Jazz Bastard Podcast

You won't bee-lieve how hard it is to avoid apian puns in this podcast description, but we'll do our best after this sentence.  Mike and Pat dig into the Beehive catalog and pluck five albums out its sixteen-strong lineup.  Small independents like Beehive kept bebop alive during the dark days of fusion, and the boys find out how.  They also talk way too long about “In High Profile’s” unfortunate album cover. Stay tuned for Mike's discussion of seeing one of his heroes - Kurt Elling - live.  Nick Brignola – BARITONE MADNESS; Curtis Fuller – FIRE AND FILIGREE; Johnny Hartman – ONCE IN EVERY LIFE; Ronnie Mathews – LEGACY; Dick Katz – IN HIGH PROFILE.

A couple oldies, a couple newies - the boys sort out the third (THIRD!) Contemporary Jazz Quintet release they've discussed in the podcast's history, pay their propers to Jack DeJohnette's best ensemble of the eighties (realistically, of ever) and then look at an avant pop and an avant jazz album from 2019.  Kenny Cox – LOCATION ; Jack DeJohnette – SPECIAL EDITION; Dopolarians  - GARDEN PARTY; Nels Cline and Yuka C. Honda– SPINNING CREATURES.

Clarinetist Sam Sadigursky is our special guest this episode, and we discuss his own career, his work with James Darcy Argue, and his thoughts on the difficulty of plighting one's troth to that "delicate lady," the clarinet.  He sticks around to discuss a new-ish album by bass clarinet specialist Jason Stein, and then the boys are on their own with two brand new releases.  Sam Sadigursky – FOLLOW THE STICK; Jason Stein – LUCILLE!; Marquis Hill – LOVE TAPE; Jamie Branch – FLY OR DIE II: BIRD DOGS OF PARADISE. 

In honor of Blue Note's new signing, Joel Ross, the boys devote a whole podcast to vibraphonist-led dates, ranging from the early sixties to right gosh darn now.  From the introverted to the at least somewhat less introverted, from pure acoustic to part electric, vibists are everywhere.  Eighties alt-western group Thin White Rope lassos up popmatters.  Walt Dickerson – TO MY QUEEN; Dave Pike – INFRA RED; Stefon Harris – GRAND UNIFICATION THEORY; Joel Ross – KINGMAKER.  

Many moon-units ago a listener requested we look at the music of Frank Zappa in a little more depth.  Bastards being bastards, we brought our best shallow game and called it a day.  Burt Bacharach and Hal Willner get smoldering glances in the pop matters segment.  Frank Zappa:  ROXY AND ELSEWHERE; JAZZ FROM HELL;  Jean Luc Ponty – PLAYS THE MUSIC OF FRANK ZAPPA; Ed Palermo Big Band – PLAYS THE MUSIC OF FRANK ZAPPA.

In this very special (i.e., short and understaffed) "bonus" episode, Pat talks about some of the artists he caught at the Chicago Jazz Festival this year.  Artists discussed include Cecile McLoren Salvant, Christian McBride, the Chicago Art Ensemble, Miguel Zenon and many more!  Mike will be back for the next regular episode - promise!

Steve Martin asked everyone to "get small," but in this episode, the bastards investigate what happens when jazz musicians get profound - and just a wee bit third-streamy.  The results are mixed, and one high-profile release in particular gets a thorough dose of bastardy.  The pop matters segment ranges from Oingo Boingo to a review of Joey DeFrancesco live.  Wayne Shorter – EMANON; George Russell – OTELLO BALLET SUITE; Ingrid Laubrock – CONTEMPORARY CHAOS PRACTICES.

It's all about the strings this ep, as the boys look at four very different guitar players - three virtuosos and one reliable, well-loved Blue Note stalwart.  Mike's all over the road in the pop matters (he didn't talk about Maria Carey people, so don't complain) and he offers a new sign off for your listening . . . pleasure?  Mahavishnu Orchestra – BIRDS OF FIRE; Lenny Breau – THE HALLMARK SESSIONS; Charlie Hunter – READY, SET, SHANGO!; Grant Green – IDLE MOMENTS.

We all know there are rock "concept" albums - otherwise, Roger Dean would be out of work.  But is there such a thing as a jazz concept album?  Mike's skeptical, but Pat argues all you need is a unified mood and, maybe in the case of Herbie Mann, a tab of acid or two.  The Session – COLLUSION; Herbie Mann – STONE FLUTE; Gerald Wilson – ETERNAL EQUINOX; Wynton Marsalis – CITI MOVEMENT; Henry Threadgill – RAG, BUSH AND ALL.

Once again our slate is full of 2019 releases and once again our reaction is mixed, if not to say bastardly.  Mike's favorite pianist appears on one, Pat's written up another for allaboutjazz, and one veers between Hollywood Sax Quartet territory and Steve Lacy with the grumps, so the boys are kept on their toes.  Oingo Boingo and Frank Zappa appear on pop matters, so there's contemporary relevance for ya.  Jonathan Crompton – INTUIT; Spaza – SPAZA; Curtis Nowosad - CURTIS NOWOSAD; Chase Baird - A LIFE BETWEEN.

After discussing their rare "pop" episodes during their allaboutjazz interview, the boys decided, what the heck, let's devote another episode to music with vocals and a relatively expansive user base.  All four are jazz adjacent, but none of them are straight jazz - not that there's anything wrong with that.  Rickie Lee Jones – PIRATES; Erykah Badu – BADUISM; Yellow House Orchestra – POP; Vivian Sessoms – LIFE II.

Two major reissues and one highly publicized discovery from the 1960s provide the core of this round's podcast, as the boys discuss the latest album from the John Coltrane Quartet (despite the insistence of one internet denizen that "Coltrane's creativity really dropped off in the seventies") and then look at lavishly repacked work from Sonny Clark and Eric Dolphy.  Pop matters rounds things out with discussions of the personal politics of listening to Jimi Hendrix, the latest Beatles remixes, and the pros and cons of letting Kate Bush appear on her own albums.  John Coltrane – BOTH DIRECTIONS AT ONCE; Eric Dolphy – MUSICAL PROPHET; Sonny Clark – TRIO (on Time).

It's a rare occasion when the boys get to podcast in the same room together.  While the sound quality takes a hit, the precious moments are . . . priceless.  This episode is devoted to some new releases confronting the pop/art divide in different manners, some older albums doing much the same thing, and comments (mercifully brief) about how cute Pat's cats are.  Gary McFarland – POINT OF DEPARTURE; Eric Hofbauer – BOOK OF WATER; Wolfgang Haffner – KIND OF SPAIN; Grace Kelly – GO TiME: Live in LA;  Art Farmer – SOMETHING YOU GOT.

Mike suggested that we devote a whole episode to the divine Sarah Vaughan (aka "Sassy") and both the boys are glad he did.  We discuss some peaks of her prolific recording career, while acknowledging that not every song (and setting) in her discography was worthy of her incredible gifts.  Sarah Vaughan:  GUILD SINGLES: WITH CLIFFORD BROWN; LIVE AT MISTER KELLYS, SARAH +2; AFTER HOURS; COPACABANA; A BRAZILIAN ROMANCE.

Back to the future - or extremely recent past - as the boys look at three releases that go live in June and one that's only a few months old.  Two trios with very different vibes mix originals with covers that are not - for a change - from the Great American Songbook, a drummer-led fusion date bewilders Mike, and a vocalist charms both of our hosts but awakens repressed memories in one of them . . . Gerry Gibbs - OUR PEOPLE; Lauren Desberg - OUT FOR DELIVERY; Josh Espinoza Trio - JOURNEY INTO NIGHT; Joe Policastro Trio - NOTHING HERE BELONGS.  Stay tuned, if you're that way inclined, for a rambling discussion of the Michael Jackson controversy and the intersection of art and the sometimes dismaying behavior of artists.

Not all fusion is hyper - some can be pretty chill.  Take Peter Erskine's "Dr. Um" band - or Phillip Upchurch's gang of studio cats.  This episode looks back at two slices of fusion from the seventies than fast-forwards to now, asking if the genre has to keep its feet planted firmly in the seventies or not.  Be careful - if you listen past the tag, Paul Lynde and Kiss will be discussed, like it or not.  Kenner - 8BALL CITY;  Phillip Upchurch – DARKNESS, DARKNESS; Dr. Um Band – ON CALL, Disc II; Eddie Henderson – SUNBURST.

Yes, folks, it's a theme episode again, and this time it's percussionists leading from the back of the group - if not the back of the beat.  We've got quite a mix, from a little known Blue Note artist's best-known album, to Bill Evan's favorite drummer showing off his wares, to brand new work from a drummer lamenting - and celebrating - a brother he lost too soon.  And then there's Charlie Watts.  Good thing he's too rich and busy to bother tracking Pat down.  Philly Joe Jones – SHOWCASE; Pete La Roca – BASRA; JONATHAN BARBER – Vision Ahead; Charlie Watts – LONG AGO AND FAR AWAY.

It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, between bebop and hard-bop, between singles and LPs.  It is . . . the ten-inch zone.  The mid-fifties saw a transition away from 78s towards two kinds of "long-players" - 7 inch singles that ran as long as the old 10 inch 78s, and 12 inch LPs.  For a brief period, the 10 inch LP was the medium of choice to release "popular" music, and tonight's podcast looks at six of these ten-inch releases (well, one dates from 2016 but has music from the mid-fifties).  Gil Melle – GIL MELLE QUINTET VOL 4; Jay Jay Johnson – JAY JAY JOHNSON; Kenny Drew – VOL 1 INTRODUCING THE KENNY DREW TRIO; Wes Montgomery – LIVE AT THE TURF CLUB; Cal Tjader – CAL TJADER TRIO; Howard McGhee – HOWARD MCGHEE VOLUME TWO.  

New-age-y music from the seventies, an organ trio with an inside-out guitar slinger, a saxophonist who almost went supernova in the eighties, an album of acapella movie themes?   This episode should be eclectic enough for anybody . . . who likes jazz, anyway.  Wil Blades – FIELD NOTES; Petra Haden – PETRA GOES TO THE MOVIES; Bennie Wallace – THE FREE WILL; Oregon – MUSIC OF ANOTHER PRESENT ERA.

Cue the "Odd Couple" theme.  This episode, the bastards take a listener's request to heart and discuss two musicians of wildly differing tempers - Art Blakey and Warne Marsh.  Art was never into cool jazz, Warne was never a messenger, but you just know, if they had to share an apartment for some unlikely reason or other, wackiness would ensue.  Towards the end the podcast degenerates into discussing favorite James Bond themes, so be warned.  Art Blakey - LIVE AT CAFÉ BOHEMIA, VOL 1; LIKE SOMEONE IN LOVE; Warne Marsh – WARNE MARSH, APOGEE.