Episode 73:: Vote Jazz

On the eve of the 2010 midterm elections, we focus on the universality of well-crafted tunes and deft improvisation. Good music from great musicians, with an occasional flair for the unexpected, and an overwhelming majority abundance of groove.

Audio

Playlist

1. Max Roach & Clifford Brown - George's Dilemma - A Study in Brown
2. Dr. Lonnie Smith - Freedom Jazz Dance - Jungle Soul
3. Larry Goldings - Jackie-ing - Quartet
4. Duke Ellington - Sidewalks of New York - Masterpieces of 1929-1949
5. Eric Alexander - Sundays in New York - Sundays in New York
6. Oscar Peterson - Moten Swing
7. Miles Davis All-Stars - Half Nelson - The Complete Dial & Savoy Recordings
8. Keith Jarrett trio - Only the Lonely - My Foolish Heart
9. Dave Holland - Wind Dance - Pathways

::WSRP:: we're conducting a nonpartisan poll. Press 1 if you support WS and 2 for RP. All mistyped votes will be disqualified.

Episode 72:: Slipped Discs

It is not uncommon for many devoted Jazz fans, after years of collecting, cataloging, and storing their triumphant libraries of original and reissued Jazz LPs to finally break under the constant strain of moving and protecting them, especially as alternative ways to access Jazz digitally have become more and more convenient, and progressively more aurally satisfying. Once you have more than 25 records on your shelf, a vinyl library can easily become a burden.

But it can also be a liberation. Stacks of hard-pressed analog music cut into physical reality and sharing one's life and home on a daily basis. A collection of any considerable size becomes a wilderness of forgotten classics and well-worn favorites. An audio safari, in which one's fingers walk down the alphabetically-sorted sleeves, drawing out crisp cardboard mementos of decades past, and paradoxically timeless songs of yesteryear.

It is a magic beast, an album collection, and I gratefully invite you to share in this week's journey through the Greater Northwest Washington DC Ryan Weber Memorial Lending Library (thanks to George Prado for the inside joke).

Audio

Playlist

1. Chico Hamilton - Larry of Arabia - The Dealer
2. Charlie Christian - Swing to Bop - Earliest Recordings of...
3. Nat Adderley - Foo Foo - Natural Soul
4. Frank Sinatra/ Antonio Carlos Jobim - Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars - At Last...
5. Louie Bellson - The Eel - Breakthrough
6. Clifford Jordan - One Flight Down - Starting Time
7. Toshiko Akiyoshi/ Lew Tabakin - Kogun - Kogun
8. Sphere - Eronel - Four in One
9. Terry Gibbs - 3 Blind Mice - That Swing Thing!

::WSRP:: All I needed was 1 Turntable and a Microphone. Word.

Episode 71:: Power of Observation

September 2010 brought free, live, public, high-caliber Jazz to Washington, DC, and as promised in an earlier episode, I am bringing it to you in all the low-fidelity glory you would expect from an a personal recorder hidden amongst the crowd. The main stage acts were Jason Moran and The Bad Plus, two very different approaches to the venerable piano trio alternately hailed as the future (or death) of modern Jazz. Both were celebrating 10 year band anniversaries, and each recently released a new album, from which they drew heavily for their playlists. Other than a willingness to ignore convention, that's about where the similarities end. You can find my full report here. We'll start our show with a similarly-minded artist of an earlier age. Enjoy!

Audio

Playlist

1. Thelonious Monk - Crepuscule with Nellie - Monk's Music
2. Jason Moran - Crepuscule with Nellie - Rosslyn Jazz Festival (RJF)
3. Jason Moran - Life Every Voice - Artist in Residence
4. Jason Moran - Nobody - RJF 2010
5. The Bad Plus - Big Eater - RJF 2010
6. The Bad Plus - And Here We Test Our Powers of Observation - RJF 2010
7. The Bad Plus - The Radio Tower Has a Beating Heart - RJF 2010
8. The Bad Plus - You Are - RJF 2010

::WSRP:: this webradioblog actually has a beeping server.

Episode 70:: Celebrate September!

Mid-September is an important time in the recording industry - Jazz or otherwise - for album releases. In our national memory, it has become a focus of intense, at times even blinding, patriotism. It is also the time of the Rosslyn Jazz Festival, a free Jazz event in DC with major national talent (stay tuned for live recordings). On a personal note, 4 people who are special to me celebrate their birthday on September 9, 10, 11 and 12. Somewhere in the rough mixture of all these influences emerges Episode 70: Birthdays, new releases, festival bands, and somber remembrance. Free, Fun, and Fair Trade approved.

Audio

Playlist

1. The Bad Plus - Super America - Never Stop
2. Roy Ayers - Wave - Stoned Soul Picnic
3. The Bad Plus - Never Stop - Never Stop
4. The Bad Plus - You Are - Never Stop
5. The Bad Plus - Beryl Loves to Dance - Never Stop
6. Vijay Iyer - One for Blount - Solo
7. Vijay Iyer - Human Nature - Solo
8. Sonny Rollins - Why Was I Born - Without a Song: the 9/11 Concert

::WSRP:: looks forward to meeting the band ballsy enough to call itself The Minus Good.

Episode 69:: Various Artists

The conversion from CD to digital music seems to be shifting, for the first time in 50+ years, the marketing maneuver of the Compilation release. While the idea of a one-artist album has been the norm in the music industry since the 10" LP emerged, the earliest recordings were done as single sides, and only later combined - sometimes with recordings by the same artist, and sometimes not - into "albums" of 78 rpm discs.

Over this half-century, the Compilation was a device specifically designed to broaden the audience. They assume a consumer who likes one or two artists on the album may end up liking more artists if exposed to them, and so the Compilation introduces them to "like" artists. Because the point is to sell records, Compilations often present the cream-of-the-crop from each band, and preserve in cheap, mass-produced format some of the exceedingly fine recordings which might otherwise be available only on more rare, more valuable, discs.

So this week we'll listen to a selection of songs from Various Artists as preserved on 6 different vinyl Compilation albums, most of which is not accessible in a digital format.

Audio

Playlist

1. Art Tatum - Plaid - Masterpieces
2. Cannonball Adderley - Soon - Songs of George Gershwin
3. Junior Mance - Summertime - Songs of George Gershwin
4. Don Byas/ Slam Stewart - Indiana - Town Hall 1945
5. Stuff Smith - Perdido - Town Hall 1945
6. Al Grey - Rompin' - Best of Argo
7. Roland Kirk - The Call - Best of Argo
8. Sonny Rollins - Lust for Life - Bop Lives
9. Eric Dolphy - Jitterbug Waltz - Bop Lives
10. Billie Holliday - Strange Fruit - Verve Essential Vocalists
11. Anita O'Day - Sweet Georgia Brown - Verve Essential Vocalists
12. Billy Eckstein - Caravan - Verve Essential Vocalists

::WSRP:: Put this on your Mix Tape and Smoke it. If successful, call a doctor in the morning.

Episode 68:: Needlework

While the irony of an anti-technology, retro-philic webradioblog is not lost on this independent content producer, large segments of our Jazz heritage simply do not exist - and probably will never exist - in a digital format. For the last 1-2 decades, we could talk convincingly about how not all of Miles Davis's recordings were on CD... "yet," but as we enter the second decade of the 21st century, it's about time we faced the facts. Not all Jazz will be with us in the digital age. Sure, we'll save the high profile stuff, and essentially anything with a commercially-viable name affixed to it is likely to get at least one CD issue before CDs go the way of the cassette. But this will still leave the majority of Jazz recordings, by many of the greats and all of the lesser lights, completely inaccessible to a digital audience, and in the worse case scenario, lost to Jazz fans for all time.

It's something to think about, and it brings us to this week's episode, playing music exclusively from vinyl. Ok, it's not as strong a message as it could be - several of these songs are available in digital format - but not all, and that's the point I'm trying to make. Enjoy.

Audio

Playlist

1. Count Basie/ Billy Eckstein - Little Mama - Basie/Eckstein, Inc.
2. Max Roach - Memo to Maurice - On the Chicago Scene
3. Stan Getz/ Charlie Byrd - Samba de Una Nota So - Jazz Samba
4. Dick Sutton Sextet w/ Steve Lacy - Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise - Jazz Idiom
5. Hank Mobley - Chain Reaction - Straight, No Filter
6. Lionel Hampton - High Society - Jivin' the Vibes
7. Lionel Hampton - It Don't Mean a Thing, if it Ain't Got that Swing - Jivin' the Vibes
8. Dave Brubeck - Nomad - Jazz Impressions of Eurasia

::WSRP:: the Washington State Republican Party and Wisan Smith Racker & Prescott, LLP have each contributed to this project's stubborn refusal to take itself seriously. Thank You.

Episode 67:: Newport Jazz Festival 2010

Like any TV series, sports franchise or wise old elephant that's been around for more than half a century, the Newport Jazz Festival has had its good, and not-so-good, years. The sheer brilliance of its founding in 1954 was quickly eclipsed by the legendary moments and luminous artists that graced its stages by the droves. It has spawned controversy, even driven some to found 'rebel' festivals in protest, and since the 1980s has been often criticized for drowning Jazz content in crass capitalist commercialism. In 2009, the festival took an abrupt turn - in the right direction - with the return of its founder, George Wein, and the 2010 festival bore all the rewards.

For this week's episode of WSRP, we will listen to songs from some of the best acts recorded live, just 1 week ago! This tremendous access and turnaround is only possible due to the good folks at NPR, the generosity of the participating musicians, and the cooperation of the CareFusion Newport Jazz Festival itself. To all of them, I say "thank you," and to you the listener, I say "enjoy."

Audio

Playlist

1. Matt Wilson - If I Were a Boy
2. Amina Figarova - Ernie's Song
3. Dave Douglas & Brass Ecstacy - United Front
4. Ben Allison & Man-Sized Safe - Kramer vs. Kramer vs. Godzilla
5. Rez Abassi Acoustic Quartet - Personal Mountain
6. Fly trio - Lady B
7. David Binney 3rd Occasion Quartet - Aliso

::WSRP:: We don't just bring you Jazz history; We Are Jazz History.

Episode 66:: Monday Morning Blues

The title is allusion to more than just my slightly tardy "weekly" deadline, but rather to the true theme of this show: the blues. Or at least, some vestiges of the blues in a variety of Jazz and semi/non-Jazz environments. Think of this not as a Blues episode, but a Jazz episode that has a case of the (little-b) blues. You'll find no Sonny Liston Smith, Keb 'Mo or BB King in these playlists, but rather a selection of guitar-inflected AABA tales of remorse for the wrongs of one's past and the rights (rites?) of music present.

Audio

Playlist

1. Tiny Grimes - Durn Tootin' - Tiny Grimes In Swingville
2. Milt Jackson - Five O'Clock in the Morning - The Prophet Speaks
3. Lionel Hampton - Hamp's Salty Blues - Midnight Sun
4. Grant Green - Iron City - Iron City
5. Stanley Turrentine with the 3 Sounds - Blue Riff - Blue Hour: The Complete Sessions
6. Louis Armstrong - St. James Infirmary - The Complete RCA Recordings
7. Lou Rawls - St. James Inrfirmary (live)
8. Cassandra Wilson - St. James Infirmary - Loverly
9. The White Stripes - St. James Infirmary - Elephant
10. Charles Mingus - Hog Callin' Blues - The Complete Atlantic Recordings

::WSRP:: ::WSRP:: ::WSR-got-it-in-my-soul-P:: ::WSRP::

Episode 65:: Land of Giants

As broad as the world of Jazz may be, and as many diverse genres, instruments, and musicians may occupy it, one must exert some considerable effort to resist the almost gravitational pull of the masters - the giants - of the form. This episode represents one attempt not to resist this natural inclination. Without any special effort or intent, we simply bump into Duke, Mingus, Miles, and Louis. Why? Because they're HUGE. Because you can't just waltz through the Jazz world without running into them at almost every turn. Make no mistake - any Jazz radio that doesn't feature these names prominently and often is working hard to reduce their audio footprint. And that should make you wonder why.

Audio

Playlist

1. Hank Jones - Satin Doll - Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life
2. Charles Mingus - For Harry Carney - Changes Two
3. Duke Ellington - Sophisticated Lady - Ellington at Newport
4. Duke Ellington - In a Mellow Tone - Masterpieces 1929-1949
5. John Coltrane - I Hear a Rhapsody - Lush Life
6. McCoy Tyner/ Bobby Hutcherson - Manalayuca - Land of Giants
7. Ben Allison - Fred - Think Free
8. Joshua Redman - Can't Dance - Freedom in the Groove
9. Roy Eldridge - Fish Market - After You've Gone
10. Louis Armstrong - Jack-Armstrong Blues - Complete RCA Victor Recordings
11. Miles Davis - Milestones - Complete Savoy and Dial Studio Recordings

::WSRP:: Good thing for us it takes hard work to ruin Jazz radio; lazy finally paid off.

Episode 64:: The Newer Thing

After a considerable hiatus, WSRP returns from its new Washington, DC headquarters for our regular deca-versary edition of Indie Rock - Indie on the 4's. This week's episode focuses on some of the new (or newer- or newish) sounds bouncing around the many incarnations of the term 'indie,' with a slight focus on the odd pairing on pop (dance beats, simple lyrics) and experimental (noise, heavy layering, etc). It somewhat follows the trend we looked at in the Jazz idiom in Episode 63, but you can expect the parallels to end there - if you want a dissertation on the structural link between Jazz and Indie, talk to an ethnomusicologist. If you want Indie that might happen to consider some of the concepts that high-octane Jazz deals with routinely, then you've come to the right place.

Audio

Playlist

1. Florence + the Machine - Kiss With a Fist - Lung
2. LCD Soundsystem - Get Innocuous! - Sound of Silver
3. Hockey - Too Fake - Mind Chaos
4. Yeasayer - Ambling Alp - Odd Blood
5. Passion Pit - Sleepyhead - Manners
6. Dan Deacon - Woof Woof - Bromst
7. Dirty Projectors - Cannibal Resource - Bitte Orca
8. Modest Mouse - Guilty Cocker Spaniels - No One's First, And You're Next
9. Noah & the Whale - 5 Years Time - Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down
10. Local Natives - World News - Gorilla Manor
11. Terror Prigeon Dance Revolt - Iotdwykiyhtbr - I Love You. I Love You. I am In Love with You...
12. The Dead 60s - Riot Radio - Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist Soundtrack
13. The Black Keys - Tighten Up - Brothers

::WSRP:: It's OK to Blog What You Know in Your Heart to be Good, In Your Heart to be Good.

Episode 63:: Controlling Chaos

Ignore the (oxy)moronic title for this week's episode, but beware the warning: Despite being wondrous to behold, Chaos is rarely a friend to its admirers. It's a lesson well-learned by generations of one-armed Bear trainers and eyebrow-less lab technicians. It's a fact: Entropy can be a bitch. But in the right circumstances, the proper containment, and under careful observation, it also produces spectacles of beauty, passion, and intellectual bedazzlement.

And so the knife cuts, between unbridled chaos and the illusion of controlling such an elemental force.

As much as I enjoy the opportunity to wax poetic, I actually prefer to just spin wax.

Here's a handful of cuts that dance along the line, hope you enjoy.

Audio

Playlist

1. Sun Ra - Where is Tomorrow - We Are in the Future
2. Charles Mingus - Solo Dancer - Black Saint and the Sinner Lady
3. Rahsaan Roland Kirk - Slippery, Hippery, Flippery - Rip, Rig & Panic
4. Eric Dolphy - Status Seeking - Here and There
5. John Coltrane - Seraphic Light - Stellar Regions
6. Pharoah Sanders - High Life - Wisdom Through Music

::WSRP:: This episode powered entirely by Dark Energy. If you want to avoid fossil fuels, Don't just go Green; Go Black-hole.

Episode 62:: Second-Hand Vinyl

New York is arguably the Jazz capital of the world, but more relevant to this week's episode, it is the Uncontested Jazz Record Store capital of the world. However, after desperately seeking good record stores throughout Texas (that is, those with a good variety of Jazz and reasonable prices), and even being driven to eBay desperation, since moving to NYC I have not purchased a single LP. In part, this is because I no longer had a salary, and in part it was because part of buying vinyl - for me - is the thrill of the hunt. If you can just walk down the street and buy any record you want, for a good price, what's the challenge?

I may need to amend this posture before I leave NYC, and capitalize on the advantages it provides, but for now, I only buy records when I go out of town. In mid-April, I made one such trip to VT, and found exceptional record stores in both Burlington and nearby Montpelier. This week's episode is a showcase of my recent acquisitions, a celebration of the vinyl format, and a strong push for those of you with a like mind to keep up the LP obsession.

I certainly plan to.

Audio

Playlist

1. Stanley Turrentine - Shake - Rough'n'Tumble
2. Herbie Mann - Bitch - London Underground
3. Jimmy Knepper/ Bill Evans - Idol of the Flies - Idol of the Flies
4. Kai Winding - Idaho - The Swingin' States
5. Kai Winding - Oklahoma! - The Swingin' States
6. Budd Johnson - The Message - ... and the 4 Brass Giants
7. Chaka Khan - I Hear Music - Echoes of an Era
8. Duke Ellington - Creole Love Call -
9. Duke Ellington - Mainstem - In a Mellotone
10. Oscar Peterson - It Happened in Monterrey - A Portrait of Frank Sinatra

::WSRP:: This isn't an episode you'll want to skip-want to skip-want to skip...

Episode 61:: Old News, New Gospel

In the continuing quest to champion the value of modern Jazz, WSRP presents another episode in the constantly-evolving genre of "new Jazz releases." The selections have been released within the past year - several of them just the past month - and were chosen for their particularly distinct approaches.

'Modern Jazz' is no one thing, and in fact it's not even a viable auditory category. 'Modern Jazz' cannot be classified by how it sounds, because it can sound like so many, even contradictory, things. But perhaps it can be categorized by what it's trying to do, and how it's trying to do that. The modern techno-concept of the internet 'cloud' I think captures this much better than an earlier ideology of Jazz-as-geneology (King Oliver begat Satchmo etc.) or the more general linear genre histories (traditional, swing, bebop, dixieland, hard bop, cool post, free jazz, fusion).

So give it a listen, and if this isn't your bag of Jazz, fear not - there are lots of other types of Jazz being made in the world today, and over 85 years worth of archival recordings.

Audio

Playlist

1. Warren Smith - One More Lick for Harold Vick - Old News, Borrowed Blues
2. George Schuller - Common Mama - Like Before, Somewhat After
3. Myra Medford - Through the Same Gate - The Whole Tree Gone
4. Ahmad Jamal - Flight to Russia - A Quiet Time
5. Brad Mehldau - John Boy - Highway Rider
6. Brad Mehldau - Sky Turning Grey (For Elliott Smith) - Highway Rider
7. Pat Metheny - Spirit of the Air - Orchestrion

::WSRP:: Good thing we didn't call it "Weekly Surrogate Radio Project."

Episode 60:: Shuffle Along

Rather than allowing my current obsession with the development of Baku's petroleum industry and the techno-social impact it had on the rise of labor power and mass politics (M.A. Thesis) to prevent me from making my weekly webradioblog quota, I decided to take a less labor-intensive approach made possible by a different form of socio-technology: iPod Shuffle.

I put my iTunes Music library on the table, selected "shuffle" and pressed play. Well, it was slightly more structured than that. But not much.

Admittedly, it's something like "Jack-FM" except that I'm not Jack, and there is no Frequency to be Modulated. And the music doesn't suck.

Audio

Playlist?

Sorry, if this show had to be blind for me as its creator, then you're just going to have to listen for yourself to see what comes up. Not knowing is much of the fun. The following rules/guidelines did help me arrive at the final product:

1. No artists/songs that we've played on previous episodes of WSRP
2. No songs longer than 6:00, to keep things moving
3. No live cuts, bootlegs, or other poor sound-quality recordings

::WSRP:: so tastefully done, it can afford to be mixed-up like a Picasso (RdSM) - but keep your ears on.

Episode 59:: Putting the L back in LP

Since its invention in 1948, the LP, or long-playing album, was the primary vehicle for recorded Jazz consumption and enjoyment until 1988. Not only does this 40-year span account for the most artistically diverse period in the history of Jazz (the titles for most prolific, most popular, and perhaps most innovative are all, at least conventionally, ascribed to the pre-LP ear of 78 rpm records), the LP also offered something impossible for 78s, regardless of stylistic innovation or commercial appeal: LPs allowed for longer tunes.

No more were aspiring Jazz composers restricted to 3:00 song-forms, short solos, and other technical limitations of a 10" disc spinning at 78 rotations per minute. By increasing the diameter to 12" and slowing rotation down to just 33 and 1/2 rotations per minute, each side could now accommodate 20:00 of music. 40:00 per album! This required more music for each release, but it also allowed for individual songs to be much longer. A tune could develop. Solos could stretch out. Everyone Could Get Their Own Solo!

This edition of WSRP is in no way a history of the LP, a catalogue of its great innovations, or a highlight of those special moments that have made the vinyl LP the greatest jazz instrument of all time (sorry, Cornet). Instead, it's a simple celebration by way of playing a few particularly nice cuts that simply wouldn't have been possible without the L introduced by the LP.

Audio

Playlist

1. Bobby Timmons - Lela - Workin' Out
2. Yusef Lateef - Happyology - Jazz for the Thinker
3. Andrew Hill - Siete Ocho - Judgement!
4. Kenny Barron - Two Areas - Peruvian Blue
5. Don Pullen - Kadji - Tomorrow's Promises
6. Freddy Hubbard - Birdlike - Ready for Freddy
7. Tony Williams - Love Song - Spring

::WSRP:: If this thing really catches on, perhaps all webradioblogs will henceforth be abbreviated 'WSRPs.' Then you can one day record a show on your holocrystal about putting the WSR back in the WSRP.

Episode 58:: (Why Not) Listen to Ornette Coleman! (?)

On March 9, saxophonist and "Free Jazz" pioneer Ornette Coleman celebrated his 80th birthday, and in New York the radio station WKCR celebrated as well, with 24 hours of music from his large, diverse, and yes, mostly avant-garde, discography. Ornette is an especially difficult figure to cast into any particular Jazz mold, though this hasn't caused any delay for those who pigeon-hole him as a "radical" or even a "visionary" and thenceforth never actually listen to his music. The kindest excuse is something like, "oh sure, Ornette's brilliant... it's just not my thing."

And I see where they're coming from. Jumping feet-first into the landmark 36-minute improvised insanity that is the 1960 "Free Jazz" album, one is not likely to emerge with much of an understanding, much less an appreciation, of what the hell just happened.

But Ornette has had a long career, and throughout he has continued to push boundaries in ways that maintain the elusive quality of being both extremely intelligent, and also passionate. Rocket Science with Orgasm. And that certainly deserves more attention, not to mention gives all of us something in his work to relate to.

So let's listen to some Ornette Coleman. Why not? I'll keep things on the accessible side, and perhaps after an hour of progressive attenuation, you'll be ready to sit down for a big helping of Eric Dolphy solos, modal progressions, and tempo-less music. Like a fat sheep on Nouroz, it's a feast once you learn how to eat it.

Audio

Playlist

1. Ornette Coleman - When Will the Blues Leave - Something Else! The Music of Ornette Coleman
2. Ornette Coleman - Tomorrow is the Question - Tomorrow is the Question
3. Ornette Coleman - Compassion - Tomorrow is the Question
4. Ornette Coleman - the Fifth of Beethoven - The Art of the Improvisers
5. Ornette Coleman Trio - Dawn - Live at the Golden Circle
6. Ornette Coleman - Street Woman - Science Fiction
7. Ornette Coleman - New York - Ornette at 12
8. Ornette Coleman / Pat Metheny - Police People - Song X

WSRP:: One of the Few places that Won't Expect you to Pay Money to hear Free Jazz.

Episode 57:: Mosaic Records

The amazing story of Mosaic Records - a special combination of jazz scholarship and re-issue house - cannot be told (by me) in just 1 hour, so instead we go light on the narrative and let some of the many unique gems that Mosaic has discovered speak (mostly) for themselves. Further, I'll allow that this program isn't a "best of" Mosaic, as I intentionally dug not for their most high-profile releases, but rather for some of the odds-and-ends that would never be available to listeners in the 21st century without the efforts of Michael Cuscuna and (the late) Charlie Lourie and their staff. You can find the complete story here, or my little audio tribute below.

Audio

Playlist

1. Serge Chaloff - King Edward the Flatted Fifth - Complete Serge Chaloff Sessions
2. Albert Ammons & Meade Lux Lewis - Nagasaki - The Complete Blue Note Recordings of Albert Ammons and Meade Lux Lewis
3. The Port of Harlem Seven - Pounding Heart Blues - The Complete Recordings of the Port of Harlem Jazzmen
4. James P. Johnson - Walkin' the Dog - The Complete Edmond Hall/ James P. Johnson/ Sidney DeParis/ Vic Dickenson Blue Note Sessions
5. Stuff Smith - Whatcha Gonna Do... - The Complete Verve Stuff Smith Sessions
6. Stuff Smith w/ Shirley Horne - Foggy Day - The Complete Verve Stuff Smith Sessions
7. Chet Baker - Carson City Stage - The Complete Pacific Jazz Live Recordings of the Chet Baker Quartet with Russ Freeman
8. Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra - Morning Reverend - The Complete Solid State Recordings of the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra
9. Larry Young - Ritha - Complete Blue Note Recordings of Larry Young
10. Andrew Hill - New Monastery - The Complete Blue Note Andrew Hill (1963-1966)

::WSRP:: In 50 years, webradioblog archivists will consider finding this audio a monumental discovery. Just you wait. . . . . . . Keep Waiting.

Episode 56:: Swing-a-Long

When the weather outside turns frightful, it's time for tunes that are delightful, and since you've no (better) place to go, on-with-the-show, on-with-the-show, on-with-the-show.

Great vocalist of the Swing era, both during and after.

Audio

Playlist

1. Andrews Sisters - Eight to the Bar
2. Doris Day & Les Brown Orchestra - I Ain't Hep to that Step
3. Louis Armstrong & the All-Stars - Heebie Jeebies
4. Nat King Cole trio - Candy
5. Bing Crosby - Your Socks Don't Match
6. Bing Crosby - Deep in the Heart of Texas
7. Anita O'Day & Roy Eldridge - Let Me Off Uptown
8. Count Basie - Exactly Like You
9. Carmen McRae - Exactly Like You
10. Carmen McRae - Nice Work if You can Get It
11. Dinah Washington - I Could Write a Book
12. Ella Fitzgerald - Goody, Goody
13. Ella Fitzgerald Orchestra - The Japanese Sandman
14. Ella Fitzgerald - Ain't Nobody's Business But My Own
15. Ella Fitzgerald - Lullaby of Birdland
16. Ella Fitzgerald - Ich Fuhle Mich Crazy

::WSRP:: No, You're driving Me crazy.

Episode 55:: A Dash of Something New

While it may be too late to pull a "Best of 2009" episode, I'm not letting that stop me from a quick focus on "new," or at least recent, jazz releases.

Audio

Playlist

1. Marcus Strickland - Scatter Heart - Idiosyncracies
2. Marty Ehrlich - Rites Rhythm - Things Have Got to Change
3. Joe Lock - Bright Side Up - For the Love of You
4. Tineke Postma - The Eye of the Mind - The Traveler
5. Terence Blanchard - H.U.G's - Choices
6. Eldar - Black Jack - Virtue
7. Steve Blanco - Black Dogs - Piano Warrior
8. Donald Bailey - Blues it - Blue Prints of Jazz, vol.3

::WSRP:: New Tricks from an Old Dog

Episode 54:: Indie Wedding Cast-offs

One of the coolest parts of planning a wedding is making up huge lists of music you might like to incorporate into your special day. If you happen to like things outside the mainstream, this has the dual benefit of giving you a platform to share your favorites with people who may not already know of them. Conveniently, this is the same premise of this webradioblog.

The worst part, then, of picking music for a wedding, is whittling down the number of options to only a small handful, and ultimately one "first dance" tune. That this must be done as a team (at least, until they invent same-self marriage) further complicates the issue - though probably for the better.

And what to do with all those other cool songs that just weren't quite right for the wedding itself? Just let them rot in one person's iTunes refuse bin? Not when you have your own webradioblog.

Save the planet - recycle your audio.

Audio

Playlist

1. Erin McKeown - Santa Cruz - Hundreds of Lions
2. OK Go - Gigantic - Dig for Fire (Tribute to the Pixies)
3. Cat Power - Sea of Love - The Cover Record
4. Bob Sneider - 40 Dogs (Like Romeo & Juliette) - Lovely Creatures
5. John Doe & Kathleen Edwards - The Golden State - FUV Live 12
6. Iron & Wine - Cinder and Smoke - Our Endless Numbered Days
7. Billy Bragg & Wilco - Birds and Ships - Mermaid Avenue
8. The Avett Brothers - January Wedding - I and Love and You
9. The White Stripes - We are Going to be Friends - White Blood Cells
10. Wreckless Eric - Whole Wide World - Stranger than Fiction soundtrack
11. One Eskimo - Kandi - s/t
12. Ray LaMontagne - You are the Best Thing - Gossip in the Grain
13. Ray LaMontagne - You are the Best Thing - FUV Live 12
14. Sufjan Stevens - To be Alone with You - Music from the O.C.
15. Paul Tiernan - How to Say Goodbye - Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist soundtrack

::WSRP:: sorry ladies, now it's Mr. WSRP.

Episode 53:: Kloss-tro-philia

We're back in action, and back to special features on WSRP! This week, we take a 1-hour look at the brief and early career of Eric Kloss, a blind alto saxophonist from Pittsburg who recorded 10 albums for Prestige before his 21st birthday, floated freely between the worlds of Soul Jazz and Free Jazz, and had as his Sidemen such Giants as Chick Corea, Dave Holland, Pat Martino, Jack DeJohnette, Jaki Byard, Cedar Walton and others.

Quite a career, and a story only partially told, but told oh-so-well through the recordings of Mr. Kloss and company.

Audio

Playlist

1. Eric Kloss - Embraceable You - Introducing Eric Kloss
2. Eric Kloss - African Cookbook - First Class Kloss
3. Eric Kloss - In a Country Soul Garden - Sky Shadows
4. Eric Kloss - St. Thomas - Life Force
5. Eric Kloss - To Hear is to See - To Hear is to See
6. Eric Kloss - Sunshine Superman - Consciousness
7. Eric Kloss - It's Too Late - One, Two, Free

::WSRP:: Kloss Album Accessibility Contest - WSRP 7, iTunes 0

Episode 52:: Getting Back in the Saddle

well... this is embarrassing. After more than 40 consecutive weeks, I allowed myself the luxury of not doing WSRP every week as I struggled to meet other, more pressing, needs (job, school, wedding, etc.). The eventual result was an unintentional 3-month hiatus.

I could apologize profusely, but that assumes that you, my nominal audience, actually care about, or even noticed, the absence. Since it's a webradioblog that can be downloaded in any order, and listened to at any time, I'll assume this disruption didn't exactly flip the applecart of your life, and we'll just continue as if this never happened.

So for Episode 52, ironically the "1-year" mark of the show, we're back with a whimper. No major theme or grandiose designs, just some good music I'd like to place in proximity to your audio receptacles, as I try to get back into the habit.

Audio

Playlist

1. Russell Malone - Mugshot - Sweet Georgia Peach
2. Ray Draper - Under Paris Skies - Ray Draper Quartet featuring John Coltrane
3. Zoot Sims, Phil Woods, Al Cohn - Midnight in Moscow - Jazz Mission to Moscow
4. Jazz Interactions Orchestra - Complex City - Jazzhattan Suite
5. Billy Eckstein - Lonesome Lover Blues - Blues for Sale
6. Art Farmer - I Waited for You - Sing Me Softly of the Blues
7. David Murray - Snowfall - Seasons
8. Vijay Iyer - Historicity - Historicity
9. Vijay Iyer - Galang - Historicity

::WSRP:: Be honest - Did you really miss it?