Pullin from the Stacks

A few jazz digs and tracks this time around, as I continue to get my set-up together. Dig in! Tracklist: Grant Green, Peter Duchin, Los 5-U-4, Les Demerle, Karen Hernandez, John Wood

Been a couple weeks - I had to replace my old desktop that was starting to crash too frequently and move all the music files etc to the new machine. Back up now with an episode I recorded a week or so ago! Just a few longer tracks from recent records found and purchased. Hope to be back on schedule soon! Enjoy. Tracklist: Keifer Trio, Pete Jolly, Chris Barber, Les DeMerle, Airmen of Note.

I was late to the library game, and only own a short stack of these gems, but for folks unaware, some amazing studio musicians (especially in Europe) recorded some of the funkiest and weirdest music on "library" records, that were available to radio and tv producers to use on their shows or elsewhere. Recently I discovered that one of the iconic sound effects associated with the early days of Port...

Went back to the "Jazz 45s" box and pulled a few things out that I hadn't played in awhile. Spring is here and it felt right. A short set of selections, new and old - enjoy! Tracklist: Sam Hankins, Eric Kloss, Nautilus, Quincy Jones, Charles Mingus, Takumi Moriya, Phi-Psonics, Unknown artist, Eddie Harris, Jukka Eskola Trio, Mary Lou Williams

Spent a week on a work and mini-birthday trip, and got some serious digging in at a number of spots, both places I'd been and some I'd never been to before. Some great come-ups and here's just a few of stack I brought back with me! Hope you dig it. Tracklist: Alvin Queen, Oscar Peterson Quartet, Al Hobbs, Howard University Jazz Ensemble, Jasmine, Manfredo Fest Trio, The Great Jazz Trio, Nathan Dav...

It felt important right now to come back to the words and teachings of Howard Zinn, when the U.S. government is causing and propagating so much fear and racism and oppression and just plain meanness, and things seem tilted toward hopelessness. This is the third in my series of mix-tributes to Zinn, and the vocal samples here come from a few great interviews and programs you can find on Youtube, in...

Two legends have passed on recently - Roberta Flack and Gwen McCrae, both of whom had records that have been important to me for many years. Unfortunately some of my Roberta Flack records were damaged in a flood years ago, and so I tried to pull a few favorites from what I still have, and mostly less obvious pieces from both artists catalogs.

Back this week with some amazing pianists covering jazz (?) standards (?) old and new! Some recent digs and some old favorites. Enjoy. Tracklist: Tony Lee, Johnny Costa, DJM Trio, Eugen Cicero, Ashley Henry, Herbie Hancock

Ok, this is a really special one. The amazing artist Josh MacPhee, of JustSeeds.org and many other places, has dug deep into his incredible collection of revolutionary wax and put together an incredible and inspiring mix for Pullin from the Stacks! Everything from funk, free jazz, hard rock, folk, nu-wave and more, from all parts of the globe, all off original wax. Commie Freaks!! (Josh's name but...

I love records. But I love records because I love music. And sometimes, in fact often, great music doesn't get pressed on vinyl. And that's ok! That's why Bandcamp is so great. It's endless in how much great stuff is available there. Here's just a small sampling of the beautiful music I've found that as far as I know, has not been pressed onto vinyl, but is available digitally if you seek it out....

Some music for these extremely troubled times. Hope everyone is staying as safe and healthy as possible. Tracklist: Adrienne Rich, Dollar Brand, Melvin Sparks, Sly5thAve, Ill Considered, Latarnik, Dezron Douglas and Brandee Younger

Seemed like a good moment to salute the city of LA, a city I never thought I'd end up residing in as a kid but where I now live and don't plan on leaving. A huge city, where horrible fires and climate change have destroyed the homes of thousands of people including some of those featured on this mix. If you are looking to support folks in need, check out: mutualaidla.org/ I recorded this mix live...

Spent the holidays in Portland with the family, had some good adventures at the record shops and thrift stores - one of these records I pulled out from underneath an old rug at a Goodwill for a dollar. Was fun getting back into the sale bins and antique stores rather than just shopping at the fancy places. Grabbed all of these while on the trip, with one being gifted to me by the homie while there...

Ending the year with a number of my favorite purchases this past year. Maybe one or two of these I actually "dug" up somewhere - the Dick Drew Trio was something I pulled out from deep under other record racks in a store in Las Vegas last May, for instance, but I also bought several of these via Discogs. Record collecting continues to change in ways that make it less familiar to me - many records...

Putting together a mix of my favorite digs this past year, but first, a few more recent finds and classic selections! Tracklist: David Axelrod, Howard Wales, Visioneers, Barbara Carroll, Don Randi, Patrice Rushen

RIP to the legends Lou Donaldson and Roy Haynes, who passed recently. I play a couple of their records on the bookends of this episode. The Lou Donaldson joint that starts things off, a cover of "Everything I Play Gonh Be Funky," reminds of my very early days of digging, finding this at an East Village bookstore in 1997 or so, and always treasuring it. I didn't get hip to Mr. Haynes later on even...

I began the Pullin from the Stacks podcast just over 10 years ago, publishing my first episode on October 19, 2014. The name is from the classic Digable Planets cut "Pacifics," a song which has a lot of meaning to me. I think I actually messed up and called it "Pullin from the Crates" for that first episode. The first record I played was a cover of Herbie Hancock's "Maiden Voyage" by the Jazz Pian...

It's a heavy week - bombing and violence continues and expands in Palestine and Lebanon, funded by the United States and seemingly unstoppable as we all just watch in horror. Here's a set in remembrance of so many who have been murdered by bombs and other weapons in the name of white supremacy and power. Tracklist: Najah Salam, Mustafa al Kurd, La Troupe Palestinienne de Deir Yassin, Jazayer, Dia...

Omega and I go way, way back, co-hosting a college radio show in the late 90s, talking shit about wack emcees and going on wild digging missions in the 2000s when these tracks were recorded. He remains one of my best friends and partner in crime today. He also happens to be an incredible emcee, with a style that certain emcee(s) making a name for themselves in 2024 took a big bite from (including...

Been a lot going on, but finally I've returned with some treats! The records have been stacking up and need to get filed - so let's get into it! RIP to the legend Sergio Mendes, I played a short set of a few of my favorites of his. (Also RIP to the legend Frankie Beverly, tribute on a forthcoming episode.) The rest of this episode is an adventure through other recent arrivals and digs. Enjoy! Hope...

Following up on last summer's salsa mix, here's some more of my favorite selections and digs to play loud in your car, living room, porch, or wherever! Tracklist: Ricardo Marrero, Bobby Valentin, Brooklyn Sounds, Latin Tempo, Ray Barretto, Joe Torres, Tata Vasquez, Pucho and His Latin Soul Brothers

Sorry for my absence - but I'm back with some mellow sounds, starting and ending with two great versions of the classic "People Make the World Go Round." The first is by Monty Alexander, which I only recently found out about, and the last is a more well-known take by Johnny Lytle. In-between are a variety of mellow-ish tunes for coolin out in the August heat.

I don't own much reggae or dub music, and am absolutely no expert in the music or culture. But I deeply respect the politics and music, which is absolutely incredible and creative. Especially dub music, with its intricate sounds and rhythms. So here's a few selections from my tiny collection. Enjoy! Tracklist: Ernest Ranglin, Al Brown, Heptones, Burning Spear, Rico, King Tubby, Love Joys, Inner Ci...

So I spent a few weeks trying to do something 'special' for episode 250 of Pullin from the Stacks, but all my attempts just didn't feel right. Which meant I just kept putting off uploading a new episode this past month. But this week it was time for the latest Walking in Space livestream (second Thursday every month on Twitch!) and I felt like it came together pretty well, a blend of everything fr...

So I'm a big fan of Sean Kantrowitz's podcast, especially "Making Illmatic" which he hosts with Midaz the Beast. The latest episode had them - and guest Supastition - breaking down the best tracks on the JayLib album, and at some point there was mention of how great De La Soul would have sounded on these beats. So I decided to test some of that out, and since I only have a few De La accapellas, I...