Deep Focus

There is a point at which the usefulness of language ends.  You are simply not going to be able to express in words the sense of awe that you feel when creation overwhelms you but you always know when someone else is feeling it, too.  In this moment you will find pianist Matthew Shipp and others who admire saxophonist Albert Ayler.   Albert Ayler died at age 34 in 1970 and to this day his life fee...

There is a point at which the usefulness of language ends.  You are simply not going to be able to express in words the sense of awe that you feel when creation overwhelms you but you always know when someone else is feeling it, too.  In this moment you will find pianist Matthew Shipp and others who admire saxophonist Albert Ayler.   Albert Ayler died at age 34 in 1970 and to this day his life fee...

There is a point at which the usefulness of language ends.  You are simply not going to be able to express in words the sense of awe that you feel when creation overwhelms you but you always know when someone else is feeling it, too.  In this moment you will find pianist Matthew Shipp and others who admire saxophonist Albert Ayler.   Albert Ayler died at age 34 in 1970 and to this day his life fee...

"Easily Slip Into Another World," Henry Threadgill's recent memoir, is required reading for a full appreciation of tonight's Deep Focus.  It reveals the roots, the rich harvest, and the hidden, dark corners of a vibrant, creative life.  The prose is plainspoken and forthright but the content is absolutely mind-expanding.  No one of Threadgill's explosively expressive generation has laid bare the i...

"Easily Slip Into Another World," Henry Threadgill's recent memoir, is required reading for a full appreciation of tonight's Deep Focus.  It reveals the roots, the rich harvest, and the hidden, dark corners of a vibrant, creative life.  The prose is plainspoken and forthright but the content is absolutely mind-expanding.  No one of Threadgill's explosively expressive generation has laid bare the i...

"Easily Slip Into Another World," Henry Threadgill's recent memoir, is required reading for a full appreciation of tonight's Deep Focus.  It reveals the roots, the rich harvest, and the hidden, dark corners of a vibrant, creative life.  The prose is plainspoken and forthright but the content is absolutely mind-expanding.  No one of Threadgill's explosively expressive generation has laid bare the i...

 In the sixties, they explained evolution to us with that March of Progress illustration, a lockstep development from the proto-human Dryopithecus to modern man.  That same approach was also used to explain jazz evolution: New Orleans to Chicago to New York, hot jazz to swing to bebop to cool... Contemporary evolutionary biologists will tell you that that sixties view is far too linear and simplis...

 In the sixties, they explained evolution to us with that March of Progress illustration, a lockstep development from the proto-human Dryopithecus to modern man.  That same approach was also used to explain jazz evolution: New Orleans to Chicago to New York, hot jazz to swing to bebop to cool... Contemporary evolutionary biologists will tell you that that sixties view is far too linear and simplis...

------ In the sixties, they explained evolution to us with that March of Progress illustration, a lockstep development from the proto-human Dryopithecus to modern man.  That same approach was also used to explain jazz evolution: New Orleans to Chicago to New York, hot jazz to swing to bebop to cool... Contemporary evolutionary biologists will tell you that that sixties view is far too linear and s...

If Eric Dolphy's music were a school of painting it would be analytical cubism: planar and angular, multi-directional and austere,  But it's not abstract.  It's showing us something we know; we are simply experiencing it in a completely new way.  His work, in its frame, becomes an entire reality unto itself.  It's endless.    So what happens when you place this masterly museum piece in a sweaty ni...

If Eric Dolphy's music were a school of painting it would be analytical cubism: planar and angular, multi-directional and austere,  But it's not abstract.  It's showing us something we know; we are simply experiencing it in a completely new way.  His work, in its frame, becomes an entire reality unto itself.  It's endless.    So what happens when you place this masterly museum piece in a sweaty ni...

If Eric Dolphy's music were a school of painting it would be analytical cubism: planar and angular, multi-directional and austere,  But it's not abstract.  It's showing us something we know; we are simply experiencing it in a completely new way.  His work, in its frame, becomes an entire reality unto itself.  It's endless.    So what happens when you place this masterly museum piece in a sweaty ni...

You're Miles Davis.  It's March of 1970 and you're about to release Bitches Brew, your most incendiary album yet.  You have an electric band of young assassins (each of whom will go on to become a legendary bandleader in his own right) and they don't sound like any band anyone has ever heard.  You know you've got the goods.  You're looking for a new audience for this new sound and you get invited...

You're Miles Davis.  It's March of 1970 and you're about to release Bitches Brew, your most incendiary album yet.  You have an electric band of young assassins (each of whom will go on to become a legendary bandleader in his own right) and they don't sound like any band anyone has ever heard.  You know you've got the goods.  You're looking for a new audience for this new sound and you get invited...

You're Miles Davis.  It's March of 1970 and you're about to release Bitches Brew, your most incendiary album yet.  You have an electric band of young assassins (each of whom will go on to become a legendary bandleader in his own right) and they don't sound like any band anyone has ever heard.  You know you've got the goods.  You're looking for a new audience for this new sound and you get invited...

The future that Sun Ra sang of has arrived in so many ways.  No one knows this better than the musicians who made the music with him.  Ahmed Abdullah was part of Sun Ra's Arkestra for more than 20 years and his insights about that time could fill a book.  In fact, they have.  "A Strange Celestial Road" is newly released and Ahmed joins host Mitch Goldman to discuss it on this week's Deep Focus.   ...

The future that Sun Ra sang of has arrived in so many ways.  No one knows this better than the musicians who made the music with him.  Ahmed Abdullah was part of Sun Ra's Arkestra for more than 20 years and his insights about that time could fill a book.  In fact, they have.  "A Strange Celestial Road" is newly released and Ahmed joins host Mitch Goldman to discuss it on this week's Deep Focus.   ...

The future that Sun Ra sang of has arrived in so many ways.  No one knows this better than the musicians who made the music with him.  Ahmed Abdullah was part of Sun Ra's Arkestra for more than 20 years and his insights about that time could fill a book.  In fact, they have.  "A Strange Celestial Road" is newly released and Ahmed joins host Mitch Goldman to discuss it on this week's Deep Focus.   ...

Who was Joseph Jarman?  A shaman?  A conjurer?  A Buddhist priest?  A poet?  An Aikido sensei?  In the words of his fellow member of the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Lester Bowie, "Well, I guess that all depends on, ah, what you know."  We know that in the universe of this music, which thrives on original thinking, few ranged as far and as free as Jarman.  He brought us songs and stories, large-scale...

Who was Joseph Jarman?  A shaman?  A conjurer?  A Buddhist priest?  A poet?  An Aikido sensei?  In the words of his fellow member of the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Lester Bowie, "Well, I guess that all depends on, ah, what you know."  We know that in the universe of this music, which thrives on original thinking, few ranged as far and as free as Jarman.  He brought us songs and stories, large-scale...

Who was Joseph Jarman?  A shaman?  A conjurer?  A Buddhist priest?  A poet?  An Aikido sensei?  In the words of his fellow member of the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Lester Bowie, "Well, I guess that all depends on, ah, what you know."  We know that in the universe of this music, which thrives on original thinking, few ranged as far and as free as Jarman.  He brought us songs and stories, large-scale...

Yes, I am starting to see the pattern!  Vijay Iyer has joined Mitch Goldman for Deep Focus programs on Andrew Hill, Thelonious Monk, and Geri Allen.  This Monday the lens turns to McCoy Tyner.  Do you see what I see?     You will this Monday night from 6p to 9p NYC time on WKCR 89.9FM, WKCR-HD and  wkcr.org .   Next week it goes up on the Deep Focus podcast on your favorite podcasting app or at  h...

Yes, I am starting to see the pattern!  Vijay Iyer has joined Mitch Goldman for Deep Focus programs on Andrew Hill, Thelonious Monk, and Geri Allen.  This Monday the lens turns to McCoy Tyner.  Do you see what I see?     You will this Monday night from 6p to 9p NYC time on WKCR 89.9FM, WKCR-HD and  wkcr.org .   Next week it goes up on the Deep Focus podcast on your favorite podcasting app or at  h...

Yes, I am starting to see the pattern!  Vijay Iyer has joined Mitch Goldman for Deep Focus programs on Andrew Hill, Thelonious Monk, and Geri Allen.  This Monday the lens turns to McCoy Tyner.  Do you see what I see?     You will this Monday night from 6p to 9p NYC time on WKCR 89.9FM, WKCR-HD and  wkcr.org .   Next week it goes up on the Deep Focus podcast on your favorite podcasting app or at  h...

William Parker has perhaps done more than any musician alive to spread understanding and support for open improvised music.  More than that, he is a bassist, bandleader, and conceptualist of the highest order.  The sheer volume of projects (including the upcoming Vision Festival) that he commits energy to is simply daunting and the list of noted improvisers he has played with is practically a who'...