Jun 15, 2021
Podcast 823 is the second of my two-part conversation with pianist Todd Cochran, who has ended an 8 year hiatus to release Then and Again, Here & Now by the TC3. That group, led by Cochran on piano, features his long-time collaborators John Leftwich on bass and Michael Carvin on drums. Composed mostly of jazz standards, it is a deeply spiritual take on songs we all know so well, performed at a high level by veteran performers looking to get inside material they have internalized.
In Part One of our conversation, Todd spoke at length about the new album, and in Part Two, we look back at his lengthy career, featuring his take on performing and recording with legendary vibes player Bobby Hutcherson and on his electric period of Soul and Funk of the early Seventies. Musical selections include the TC3 version of Hutcherson's "Little B's Poem" and Todd's oft-sampled tune under his name of Bayete, "Free Angela (Thoughts . . . And All I've Got To Say)" from Worlds Around the Sun.