Jazz Bastard Podcast

It had to happen.  The bastards came of jazz-age in the eighties and nineties - an era when young lions roamed the earth (and the mall record bins) and, sooner or later, attention must be paid.  What to say about this last gasp of mainstream, corporate approved jazz before the collapse of the majors?  Oh, so very very much.  So much in fact that some of the ranting had to be tagged on to the ending just to avoid sinking the ship.  Pop matters?  Old 97s and early Kraftwerk . . ...

Since the seventies, it's arguable that most jazz musicians work in 'old' idioms (even if they mix and match them in new ways), but this episode's artists each take on aspects of jazz's past that seem, well, more past than most.  Sometimes the commitment to the older idiom is complete, sometimes it comes and goes, but either way the results are fascinating...

We look at two lesser known vocalists tonight and two fairly obscure pianists, and things turn out pretty well if it wasn't for that darn echo.  What's going on in the Riverside studios, anyway?  At some point, the episode turns into a trivia show, but at the last minute, John Cale turns up to set things right and Pat gets a few words in edgewise about the Denver jazz scene.  Mike Nock – CLIMBING; Harold Danko – MIRTH SONG; Abbey Lincoln – ABBEY IS BLUE; Peggy Lee – BLACK COFFEE...

Dry the pool, dry concrete, brown edged,
And the pool was filled with water out of sunlight,
And the lotos rose, quietly, quietly,
and said shooby dooby doo - er, well, maybe not according to T. S. Eliot, but those aren't the four quartets we're talking about.  Instead, we've got a mix of progressive and nostalgic takes on a jazz combo format as old as time and much, much hipper than "Cats...

The Bastards look at four albums taking paths less travelled, approaches rarely attempted, and pianos (in the case of Sun Ra at least) untuned.  Three 2021 releases are featured and we go way back to 1966 for a movie tie-in album that went right for jazz fans and terribly wrong the the MGM employee writing the linear notes.   Pop matters this time isn't pop at all but Mike's in-depth discussion of Charles McPherson's birthday concert, so stay tuned...

Mike's on the road and overwhelmed with work so it's up to Pat to come up with something to satiate the frothing demand for bastardly content...

This fortnight's spectacular focuses on two very different sets of music - two albums by modern jazz violinists and the two best-known recordings featuring elusive trumpeter Dupree Bolton (they are just about the ONLY recordings featuring him - stay tuned for the details).   Pop matters range from St. Vincent to Sparks to Sade - and that's some ranging.  Ali Bello – INHERITANCE; Tomoko Omura – BRANCHES VOL 2;   Harold Land – THE FOX; Curtis Amy – KATANGA! 

Time, the bastards decided, for a historical podcast - and this time, the focus is on stride.  Who started it?  Who perfected it?  Who blew it up?  Who deconstructed it?  Keep your left hand limber and the answers will follow.  Pop matters includes a brief look at chanteuse of the day Billie Eilish.  Fats Waller - COMPLETE VICTOR PIANO SOLOS – VOL 1; Art Tatum– SOLO MASTERPIECES VOL 1; Thelonious Monk -  THELONIOUS HIMSELF; James P. Johnson - THE ORIGINAL JAMES P...

Trying out CDs by unfamiliar artists is a little like speed dating.   You've got minutes to decide if you're compatible, if you're likely to be in a relationship for the long term, or if you're just ships passing in the night.  Or something like that.  Mike and Pat listen to four 2021 releases by unfamiliar artists and ask themselves who they'd like to take home.  Stay tuned for a pop matters that sneaks in discussion of Indy Jazz Fest's final day...

The title gives it away - it's an all-vocalist episode, favoring the ladies (3 out of 4) and offering a mix of standards  (everybody's at it) along with a little more adventurous programming from time to time.  Will the weakest vocalist technically walk away with honors?  Can Pat and Mike overcome their gender-trouble and dig what our sole male vocalist is laying down?  Is Mike's S.O...