The Spirit of Jazz

This bonus episode is a conversation about the different kinds of jazz. Bill and Jeff discuss how a tradition continues to live: evolving through creative imagination, influenced by its historical and cultural circumstances.  Featured music: “This or That” and “Everybody Dance” from Psalms without Words Music used by permission from Presbybop Music (BMI)   Theme music: " All Thumbs " fro...

Episode 15 – That’s a Terrible Idea. What Time?             Here’s part two of our conversation with Matt Wilson, the creative drummer. He believes jazz should challenge the audience, not merely playing what’s “nice.” Whether it’s leading the audience on a spontaneous march out of the concert hall or nudging the listeners to go deeper into the music, he always leads the way. And he’s a lot of fun...

Matt Wilson is an extraordinary musician. We talk about his sense of humor, his willingness to take risks, and the importance of vulnerability. The conversation hummed along quickly – and we’ve split it into two episodes.  Check out Matt’s website at https://www.mattwilsonjazz.com/ Featured music: “ Ice Cold ” from Jazz for the Earth Bill Carter and the Presbybop Sextet David Liebman, guest solois...

Our cohosts talk about how they developed a taste in jazz. Bill Carter tells how he met and befriended Dave Brubeck. (Imagine the legendary musician in a white bathrobe!) Jeff Kellam recounts his love of big band music and how it opened the jazz world to him.  How did you discover jazz? Have a story to share? Send it to us at podcast@presbybop.com .   Theme music: " All Thumbs " from Fai...

In this episode we explore the blues. How does the blues get into the bloodstream of jazz? What does this suggest about human life and the spiritual life? How might the blues express our suffering? Or pray our hope?  Here’s where you can view the chart that Mary Lou Williams used to describe the lineage of jazz: https://jazzwomenarchives.wordpress.com/2019/01/21/mary-lou-williams/   Here’s the You...

We explore a little-known jazz story: Vince Guaraldi composed and performed a mass! We talk with Derrick Bang, his biographer, about the creation of this music. It was presented at Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, in May 1965. It’s an extraordinary story and we’re glad to tell it. Want to hear the mass? The highlights were recorded by Fantasy Records, and you can obtain that recording by clicking h...

“The only time we heard jazz on television when I was a kid,” says trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, “was when A Charlie Brown Christmas came to town.” Our guest for the next two episodes is Derrick Bang, music critic and author of Vince Guaraldi at the Piano . As Guaraldi’s biographer, he has a unique perspective on how the pianist’s music became an integral part of the animated Charlie Brown specials. ...

In this special episode, we offer musical highlights from the annual Jazz Christmas Eve event at First Presbyterian Church, Clarks Summit, PA. Our Presbybop Elves include Mike Carbone on saxophone, Tony Marino on bass, Marko Marcinko on drums, and Bill Carter on piano. Want to enjoy the video of the event? Go to https://youtu.be/xLqiV51k5t4 Featured music: Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming, from Jazz N...

Jazz is embodied music. Ideas take flesh! This is a grand spiritual theme, of course, and lies at the heart of Christmas story. But what does incarnation sound like? That’s what this episode is all about. And we have the music to prove it.  Here’s the free verse poem that Bill composed:    When Word takes flesh it is a fragile Incarnation. Power becomes subject to weakness, Freedom is chained by t...

What can jazz suggest to us about hope? Good question for all times of year, but especially for the season of Advent. We explore the question with two ancient chants as our soundtrack. Along the way, we chew on two poignant quotations:    “It is in the torment of the insufficiency of everything attainable in this life that we realize that all symphonies remain unfinished.”  - Karl Rahner  “Nothing...

Today we welcome Jamie Howison to The Spirit of Jazz. He is a priest of the Anglican Church of Canada, a jazz lover, and a kindred soul. He lives and works in Winnipeg.  We discovered Jamie through one of his books, God’s Mind in That Music: Theological Explorations through the Music of John Coltrane . It’s an extraordinary book, published on Cascade Books. You can find it by clicking here .  Chec...

Here is another conversation about creativity. Do new melodies - and ideas - comes as a message from Headquarters? This is a mystery, of course, but we continue to chase it. We listen to a jazz performance of an old melody from Ireland. And we hear how Dave Brubeck turned down a commission to compose for a papal mass - and then dreamed up the piece while he slept. You can click here and listen to...

We heard someone grumble, “We’ve never heard jazz in church before.” It reminds us of an insulting letter from a noted preacher, disparaging jazz as inferior music. Both assume there’s a hard line between “sacred” and “secular” that must never be crossed. But jazz steps over those divisions.   Bach dedicated his musical manuscripts to God, even if they had no lyrics. Dave Brubeck reminds us how Ba...

Jazz unfolds like a conversation! It’s a dialogue with a tune, with other musicians, with the imagination. The music values relationships, teamwork, collaboration, and mutual participation. We explore the reality of the “Muse” - inspiration personified - and revealed in the necessary ingredient of playfulness. And yes, there’s something mysterious at work. So let’s chase after it.  Featured music:...

In this musical episode, we offer two complete performances of jazz tunes that have a bit of mystery. “Dawn Shall Break Again” was the centerpiece of our Faith in a New Key album. “The Gate is Narrow, the Road is Hard” is a live performance from Binghamton University. It’s never been released, but a studio version of the tune does appear on our Stand On Your Head recording.    Theme music: "...

Jazz is more than a style. It’s a tradition, filled with imagination, interpretation, and improvisation. We explore the curious practice of creating music as it proceeds. How does that work? We learn by listening, so we offer a tune from a Presbybop Quartet album. Along the way, Jeff Kellam refers to a luminous biography of Mary Lou Williams by Deanna Witkowski, the equally luminous jazz pianist....

Welcome to our first episode! Bill Carter and Jeff Kellam introduce the theme of this podcast and tell you something about themselves. This is a podcast about the spiritual power of syncopated music. How might music awaken, enrich, and empower our lives? How might jazz direct us toward acts of love, justice, and mercy?  That's what we want to explore. Tell us how you fell in love with jazz. S...

Here’s one thing that musicians and listeners have in common: the possibility of a transcendent moment. Bill tells a treasured family story about a Louis Armstrong concert in 1955. In many ways, that concert shaped his destiny even before he was alive. Jazz has a special super power to make a room come alive. We hear about the experience of bassist Christian McBride, performing with pianist McCoy...

We are glad to announce  The Spirit of Jazz podcast with co-hosts Bill Carter and Jeff Kellam. Thanks for finding us! We invite you to subscribe to future episodes as we explore the spiritual dimensions of the music. This is the podcast where music dances with mystery. The Spirit of Jazz is a production of Presbybop Music .  In each episode, we explore how music has the power to bring us alive. Th...