Jazz Bastard Podcast

Clarinetist Sam Sadigursky is our special guest this episode, and we discuss his own career, his work with James Darcy Argue, and his thoughts on the difficulty of plighting one's troth to that "delicate lady," the clarinet.  He sticks around to discuss a new-ish album by bass clarinet specialist Jason Stein, and then the boys are on their own with two brand new releases.  Sam Sadig...

In honor of Blue Note's new signing, Joel Ross, the boys devote a whole podcast to vibraphonist-led dates, ranging from the early sixties to right gosh darn now.  From the introverted to the at least somewhat less introverted, from pure acoustic to part electric, vibists are everywhere.  Eighties alt-western group Thin White Rope lassos up popmatters.  Walt Dickerson – TO MY QUEEN; Dave Pike...

Many moon-units ago a listener requested we look at the music of Frank Zappa in a little more depth.  Bastards being bastards, we brought our best shallow game and called it a day.  Burt Bacharach and Hal Willner get smoldering glances in the pop matters segment.  Frank Zappa:  ROXY AND ELSEWHERE; JAZZ FROM HELL;  Jean Luc Ponty – PLAYS THE MUSIC OF FRANK ZAPPA; Ed Palermo Big Band – PLAYS THE MUS...

In this very special (i.e., short and understaffed) "bonus" episode, Pat talks about some of the artists he caught at the Chicago Jazz Festival this year.  Artists discussed include Cecile McLoren Salvant, Christian McBride, the Chicago Art Ensemble, Miguel Zenon and many more!  Mike will be back for the next regular episode - promise!

Steve Martin asked everyone to "get small," but in this episode, the bastards investigate what happens when jazz musicians get profound - and just a wee bit third-streamy.  The results are mixed, and one high-profile release in particular gets a thorough dose of bastardy.  The pop matters segment ranges from Oingo Boingo to a review of Joey DeFrancesco live.  Wayne Shorter – EMANON; Geor...

It's all about the strings this ep, as the boys look at four very different guitar players - three virtuosos and one reliable, well-loved Blue Note stalwart.  Mike's all over the road in the pop matters (he didn't talk about Maria Carey people, so don't complain) and he offers a new sign off for your listening . . . pleasure?  Mahavishnu Orchestra – BIRDS OF FIRE; Lenny Breau –...

We all know there are rock "concept" albums - otherwise, Roger Dean would be out of work.  But is there such a thing as a jazz concept album?  Mike's skeptical, but Pat argues all you need is a unified mood and, maybe in the case of Herbie Mann, a tab of acid or two.  The Session – COLLUSION; Herbie Mann – STONE FLUTE; Gerald Wilson – ETERNAL EQUINOX; Wynton Marsalis – CITI MOVEMENT...

Once again our slate is full of 2019 releases and once again our reaction is mixed, if not to say bastardly.  Mike's favorite pianist appears on one, Pat's written up another for allaboutjazz, and one veers between Hollywood Sax Quartet territory and Steve Lacy with the grumps, so the boys are kept on their toes.  Oingo Boingo and Frank Zappa appear on pop matters, so there's contem...

After discussing their rare "pop" episodes during their allaboutjazz interview, the boys decided, what the heck, let's devote another episode to music with vocals and a relatively expansive user base.  All four are jazz adjacent, but none of them are straight jazz - not that there's anything wrong with that.  Rickie Lee Jones – PIRATES; Erykah Badu – BADUISM; Yellow House Orche...

Two major reissues and one highly publicized discovery from the 1960s provide the core of this round's podcast, as the boys discuss the latest album from the John Coltrane Quartet (despite the insistence of one internet denizen that "Coltrane's creativity really dropped off in the seventies") and then look at lavishly repacked work from Sonny Clark and Eric Dolphy.  Pop matters...

It's a rare occasion when the boys get to podcast in the same room together.  While the sound quality takes a hit, the precious moments are . . . priceless.  This episode is devoted to some new releases confronting the pop/art divide in different manners, some older albums doing much the same thing, and comments (mercifully brief) about how cute Pat's cats are.  Gary McFarland – POINT OF...

Mike suggested that we devote a whole episode to the divine Sarah Vaughan (aka "Sassy") and both the boys are glad he did.  We discuss some peaks of her prolific recording career, while acknowledging that not every song (and setting) in her discography was worthy of her incredible gifts.  Sarah Vaughan:  GUILD SINGLES: WITH CLIFFORD BROWN; LIVE AT MISTER KELLYS, SARAH +2; AFTER HOURS; CO...

Back to the future - or extremely recent past - as the boys look at three releases that go live in June and one that's only a few months old.  Two trios with very different vibes mix originals with covers that are not - for a change - from the Great American Songbook, a drummer-led fusion date bewilders Mike, and a vocalist charms both of our hosts but awakens repressed memories in one of the...

Not all fusion is hyper - some can be pretty chill.  Take Peter Erskine's "Dr. Um" band - or Phillip Upchurch's gang of studio cats.  This episode looks back at two slices of fusion from the seventies than fast-forwards to now, asking if the genre has to keep its feet planted firmly in the seventies or not.  Be careful - if you listen past the tag, Paul Lynde and Kiss will be d...

Yes, folks, it's a theme episode again, and this time it's percussionists leading from the back of the group - if not the back of the beat.  We've got quite a mix, from a little known Blue Note artist's best-known album, to Bill Evan's favorite drummer showing off his wares, to brand new work from a drummer lamenting - and celebrating - a brother he lost too soon.  And the...

It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, between bebop and hard-bop, between singles and LPs.  It is . . . the ten-inch zone.  The mid-fifties saw a transition away from 78s towards two kinds of "long-players" - 7 inch singles that ran as long as the old 10 inch 78s, and 12 inch LPs.  For a brief period, the 10 inch LP was the medium of choice t...

New-age-y music from the seventies, an organ trio with an inside-out guitar slinger, a saxophonist who almost went supernova in the eighties, an album of acapella movie themes?   This episode should be eclectic enough for anybody . . . who likes jazz, anyway.  Wil Blades – FIELD NOTES; Petra Haden – PETRA GOES TO THE MOVIES; Bennie Wallace – THE FREE WILL; Oregon – MUSIC OF ANOTHER PRESENT ERA.

Cue the "Odd Couple" theme.  This episode, the bastards take a listener's request to heart and discuss two musicians of wildly differing tempers - Art Blakey and Warne Marsh.  Art was never into cool jazz, Warne was never a messenger, but you just know, if they had to share an apartment for some unlikely reason or other, wackiness would ensue.  Towards the end the podcast degenerate...

Young people - they leave the toilet seat up, use apps with made up names like Tinder, linger on your lawn, and don't even know what a rotary phone is.  Luckily, some of them also release jazz albums, and this episode the boys talk about three such releases, along with a set from a trio of players enjoying ripe middle age.  The podcast wraps with a shout out to some of our email correspondent...

All hands on deck - it's a big band episode!  The boys look at two "historical" releases - one an oddity from the 1950's, the other a pace-setter from the nineties, and then dig into three brand new releases by large units.  Lots of musings from Pat about the pro's and con's of large ensemble jazz, but hey, that's what the fast-forward button is for.  Stay tuned...

It's the start of a new year, so time to poke our noses into lists of last year's best releases.  This episode we've chosen four selections from the New York Times best-of, and are generally happy with the results - not that they care.  Henry Threadgill – DIRT AND MORE DIRT; Makaya McCraven – UNIVERSAL BEINGS; Walking Distance with Jason Moran - FREEBIRD; Andrew Cyrille – LEBROBA.

2019's dropping hot with the boys examining four brand new releases (one still in the pipeline) by independent types (as opposed to, you know, those big corporate-sponsored names in jazz).  Mostly the music leans left, but the final selection is more mainstream and, unusually enough in the  jazz world, openly religious.  Gabriel Zucker - WEIGHTING; Jason Stein’s Locksmith Isidore – AFTER CARO...

Happy birthday to us - sixth birthday, to be exact.  What better way to celebrate than digging into six sextets like they were delicious pieces of cake?  And if anyone has the complete run of John Zorn birthday cd's (all five-hundred of 'em), please let Mike or your therapist know.  Jeremy Pelt – INSIGHT; Jon Jang – TWO FLOWERS ON A STEM; Lester Young – SEXTET 1939; John Kirby – COMPLETE...

We've lost a lot of great jazz men and women this year, but Roy Hargrove's passing came as a particular shock.  Pat and Mike explore the young lion's career, focusing mostly on acoustic releases but making time for a brief look at Roy's cameo on D'Angelo's ground-breaking Voodoo.  After that, Michael Buble bubbles up in the discussion.  Who said his name at a mirror t...

It's our kind of town, so here's another episode devoted to Chicago jazzers, from scat master Kurt Elling (whose poetic sources for his vocalese Mike explains are impeccable) to tenor-slinger Von Freeman (whose views on intonation may disturb younger and more impressionable listeners).  A couple more experimental offerings round out the session, which ends with Pat wondering if he loves...