Jazz Bastard Podcast

You know it's going to be a good episode when Pat and Mike get to discuss Paul Anka taking on Nirvana in depth.  It only gets better as we explore contemporary work by an avant garde reedman and more approachable performances by a bass clarinet specialist.  Stay tuned for Mike's musings on supposed "Dad-rock" favorite R.E.M. - and why they were secretly a punk band.  Steve Kuhn...

A couple vinyl selections from "back in the day" and two brand new releases are on the docket this time, and the results are mostly good.  Mike faces his fusion fears and finds a happy ending with Pat Martino while Pat (the bastard, not the guitarist) likes Javon Jackson's latest more than he can adequately explain.  Like all good podcasts, this one ends with an in-depth look at whi...

Jazz pianist and composer Randy Weston departed this earth earlier this year, so the boys devote an episode to his music (along with some discussion of arranger/trombonist Melba Liston, whose work was crucial to some of his best albums). Do we get too teleological? You be the judge. Randy Weston: UHURU AFRIKA; BLUE MOSES; SPIRIT OF OUR ANCESTORS (DISC TWO); SPIRIT: THE POWER OF MUSIC.

Crazy, daddy-o - it's an episode devoted to experimental music. The boys start things off by interviewing Sarah Bernstein, who discusses her career in music, her various ongoing groups. and her new album Crazy Lights Shining. Afterwards the boys plunge into some hard-core experimental instrumental music, to see just how whiny Pat can get (spoilers: very), and then finish by discussing a Rudy...

Fred Rogers never went to 'Nam - that's just one of the many insights we learn from interviewing the charming and talented Keri Johnsrud about her collaboration with pianist Kevin Bales based on songs written by the man we like to call "Cole Porter in a cardigan." After the interview, the boys discuss three other albums with at least a tangential relationship to children's...

Is it chilly in here or is it just us? The bastards take on the coolest buffet of music yet on offer by this august podcast, so pry open that sweater drawer and grab a hot beverage. Pop matters also might xylophone the old neck bone, as Gillian Welch's "The Harrow and the Harvest" presents its own brand of folkie cool. The Necks – BODY: Evan Parker – MEMORY/VISION; Modern Jazz Quart...

Even what sounds like a police raid in progress can't stop the bastards from discussing two brand new releases, along with a couple selections from the earlier 'aughts. Mike isn't happy about electric pianos, Pat finds a new Russian saxist to look out for, and the discussion's short (if not sweet) for a change. Sasha Mashin – OUTSIDE THE BOX; Hubert DuPont – SMART GRID; Ximo Te...

From chaos order as the boys realize that a couple of Pat's random LP haul both have a connection with the sexiest country and the rest of the episode just falls into place. Come for Pat's mispronunciations, stay for Mike's penetrating analysis of white man dancing on Letterman. Michel LeGrand – LEGRAND JAZZ; Circle - LIVE IN PARIS; Coleman Hawkins - IN PARIS WITH BENNY CARTER AND D...

Across the pond we go to look at work by four up'n'comin' UK artists/groups (yes, there are such things as jazz groups). The boys delve deep into the in-jokes behind Shatner's Bassoon and, to wrap things about, talk about Herbie Hancock's recent concert and film appearances. Shatner’s Bassoon – DISCO EROSION; Jason Rebello – HELD; Zoe Rahman Trio – LIVE; Sons of Kemet – LE...

At Mike's suggestion we check out some lesser known - and lesser loved - projects by major jazz artists, from the MOR sellout of Bill Evans' "Plays VIPs" to Duke Ellington's fantasia on jazz history and domestic violence, "A Drum is a Woman." After the main event is over, stay tuned for half an hour of wide-ranging talk on the Lovecraftian rock opera "Dreams...

Mike's been hustled down in Texas, so Pat's without adult supervision when he interviews Glenn Crytzer about his new big band project: "Ain't It Grand." Glenn talks about the challenges of playing vintage jazz authentically, writing in the style of the period, and leading a band in the post making-money-from-album-sales era. The episode concludes with a brief discussion of...

We're back from our extended look at Cecil Taylor's challenging music and ready for more accessible - if equally rewarding - work by various artists in the modern mainstream. There's a little bit about food, a little bit about Lovecraft, and a lot about four very fine albums that have nothing to do with either edibles or interdimensional monsters. Shamie Royston – BEAUTIFUL LIAR; Te...

Cecil Taylor has always stood somewhat uneasily outside the jazz tradition - at least from the point of view of jazz traditionalists. This episode, Mike and Pat explore his challenging, exhausting, and sometimes off-putting music - and we like to think we nailed it. Cecil Taylor – LOOKING AHEAD!; NEFERTITI THE BEAUTIFUL ONE HAS COME; NAILED; THE WILLISAU CONCERT.

After a serious discussion of where and where not a samosa should be put, the boys launch into examinations of two classic jazz releases and two much more recent efforts by the second wave of "young lions". Wes Montgomery – LIVE IN PARIS THE DEFINITIVE ORTF RECORDINGS; Alice Coltrane – MONASTIC TRIO; Jon Gordon – ALONG THE WAY; J. D. Allen – RADIO FLYER.

Rump-shakin' is the order of the day when the boys check out four examples of the "party jazz" genre, with influences from New Orleans to India. Stay tuned for Mike's adventures in a lead balloon. Preservation Hall Jazz Band – THAT’S IT; Red Baraat – SHRUGGY JI; Hypnotic Brass Ensemble – HYPNOTIC JOINTS; Craig Handy – CRAIG HANDY AND SECOND LINE SMITH.

More cherry pickin' from polls, as the boys discuss four 2017 releases that got good notices in the jazz press. All four of these releases give the fellows warm fuzzies - of one intensity or another. Yazz Ahmed – LA SABOTEUSE; Jaimie Branch – FLY OR DIE; Courtney Pine – BLACK NOTES FROM THE DEEP; Binker and Moses – JOURNEY TO THE MOUNTAIN OF FOREVER.

It's all female vocalists this time, and the conversations about sultriness get pretty deep - when they aren't painfully shallow. Rene Marie – VERTIGO; Sophie Milman – MAKE SOMEONE HAPPY; Monica Zetterlund with the Bill Evans Trio – WALTZ FOR DEBBIE; Cecile McLoren Salvant – DREAMS AND DAGGERS.

To put Louis Armstrong into context, Mike leads Pat kicking and screaming through recordings by five of Louis' contemporaries. Who can redeem the period's vocalizin'? Boswell Sisters to the rescue. Henry “Red” Allen – CHRONOLOGICA L CLASSICS 1929-1933; King Oliver - KING OLIVER AND HIS ORCHESTRA 1929-1930; Oscar “Papa” Celestin/Sam Morgan – THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS; Bunny Berigan – C...

It's a whole episode dedicated to the great Louis Armstrong's 1930's Decca tracks in all their glory and strangeness. Skeletons in the closest will boogie before all's said and done, and Mike will flex his cultural studies chops more than once. Plus a look at some of the biggest pop stars of the last decade and Bryan Ferry. Louis Armstrong: THE COMPLETE DECCA MASTER TAKES 1935-...

Sometimes we get review copies - sometimes we talk about them. Four youngish artists with quite recentish releases go under the microscope. Then, pop matters is all about the fab four and the very un-fab Sgt. Peppers movie.

Together at last, the boys talk a random assortment of jazz releases and then get to the nitty-gritty: what did Mike think of Hamilton and what is going on in the apartment beneath him? Juli Wood – SYNKKA METSA; Alex Sipiagin – RETURNING; The Necks – SILVERWATER; Vienna Art Orchestra – DUKE ELLINGTON’S SOUND OF LOVE.

Mike's laid up sick, so Pat whips up a "bonus" episode on Duke Ellington's suites. Did Ellington write a twenty-minute, six-movement suite just to get into Queen Elizabeth II's royal knickers? No way of knowing, but it's fun to speculate. Duke Ellington – SUCH SWEET THUNDER, QUEEN’S SUITE, FAR EAST SUITE, NEW ORLEANS SUITE.

We depart from our usual format to offer an interview with saxophone player and composer Charles McPherson. Charles discusses an early encounter with Charlie Parker, lessons from Barry Harris, a wild first night employed by Charles Mingus, what bebop means to him, and several other topics. We don't focus on particular albums, but Charles recommends, among others, TODAY'S MAN, SIKU YA BIB...

It's a podcast first - Pat votes to ban a jazz musician from further discussion. Who's the lucky winner? Plus, if you're patient enough, Mike talks hats and gropers. Gregory Porter – MEET ME IN THE ALLEY, NAT “KING” COLE & ME; Kamasi Washington – HARMONY OF DIFFERENCE; Matt Wilson – HONEY AND SALT.

It's the podcasts' fifth anniversary so the albums discussed feature quintets. Laughs, insights, and just a few sentimental moments as the boys contemplate this milestone. Oh, and they rant about Microsoft just a little bit. Ronald Shannon Jackson – SHANNON’S HOUSE; Oliver Lake – PROPHET; Jimmy Lyons – GIVE IT UP; Kenny Cox – INTRODUCING KENNY COX AND THE CONTEMPORARY JAZZ QUINTET.