See Hear Podcast

Change is difficult. Some embrace it, some resist it. It might seem obvious, but change is inevitable. Welcome to episode 92 of See Hear Podcast. Jazz is an art form that never remained stagnant. Through creativity or financial necessity, post-war jazz moved from the big swing orchestras to smaller ensembles and bebop became the dominant form. In the late 50s, some jazz musicians decided that, as exciting as bebop was, they wanted to take jazz music in a different direction with band members not having to rely on a structure – neither rhythmically, melodically, or tonally. Avant garde jazz had its champions over the years including people like Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Cecil Taylor, Carla Bley, Albert Ayler and Sun Ra amongst many others. Bernie and I speak with drummer and film director Tom Surgal about his great new documentary “Fire Music: The Story of Free Jazz”. His documentary tells the story of how this music was developed and supported over the years. The music had many det