Nov 29, 2015
"Billy Strayhorn was my right arm, my left arm, all the eyes in the back of my head, my brain waves in his head, and his in mine.” – Duke Ellington
This week marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of William Thomas “Billy” Strayhorn, one of the greatest jazz composers of all-time. Podcast 5__ celebrates the...
Nov 25, 2015
Twenty-four hours to go before the big Thanksgiving feast! What would go better with some turkey than some "Giblet Gravy", courtesy of guitarist George Benson.
Those who only know Benson from his smooth jazz or Top 40 recordings don't realize that he was one of the funkiest and fastest guitar slingers in his early days....
Nov 20, 2015
With the possible exception of Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue, no jazz album has found its way into non-jazz fans’ record collections over the years more than John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme. Recorded fifty years ago this week in Rudy Van Gelder’s Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, two days of recording resulted...
Nov 17, 2015
The worlds of classical music and jazz lost a leading light earlier this year when Gunther Schuller passed away at the age of 89. Since the Pulitzer-winning composer would have celebrated his 90th birthday on November 22, it seems appropriate that two of Boston’s leading musical ensembles—the Boston Modern...
Nov 5, 2015
This is my 500th podcast. When I started this project as a creative outlet more than ten years ago, I never thought that it would go on so long, and become such an important part of my identity. Thanks to the many generous and welcoming people in the world of jazz, I have gained access to music, gone places I...