Week 29:: Put Your Mind at Ease

Whether it's the taxes, the global financial meltdown, Darfur, or just something as piddly as your crushing and imminent final / term paper / thesis defense, WSRP has the 5-letter solution for all that ails you.

R-E-L-A-X.

if that fails, might we suggest an alternative:

penicilinvaliumalcoholriddilinmarijuanaeverybodylovesraymond.

Consider this your W-S-Rx-P dosage.

Audio

Playlist

1. Johnny Griffin - The Congregation - The Congregation
2. Dianne Reeves - My Little Brown Book - Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life
3. Miles Davis - Jeru - Birth of the Cool
4. Wallace Roney - Hey Young World - Mystikal
5. Lee Morgan - Speedball - The Gigolo
6. Com Voce - Desafinado - Com Voce
7. Jimmy Cobb - Can You Read My Mind? - Marsalis Music Honors
8. Charles Lloyd - Pocket Full of Blues - Voice in the Night

::WSRP::  Oh No We Di'nt; Oh Yes We Di'd.

Week 28:: Bass(ish) is the Place(ish)

As promised last week - no solid themes from WSRP until the Term Paper embargo is lifted.  However, as a quick jaunt through my iTunes revealed, I do have a number of very hip little songeroos you might be interested in which are - very loosely - involved with some funky bass attributes.

We start with Mingus - - what more do you need to know?

Yes, "Come together" is a Beatles cover (and it's psycho-somatic). 

Sure, Now you'll listen.

Audio

Playlist

1. Charles Mingus - Boogie Stop Shuffle - Mingus Ah Um
2. Charnett Moffett - The Shepard - For the Love of Peace
3. Joshua Redman - The Crunge - Momentum
4. Avishai Cohen - Come Together - Lyla
5. Cassandra Wilson - Throw it Away - Glamoured
6. Michael Blake - Feast - Blake Tartare
7. Chris Potter - Togo - Follow the Red Line

::WSRP::  It Wasn't Me, It Was the Juan-Armed Man.

Week 27:: All Gods Go to Heaven?

In the never-ending effort to stick by a previous rash decision without compromising real world objectives, I'm planning ahead for Term Paper season and getting out a few weekly episodes of the WSR-Pizzle.  

But not before I craft together a show to make your drool pool and your ears itch.

Behold the power of not-enough-time-to-rethink-good-choices.

Audio

Playlist

1. Charlie Parker - Salt Peanuts - Complete Savoy/Dial Recordings
2. John Abercrombie - Backwoods Song - Gateway
3. Big John Patton - Let 'em Roll - Let 'em Roll
4. Charles Mingus - Goodbye Pork Pie Hat - Mingus Ah Um
5. Dave Brubeck - Blue Rondo A La Turk - Time Out
6. Hendrick Meurkins - Triste - New York Samba Jazz Quintet
7. Ella Fitzgerald - Desafinado - Jukebox Ella
8. Sonny Rollins - Global Warming - Without a Song: the 9/11 Concert

::WSRP::  Shake thorougly before use.  Best served chilled.

Week 26:: Ivory Ploughers

After last week's focus on the Swing Era, which was essentially a focus on Big Bands, I thought we'd go in the opposite direction this time.  Though nothing revolutionary, it occurred to me several weeks back to do a show on the evolution of the Piano Trio, which has become the single most enduring and widespread of all jazz ensembles, and for reasons I'm not qualified to parse, also one of the most flexible.  As Jazz has grown/evolved/differentiated/whatever, virtually everyone, from ragtimers to fusion-heads has found a place for the piano trio (piano, bass, drums) in their repetoire.

It rapidly occured to me just how labor-intensive it would be to first assemble a proper stylistic/chronological catalogue of relevant artists/albums, and further to condense it into 1 hour.

So instead - as always - I took the pass more travelled:  this is a hodge podge in loose chronology of some of the different sounds produced by the piano.  It does not capture the full variety, extremes, or nuances available.  But it should give you some choice morsels to follow as your personal taste dictates.

Audio

Playlist

1. Junior Mance - Letter From Home - 
2. Bill Evans - Swedish Pastry - 
3. McCoy Tyner - T'n'A Blues - Today and Tomorrow
4. Herbie Hancock - United Blues
5. Keith Jarrett - Part VII - The Carnegie Hall Concert
6. Taylor Eigsti - Love for Sale - Lucky to be Me
7. Brad Mehldau - Get Happy - Anything Goes
8. Jean Michel-Pilc - Mr. RG - Live at the Iridium
9. The Bad Plus - And Here We Test Our Powers of Observation - Give
10. Jason Moran - Life Every Voice - Artist in Residence

::WSRP:: By the Piano Player a Drink Because He's Groovin' Me Down.