleman – Lonely Woman; BEAUTY IS A RARE THING; Atlantic
Miles Davis – All Blues; KIND OF BLUE; Columbia (Legacy)
John Coltrane – Naima; GIANT STEPS; Atlantic

DECADES: 1940s

We continue our review of jazz through the century as we countdown to the ‘00s by year’s end.

We wrapped up the ‘30s at the height of the swing era. And the 1940s picks up where we left off. Due to the war there is a big hole in the center of the decade. The need for petroleum based products precluded the need for jazz recordings. When recording resumed, we find many of the big bands broken up, replaced by jump bands, smaller r&b combos, a music that will morph into rock and roll within a few years; and a new form of jazz, invented by a group of brilliant innovators: bebop. Check out this set list and join us for an amazing evening of music.

Coleman Hawkins – Bouncin’ With Bean; BODY & SOUL; Victor Jazz
Coleman Hawkins – April In Paris; BODY & SOUL; Victor Jazz
Ella Fitzgerald – Perdido; SOMETHING TO LIVE FOR; Verve

Duke Ellington – Sepia Panorama; CENTENNIAL EDITION; RCA Victor
Duke Ellington – Sophisticated Lady; CENTENNIAL EDITION; RCA Victor
Duke Ellington – Day Dream; CENTENNIAL EDITION; RCA Victor
Duke Ellington – A Lull At Dawn; CENTENNIAL EDITION; RCA Victor
Duke Ellington – Take The “A” Train; CENTENNIAL EDITION; RCA Victor

Billie Holiday – Good Morning Heartache; THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION; Hip-O
Billie Holiday – No Good Man; THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION; Hip-O Records
Billie Holiday – The Blues Are Brewin’; THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION; Hip-O
Billie Holiday – Solitude; THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION; Hip-O Records
Billie Holiday – Easy Livin’; THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION; Hip-O Records

Illinois Jacquet – Flying Home; THE BIG HORN; Proper Records
Cab Calloway – Everybody Eats When They Come To My House; ARE YOU HEP TO THE JIVE? Columbia
Cab Calloway – Are You Hep To The Jive?; Title Track; Columbia Records
Roy Brown – Good Rockin’ Tonight; GETTIN’ FUNKY; Proper Records
Clarence Samuels – Lollypop Mama; CHESS BLUES; Chess
Joe Morris – Lowe Groovin’; ATLANTIC RHYTHM & BLUES; Atlantic

Sarah Vaughan – Black Coffee; THE DIVINE…; Columbia
Billy Eckstine – Everything I Have Is Yours; BEST OF THE M-G-M YEARS; Verve
Lester Young – I’ve Found A New Baby; JAZZMASTERS 30; Verve
Lester Young – Polka Dots And Moonbeams; JAZZMASTERS 30; Verve

Benny Goodman & His Orchestra – Solo Flight; CHARLIE CHRISTIAN; Columbia
Various – Blues In B; CHARLIE CHRISTIAN; Columbia
Various – Waitin’ For Benny; CHARLIE CHRISTIAN; Columbia
Various – Air Mail Special; CHARLIE CHRISTIAN; Columbia

Charlie Parker’s Reboppers – Now’s The Time; ORNITHOLOGY; Proper Records
Charlie Parker’s Reboppers – Thrivin’ On A Riff; ORNITHOLOGY; Proper Records
Charlie Parker’s Reboppers – Ko-Ko; ORNITHOLOGY; Proper Records
Charlie Parker’s Reboppers – Moose The Mooche; ORNITHOLOGY; Proper Records
Charlie Parker’s Reboppers – Yardbird Suite; ORNITHOLOGY; Proper Records
Charlie Parker’’s Reboppers – A Night In Tunisia; ORNITHOLOGY; Proper Records

Dexter Gordon – Dexter’s Mood; SETTIN’ THE PACE; Savoy Jazz
Dexter Gordon – Dextrose; SETTIN’ THE PACE; Savoy Jazz
Dexter Gordon – Index; SETTIN’ THE PACE; Savoy Jazz
Dexter Gordon – Dextivity; SETTIN’ THE PACE; Savoy Jazz

Thelonious Monk – Round Midnight; THE BLUE NOTE YEARS; Blue Note
Thelonious Monk – Evidence; THE BLUE NOTE YEARS; Blue Note
Thelonious Monk – Misterioso; THE BLUE NOTE YEARS; Blue Note
Thelonious Monk – Epistrophy; THE BLUE NOTE YEARS; Blue Note
Thelonious Monk – I Mean You; THE BLUE NOTE YEARS; Blue Note

Miles Davis – Move; BIRTH OF THE COOL; Capitol Jazz
Miles Davis – Jeru; BIRTH OF THE COOL; Capitol Jazz
Miles Davis – Moon Dreams; BIRTH OF THE COOL; Capitol Jazz
Miles Davis – Venus De Milo; BIRTH OF THE COOL; Capitol Jazz
Miles Davis – Budo; BIRTH OF THE COOL; Capitol Jazz

DECADES: 1930s

Wrapping up the first decade of this new century, we’re periodically reviewing the history of jazz through a retrospective romp of each decade up to (and including) now. This week, our focus is on the 1930s. The riotous group improvisations of New Orleans morphs into the discipline of swing. The arrangements get tighter and more complex. A new generation of soloists emerge from the shadow of Satch. The great American Songbook gives jazz a new way of organizing the beats and expression of the times. This is dance music. Kick back and enjoy some of the greatest artists of the 1930s.

Program list:

Louis Armstrong – Sweethearts On Parade; THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN; Legacy
Louis Armstrong – When It’s Sleepy Time Down South; (as above)
Louis Armstrong – Lazy River (as above)
Louis Armstrong – Chinatown, My Chinatown (as above)
Louis Armstrong – Stardust (as above)

Fletcher Henderson – Christopher Columbus; KEN BURNS JAZZ; Columbia
Fletcher Henderson – Grand Terrace Swing; (as above)
Fletcher Henderson – Stealin’ Apples; (as above)
Fletcher Henderson – Jim Town Blues; (as above)
Fletcher Henderson – Stampede; (as above)

Fats Waller – Honeysuckle Rose; A PORTRAIT OF FATS WALLER; Gallerie
Fats Waller – Whose Honey Are You?; (as above)
Fats Waller – Twelfth Street Rag; (as above)
Fats Waller – Tea For Two; (as above)
Fats Waller – Dinah; (as above)

Duke Ellington – It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing); THE DUKE; Columbia
Duke Ellington – In A Jam; (as above)
Duke Ellington – Caravan; (as above)
Duke Ellington – Battle of Swing; (as above)
Duke Ellington – Prelude To A Kiss; (as above)

Benny Goodman Quartet – Moonglow; THE VERY BEST OF…; RCA Victor
Benny Goodman and His Orchestra – King Porter Stomp (as above)
Benny Goodman and His Orchestra – Sing, Sing, Sing (with a Swing) (as above)

Django Reinhardt & Stephane Grappelly w/ The Quintet of the Hot Club of France:
Honeysuckle Rose
Night And Day
Sweet Georgia Brown
Souvenirs
My Sweet
SOUVENIRS; Decca Records

Benny Goodman Sextet – Stomping At The Savoy; CHARLIE CHRISTIAN; JSP Records
Benny Goodman Sextet – Honeysuckle Rose; (as above)
Kansas City Six – Paging The Devil; (as above)
Kansas City Six – Way Down In New Orleans; (as above)
Kansas City Six – Good Morning Blues; (as above)

Coleman Hawkins – Meet Doctor Foo; BODY & SOUL; Victor Jazz
Coleman Hawkins – Fine Dinner; (as above)
Coleman Hawkins – She’s Funny That Way; (as above)
Coleman Hawkins – Body and Soul; (as above)
Coleman Hawkins – When Day Is Done; (as above)

Count Basie – Boo Hoo; THE COMPLETE DECCA RECORDINGS; Decca
Count Basie -The Glory of Love; (as above)
Count Basie – Boogie Woogie; (as above)
Count Basie – Smarty (You Know It All); (as above)
Count Basie – One O’Clock Jump; (as above)

Lester Young – Shoe Shine Boy; THE LESTER YOUNG STORY; Proper Records
Lester Young – Oh Lady Be Good (as above)
Lester Young/Billie Holiday – This Year’s Kisses (as above)
Lester Young/Billie Holiday – Easy Living; (as above)
Lester Young/Billie Holiday – Me, Myself & I; (as above)

Billie Holiday – Miss Brown To You; THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION; Hip-O Records
Billie Holiday – What A Little Moonlight Will Do; (as above)
Billie Holiday – I Cried For You; (as above)
Billie Holiday – Mean To Me; (as above)
Billie Holiday – Strange Fruit; (as above)
Billie Holiday – Fine And Mellow; (as above)

Tonight we begin a series that will run every other week through the rest of the year. You’ll be hearing some of the best jazz ever recorded. From New Orleans to Kansas City to Washington D.C., from rags to blues to stomps, we’ll listen to some of the essential icons of the music.

Decades: 1920s

Sam Moore – Laughing Rag
Dixieland Jug Blowers – House Rent Rag
South Street Trio – South Street Stomp
Savoy Bearcats – Hot Notes
Bennie Moten’s Kansas City Club – 12th Street Rag
(from CLASSIC RAGTIME, ROOTS AND OFFSHOOTS, RCA/VICTOR)

The Original Dixieland Five – Tiger Rag
King Oliver’s Creole Jazz – Sugar Foot Stomp
New Orleans Rhythm Kings – Tin Roof Blues
Frankie Trumbauer & His Orchestra w/Bix & Lang – Singin’ The Blues
Joe Venuti & Eddie Lang – Goin’ Places
(from MASTERS OF JAZZ VOL.I; TRADITIONAL JAZZ CLASSICS; RHINO)

Kiing Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band – Chime Blues
King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band – Snake Rag
Clarence William’s Blue Five – Texas Moaner Blues
Clarence William’s Blue Five – Everybody Loves My Baby
(from LOUIS ARMSTRONG, THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN; COLUMBIA)

Bessie Smith – St. Louis Blues
Bessie Smith – Sobbin’ Hearted Blues
Fletcher Henderson & His Orchestra – Sugar Foot Stomp
Fletcher Henderson & His Orchestra – T.N.T.
(from LOUIS ARMSTRONG, THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN; COLUMBIA)

Duke Ellington & His Kentucky Club Orchestra – East St. Louis Toodle-o
Duke Ellington & His Kentucky Club Orchestra – Birmingham Breakdown
Duke Ellington & The Washingtonians – Black & Tan Fantasy
Duke Ellington & His Cotton Club Orchestra – Take It Easy
Duke Ellington & His Cotton Club Orchestra – Jubilee Stomp
(from THE BEST OF EARLY ELLINGTON; DECCA)

Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five – Heebie Jeebies
Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five – Cornet Chop Suey
Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five – Skit-Dat-De-Dat
Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five – Big Butter and Egg Man
(from LOUIS ARMSTRONG, THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN, COLUMBIA)

Louis Armstrong Stompers – Chicago Breakdown
Louis Armstrong & His Hot Seven – Potato Head Blues
Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five – Struttin’ With Some Barbecue
Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five – Hotter Than That
(From Louis Armstrong, THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN, COLUMBIA)

Bessie Smith – Any Woman’s Blues
Bessie Smith – Chicago Bound Blues
Bessie Smith – Mistreating Daddy
Bessie Smith – Frosty Morning Blue
(from BESSIE SMITH: THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS; COLUMBIA)

Jelly Roll Morton – Doctor Jazz
Jelly Roll Morton – Cannonball Blues
Jelly Roll Morton – The Pearls
Jelly Roll Morton – Wolverine Blues
(from THE PEARLS; BLUEBIRD)

Duke Ellington & His Orchestra – Black Beauty
Duke Ellington & His Orchestra – Yellow Dog Blues
Duke Ellington & His Orchestra – Toshimingo Blues
Duke Ellington & His Orchestra – The Mooche
(from THE BEST OF EARLY ELLINGTON, DECCA)

Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five – West End Blues
Louis Armstrong & Earl Hines – Weather Bird
Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five – Muggles
Louis Armstrong & His Orchestra – Ain’t Misbehavin’
(from LOUIS ARMSTRONG AS A YOUNG MAN; COLUMBIA)

Louis Armstrong & His Orchestra – Black and Blue
Louis Armstrong & His Orchestra – That Rhythm Man
Louis Armstrong & His Orchestra – When You’re Smiling
Louis Armstrong & His Orchestra – St. Louis Blues

Book Review

THELONIOUS MONK; THE LIFE & TIMES OF AN AMERICAN ORIGINAL
by Robin D.G. Kelley

To give you a clue about how fastidiously researched Professor Kelley’s tome on Monk is, there are 101 pages of annotated notes at the end of the book. In small font.
This book is an amazing resource for Monk-a-philes and jazz scholars and geeks alike. (I fit all of the above.) Beginning with a look into the Monk family tree during the Civil War era, and ending with a gig by gig account of Thelonious’ professional life, there is no question left unanswered.
Kelley’s thesis is that Monk, often portrayed as an eccentric genius, has been misunderstood as to the degree to which he had to work hard for his art, was a deeply committed family man, suffered from a mis-diagnosed bipolar disorder, and was often under-employed or under-appreciated during his lifetime.
Monk, who first comes to notice as Coleman Hawkin’s pianist, emerges as a player at the Harlem hot spot for jam sessions, Mintons, proved to be one of the giants of jazz in the 20th century. He was one of the father’s of bebop, and Kelley’s description of those early times in the 1940s are some of the highlights of the book. They stand right up next to Laurence Bergreen’s description of the origin of jazz in New Orleans in his book on Louis Armstrong as as close to a definitive version of the genesis of a music that we’re likely to find. Discovering the etiology and the evolution of bop has been difficult on record, due to the ban on recorded work because the vinyl was necessary for the war in the early 1940s.
Kelley quotes Monk as claiming that Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie were influenced by him, not the other way around; he goes so far as to document how Dizzy mimicked Monk’s fashionable look of shades and a beret.
Monk did work hard to earn his eventual due, first with a string of brilliant recordings for Blue Note, then his famous stand with Coltrane at the 5 Spot, his feuds with Miles Davis, his “Lion in Winter” decade with Columbia Records. All carefully documented here and you never know when a new pearl of an anecdote will appear in the details.
However well Kelley proves the points of his thesis, he also amply illustrates the character of Monk he was hoping to downplay. Monk is shown to be a bit of a diva, stubborn, unreliable, taciturn and sometimes bizarre in behavior. He (almost undoubtedly) suffered from a bipolar condition, but also spent much of his life as a substance abuser, under the influence of a heady cocktail of whisky, thorazine, reefer and other drugs and meds.
In spite of it all, Monk remains one of jazz music’s main luminaries. As a player, unique and influential, a link between the Harlem stride stylings of Willie “The Lion” Smith or James P. Johnson and the sounds of bebop exploded by Bud Powell. As a composer, Monk ranks just below Duke Ellington in importance and sway.
Finally, this book returns us and encourages us to listen again to the recordings of Thelonious Monk. This is a trip that is always worth the while.

Everybody Dreams

There will be a reading and a book signing at Schuler Books in Okemos on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 at 7:00p.m. Hope to see you there.

I’ll also be starting a NEW Dream Group. Some of the fans of the book have discussed when I’m starting a new dream group and this one will start in mid November. We’ll meet week on Thursday nights, 6-7:15p.m. for a total of 16 sessions (just like the novel!). The cost is $45 per group. Space is limited to six attendees. So call me at #336-7721 to sign up.

How I Spent My Summer

This has been a very full season for me and I’m grateful for all the opportunities I’ve had this summer. There were speaking engagements in Traverse City (Motivational Enhancement & Cognitive Behavioral Treatment for the M.S.U. Summer Institute with Monkey Business Consulting), Montreal (The Solution Focused Process for the International Policy Governance group that services boards of directors around the world with Sue Stratton), and Detroit Ren Cen (MET/CBT again for the State of Michigan Substance Abuse Conference). Deborah Johnson Wood and I served as coordinators for this year’s annual Peninsula Writers Summer retreat at Glen Lake, with Guggenheim winning poet and novelist Laura Kasischke as our keynote speaker. I emceed at both the Lansing and Detroit Jazz Festivals. Cathie Blumer and I traveled to New York for a week of research on my new novel in August. In between it all I had book signings in Traverse City, Montreal and Grand Rapids. Again, I am eternally grateful for all of these wonderful chances to connect with such diverse groups of people over ideas and creativity.

Book Reviews
THE ALCOHOLISM AND ADDICTION CURE (A Holistic Approach to Total Recovery) by Chris Prentiss; Power Press

This past year I started to hear clients talking about this book, then saw it advertised on television, so I knew that I had to read it myself. The book asks the question: Is There A Cure For Alcoholism? and answers an emphatic YES! So, first as a clinician and secondly as a practitioner of a different approach to recovery, I was very interested in checking this out.
Chris Prentiss is the author of a dozen self help books. I haven’t read any of these but it is interesting, first of all, that this is his background. He isn’t a doctor or a therapist. He goes at great lengths to describe his upbringing by a sociopathic mother and his own problems that he experienced early in life. One of the best features of the book is a very extended chapter written by Chris’ son, Pax, who describes his own story of addiction and recovery.
I had a mixed reaction to the book. I felt that Mr. Prentiss makes some good points and I would like to expound a little of the positives and negatives about this book:

POSITIVES:

Mr. Prentiss stresses the need for an individualized treatment approach, something you don’t always find in the treatment of addictions. And I agree with this.
Mr. Prentiss takes some well deserved swipes at the field of addiction treatment, though he also offers a disclaimer in support of Alcoholics Anonymous. Much like Herb Trimpe does in his work with Rational Recovery. I DO think that there needs to be alternatives to A.A. Because A.A., in spite of having the best recovery rate of available programs, doesn’t work for everybody. And maybe nothing will work for everybody. But if there are several viable options for recovery, all the better. And they don’t need to be at war with one another.
I also liked the very strong focus on both the physical and psychological health of the client. Chris and Pax are founders of a treatment center in Malibu. He encourages everyone who can to attend his treatment center, naturally. However, if you can’t, he descibes how one can design their own treatment.
You see, Mr. Prentiss doesn’t believe that people use drugs or drink too much because they are alcoholics or addicts. He doesn’t like those terms. He believes that there is one or a variety of several reasons WHY people use. Here are those reasons:

Cause 1: Chemical imbalance
Cause 2: Unresolved events from the past
Cause 3: Beliefs you hold that are inconsistent with what is true
Cause 4: Inability to cope with current conditions

(It is interesting to contrast these causes with what research is telling us about who is likely to become addicted: a blend of genetic predetermination with either depression, anxiety, trauma, delinquency or truancy as key variables.)

So Mr. Prentiss believes that one must address the underlying cause to cure the addiction.
And then, and this is important, the individual can NEVER use drugs or alcohol again. I’m betting this is disappointing to most alcoholics and addicts, who usually go through an extensive search to find a way to continue to have drugs or alcohol in their lives successfully before surrendering to abstinence.
Mr. Prentiss encourages the use of a holistic team of healers to address the underlying issues: integrative medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, clinical psychology, marriage and/or family therapy, hypnotherapy, personal fitness, visualization and meditation and spiritual therapy. He also encourages the creation of a healing circle of friends that will support your new self.

NEGATIVES:

As I mentioned above, Mr. Prentiss is not a physician, nor a PhD nor a therapist. But he does believe in change as a reality which is a positive. At the end of the day, the addict still has to remain abstinent, so where’s the cure? And the swipes he takes at A.A. are, I think, unnecessary.

Bottom line: in the A.A. literature they relate that “We know but a little…” and I’m glad people are out there researching and finding new avenues to recovery. A.A. says that those who complete the program are ‘recovered’ or cured from their alcoholism. But in the end, they say that the most an alcoholic can hope for is a ‘daily reprieve’ from their condition. It doesn’t sound like Mr. Prentiss offers much more than that.

OLIVE KITTERIDGE by Elizabeth Strout; Random House

This book won the pulitzer prize in literature last year and it’s sure easy to see why. What wonderful writing and what a great character we have in Olive Kitteridge.
The book is actually less a novel than it is a collection of short stories, all set in the small town of Crosby, Maine. But all of the stories feature Olive. Sometimes her appearance seems more like a cameo. Few of the baker’s dozen focus squarely on her. This really doesn’t seem like a device, but a fascinating way to reveal aspects of a character through the eyes of a spouse, a son, a neighbor, an acquaintance. Such triangulation brings out aspects of personality that are often overlooked in fiction.
There is an old adage in psychology. There is the person we know ourselves to be, then the person we reveal to those closest to us. And yet another person who we are known by in public. Few stories delve into each of these facets of character, but Elizabeth Strout just nails it in this book.
We are treated first to a loving and bittersweet portrait of Henry, Olive’s faithful but wistful husband in the very first chapter. Subsequent chapters take us to a piano bar, a wedding reception, a donut shop, the reception following a funeral. I don’t want to reveal any thing else of consequence, because the reader will be delighted and in despair by the discovery of the events of Olive’s life. This is a book I spent hours reading aloud to my girl friend, and I don’t know which of us had a better time at it. This is a book that will make you laugh out loud (which is what began to reading out loud) and it will make you cry. And for all the vinegar that runs in Olive’s veins, you will come to love her. Do yourself a favor and get this book. And if you can, read it out loud to someone you love.

Detroit JazzFest 2009

Speaking of the Detroit Jazz Festival, Meegan Holland and I posted daily blog entries for MLIVE and Cathie Blumer contributed photos for this year’s event. I wanted to post my diary for the festival. I understand now that 700,000 people attended this festival, which has got to be the largest FREE jazz festival in the U.S.A., maybe the world. It is the best thing Detroit has to offer.
The Festival is always held on the weekend of Labor Day, but this event felt like it started for me the Sunday before, when I interviewed Festival & Artistic Director Terri Pontremoli. Terri is such a great interview, so bubbly and effervescent, a great ball of kinetic energy and a smile you can see over the phone. When it looked like the Detroit Jazz Festival was about to fold, Gretchen Valade (the owner of Carhartt clothing, Mack Avenue Records and the Dirty Dog restaurant) stepped in as a benefactor. One of the best things she did was to bring on board Terri Pontremoli, who has done such an amazing job of booking great talent and keeping a blend of new and old, local and international. But also keeping the emphasis on jazz. So many jazz festivals these days put jazz off to the side while their headliners are pop musicians.
On Friday, we (Holland, Blumer & Stratton) checked into the Ren Cen and headed towards that evening’s event: two headliners to open the festival, Hank Jones and Chick Corea/Stanley Clarke/Lenny White. After proclamations and awards had been deservedly doled out, Hank Jones took the stage. He was dapperly dressed in an elegant dark pin striped suit. He was joined on stage by bass stalwart George Mraz and drummer Carl Allen.
The trio opened with an easy stride performing at first Horace Silver’s Nica’s Dream, then a Wes Montgomery tune. I noticed that the 92 year old Jones would at times vocalize along with his piano solos, something I remember his brother Elvin doing when I saw him perform years ago. Hank’s playing was the epitome of grace and taste.
At one point Jones’ music blew off the stage, just as the band had kicked into J.J. Johnson’s Lament, which lead to an extended bass solo by George Mraz (what a beautiful tone he has!). They did a Charlie Parker tune (Jones is one of the last surviving musicians to have actually played with Bird), a tune by Hank’s other brother Thad (A Child Is Born) and some other classics. The trio encored by performed Thelonious Monk’s Round About Midnight.
The second piano trio of the evening also stuck to the acoustic format. Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and Lenny White began by playing the Return To Forever tune 500 Miles High. Their playing was dynamic and blazingly fast but always tasteful. They next played a Monk tune, I Mean You and I thought about the evening being a Tale of Two Pianos, contrasting styles and generations. Lenny White’s drumming was more propulsive than swinging, a reflection of the rock influence on jazz in the 1970s. Stanley Clarke is such a virtuoso! I’d forgotten how much I liked his playing.
This trio then performed I Love You Porgy, followed by a dissonant interlude the morphed from a passage that sounded influenced by Bartok to Monk’s Straight No Chaser, before Clarke started a walking bass line and Lenny White started swinging underneath. The band’s encore was a medley of the Concerto de Aranjuez (via Miles Davis’ Sketches of Spain) and the Chick Corea original Spain. Chick lead a kind of a sing along with the Detroit audience, which was clearly enraptured with the music. Everyone went home happy.
Meegan and I stayed up too late blogging at the Ren Cen lounge, while listening to a jam session that got progressively more interesting as the night progressed. Orrin Evans, Sean Jones, etc. etc. One table away a woman was holding forth with her pet dog, every musician in the place coming by to visit and chat. Turns out it was Dee Dee Bridgewater.
The next morning I wrote this poem while sitting in the Starbucks at the Ren Cen:

DETROIT
sitting in the coffee shop
Saturday, Detroit
a cylinder of glass, concrete & steel,
motown gives ‘the finger’
to the midwest
just as Joe Louis’ fist
is in your face
so is Detroit
attitude, swagger
not a sneer, but hip,
hipper than you, and tough
and music

from where i sit there
is music, a big band
practicing in a ballroom
the sound bleeding
into the core of the ren cen

detroit bleeds music
marvin & stevie & smokey
diana & gordy & aretha
iggy & eminem & grand funk

and jazz….
this weekend is about jazz
the players are the painters
the city is the canvas
the canvas Joe Louis
danced on to kick ass
the canvas Diego Rivera
used to sketch his great mural
the canvas of pollsters who
found out what’s happening
the canvas of a city
the music is the
paint of culture
and people, pain and laughter
work, effort, blood funk & attitude
swagger
“Hey Baby!”
that’s Detroit

I reflected on that very specific swagger that is so uniquely Detroit, a vibe that is so different than the New York vibe I was still feeling from a week before.
Ate a king’s breakfast at the Coney Island on Woodward (eggs, grits, sausage and pancakes) with Meegan and Cathie and slipped down to the ‘Talk Tent’ and heard a group of drummer (including Carl Allen, Karriem Riggins, Gayelynn McKinney and Michael Nastos) discuss Elvin Jones. This is such an interesting aspect of the festival, the chance to hear musicians meet and talk music. The consensus seemed that it was a journey to ‘get’ Elvin. The most entertaining story and insights were provided by Carl Allen, who talked about Elvin playing the drum kit at Bradley’s in New York on a tiny stand (“I like these drums but they won’t stay still.”) Carl also pointed out, and vocally displayed, how when most drummers play triplets they accent the first beat, but Elvin accented the second. Interesting.
Checked out a ripping set by Dee Dee Bridgewater and the MSU Big Band, conducted by Rodney Whitaker. Then slipped down to the Pyramid Stage to catch Jose James in his skinny grey suit. I heard two concert goers behind me describe him as a cross between Big Joe Williams and Al Jarreau. I am always impressed by how hip and knowledgeable the audience is at the Detroit Jazz Fest. I agreed with the guys in the audience, though I would add the ingredient of Gil Scott Heron. How is it that Jose James isn’t signed by a major record label? Somebody should snatch this guy up. He treated the audience to versions of Equinox and Stolen Moments, using a technique I’ve heard practiced by Eddie Jefferson and Kurt Elling to sing a solo using poetry instead of scatting. The keyboard player (who?) was great.
The big problem with the Detroit Jazz Festival is that there is NO WAY to catch everything. I left Jose James before his set was over in order to catch part of Sean Jones’ set at the Water Stage. I heard him play a soulful version of Mama with some gospel overtones.
We withdrew to try and blog midday and ended up missing too much music. So all of our blogs were entered very late p.m. or early a.m. after that. Live and learn.
In the early evening I caught part of Louis Hayes hard bop unit, featuring a great front line of Jeremy Pelt and Vincent Herring.
One of the highlights of the festival was Benny Maupin’s Dolphyana. Maupin was on sax but also clarinet and (my favorite) bass clarinet. Nestor Torres was filling in for James Newton on flute, with Jay Hoggard on vibes and Billy Hart on drums. The band performed Dolphy tunes, The Panther, Something Sweet Something Tender and Out To Lunch. They also performed a Maupin original, Message to Prez, which Benny dedicated to Lester Young. This was performed as a trio, with a series of existential queries, many phrases sounding like questions to the open skies of Detroit. No answers. The most avant garde event I caught all weekend.
Meanwhile, on the Main Stage Christian McBride’s Inside Straight was swinging away like crazy. They used a combination of originals and standards of the mainstream. A mix of muscle and finesse. I thought of Lionel Hampton while I listened to relative new comer Warren Wolf on the vibraphone. The band performed Brother Mister, which somehow seemed that the title track for the festival this year.
On Sunday, after blogging and another Coney Island breakfast with Meegan and Cathie, I picked up my emcee credentials and headed to the Pyramid Stage to introduce Jesse Palter. She is a great young singer via Detroit and Chicago and we will hear more of her. Jesse played several originals and made it clear that she’s a good developing writer as well as a song bird.
I introduced the Waterford Kettering high school band at the Meijer Education stage in the afternoon. These young kids were set up behind me and I was reminded of Beevis and Butthead when I said “Here is a group of up and comers…” only to hear a voice a few feet behind me snicker “He said ‘come’…” It was really all I could do not to laugh.
I caught up with my nephew, now Detroiter Ron Stratton for awhile in the afternoon and ate too much Greek food. Then headed to the Water Stage to introduce Geri Allen and quartet. Allen was having a dispute with the sound man, who was doing everything to address her concerns. Interesting to have a back stage perspective on how things get set up.
Geri Allen’s quartet featured a tap dancer on several of the tunes, whom she used as an instrumentalist. One of the highlights of the set was a ‘duet’ between the drummer and the dancer, which brought the huge audience to a standing ovation, just 20 minutes into the music. Geri continued to be highly creative by using a poet (Sandra Turner Barnes) and playing a great mix of originals and standards (McCoy Tyner’s Blues By 5).
Finished the day by listening to the Wayne Shorter Quartet play an uninterrupted 80 minute set of improv based music that was Herculean. I recognized Sanctuary and Myrrh in the mix, but I think most of the music wasn’t just the first time I’d heard it, it was the first time the band had heard it. I blogged at length about this show and if you want more, hunt down the MLIVE blog from the Detroit Jazz Fest. As impressed as I was with the music, I was JUST as impressed with the Detroit audience, who gave a roaring standing ovation at the end of the show.
Monday was short. We were exhausted and needed to return home to get ready for another busy week of work, but not before catching Rodney Whitaker’s salute to Donald Byrd’s A New Perspective. His wife, Cookie, was leading a gospel choir that offset the terrific line up of Mack Avenue talent. A wonderful way to end a perfect weekend of music.

Here is the line up for the end of the 2009’s Vinyl Side of Midnight

10/18/09 = DECADES: 1960s
1025/09 = New Stuff
11/01/09 = DECADES: 1970s
11/08/09 = New Stuff
11/15/09 = DECADES: 1980s
11/22/09 = DECADES: 1990s
11/29/09 = New Stuff
12/06/09 = Best of 2009 Pt. 1
12/13/09 = DECADES: 2000s
12/20/09 = Holiday Show
12/27/09 = Best of 2009

New updates on Everybody Dreams, the changes at WLNZ (and the Final Side of Midnight?), book reviews and more…

Everybody Dreams

New book signings have been scheduled at Schuler Books in Grand Rapids for 9/10/09 at the 28th Street store, 7 p.m. There will be media attention in G.R. before the signing and reading, including a review and story in the Grand Rapids Press.

There is another signing at Schuler Books in Okemos, 10/28/09 at 7 p.m.
I am humbled at the local response to the book. Schuler Books has called several times this summer, requesting more books. It has been one of their best sellers of the year. And every time I run into someone who talks about reading it, they relate that they’ve passed their copy on to a friend or relative. That is very flattering, that the readers want to share the book with others.

I had a great time doing signings at Horizon Books in Traverse City, Montreal at the IPGA conference and espescially at the St. Lawrence campus of Sparrow Hospital. Anyone who has read the book knows that several of the scenes are set at a certain Lansing-based psychiatric hospital, and it felt very special to do a reading and a signing for the staff at St. Lawrence.

WLNZ & The Final Vinyl?

WLNZ is making some big changes and I know only a little about these. I’ve been approached by several people in the community, wanting to know more about the changes and who to talk to about keeping jazz radio alive in Lansing. I’ll relate what I know, and, if you have concerns, where to direct your concerns.

WLNZ is shifting to a AAA format. Triple A is Adult Album Alternative. It has a lot of classic rock and is designed to draw a larger audience. I’m told these are decisions that have been made by LCC’s Marketing Director, Lucian Leone (leonel@lcc.edu) and Jane Kreha (krehaj@lcc.edu). I’ve been told by WLNZ’s administration that feedback should be directed to these sources. There will be an outside consultant that will be working with WLNZ and will be making further changes to the station.

Already you’ve seen a loss of dozens of hours of jazz programming each week. What remains at this point is Byron Lyle’s Crystal Jazz, Jim Stone’s Big Band Swing, Sunday Jazz and my show, The Vinyl Side of Midnight. Even with the huge loss of hours, WLNZ still remains the only station in town that offers this much classic and straight ahead jazz. But that might change.

I’ll be bummed to lose the show, but on the other hand it’s been a great run of thirteen years and counting. I like to think I’ve done a little bit in serving the jazz community in Lansing, helping some people learn about this great art form and gain a deeper appreciation for the music. More will be revealed, but it isn’t out of the realm of possibility that these next few shows could be the Final Side of Midnight.

BOOKS

I just finished reading three amazing books that I have to mention here.

Cool Water; Alcoholism, Mindfulness, and Ordinary Recovery by William Alexander

This is a book I’m recommending to friends and clients in recovery. It is a deeply inspired work, that is in turn inspiring. For anyone interested in recovery, struggling with recovery, or wants to figure how to blend Buddhism with recovery, this book is a jewel. Alexander speaks from the inside out, recovering himself, he offers education about what science tells us about addiction, weaves in his own story and comes up with a book of experience, strength and hope. It’s clear that he’s a practitioner of the Twelve Steps, but he doesn’t merely parrot slogans. His is a well thought out work, which at times challenges some of A.A.’s assumptions. A really great read.

Road Dogs by Elmore Leonard

Before I published Everybody Dreams I did a youtube video, trying to attract an agent or a publisher. In the video, I said I wasn’t capable of writing at the level of Barbara Kingsolver, but I think I told a story as well as Elmore Leonard. I’d like to go on record relating what an arrogant whelp I am: Elmore Leonard is also out of my league. How does he do it? No one writes dialogue, both spoken and the internal riffs, like Elmore Leonard. Road Dogs features something unusual: the reappearance of several characters Elmore has introduced in different novels. Jack Foley (from Out of Sight, played by George Clooney in the movie), Cundo Rey (from LaBrava) and Dawn Navarro (Riding The Rap) are the shadiest of characters, a group of vipers that warily circle each other in planning the next scam. Hats off to Elmore Leonard. The most entertaining read of my summer.

The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall

What a strange book. Just like the movie, Memento, the protagonist wakes up with no knowledge of who he is. There’s a note that tells him to go see Dr. Randle, along with an address and a map, a picture of his vehicle and keys. He learns that he has a condition of severe dissociation, that he’s suffered these attacks before. And he’s warned not to read any letters he might get. After returning home, he gets a letter. It says don’t trust Dr. Randle.

So that’s for openers. Along the way you’ll be reminded of The Wizard of Oz, The Matrix, Jaws, Alice In Wonderland and the novels of Haruki Murakami (The Wind Up Bird Chronicles, specifically). Where is the line between imagination and reality? Can our ideas hurt, even kill us? What does it mean to be chased by a conceptual shark? This is supposed to be a movie, although I have the same reaction as when I heard a movie was being made of Naked Lunch: how the heck are they going to do that?

OTHER SUMMER HIGHLIGHTS

I was so disappointed to hear that MSU’s Jazz Studies was losing Derrick Gardner. Then I heard that Etienne Charles, who was a guest on Rodney Whitaker’s set at the Oldtown Jazzfest, is teaching at MSU this Fall. Etienne has just released a new disc, called Folklore, that I’ve been playing ever since I received it in the mail a couple of months ago. It’s a great disc, beautifully conceptualized and performed. I review each disc I receive, on a 0-5 star system. This is what I wrote about Folklore:
***** Etienne Charles – FOLKLORE; Etienne Charles
This is a little masterpiece. Trinidad born trumpeter Charles leads a band through a set of original compositions that call on influences from calypso to Miles. Charles’ rapport with saxist Jacques Scharz-Bart seems telepathic. A beautiful disc. Use tracks #1 (Folklore) or #3 (Dance with la Diablesse).

In addition, Rodney Whitaker wrote and premiered a piece dedicated to our mutual friend, Robert Busby (“The Mayor of Oldtown”), who was murdered a couple of years ago. The tune was titled “Robert’s Lament” and it is a wonderful and soulful ballad, an excellent tribute to a one of a kind individual. I hope Rodney records this on his next record.

On Friday I attended the Robert Busby Memorial Benefit at the Creole Gallery. Even though I’ve been in the Creole for several other events over the past two years, it was great to hear MSU’s Jazz Orchestra I under the direction of Rodney Whitaker, great to see Meegan Holland introducing the music, great to see John and Mary taking tickets and Cathie Blumer serving coffee. The show was oversold and the place was packed with new and old fans. And the music was sublime! Rodney claimed that this was his best band yet and I’m thinking we’ll be hearing from a bunch of these folks in the future. I’ll get some names and share them in the future but there are some hot players in this group: baritone and tenor players, the pianist and drummer, trumpet and the singer… you know who you are!!! I hope to have a recording of the show and maybe feature some of the students in a future Vinyl Side of Midnight.

Then the Spartans beat UConn to make the NCAA basketball finals. This team has peaked at exactly the right time. The whole state is abuzz over this amazing team. Good job, Tom Izzo. Good job, Michigan State!

This week on the Vinyl Side I’ll play some music by local musicians: I’ll post the playlist below. There maybe a chance that I can begin some podcasting in the near future! Keep your fingers crossed and your ears open, all of you that can’t stay up that late….

Vinyl Side of Midnight 2009

This is the playlist for this week’s Vinyl Side of Midnight, which can be heard on 89.7 FM WLNZ in the Greater Lansing area, or you can tune in internationally on the web on www.wlnz.org – hosted by Mike Stratton, Sunday nights, 9- midnight, Eastern Standard Time
Feel free to forward this to friends.
If you’ve received this and would like to be removed from the list simply contact me at dreamtrane@sbcglobal.net
You can use that same address for promotional information.
For more information, visit www.mikestratton.com

4/5/09

Miles Davis – Mystery; DOO BOP; Warner Brothers
Various (Red Hawk) – Now’s the Time; BIRD UP (CHARLIE PARKER REMIX PROJECT) Savoy
Charlie Parker – Now’s the Time; CONFIRMATION: BEST OF… Verve

Joe Kap Organ Trio – Myrtle Avenue Steet Crawl; STREET NOISE; Severn
organissimo – Bleeker; GROOVADELPHIA; Big O Records

Sean Jones – The Ambitious Violet; THE SEARCH WITHIN; Mack Avenue
Derrick Gardner and The Jazz Prophets – Mac Daddy Grip; A RIDE TO THE OTHER SIDE…Of Infinity; Owl Studios

Ray Levier – Ray’s Way; RAY’S WAY; Origin Records
Jimmy Greene – Trials; MISSION STATEMENT; RazDaz Records
Esperanza Spalding – I Know You Know; ESPERANZA; Heads Up

Tierney Sutton – Get Happy; ON THE OTHER SIDE; Telarc
Rick Roe – Minor Shuffle; MINOR SHUFFLE; Unknown Records
Arlene McDaniel – Monk-Like; TIMELESS;
Thelonious Monk – Misterioso; THE COMPLETE BLUE NOTE RECORDINGS

Bob Sneider/Joe Locke – Theme From Blow Up; NOCTURNE FOR AVA; Origin
The Diego Rivera Quartet – Hercules; HERCULES; Rivera Records

Wessell “Warmdaddy” Anderson – Warm It Up Warmdaddy; SPACE; Warmdaddy Music
Carol Fredette – Without Rhyme or Reason; EVERYTHING IN TIME; Soundbrush
Fat Cat Big Band – I Do Know What Love Is; ANGELS PRAYING FOR FREEDOM; Smalls Records

Bill Wimmer – I Thought About You; PROJECT OMAHA; WimJazz
Rodney Whitaker Quintet – The Way They Always Said It Should Be; BALLADS & BLUES; Criss Cross
Kendra Shank Quartet – So Far Away; MOSAIC; Challenge Recordings

The Omar Sosa Sextet – Gabriel’s Trumpet; ACROSS THE DIVIDE; Half Note
Charles Tolliver Big Band – On The Nile; EMPEROR MARCH;

Sunny Wilkinson/Tom Gavin – O Cantador; A GENTLE TIME; CMG
Miles Davis – Bye Bye Blackbird; ROUND ABOUT MIDNIGHT; Columbia

March 1 Sunday 9p.m. to midnight
89.7 fm WLNZ or www.wlnz.org

I’m finally doing my Anthony Braxton profile. I’ve wanted to do this since I began doing the show, many years ago. It wasn’t until I received the Mosaic box set of Braxton’s complete Arista recordings for my birthday (thanks Cathie!) that I’m able to pull it off. See below for the set list and my notes.

March 4 Wednesday 1p.m.
Wednesdays at One with Bonnie & Bill www.lansingonlinenews.com

Interview with Bonnie Bucqueroux (pronounced Buck-A-Roo) and Bill Castanier on the new novel, Everybody Dreams.

March 4 Wednesday 7p.m.
88.9 FM WDBM City Pulse Live On The Air

Interview with Berl Schwartz and Kyle Melinn. Lawrence Cosentino interviewed me a couple of weeks ago and I anticipate that a piece will be printed this week in the City Pulse.

March 5 Thursday 6:30p.m. – 9p.m.
Everybody Reads
Reception, reading, Q&A, discussion and book signing.

I have tended to move in wide circles. I am really interested in seeing the intersection of media, therapy, music, writers, family and friends. This is a book launch for Everybody Dreams and I’m expecting it to be a blast.

March 6 Friday 9a.m. to noon
The Dream Workshop – Kellogg Center, East Lansing

This is a workshop directed to therapists but open to any dreamers who have an interest in working with dreams, or creating a Dream Group. Call 353-3060 to register. Cost is $75.

THE VINYL SIDE OF MIDNIGHT

LIVING LEGENDS: ANTHONY BRAXTON

3/1/09

Living Legends: Anthony Braxton

Multi reedist/avant composer/ Anthony Braxton is a unique entity in the history of jazz music. His influences range from Paul Desmond to Stockhausen, Charlie Parker to Albert Ayler. His music has been likened to mathematic equations, or sound geometry. Compositional architecture. A blend of brains and blast, for a time Braxton was seen as the next great creator on the landscape. Maybe he still is? Tonight we’ll tear through a huge stack of his music, and you can decide for yourself.

Almost all of the music played tonight will be from the sumptuous Mosaic collection of Braxton’s work for the Arista label from 1974-1978. Arista was unique in giving special attention to a special kind of genius, even funding the composer’s Music For Four Orchestras project.

I actually had a chance to meet Anthony at Michigan State University in the late 1970s while he spent a week as an artist in residence at the jazz program. I listened to his lectures, interspersed with records he’d play, and also sat in on rehearsals he held with the MSU big band. Ron Newman was the chair of the jazz program at that time, and at the concert he and Anthony performed an amazing duet. Through the rehearsals and the lectures, Braxton really taught me how to listen to music that had before been inaccessible to me. Perhaps I can return that favor with you on Sunday.

Set List:

Anthony Braxton w/Muhal Richard Abrams – Maple Leaf Rag; THE COMPLETE ARISTA RECORDINGS OF ANTHONY BRAXTON; Mosaic
Anthony Braxton – Opus 40N – CREATIVE ORCHESTRA MUSIC; Arista
We open with a ragtime composition, if Eric Dolphy had jammed with Scott Joplin. Then break into a fierce piece of swinging angular Braxtonia.

Anthony Braxton – Opus 23B; THE COMPLETE ARISTA RECORDINGS…; Mosaic
Anthony Braxton – Opus 23D; THE COMPLETE ARISTA RECORDINGS…: Mosaic
Two tracks from a blazing quintet that features trumpeter Kenny Wheeler and bassist Dave Holland.

Anthony Braxton – Opus 37C; THE COMPLETE ARISTA RECORDINGS…: Mosaic
Anthony Braxton – Opus 40M; THE COMPLETE ARISTA RECORDINGS…; Mosaic
Anthony Braxton – Opus 55(F); THE COMPLETE ARISTA RECORDINGS…: Mosaic
These tracks feature the wonderful drummer, Barry Altschul. The first two are quartet pieces, the third is the orchestra.

Anthony Braxton/Muhal Richard Abrams – Miss Ann: THE COMPLETE…; Mosaic
Anthony Braxton/Muhal Richard Abrams – Opus 40P; THE COMPLETE…; Mosaic
Anthony Braxton – Red Top; THE COMPLETE…; Mosaic
Duets, again, the second displaying Braxton’s contrabass saxophone, then a selection of solo alto.

Dave Holland – Four Winds; CONFERENCE OF THE BIRDS; ECM
Anthony Braxton – Opus 40(0); THE COMPLETE…; Mosaic
This set of music starts with the opening track of Dave Holland’s stunning free bop excursion, featuring Sam Rivers w/Braxton; then is Anthony’s homage to John Phillip Sousa, a parade march that slowly evolves into a trip to Gonzo-ville, with a screeching Jon Faddis trumpet solo over the proceedings before we return to main street red, white and blue.

Anthony Braxton – You Stepped Out Of A Dream; THE COMPLETE…; Mosaic
Anthony Braxton – Opus 6(C); THE COMPLETE…; Mosaic
Braxton in extremes – covering a standard (see, he can do it when he wants!), then with the quartet w/George Lewis live at Montreaux.

Anthony Braxton – Opus 23J; THE COMPLETE…; Mosaic
Anthony Braxton – Opus 37; THE COMPLETE…; Mosaic
This set features the most avant/classical influence of the whole show: a track from the Berlin Philharmonic concert, fronting the Berlin New Music Group, followed by a saxophone quartet that features Oliver Lake, Hamiet Bluiett and Julius Hemphill, a fore-runner to the World Saxophone Quartet.

Anthony Braxton – Opus 40K; THE COMPLETE…; Mosaic
A longer piece from the Berlin Philharmonic concert.

Anthony Braxton – Opus 57; THE COMPLETE…; Mosaic
Anthony Braxton – Opus 77C; THE COMPLETE…: Mosaic
Anthony Braxton/Muhal Richards Abram – Nickie; THE COMPLETE…; Mosaic
We finish off the night with three portraits of the artist: one, with his creative orchestra, stringing together a soundscape of seemingly random textures and timbres; two, the soloist, almost at practice, the Paul Desmond influence clearly evident; three, in duet playing a sweet and heartbreaking ballad.

1/25/09

Thom Jayne & The Nomads (plus a tribute to David “Fathead” Newman)

Tonight we welcome Thom Jayne & The Nomads live in the studio to warm us up for their concert as a part of the Grand River Radio Concert Series on Feb. 4 at the Creole Gallery. Thom’s music is a unique blend that draws influences from jazz, progressive rock, Herb Albert, Aaron Copland, world music and more. The group’s performances are always rousing, foot stomping affairs that leave the listener with big smiles. We’ll also do a little interviewing between the music, and hear about Thom’s composing award and his career at MSU as a professor.

Later in the evening we’ll play a loose tribute to recently deceased jazz/soul sax player, David “Fathead” Newman. We’ll hear some of his earliest recordings with Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin and B.B. King as well as his jazz recordings with Marcus Belgrave and Betty Joplin. All this, plus recordings by Weather Report and Paul Winter!

1/18/09

organissimo – Groovadelphia; GROOVADELPHIA; Big O Records
Rahsaan Roland Kirk – The Inflated Tear; DOES YOUR HOUSE HAVE LIONS; Rhino

Sonny Rollins – Tenor Madness; ROAD SHOWS, VOL. I; Emarcy
McCoy Tyner – Blues On The Corner; GUITARS; Half Note

Jamee Paul – Whatever Lola Wants; AT LAST; Green Hill
Connie Evingson – My Attorney, Bernie; LITTLE DID I DREAM;
Frank Sinatra – One For My Baby; ONLY THE LONELY;

Tiempo Libre – Arrebatao; WHAT YOU’VE BEEN WAITING FOR; Shanachie
Marc Ribot – Aqui Como Alla; Y LOS CUBANOS POSTIZOS; Atlantic
The Brian Lynch/Eddie Palmieri Project – Free Hands; SIMPATICO

The Ben Sidran Hammond Quartet – Gotta Serve Somebody; CIEN NOCHES; Nardis
Tony Monaco – Ode To Billie Joe; LIVE AT THE ORBIT ROOM; Chicken Coup Records

Ray Levier – Ray’s Way; RAY’S WAY; Origin
Clay Giberson – It Might As Well Be Spring; SPACETON’S APPROACH; Origin
Ken Hatfield – The Spirit Of Soul; …PLAYS THE MUSIC OF BILL McCORMICK; Mpub

David Murray – Shakti; SHAKTI; AUM
Scarlett Johansson – Town With No Name; ANYWHERE I LAY MY HEAD; Atco
Otis Taylor – Hey Joe; RECAPTURING THE BANJO; Telarc

Chicago Jazz Philharmonic – An Afternoon With Mr. Bowie (pt.2); COLLECTIVE CREATIVITY; 3 Sixteen Records
Dan Cavanagh’s Jazz Emporium Big Band – Mississippi Ecstasy (Movements 1-3); PULSE; OA2 Records
John Hollenbeck – Just Like Him; JOYS & DESIRES; Intuition

Wave Mechanics Union – The Rain Song; SECOND SEASON; HX Music
Lizz Wright – Thank You; THE ORCHARD; Verve
Stanton Moore – When The Levee Breaks; III; Telarc