I was in my teens and loved to listen to Beatles, CSN&Y, The Who, Santana, all the bands who played at Woodstock. When I saw a triple LP documenting the Isle of Wight festival, with a whole side of new live Jimi Hendrix, I had to have it.

The album ended with a long track by someone named Miles Davis, titled “Call It Anything”. I started to listen but couldn’t make any sense of the music. I felt ripped off. What the hell was this?

A buddy of mine in high school (Renaldo Migaldi) said, “I knew you were hooked because you’d come to school day after day complaining about Miles Davis.”

I started to read about him. Ralph Gleason published a complimentary review of “On The Corner” with Santana’s “Caravanserai” and I respected his writing and his taste. Clearly there was something here I wasn’t getting. That summer I went several times to the library (what a geek, I know) and checked out jazz records and old editions of Downbeat magazine, trying to get a handle on this music.

Finally, freshman year of college, I checked out a Smithsonian collection of classic jazz that contained a track from Miles Davis’ “Kind of Blue”. I’m pretty sure it was “So What”. It clicked. I got it. I fell in love.

I’m still in love today. I love each of Miles Davis’ periods, from his apprenticeship with Charlie Parker to his Birth of the Cool sessions; both of his great quintets from the 1950s & ’60s. The electric Miles, and even the last batch of recordings he made before his death. He was the Picasso of music in the last century.

When I went through a divorce a decade ago, part of my dealing with it was to put together a talk on Miles Davis, which I gave at the Creativity & Madness conference in Maui later that year. He has been a touchstone for my life story. My love of his music goes beyond my intellectual capacity to express. My year isn’t complete without working my way through listening to all of my Miles music, which is a mountain of listening. I just listened to Dark Magus yesterday.

And yes, today I can make sense of “Call It Anything”.

I haven’t written here in a bit; a busy spring which included getting married to Cathie Blumer (see photos of the wedding on my facebook page if interested) at the Creole Gallery in May. Work has been intensely busy and prepping for the Peninsula Writer’s summer retreat/conference in June, which I’ll be co-coordinating with Kimm X. Jayne. We’re having poet Mary Ann Samyn as our speaker this year, a native Michigander who now teaches at West Virginia University and the winner of the Emily Dickinson Prize from the Poetry Society of America. Cool.

Here are some random (really) thoughts that have been on my mind this season:

- Seeing a wave of clients who are now bona fide marijuana customers; some of these folks identify themselves as being in recovery, yet smoke pot on a daily basis. Will marijuana be to alcohol what methadone is to heroin? A less dangerous addiction? I’m not seeing much written about this (yet) but I’m betting other therapists are seeing the same thing I’m seeing in my practice. I have split feelings about this and am likely to explore this topic at more depth here in future. Maybe the very near future.

- Summer is here lining up for the festivals I love to attend: Old Town Jazz Festival; the East Lansing Summer Solstice Jazz Festival has upped the ante by including Joe Lovano in their line up! And of course the Detroit Jazz Festival, which looks amazing, again. My daughter is getting married a half a day away from Detroit, so I’m going to have to miss a good chunk of this year’s festival. But you can’t do everything and family trumps everything.

- Politics. The news about the BP oil spill, the emergence of the Tea Party and the story line of the Obama administration continues to be riveting for me and I can’t go a day without catching up on what is happening. I’m an unapologetic liberal, and I believe that change, progress and evolution are essential if we are to survive, not as a democracy even, but as a species. The corporations, which hit their high water mark under the rein of Haliburton/Cheney/Bush will not go gently into that good night.

- Mysteries. Finishing the first draft of my Murphy mystery and gaining a whole new appreciation for the craft of creating suspense, tension and release. Watching Hitchcock, reading Cormac McCarthy, and devouring lots of material along these lines. I haven’t been sleeping as well as I’d like. Is there a connection? Which brings me to….

- Spirituality. My sister Linda has inadvertently started me on a course of meditation. I’m starting small, attempting ten minutes a day of focus on my breath. Usually I get a few moments of complete stillness here, but it’s a beginning.

LIT: A MEMOIR, Mary Karr
Best book I’ve read so far in the young 2010. The author of The Liar’s Club and Cherry continues to amaze. I’m recommending this book to client’s of mine who are interested in addiction and recovery. Provocative and jagged in sections, but ultimately a soothing balm that relays possible pathways in negotiating the 12 steps. I found this book to be beautifully written and exquisitely moving.

In A Perfect World, Laura Kasischke
Another apocalyptic landscape, perhaps a feminized version of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. Laura has such mastery in portraying the internal landscape of her characters and a poet’s eye for the natural world. When it all goes wrong you can’t help but be captured by this book. This one kept me up at night.

My Germany, Lev Raphael
Lev’s best book (not that I’ve read them all, but he agrees). The son of holocaust survivors, the author tells the story of his parents with bruising detail. In the second part he tells about his own becoming, his rapprochement with his Jewish heritage, and his coming out. Finally, Raphael details his book tours in Germany (hence the title) to discover his own relationship with the places and people of Germany.

Lush Life, Richard Price
If you are a fan of The Wire you shouldn’t miss this book. Price wrote some episodes of the HBO series as well as several other crime novels. This one is set in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, and the neighborhood becomes a character as vivid as any person in this story. The clash of overlapping cultures between kids in the project, gentrified hopefuls who all have screenplays but work in bars, Chinese, Jews and cops. Overriding themes of family and dreams and dreams that are crushed. A brilliant and entertaining ride.

Black Cross, Greg Iles
This is the first book I’ve read by Iles and I’ll be back for more. I’ve been telling friends that it’s a kind of a cross between Schindler’s List and Guns of Navarone. It’s a quick read for a thick book. A page turner. Taut.

Weather Bird: Jazz at the Dawn of Its Second Century, Gary Giddins
This tome collects many of the articles written by Giddins in the late ’90s and early ’00s. Giddins served as one of the primary ‘talking heads’ for Ken Burns special on jazz. His writing is superb, his topics (if you are a jazz fan or an aesthete) are compelling. Why isn’t jazz dead? he asks at the end of this opus. The preceding 600+ pages give us more than a hint of an answer.

End of the year, end of the decade Musical Notes

As one decade tips into another it was irresistible to indulge in a favorite past-time: making lists. Here are a few relating to music:

My 10 Favorite Musical Moments of 2009

Emceeing at the Detroit Jazzfest – Meeting Jesse Palter was a pleasure, introducing Geri Allen was a thrill, but the funniest moment was bringing on a high school band at the festival. I called them “Up and comers…” only to hear a Beavis/Butthead voice somewhere behind me chuckle, “He said come…”; really, it was all I could do to keep a straight face.

Wayne Shorter Quartet wows an enormous crowd with 90 minutes of uninterrupted improv at the Detroit Jazzfest

Rodney Whitaker’s many roles at the Detroit Jazz Festival, from leading the MSU Big Band in accompanying Dee Dee Bridgewater to presenting an homage to Donald Byrd’s New Perspectives to playing with Christian McBride and John Clayton’s “Bottoms Up” bass spectacular to his own collaboration with Carl Allen and their hot CD “Work To Do”, Rodney was everywhere doing everything. Are we sure there’s only one of him?

The Roots & Parliament Funkadelic at Common Ground – probably the most jaw dropping fun I’ve ever had at a concert event. Sun Ra meets James Brown. Unbelievable.

organissimo battles Linda Dachtyl during an organ throw down at the Lansing Jazzfest.

Professors of Jazz play the Creole. Can we wish for this to continue to be an annual event? Is that possible?

Larry Cosentino on The Vinyl Side of Midnight. Going through our ‘best of’ lists. Great fun.

Hank Jones/Chick Corea opening night at the Detroit Jazzfest. Pianistic elegance and virtuosity side by side.

Pete Siers Quartet CD release party at Kerrytown Concert House – Pete brings in Pat Labarbera as a sax ringer to join the saxy front line + organ in an homage to the great Blue Note sound of the 60s.

Sophie Milman plays Wharton Center and Diego Rivera surprises as the Lester Young to her Billie Holiday. Music magic follows and the duo tour Russia.

My 5 Favorite Jazz Trends of the Aughts

The Creole Gallery – Robert Busby and Meegan Holland were the dynamic duo of the decade, making the Creole Gallery THE musical destination for jazz, folk, blues, etc. A perfect example of syngergy, they gave a gift of love to the community and presented Lansing with the coolest thing I’ve ever seen here. Wynton Marsalis, MSU Professors of Jazz, Cyrus Chestnut, organissimo, Mose Allison and many others carved out a chunk of wonder in night after night of fun and music.

Jazz Festivals Galore – Where did jazz go in the aughts? To the streets. Not just the Old Town Jazzfest but East Lansing’s Summer Solstice created a jazz bracket to the summer. Oh, and did I mention the Detroit Jazz Fest, rising from the ashes with the help of Gretchen Valades and wunderkind director Terri Pontremoli? The hottest festival in the world right now, trust me.

MSU – Rodney Whitaker sat across from me during his first appearance on The Vinyl Side of Midnight and said, “I want East Lansing to become a jazz mecca.” We may not be downtown New York, but for a midwestern city we have become a destination. Whitaker created a place that not just welcomed jazz stars like Derrick Gardner, Wycliffe Gordon and Wess “Warmdaddy” Anderson to teach and play, but also saw the development of great jazz talent ala Diego Rivera (who became a Professor himself), Kris Johnson, Lynne Grunwald, Mike Sailor, Curtis Taylor and Ben Williams (who just won this year’s prestigious Thelonious Monk award!)

The Rise of the Independents – Just as the publishing and movie companies constricted access to the magic making machinery, so did the big recording companies nearly kill the goose. But, like movies, jazz players went indie, and then with the rise of smaller labels (that are quickly becoming big labels, like Origin, AUM, Mack Avenue and OA2 for instance) the tunes are bubbling forth like never before.

The Vinyl Side of Midnight – How could I not pick my own show as one of my favorite trends of the decade? I don’t know how long this show can last as WLNZ has switched to LCC Radio and a triple A format, but what a great decade this has been for jazz on the radio in Lansing!

My 10 Favorite CDs of the Aughts (not jazz!)

Amy Winehouse – Back to Black; Retro yet modern, Winehouse shakes out the ghosts of the Shirelles and Motown while crafting her own tragically sultry style. Let’s hope she pulls herself together for a long career, but it’s doubtful she’ll ever top this masterpiece.

Robert Plant & Alison Krause – Raising Sand; A little bit country, a little bit rock, mostly subdued and haunting. Who’d have guessed this pairing would work so well? T-Bone Burnett, for one.

M.I.A. – Arular – Imagine a cheerleader who leans towards revolution and is a beat maestro. Weird and very catchy.

LCD Soundsystem – LCD Soudsystem; Daft Punk IS playing at my house.

Justin Timberlake – Future/Sex/Lovesounds; Ready for the funk, mouseketeers?

Bjork – Medulla – All vocals. All sweet ear candy.

Toumani Diabate – Boulevard De L’Independance – The Sergeant Pepper’s of African music.

Hamsa Lila – Eh Mustapha; A nostalgic nugget for a very special night at the Creole Gallery.

Tribalistas – Tribalistas; The CS&N of Brazillian music. Heavy rotation in the car.

Wilco – Yankee Foxtrot Hotel; The country-alt band crafts The Great American Album.

(Honorable mentions: No Doubt – Rock Steady; Sufjan Stevens – Illinoise; The Neptunes – Present…Clones; Nelly – Nellyville; Missy Elliott – So Addictive; Outkast – Speakerboxxx)

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

1/11/09

Rodney Whitaker

This week we’re visited by Professor of Jazz Rodney Whitaker. He’s the head of Jazz Studies at Michigan State University, one of the great bass players in the history of the music and a fascinating conversationalist. I’ll bring in a stack of classics and I’m sure he will too. We’ll talk about the annual commemorative concert celebrating the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., featuring Jazz Orchestra I, Vocal Jazz Ensemble I, and Gospel Choir. There are two performances, Sunday, January 18, 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the Pasant Theater at the Wharton Center in East Lansing. The concerts are FREE, but you must have a ticket. So plan ahead. And listen tonight.

1/4/09

Freddie Hubbard


We lost a good one last week. Believe it or not, I was going to start the year with one of my “Living Legends” show featuring Freddie Hubbard. I’d heard that he was in ill health. Freddie Hubbard launched onto the jazz landscape in the late 50’s with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers (after playing with several other, lesser known bands).  Over the next dozen years or so he would play on some of the finest sessions – ranging from hard bop to the avante garde.  Hubbard suffered a serious lip injury around 1990.  But tonight’s show draws tunes from the peak of his creativity, his heroic stance, and some of the hottest music from the 1960s.

Cantaloupe Island from Herbie Hancock’s Empyrean Isles (Blue Note)
Free For All from Art Blakey & The Jazz Messenger’s Free For All (Blue Note)
We open with a funky number of Hancock’s, that you may recognize as a source of the sample from US3’s rap hit “Cantaloop” a number of years back; then launch into a ferocious (I’m not kidding) hard bop tune by Blakey.

Stolen Moments from Oliver Nelson’s The Blues & The Abstract Truth (Impulse)
Witch Hunt from Wayne Shorter’s Speak No Evil (Blue Note)
Next up is the title track from a terribly under appreciated gem from the 60s, followed by an excellent example of Wayne Shorter’s freebop.

West 22nd Street Theme from Bobby Hutcherson’s Components (Blue Note)
I Was Doing All Right from Dexter Gordon’s Doin’ Allright (Blue Note)
Hubbard contributes mightily to very good sessions by Hutcherson and Dex.

Red Clay from Freddie Hubbard’s Red Clay (CTI)
Maiden Voyage from Herbie Hancock’s Maiden Voyage (Blue Note)
Red Clay is a funky masterpiece.  Maiden Voyage may be the finest piece of music Herbie Hancock has ever recorded.  A transcendant set.

Body & Soul from The Body & Soul of Freddie Hubbard (Impulse)
Children of The Night from Art Blakey & The Jazz Messenger’s Buhaina’s Delight (Blue Note)
Two fine examples of the breadth of Hubbard – from poignancy to swing.

One For Five – Charlie Rouse from The Lost Sessions (Blue Note)
Gaslight from Duke Pearson’s Sweet Honey Bee (Blue Note)
A couple of rarities that are worth staying up for.

East Broadway Rundown from Sonny Rollin’s Reevaluation: The Impulse Years (Impulse)
Sonny Rollins enlists Hubbard to spar with Coltrane’s rhythm section of Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones on this 20 minute cut.  The melody is infectious and the front line play a kind of hide and seek, starting and stopping and finishing each other’s ideas.

Out To Lunch  from Eric Dolphy’s Out To Lunch (Blue Note)
Catta  from Bobby Hutcherson’s Dialogue (Blue Note)
Another set devoted to the avante garde sessions of Freddie Hubbard.  Both classics.  If I had time, I’d throw in Ornette Coleman’s “Free Jazz” and John Coltrane’s “Ascension”.  Hubbard was a warrior of the “New Thing” at one time.

Take Your Pick from Hank Mobley’s Roll Call (Blue Note)
The Turnaround from Hank Mobley’s The Turnaround (Blue Note)
Two more examples of Hubbard playing the changes over some great hard bop.

You & The Night & The Music
When You Wish Upon A Star both from Bill Evan’s Interplay (Riverside)
We finish the night with beautiful interpretations by Bill Evans, featuring guitarist Jim Hall.  Hubbard is ultimately a hopeless romantic.

12/28/08

2008: 10 Favorite Discs of The Year (and they’re not all jazz…)

A couple of disclaimers – I haven’t heard everything released this year. There are many CDs that are garnishing outstanding reviews that I never heard. So, as hard as I try, I can’t hear everything. Second, I don’t believe in “Best of…” because it is all so subjective. These are ten discs that I listened to again and again, that found their way onto my i-Pod, that I had a hard time getting out of my car stereo. Four vocalists, some blues, a country singer covering Dusty Springfield, some outstanding improvisation, a curry flavored Miles tribute, a little good hard bop and a symphonic setting for an outstanding saxophonist round out this year’s selection. Oh yes, and a little home cookin’.

Derrick Gardner and The Jazz Prophets – A RIDE TO THE OTHER SIDE…OF INFINITY;  Owl
***** Evokes the best of the Messengers with a tight collection of hard swinging jazz originals. Trumpeter Derrick Gardner really makes his mark with this album, aided by his brother Vincent and saxist Rob Dixon. Add a tight rhythm section, led by in-the-pocket Rodney Whitaker, and this is music that is relentlessly fun. We’ll listen to Funky Straight and A Ride To The Other Side.

Cassandra Wilson – Loverly; Blue Note
***** I’ve been waiting for Cassandra to do something this strong since “Blue Light Til Dawn” and here it is. We’ll listen to tracks #2(Lover Come Back To Me), a swing tune with an off the hook piano solo by Jason Moran, #5 (Caravan), and #6 (Till There Was You).

Tim Warfield – One For Shirley; Criss Cross Jazz
***** Boy do I like this record. A great collection of soulful jazz, sounds straight out of a jazz fest, laid back, groovy and swinging. Every track is play worthy, not a stinker in the bunch, but tonight we’ll hear Oasis and The Beat Goes On.

Janiva Magness – WHAT LOVE WILL DO; Alligator Records
***** What a voice. What great arrangements. Crunchy guitar, fat saucy baritone, earthy blues from the best bar band in recent memory. We’ll play Bitter Pill, I Don’t Want You On My Mind and Don’t Do It.

Joe Lovano – Symphonica; Blue Note
***** Another masterpiece by Lovano, who has a put together a string of them this decade. I heard Lovano (again) at the Wharton this year and was really struck by his development, his tone and ideas and effortless mastery. Ben Webster and Coleman Hawkins aren’t around anymore, but Lovano conjures that big sound. We’ll hear the Mingus composition, Duke Ellington’s Sound Of Love, with a gorgeous symphonic arrangement.

Shelby Lynne – JUST A LITTLE LOVIN’
***** A country singer interprets Dusty Springfield with a set of understated arrangements. Sexy, spare, haunting. We’ll listen to Just A Little Lovin’, You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me and The Look Of Love.

Charles Lloyd Quartet – RABO DE NUBE; ECM
***** Lloyd’s string of recordings for ECM have been consistently marvelous. This band features a little more of a groove, with Eric Harland and Reuben Rogers cooking up the riddims. And the addition of Jason Moran is a treat. We’ll play Booker’s Garden.

Sunny Wilkinson/Tom Garvin – A Gentle Time;
***** Playing this CD on the air prompted a long distance caller from California to ask, “Who is that pianist?” Another time I played the first track just before going on air, and I was too ver klempt to speak. A sublime collection with intimate intensity. Let’s listen to Heart, If I Were A Bell, O Cantador.

Dave Douglas & Keystone – MOONSHINE; Green Leaf Music
***** The mercurial Douglas has remained rooted in an electric Miles influence for  his last few efforts, and that suits me just fine. His ethereal tunes sound best when planted in some funky soil. We’ll play Scopes, Flood Plane and Kitten from this live album.

Various – MILES FROM INDIA; Times Square Records
***** What can I say? I’m a sucker for all things Miles. Bob Belden puts together a fascinating project with two groups of masterful musicians, alums from Miles’ various bands and Indian masters. The funny thing is, it all works. Let’s hear All Blues and Ife.

See you next year for the 2009 version of The Vinyl Side of Midnight!

12/21/08

2008 Part Two: Runners Up

Last week was the ‘Honorable Mentions’ of Outstanding CDs of 2008. This week we listen to a pile of really great recordings leading up to my favorite recordings of the year.
As this is our annual Christmas Bonanza, we’ll also feature visits from Cathie Blumer and Maggie Lyons!

organissimo – Groovadelphia; Big O Records
**** Another funky slab of grease and groove by Lansing’s own power trio. Hit #1 on the college station charts, and deservedly so. A blast to catch live.

Rick Roe – MINOR SHUFFLE; Unknown Records
**** Rick Roe plays a set of originals and covers, without a single Monk tune to be found.

McCoy Tyner – Guitars; Half Note
**** An all star rhythm section of DeJohnette & Ron Carter, and a passel full of guitarists (and one banjoist) of note.

Francisco Mela – Cirio; Half Note
**** An energetic set recorded live at the Blue Note. Cuban drummer Francisco leads a tight band of ringers (Loueke, Moran, Granadier & Mark Turner) through a bucket of (mainly) original compositions. Think Art Blakey strained through an uptown sieve.

Milton Nascimento and Jobim Trio – Novas Bossas; Blue Note
**** Wonderful blend of Nascimento and the Jobim aesthetic.

Aaron Parks – Invisible Cinema – Blue Note
**** A beautiful piece of parlor pieces that is reminiscent of Bill Evans, ECM & ethereal influences. Based on Park’s piano and composing, he’s aided by some edgy drumming by Eric Harland and the Abercrombie like guitar of Mike Moreno.

The Dixon-Rhyne Project – Reinvention; Owl Studios
**** Damn, makes me wish organissimo had a sax player. What’s Diego doin’? Use #1 (Repub Club), #2 (Mel’s Groove).

Anat Cohen – Notes From The Village; Anzic Records
**** I really like this woman’s tone. The band is good, too.

Dave Holland Sextet – Pass It On; Dare 2 Records
**** Not a masterpiece like “What Goes On” or the double live CD, but still very good. Gone are Billy Kilson, Steve Nelson, Chris Potter. But Robin Eubanks is still here and Antonio Hart and Mulgrew Miller & Eric Harland.

Tough Guys – Generations; International Center For The Arts
**** A very decent blowing session with a bunch of veterans, from Marcus Belgrave to Jimmy Cobb, Ronnie Matthews, ANDREW SPEIGHT! It’s a romp.

Lizz Wright – The Orchard (Verve)
**** Very strong, bluesy CD by Ms. Wright.

Kenny Garrett – Sketches of MD – Mack Avenue
**** Recorded live at the Iridium, and featuring the great Pharoah Sanders, this is a bit of a mixed bag. Tracks 1 & 2 (The Ring & Intro To Africa) are five star affairs. The next two tracks would get three stars. The last track gets one. Add it together and divide by five, and my rating above is generous. But the first two tracks are SOOO good. Like, historically good. His album Remember The Wall is still better.

Saxophone Summit – Seraphic Light – Telarc
**** Ravi Coltrane, Dave Liebman and Joe Lovano in front of an ace rhythm team (Billy Hart and Cecil McBee!), throw in Phil Markowitz and Randy Brecker, you are in for some serious smoke. And Light. Dedicated to Mike Brecker.

Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band – Season Of Changes; Verve
**** What lingers with this album is a recurring thematic motif that seems to appear in variations in more than one song – recited by Kurt Rosenwinkel’s guitar. Very haunting. Spiritually based work?

Vijay Iyer – Tragicomic – Sunnyside
**** Another strong document of Iyer’s roiling pianistics, topped by the Coltrane influenced altoist, Rudesh Rhahanthappa. Great band, interesting compositions.

12/14/08

2008 Part One:

Honorable Mention / Strong Contention for 2008 Favorites

As I previewed CDs this year I gave them ratings from one to five stars. There were eleven discs that I rated five, and I’ll play those the week between Christmas and New Years. Next week, I’ll play the runners up, the best of the four stars. Tonight is a batch of very strong recordings from 2008.

John McLaughlin – Floating Point; Mediastarz
I purchased this based on a rare 5 star review by Downbeat. This is quite good, though the guitar synthesizer is an acquired taste. Raju is our opener.

Corey Wilkes – Drop It – Delmark
Corey plays some good improv with a mean beat. We’ll play Touch, which is Yo Diggity smooth.

Greg Chako – EVERYBODY’S GOT A NAME; Greg Chako
Very strong jazz guitar and a swinging little band. Boppin’ At Berlitz.

The Tierney Sutton Band – ON THE OTHER SIDE; Telarc
She never makes the obvious choice, with this CD devoted to music about happiness. Ray Brinker holds things tight with his drumming. Happy Days Are Here Again.

Ben Allison & Man Size Safe – LITTLE THINGS RUN THE WORLD; Palmetto Records
Great dynamics, solos, textures. We play the title track.

The Brian Lynch/Eddie Palmieri Project – SIMPATICO; Artist Share
Steamy Latin jazz. Guajira Dobois is tonight’s selection.

Sophie Millman – MAKE SOMEONE HAPPY; Linus
Okay, she’s gorgeous. She also has a beautiful voice and makes smart choices in the music. I think she’s destined for stardom. Make Someone Happy.

James Carter – PRESENT TENSE; Emercy
One of the best reed players around mixing it up with a crowd of ringers. Sussa Nita.

Al Green – LAY IT DOWN; Blue Note;
Al Green finds a little of the old magic on the title track and a few others.
?uestlove, Anthony Hamilton and Corinne Bailey Rae help with the highlights. We’ll play the title track.

Stacey Kent – BREAKFAST ON THE MORNING TRAM; Blue Note
This is a cool set of vocals by lemony voiced Kent, with hip choices ranging from French romance to sexy Samba. A charmer of a disc. Ces Petit Reins & Samba Saravah are what we’ll hear tonight.

Kate Reid – Sentimental Mood – (label?)
A pleasing voice and good production. I Thought About You. This is one I’d throw on for a dinner party – nice stuff.

Joe Baione – OH YEAH! Joe Baione
Vibes in a mainstream context. What more do you want? Title track.

Bob Mintzer Big Band – Swing Out; MCG
I really like Swangalang which swings like crazy. Interesting timbres.

Ron Blake – SHAYARI
Ron Blake gets a great tone from the sax – and with guests like Christian McBride and Jack DeJohnette, there is a lot of heat. Atonement.

Lionel Loueke – KARIBU; Blue Note
His skittering approach to the strings make his guitar work quite unique. And his humming and mouth clicks make him a triple threat. Skylark is the tune tonight.

Alan Pasqua – THE ANTI-SOCIAL CLUB; Crypto-Gramophone
This set rings of the late 1970s, echoing the sounds of Miles and the whole generation of players who created fusion. We’ll play George Russell.

Drew Gress – THE IRRATIONAL NUMBERS; Premonition Records
Ten tracks of interesting textures and colors. There is groove, there is serious harmony, there is musical intensity. Real good stuff. Chevelle.

Nik Bartsch’s Ronin – HOLON; ECM
I’m not sure you can even call this jazz. It seems to be serial chamber music that shows a heavy Steven Reich/Phillip Glass influence, with flourishes of Klezmer. But I got back to it again and again. Modul 39_8.

William Parker – Double Sunrise Over Neptune (Aum Fidelity)
This is the kind of thick avant stew that I’m a sucker for. Long tracks that feature complexity layered on top of simplicity, Eastern vocals and a huge chorus of horns, drizzled over a drone of a bass line. Strings and percussion add complication. Morning Mantra, at 15 minutes, is one of the shorter pieces on the album.

William Parker Quartet – Petit Oiseau; Aum Fidelity
Another wild and wooly foray into the woods. Ornette & Mingus had a love baby, and he is it. Groove Sweet.

Uros Markovic Gospel Jazz Trio – Jesus Saves; CTA
Where Hank Jones and Charlie Haden took these tunes with reverence, Eric Lewis, Reginald Veal and Markovic tend to swing. We’ll hear Holy, Holy, Holy for some sanctified tinkling.

In between we’ll hear snippets of More Christmas Songs For Jazz Lovers by The Paul Keller Ensemble on PKO records.

12/07/08

1998

A bunch of great discs from ’98, bracketed by tributes to Gershwin, with a dash of Monk, a few Daves and a batch of guitarists. Dig it.

Herbie Hancock – Overture (Fascinating Rhythm), from Gershwin’s World, on Verve
Herbie Hancock – It Ain’t Necessarily So, from Gershwin’s World, on Verve
Herbie Hancock – The Man I Love, from Gershwin’s World, on Verve

Brad Mehldau – Exit Music (For A Film), from Songs, on Warner Brothers
Brad Mehldau – Young At Heart, from Songs, on Warner Brothers

Dave Douglas – Magic Triangle, from Magic Triangle, on Arabesque
Dave Douglas – Kisangari, from Magic Triangle, on Arabesque

Medeski, Martin & Wood – Hey-Hee-Hi-Ho, from Combustication Remix EP on Blue Note
John Scofield (and M,M&W) – A Go Go, from A Go Go, on Verve
John Scofield (and M, M&W) – Chank, from A Go Go, on Verve

Marc Johnson – Faith In You, from The Sound of Summer Running, on Verve
Marc Johnson – Ghost Town, from The Sound of Summer Running, on Verve
Marc Johnson – Summer Running, from The Sound of Summer Running, on Verve

Paul Motian & The Electric Bebop Band – Brilliant Corners, from Monk & Powell, on Winter & Winter
Paul Motian & The Electric Bebop Band – Rootie Tootie, from Monk & Powell, on Winter & Winter

Dave Douglas – Another Country, from Leap of Faith, on Arabesque
Dave Douglas – Millenium Bug, from Leap of Faith, on Arabesque

Dave Holland – Prime Directive, from Prime Directive, on ECM
David Ware – Mikuro’s Blues, from Go See The World, on Columbia
David Ware – Quadrihex, from Go See The World, on Columbia

Patricia Barber – Constantinople, from Modern Cool, on Blue Note
Patricia Barber – Light My Fire, from Modern Cool, on Blue Note

Fred Hersch – Five Views of Misterioso, from Thelonious, on Nonesuch
Fred Hersch – Light Blue/Pannonica, from Thelonious, on Nonesuch
Fred Hersch – I Mean You, from Thelonious, on Nonesuch
Fred Hersch – ‘Round Midnight, from Thelonious, on Nonesuch

Susannah McCorkle – Love Walked In, from Someone To Watch Over Me, on Concord
Susannah McCorkle – I Loves You Porgy, from Someone To Watch Over Me, on Concord

11/30/08

1988

We’re finishing the year with tributes to the years 1988, 1998, and three shows exploring my favorite recordings of 2008! Tonight – get out your shoulder pads, big hair and synthesizers. Get ready to hip hop. We will trickle down through three hours of 1988.

Miles Davis – Human Nature, from Live Around The World on Warner Brothers
Ice T – Colors, from the Soundtrack Colors, on Warner Brothers

John Scofield – Wabash, from Loud Jazz, on Grammavision (1987)
Wayne Shorter – Joy Rider, from Joy Rider, on Sony
Public Enemy – Bring The Noize, from It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back, on Def Jam

Marcus Roberts – Country By Choice, from The Truth Is Spoken Here, on Novus
Dave Holland – Nemesis, from Extensions, on ECM (1989)

Wynton Marsalis – Father Time, from Wynton Marsalis, on Columbia
Wynton Marsalis – Sister Cheryl, from Wynton Marsalis, on Columbia

Woody Shaw – Imagination, from Imagination, on Muse
Woody Shaw – Dat Dere, from Imagination, on Muse (1987)

Joe Williams & Shirley Horn – Too Good To Be True, from Every Day, on Verve
Joe Williams – Every Day I Have The Blues/All Blues, from Every Day, on Verve

David Murray – In A Sentimental Mood, from Lovers, on DIW
David Murray – Ming, from Lovers, on DIW

Don Pullen – Jana’s Delight, from New Beginnings, on Blue Note
Don Pullen – Once Upon A Time, from New Beginnings, on Blue Note

Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares – Stani, Mi Maytcho from Vol. II, on Nonesuch
World Saxophone Quartet – Cool Red, from Dances And Ballads, on Nonesuch
World Saxophone Quartet – Hattie Wall, from Dances And Ballads, on Nonesuch
Erik B. & Rakim – Paid In Full, from the soundtrack Colors, on Warner Brothers
Miles Davis – Time After Time, from Live Around The World, on Warner Brothers

All this, plus snippets from the following:

Bobby Brown – My Prerogative from ‘80s Soul/Gold, on Hip O
D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince – Parents Just Don’t Understand from Hip Hop Party, on Rhino
Pebbles – Girlfriend from ‘80s Soul Number Ones, on Hip O
Rob Base & D.J. E.Z. Rock – It Takes Two from Hip Hop/Gold, on Hip O
Michael Jackson – Man In The Mirror from Number Ones, on Epic
Michael Jackson – DIrty Diana from Number Ones, on Epic

11/23/08

Carvin’ The Bird! (Thanksgiving Preparation)

Nick Brignola – Donna Lee from Baritone Madness on Bee-Hive
Charlie Parker – Donna Lee from Boss Bird on Properbox

Deke Damascus – Now’s The Time from Bird Up on Savoy Jazz
Charlie Parker – Now’s The Time from Now’s The Time on Verve
Charlie Parker – Confirmation from Now’s The Time on Verve
Jimmy Smith – Confirmation from House Party on Blue Note

Barry Harris – Star Eyes from Barry Harris At The Jazz Workshop
Charlie Parker – Star Eyes from Boss Bird on Properbox
Sunny Wilkinson – Star Eyes from Sunny Wilkinson on Positive Music
MSU Vocal Ensemble I – Cousin Mary (self produced)

Joe Pass – Relaxin’ At Camarillo from Appasionato on Pablo
The Quintet – Hot House from Jazz At Massey Hall on Debut

Archie Shepp – Blues For Alice from Looking At Bird on Steeplechase
Charlie Parker – Funky Blues from Jam Session on Mercury

Charlie Parker – April In Paris from Confirmation, Best of on Verve
Sarah Vaughan – April In Paris from Sarah Vaughan on Verve
Charles McPherson – April In Paris from A Tribute To Charlie Parker on Clarion Jazz

Wynton Marsalis – Cherokee from Live At The Village Vanguard on Columbia
Art Pepper – Cherokee from At The Village Vanguard on Contemporary

Dexter Gordon – Scrapple from The Apple from Our Man In Paris on Blue Note
Various – Lester Leaps In from Bird: The Original Recordings Of Charlie Parker on Verve

Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie – My Melancholy Baby from Bird And Diz on Verve
Tommy Flanagan – Birdsong from Sunset And The Mockingbird on Blue Note