Jazz Bastard Podcast

After an all-female vocalist episode, let's shift gears at look at some big band albums, shall we?   We look at a brand new release with material from the thirties, fresh from somebody's closet, a retro-style outfit having the most fun they can while the pandemic closes in, an Indiana ensemble celebrating an influential Indiana record label, and an arranger for hire let out in the green fields of inspiration.  Then in pop matters, quick detours to prison and cover bands.  Vince Mendoza – BLAUKLANG; Eyal Vilner – THE JAM!;  Buselli-Wallarab Jazz Orchestra  - THE GENNETT SUITE; Luis Russell – AT THE SWING CATS BALL.

Time for an all-singing, no-dancing, some joke-telling show featuring four female vocalists.  We've got three brand newish releases and one catalogue item which, given it debuted after we were out of college, is making us feel old.  Like everything else.   Tune in to find out which Grammy Winner (TM) we annoy.  Esperanza Spalding / Fred Hersch – LIVE AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD;  Holly Cole – BLAME IT ON MY YOUTH; Lizzie Thomas – DUO ENCOUNTERS; Nadia Washington – HOPE RESURGENCE.

After months of emails, technical difficulties and scheduling snafus the bastards are proud to present their interview with Swedish trombonist Karin Hammar.  You may not have heard of Karin, or caught her sister act the Sliding Hammars back in the day (when she duetted with a sister who also played trombone ) but if you like albums with strong thematic unity, a mellow vibe, and great engineering, we think you'll like "Opening."  

Mike ran across a soundtrack or two in his library excursions and hence and episode that's just what it says on the tin - a look at four soundtracks by jazz musicians.  We explore which efforts work as "albums" and which are more a series of useful cues and snippets that don't necessarily create a coherent listening experience with no pictures on offer.   Plus, as a bonus Mike encapsulates each film so you can decide if you'd like to see - or skip - the inspiration behind the music.  Who knew Charles Bronson could act?  Pat didn't.  Flying Lotus – YASUKE; Stan Getz – MICKEY ONE; MJQ – ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW; Herbie Hancock – DEATH WISH.

Welcome to "What's in the Bag?", where Pat pulls out a few vinyl discoveries - some reissues, some crate finds - for Mike and him to dissect.  It's kind of a continuing feature on the show when we run out of other things to discuss, and is not to be confused with "What's in the Box?" where the contents are always Gwyneth Paltrow's head and a scratched copy of Duke Ellington's Greatest Hits.  Our selections include a recent RSD release of live Ahmad Jamal, who unfortunately passed between programing the show and actually recording it, an the oddest selection includes performance on the Tome VI, the Doomsday Machine, and the Envelope, so there's that to look forward to.  Clark Terry – COLOR CHANGES; Steve Eliovson – DAWN DANCE; Chet Baker – PICTURE OF HEATH;  Gil Melle – TOME VI; Ahmad Jamal – EMERALD CITY NIGHTS.

Some of our podcasts have themes.  This podcast has a wide-ranging mix of three 2023 releases and one moderately historical entry from an ECM guitarist whose name Pat dare not pronounce.   Can the jazz violin be a force for good?  We think so.  Can Pat find a Pyroclastic release that tickles his fancy.  You betcha -  but no more spoilers.  Terje Rypdal – Ketil Bjornstad– LIVE IN LEIPZIG; Ingrid Laubrock – THE LAST QUIET PLACE; Canadian Jazz Collective – SEPTOLOGY: THE BLACK FOREST SESSIONS; Sara Caswell – THE WAY TO YOU.

We spend a lot of time on this show exploring what you might call, if you were a lapsed academic with pomposity issues, the accessibility spectrum.  Some jazz is pretty easy to get - and some just ain't pretty.  In this show, we travel quite a way across the spectrum listening to coffee-house ready (but good) jazz and stuff that would just plain shut that java hut down.  Nadje Noordhusi – FULL CIRCLE; Esbjorn Svensson – HOME.S; Dan Weiss – DEDICATION; Gebhard Ullmann – FOR NEW ZEALAND.

With Wayne Shorter's death at age 89, jazz lost an innovative composer, saxophonist and bandleader.  Mike knew a tribute was needed but didn't want to explore the usual suspects, so the boys take a trawl through lesser-known aspects of Shorter's career (while throwing in an overview as well to orient the less familiar).  We look at his work as a sideman (both celebrated and little known), his brief re-emergence as a leader in the mid-seventies, and his acoustic comeback with his great quartet of the two-thousands.  Anthony Williams - SPRING: Miles Davis - COMPLETE LIVE AT THE PLUGGED NICKEL; Wayne Shorter - NATIVE DANCER, FOOTPRINTS LIVE.  

Jazz's symbiotic relationship with Brazil's bossa nova is well-known.  Lesser known are the many non-Brazilian jazz artists who took elements from North American models and modified them as they saw fit.  This episode explores albums recorded by artists from Chile, Venezuela, Argentina, and . . . well, Brazil, because too few people know what four Tamba's add up to these days.  Pop matters includes discussion of live jazz shows seen by each of the boys as well as more Dylan, 'cause Mike's just fixated that way at the moment.  Jorge Lopez Ruiz – EL GRITO; Virgilio Armas – ESPEJISMO ; DE REPENTE; Tamba 4 – WE AND THE SEA; Matias Pizarro – PELO DE RATA.

The boys take another walk down the "out" side of the street this episode, with looks at a little known outing from one of Charles Mingus' trumpet players to a twin-guitar / alto sax ensemble, to two rather challenging works on the Pyroclastic label.  Mike's more patient with those efforts than Pat.   Who's ready for some asbestos earmuffs?  Pop matters delves into what Iggy Pop got up to with his buddy David Bowie during that infamous Berlin hang.  Trevor Dunn – SEANCES; Nate Wooley – ANCIENT SONGS OF BURLAP HEROES; Greg Ward’s Rogue Parade – DION’S QUEST; Ted Curson – TEARS FOR DOLPHY.

The boys have been at this podcasting game for ten years now (plus a few "bonus" episodes) and celebrate with a tenth anniversary show dedicated to - what else? - tentets.  And yes, spell-check, 'tentet' is a real word.  We journey from the 1950's to the right-now's in quest of ensembles to big to be a combo, too little to be a "big" band, and generally like what we find.  Gerry Mulligan – GENE NORMAL PRESENTS THE ORIGINAL GERRY MULLIGAN TENTET AND QUARTET; Uptown Jazz Tentet – WHAT’S NEXT; Anat Cohen Tentet – HAPPY SONG; Teddy Charles – THE TEDDY CHARLES TENTET;  Jim McNeely – GROUP THERAPY.

After almost a decade of planning and putting it off, the boys finally face their greatest fear:  group jazz singing.  What happens when three or four hipsters harmonize?  Is it safe to even try to find out?  Mike's not sure about that, but we tried anyway, and came up with this insight: you can't keep a good Boswell down.   In pop matters, Pat brags about having seen all three incarnations of the Bad Plus live, so stay tuned for that.  Royal Bopsters- ANNIVERSARY EDITION; Boswell Sisters – A SAMPLER; Mel Torme and the Mel Tones – BACK IN TOWN; Lambert Hendricks & Ross- SING A SONG OF BASIE.

We look at three 2022 releases this time (albeit one recorded way back in 1972) along with the first harbinger of the new year.  There's an electronic sounding long-playing debut by a pair of youtube wunderkinder (all played in real-time we promise), a straight-ahead tenor sax trio, another star-studded portfolio album from a rising sax star, and a sprawling live opus from the music's greatest bassist/composer.  For a chase, a sprawl of pop matters that ranges from gospel tunes to stereo demonstration discs to poor lonely Art Garfunkel.  Lakecia Benjamin – PHOENIX; Domi & JD Beck – NOT TIGHT; Adam Larson – WITH LOVE, FROM CHICAGO; Charles Mingus – THE LOST ALBUM FROM RONNIE SCOTT’S.

The robots are coming!  The robots are coming!  And they're after our jobs - as lounge singers.  Skynet would not be amused.  But we kind of are  - at least, Mike says his first encounter with a vocaloid will be ever imprinted upon his brain.  Don't worry - this episode isn't all about our electronic replacements qua masters.  We look at music by flesh and blood performers too, one of which has a crush on Indianapolis native and renowned writer Kurt Vonnegut.  Pop matters takes a quick walk on the wild side.  Jason Yeager – UNSTUCK IN TIME: THE KURT VONNEGUT SUITE; Randy Paserntes Trio featuring Gabe Noel & Sam Gendel  - NOW AT LAST;  Lloyd McNeil – TORI; Glenn Dickson – WIDER THAN THE SKY.

It's that holiday season once again, and Santa Mike insists we cover a slate of season-appropriate releases.  Are they jazz appropriate as well?  Not really, but two are jazz adjacent and one at least features an ex-Messenger, so there's that.  There's also, er,  Swamp Dogg.  Pop matters travels from Sufjan Stephens to late eighties England to the soothing, ambient sounds of the Zamboni, nature's Andreas Vollenweider.  Bobby Timmons – HOLIDAY SOUL; Swamp Dogg – AN AWFUL CHRISTMAS AND A LOUSY NEW YEAR; Squirrel Nut Zippers – CHRISTMAS CARAVAN; Herb Alpert and Tijuana Brass – CHRISTMAS ALBUM.

Ron Carter is one of the most recorded bassists in the world and anchored the second of Miles Davis' "great quintets" so he ain't no slouch.  His leader work, however, isn't always given the respect it deserves.  Exactly how much respect, you ask?  Just sit down and listen to the bastards sift out that question as they look at four of Ron's best leader dates from four different decades of his far-reaching career.  Ron Carter- UPTOWN CONVERSATION, ALL BLUES, WHEN SKIES ARE GREY, FOURSIGHT STOCKHOLM. 

Some people accuse critics of being subjective, but when discussing music there's always one Platonic fact you can point to above and beyond the shifting tides of fashion and trend:  does Mikey like it?  In this case, yes, yes he does.  He likes all four of this episode's albums.  Pat, on the other hand?  Still a bit bastardly.  We kick the episode off with some reader comments and end it talking about 80s music and Joni Mitchell, so something for everyone.  Michael Blake – COMBOBULATE;  Jamie Branch – PINK DOLPHINS; Ches Smith – INTERPRET IT WELL; Ben Markley - ARI’S FUN HOUSE.

Sometimes "tribute "can be a dirty word in jazz - a sign a project's only justification is a well-known name - a warning that reverence may have trumped inspiration on a record.  But it doesn't have to be that way.  This episode, the bastards look at four 2022 releases that each celebrate a towering figure from jazz's past without getting tangled up in its shadow.   With dedicatees as varied as Johnny Hodges, Charles Mingus, Yusef Lateef, and Wes Montgomery, things never get in a rut.  Bennie Maupin - SYMPHONIC TONE POEM FOR BROTHER LATEEF;  Ethan Philion – MEDITATIONS ON MINGUS; Owen Broder:  HODGES FRONT AND CENTER; Tim Fitzgerald – FULL HOUSE.

From time to time the bastards do a show devoted to one artist, and this time, happenstance leads us to feted and prolific "out" trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith.  His career stretches back to the seventies and he's worked with a murderer's row of avant garde musicians, but we're focusing on more recent work with him as a leader.  Strap yourselves in for a challenging ride but don't worry - pop matters brings things firmly back to earth with looks at Van Halen's last album and more.  Wadada Leo Smith:  ROSA PARKS:  PURE LOVE AN ORATORIO OF SEVEN SONGS, GOLDEN QUARTET, YO MILES, TAO-NIJA.

It's the shock of the new as the boys take on three 2022 releases that stretch our heads in various directions, including a solo guitar outing, a visit to a mythical cave, and a trumpet excursions that goes even stranger places.  After that, a chill-out album from Blue Note is a welcome change of pace if nothing else.  Pop matters delves into this year's edition of the Chicago Jazz Fest, so stay tuned.  And watch out for those falling trees.  Gordon Grdina – ODDLY ENOUGH THE MUSIC OF TIM BERNE; Tony Malaby – CAVE OF WINDS ; Natsuki Tamura – SUMMER TREE; Gerald Clayton – BELLS ON SAND.