Week 16:: To the Max!

2 weeks ago marked the 85th anniversary of the birth of Max Roach, perhaps the most influential and creative drummer in the history of jazz, if not even more broadly. While unfortunately Max passed away in 2007, making this just the second birthday he wasn't around to celebrate, he recorded as recently as 2005, capping an active recording career of 60 years.

That's a lot of vinyl, tape, or even digital medium to cover in just 60-ish minutes, especially when you consider then many reasons why Max is considered so important.

Not only was he not just a, but THE pivotal drummer of both the Bebop and Hardbop periods, he almost single-handedly reinvented the role of the drummer within the jazz ensemble, shifting from a simple timekeeper to full-fledged improviser, and even contributing melodically (you heard me) on his snares and cymbols.

On top of what he did musically, which is a tall enough mountain by itself, he was also one of the most fervent activists in the Civil Rights movement as early as 1960, and a strong force in jazz education for more than three decades.

He was a pioneer, a visionary, and several more superlative terms.
And this week, he is our focus, ridiculously reduced to 1 hour.

Please, finish this show, and go listen to more Max Roach. You won't be disappointed.

Audio

Playlist

1. Clifford Brown & Max Roach - Cherokee - Study in Brown
2. Charlie Parker - Ornithology - Royal Roost, 1948
3. J.J. Johnson - Coppin' the Bop - Mad de Bop
4. Herbie Nichols - Chit Chatting - Complete Blue Note Recordings
5. Parker, Gillespie, Powell, Mingus, Roach - Wee - Jazz at Massey Hall
6. Max Roach - Mr. X - + 4
7. Max Roach - Mendacity - Percussion Bitter Sweet
8. Duke Ellington - A Little Max (Parfait) - Money Jungle
9. M'Boom - Onomatopoeia - M'Boom
10. Max Roach & Clark Terry - For Dancers Only - Friendship
    

::WSRP:: Bang, Bang, Boom - Percussion Discussion

Week 15:: Many Worlds of Jazz

Back to Jazz, and a return to the normal potpourri programming style. Having now done a few features, I'm getting a feel for what it takes to cram several hundred hours of available recordings, at least dozens or which are considered "essential," down into a 60 (ok, 62) minute format.

Still, it's nice having the pressure off and just rolling out an hour of music worth listening to.

I have designs on more artist features in the future, but we'll see how things progress as the semester gets back into session.

For now, I'm just enjoying the smooth sailing, and hope you are as well.

Audio

Playlist

1. Dave Brubeck - Maori Blues - Time Further Out
2. Charlier Parker & Dizzy Gillespie - Confirmation - September 1947
3. Ella Fitzgerald & Dizzy Gillespie - How High the Moon - September 1947
4. Art Farmer - With Prestige - Farmer's Market (2-LP reissue)
5. Red Holloway & Jack McDuff - Brother Red - Cookin' Together
6. Walt Dickerson & Richard Davis - Divine Gemini - Divine Gemini
7. Jaco Pastorious - Kuru/Speak Like a Child - Jaco
8. Tommy Flanagan - Eclypso - The Cats
9. Pharoah Sanders - Mansion Worlds - Village of the Pharoahs

::WSRP::  Radio-Free Free-Radio

Week 14:: Indie Rude Interlude

It's been 10 weeks since the first interruption of our regular jazz programming for the alterantive "indie" format, and that's a nice round number for a repeat.  This week on tap are a series of new bands with new sounds, and a few recapturing those of decades before.

Fear not, ye jazz fans, regular programming resumes in week 15.

Audio

Playlist

1. The Black Keys - Your Touch - Magic Potion
2. The White Stripes - Hardest Button to Button - Elephant
3. !!! - Must Be the Moon - Myth Takes
4. Tokyo Police Club - In a Cave - Elephant Shell
5. Battles - Atlas - Battles
6. Crystal Castles - Alice Practice - Crystal Castles
7. Man Man - Top Drawer - Rabbit Habits
8. Vampire Weekend - The Kids Don't Stand a Chance - Vampire Weekend
9. Hot Chip -  Ready For the Floor - Made in the Dark
10. The Strokes - You Only Live Once - First Impressions of Earth
11. The Decemberists - 16 Military Wives - Picaresque
12. Feist - I Feel it All - The Reminder
13. Frightened Rabbit - The Twist - Midnight Organ Fight
14. The Hold Steady - Sequestered - Stay Positive
15. CSS - I Wanna Be Your J-Lo - Cansei de Ser Sexy

::WSRP:: music videos on the links, music love deep in the heart.

Week 13:: New Year Bags

If the two purposes of WSRP are 1) to provide interesting/education jazz music for curious listeners, and 2) give me a radio outlet now that I'm no longer regularly on-air; then week 13 represents an odd result.

Over the holiday break, I was able to get some time on terrestrial radio at KRTU in San Antonio.  Upon my return to New York, I wrangled my first on-air shift at WKCR.  No hitches in either event, and I was pleasantly surprised both times to find how comfortable the return could be.

So now that I'm back on-air, do I really need a 'surrogate' radio project?

We'll see.  For now, my terrestrial radio is largely dictating my webradio focuses (see week 10's new-jazz, thanks to my KRTU gig, or this week's Milt Jackson feature as per my WKCR show).

Not sure where this is going, but I do hope you enjoy the music of Milt.  Vibraphone is an odd, though not necessarily rare, instrument in jazz, and Milt Jackson is its champion.  I had to really squeeze to fit Milt's career into my 5 hours on WKCR, so you can imagine how truncated it is in this 1-hour show.  

Still, music worth listening to, and as with most of WSRP, designed more as an introduction and springboard for your further musical wanderings.

Best of luck.

Audio

Playlist

1. Milt Jackson - Lover - The Jazz Skyline
2. Dinah Washington - Wise Woman Blues - Rare & Early
3. Dizzy Gillespie - A Night in Tunisia - February 1946
4. Thelonious Monk - I Mean You - Genius of Modern Music
5. Modern Jazz Quartet - Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise - First Recordings 1952
6. Modern Jazz Quartet - Baden-Baden - s/t
7. Milt Jackson - Ignunt Oil - Plenty, Plenty Soul
8. Milt Jackson & John Coltrane - The Night we Called it a Day - Bags & Trane
9. Milt Jackson - Statement - Statements
10. Milt Jackson - Soul Fusion - Soul Fusion
11. Milt Jackson - People Make the World Go Round - Sunflower

::WSRP::  This Concludes Part 2 in our 1,257 Part Series, "Big Names in Jazz"