Ganbatte output to maximum ( *>_ <)g”
As I’ve mentioned in my last posts of this ilk, I’m behind! But the goal is in sight!
Annnnnnd… we’re back!
I volunteer as a DJ for Charlottesville’s local independent radio station, WTJU Charlottesville, 91.1 FM, and am currently the every-other-week co-host of All That Jazz, which airs from 9:00–11:00am ET on Thursdays.
WTJU broadcasts locally and streams worldwide on the web, so you can tune in live no matter where you are, or you can catch the archived stream anytime!
All volunteers can sub for others, too. While I’ll mostly sub for Jazz shows, I may get to do the occasional Rock, Folk, or Classical one.
Whenever I host a show, I’ll drop its stream and a corresponding playlist on the blog, and I’ll write a little about what I’m spinning and why.
Hope you enjoy and hear something that inspires!
All That Jazz | Thursday, March 21, 2024
Public Spotify playlist:
Set 1: Springtime
The weather was really nice this week. While it was a product of the trickery of “false spring,” it nonetheless reminded us that actual springtime is just around the corner.
Sun Ra’s “Springtime Again” is the perfect song to lie in the grass and VIBE to. After it finished, I got two calls back-to-back from people who were absolutely digging it. One guy recounted a story of how he saw Sun Ra in Detroit back in the ‘70s when “everyone was on ‘substances’” and how Sun Ra seemed to be controlling the young musicians on stage with his mind.
“Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most” features a young Brad Mehldau backed by European Berklee faculty.
“Up Jumped Spring” is a classic springtime jazz standard, and this recording features the genius of Steve Nelson (vibes) and Mulgrew Miller (keys).
Set 2: Vibes
Speaking of Steve Nelson, influenced by my recent “I need to stop featuring mostly saxophone” revelation, I decided to do a set featuring vibraphone players.
“Go Fly a Kite” is a gorgeous Steve Nelson composition from when he was with the Dave Holland Quintet.
“Shifting Moon” is Joe Locke journeying into a very modern sound.
The next three tunes feature Bobby Hutcherson, whom I know I’ve focused on before. Was this also an excuse to play more Joe Henderson? Mmmmmm… probably!
The last tune, Chris Potter’s “Other Plans,” is random unless you consider it a vibes-based pick (WINK WINK). For real, though, I’ve been devouring Eagle’s Point since it was released, and this quickly became a track that I love to put on repeat.
Set 3: Sun Ra
Wanting to exploring the music of Sun Ra more, I dedicated more time to him. What I’ve found is that his music isn’t as out as I had remembered in my mind. Or, at least, it runs the spectrum way more than I ever thought. For instance, “Can This Be Love” is as lovely as any ballad, and “Enlightenment” (as well as the other tracks on that record) is basically straight-ahead cool jazz. Much of his catalog is Mingus-esque—playful, out, and a little insane. It certainly wasn’t comprised of the hyper jarring avant-garde mindbenders that I had expected.
Speaking of Mingus, dig this story:
When Sun Ra first came to New York and walked into the Five Spot, Charles Mingus asked him, “What are you doing down here, Sunny?” Sun Ra answered, “I come down to the Village a lot.” “No,” said Mingus, “I mean what are you doing down here on Earth!”
Yes!!!!
The Closer
This week’s transition to the next program, Wild Women and Friends, featured none other than Alice Coltrane. My goal was to stick with the more outer limits of Sun Ra’s music after playing “Some Blues But Not the Kind that’s Blue”, and Coltrane was one of the first musicians to come to mind.
The result is sort of ending up back where we began: “Stopover Bombay” is another tune to lie in the grass and vibe out to… though by this point our mind sits more comfortably in a space that allows us to enjoy the soundscape of something a bit more free.
I hope you find something new you love in these sets. Let me know in the comments!
Peace,
Greg