Anthony Dean-Harris

This week's New Year's Eve episode of The Line-Up, the last episode of 2010, is a recap of Nextbop's Best Jazz Albums of 2010 list . So it's going to be a little difficult coming up with an entirely different set of words after all the writing I've done this week. Nonetheless, this is a show that depicts what we believe to be the best cutting edge jazz of the last year. I figure a few more works to back up this music would be worth it. Jason Moran - RFK in the Land of Apartheid I can whistle this song all day. Seriously. Yesterday, I was walking around in the 79°F temperatures on the Riverwalk , just soaking in the unseasonably warm weather (yes, I'm gloating), and whistling this tune. The beat and melody is just so catchy. This is likely the catchiest tune on the album. Taylor Eigsti - Daylight When Seb sent me this album, he used this song as its selling point. True enough, this is a very good song, but as I said in my write-up for this list, it's the

For some reason, I had a shortage of ideas for jazz Christmas music. Also, KRTU has played quite a bit of it today anyway. I figure half a show of Christmas music will suffice for this Christmas Eve episode. Marco Benevento - Atari The October concert at Montreal's Le Divan Orange is full of gems like this. Sound Directions - Dice Game/Wanda Vidal Seriously try to avoid whistling "Wanda Vidal" after this. I dare you. Cari Stevens - Dienda It's a computer selection, what can I say? Chaka Khan & Freddie Hubbard - I Love You, Porgy This coming Wednesday will mark the second anniversary of the passing of Freddie Hubbard. I wanted to make sure I acknowledge this fact. Joe Sample - Clifton's Gold For those of you who may not know this about me, I absolutely love Joe Sample. I go crazy about the man's work. With that little bit of a nip in the air, it only means we're not too far off from February 1, Sample's birthday. Get ready. Bill Frisel

I didn't really have anything planned for this week. I'm amazed a show came out of this at all, but I think it all came together well. Still, since I don't have a lot to say about the selections this week, I hope you won't begrudge me for not discussing all the song selections this time. Hey, you're still getting new shows on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve so a shorter blogpost of only lists shouldn't be too much of a hassle. Jacky Terrasson - O Cafe, O Soleil Taylor Eigsti - Magnolia feat. Becca Stevens Portico Quartet- Dawn Patrol Anthony Branker & Ascent - Dance Music Dr. Lonnie Smith - People Make The World Go Round Gerry Gibbs and the Thrasher Band - Patrice Rushen aka The 70's Song Nujabes - Counting Stars Grand Pianoramax - Clairvoyance

This week's show is a continuation of my column for this week . I figured that if I was going to speak at length about how to make a good cover, I should have some good examples. Well, here's an hour worth of examples. Also, if you're seeing this and you want to turn your friends onto jazz music, this may be the show with which to do so. Seu Jorge and Almaz - Everybody Love the Sunshine The Seu Jorge and Almaz album may be one of the best albums of 2010. It's just too chill. Their rendition of this famous Roy Ayers tune is clear evidence of that. Herbie Hancock - All Apologies All of Hancock's The New Standard album is great evidence of my main conceit but I always find myself coming back to this track. Gretchen Parlato - Weak For some reason, my family just can't latch themselves onto this song. I love it. Many of my friends who I've made hear this song love it. But my family, my sister especially who loves SWV, just doesn't. We're at an im

It's all Grammy nominees and stuff getting attention for this week. Ultimately, you're hearing what you should be hearing, because this show is great and informative... or something. The Bad Plus - Super America I must say, I'm not wowed by The Bad Plus' latest album, but there's still no such thing as a bad TBP album. There's always some gems in their work, and this is certainly a simple little gem from Never Stop . Esperanza Spalding - Winter Sun How do you get nominated for Best New Artist when most everyone in your field knows who you are, you've started and ended your work in academia while everyone in your field knew you, you performed for the President of the United States at the White House twice, and for the same president while he got his Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo. If this qualifies as new, I don't know what's going on. Darcy James Argue 's Secret Society - Phobos Who saw this Grammy nomination coming? Did anyone? Of course he

This is a sign of my dedication. I still came up to this station on the day after Thanksgiving to put this show together. Needless to say, I'm not feeling like doing a lot of banter. Hopefully, the music makes up for my aversion from my normal loquacious nature. Jaspects - Chitlins & Chalupas This seems like the perfect song to top off the post-Thanksgiving Line-Up, broadcast from San Antonio, Texas, doesn't it? Clayton Brothers - Street Dance This is here because along with jazz elders Jeff and John Clayton leading the band on saxophone and bass respectively, Nextbop's own Gerald Clayton , John's son, backs up on piano. Kneebody - Wide Eyed I love Kneebody. I still don't know why I haven't gotten any of their albums yet. Garage A Trois - Outre Mer I didn't even know there was any Garage A Trois in the KRTU library until today. Expect to hear more of this. Tarbaby - Unity It still feels weird saying this band's name on the air... or in ge

It was very difficult for me to set my mind to putting together an hour of music that didn't include Kanye West. I've been listening to My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy since it leaked. Still, jazz music is good, too. Here's some... The Bad Plus - The Radio Tower Has A Beating Heart I've only had one track from this album since it released so I've been sort of in withdrawal from new Bad Plus for a bit. This track should stop me from getting the shakes. Brad Mehldau - She's Leaving Home I decided that since Apple chose to make a big deal out of putting The Beatles on iTunes, I'd make an unnecessarily big deal about joking about The Beatles on iTunes. Neither my joke or Apple's announcement probably solicited much response but just like The Beatles, at least the music is good. Oh, also Josh Jackson took my suggestion that this is among the 50 best Beatles covers of all time . Ben Allison - Across the Universe I just wanted to finish out this set o

You know, I'm still sort of tired from last weekend? I'm looking forward to spending this weekend bundled up in my room where it may or may not rain and the weather may or may not be brisk but still significantly warmer than everyone else's mid-November (hey, it's still South Texas). This show should be a good precursor of all that. Nadav Snir-Zelniker - Pizmon Layakinton (Song for the Hyacinth) The computer picked this one, but it only took me two tries to pronounce this name in a manageable way. I hope I said it right. At least the song is good. Cassandra Wilson - Beneath a Silver Moon People are really liking Cassandra Wilson's new album. I of course read Nate Chinen's review of it. Then I later saw Paste had a review as well. That ultimately meant I had to give it some attention, post haste. Tarbaby - Jena 6 This album arrived at the station last week and the music director, Kory, and I had a long discussion on how to talk about and play this group

We've made it to November. The air is crisp, spirits are high. The jazz keeps coming. I'm feeling pretty good about this week's Line-Up, hopefully you do, too. Let's find out, shall we? Joe Locke - Bright Side Up This one is a computer selection but I felt it had a better spot to start out the hour than in the middle where the computer picked it. I like starting off with pretty high energy and this song has it. Vijay Iyer - Patterns I've had this song in the library for quite some time now but I just couldn't find the right time to play it. It's complex and maybe off-putting for most radio listeners but once again, I decided to have a little faith in my audience. Please don't let me down, audience, and appreciate this song for the complex awesomeness that it is. Ronnie Foster - Mystic Brew I didn't notice until just now that I placed this song here immediately after Vijay Iyer, who covered this song on his most adored album last year, Histori

I'm feeling pretty good about this week's Line-Up. I think it's well put together. I think it has the right touches of the right moods. I think it has a good energy to it. I'm actually live in the studio for stuff but the song order and arrangement was done in advanced and blends together fairly well. It covers a broad spectrum of periods but meshes. It has a full body and a nice aroma with a hint of hickory and elderberries. Etc, etc. Ray Vega & Thomas Marriott - Big Brother I was sort of expecting this to be a cover of Stevie Wonder's song, a la what Vijay Iyer is doing lately, but it's its own creature, and a fine one at that. Good computer selection to top things off. Chick Corea - The Great Pumpkin Waltz I'm not really a Halloween person. I wasn't raised up with it and even though I try to take parts in some of the holiday now that I'm older, I'm just not huge about it. Still, I'm a sucker for Vince Guaraldi compositions and I&

I'm not really in the mood to explain my rationale for each track for this week's show. The only thing I feel I need to explain is the two tracks from Jaspects, which I'm playing to note the SpelHouse homecoming that I'm unable to attend. Still, if I had left for Atlanta, I probably might not have been able to do my show this week and that means you would have missed out. We wouldn't have wanted that, would we? Incognito - Solar Fire Mike Clark - Bookin' Pharoah Sanders - Astral Traveling (Boozoo Bajou Remix) The Nels Cline Singers - Floored Jaspects - One Last Cry Before I Say Jaspects - Goodbye Love feat. Fonzworth Bentley Ximo Tebar - Nica's Dream Medeski, Martin and Wood - Song 3 ERIMAJ - For You (For Who?) Marco Benevento - Heartbeats

I wasn't quite sure what kind of show I'd end up doing this week. I had a few songs scrawled on a Post-It like I often do to prepare each show, but I still didn't have a big idea for the week. All I knew was that I wanted to do something different. Well, I combed through some new stuff I got, thought about different sounds that are pleasing but challenging, and went a little off the beaten path through computer here to put together a pretty great show. Seriously, I was surprised about how good this show is. Hopefully I'm not alone in this sentiment but I'm rather excited about this playlist. Meshell Ndegeocello & Cassandra Wilson - The Chosen This one came up through a certain degree of combing through the computer. I had to come up with something completely different from what I usually play and after giving a quick glance at Rob Fields' Bold as Love black rock site, it finally hit me to see if we had any Ndegeocello. Combining her exquisite musicianshi

The KRTU fall pledge drive has reached its end but that doesn't mean we're still not accepting new members . Make sure to head there and become a member of the station. All the cool people are doing it. Also, no breakdown for each track this week. I hope you'll pardon me that, just listen to the music. Jeb Patton - Cloak and Dagger Dr. Lonnie Smith - Mellow Mood Freddie Hubbard - A Night in Tunisia Gerry Gibbs Sextet feat. Ravi Coltrane - Impressions Gretchen Parlato - Weak Rahsaan Rolank Kirk - Blacknuss Jaspects - Uppity Negro Tom Harrell - Paz The Bad Plus - Never Stop

Once again, it's time for the KRTU pledge drive, so I'm making the call to head to the site and donate to become a member of the station to keep great music like this on the air. Marco Benevento - You Know I'm No Good I figure it's good to start off with some great energy and this song certainly has some great energy. Jason Lindner - Seven Ways When I was putting together this week's show, I had a good idea for what the set at the end would be but not necessarily the rest of the show. This Lindner track sort of found its way in here. I'm not mad at it. Aaron Parks - Peaceful Warrior I'm terrible at fulfilling requests. I'm seriously bad at it, but from time to time, I'll follow through... a week or two later. Jason Moran - Crepuscule With Nellie When it was announced that Jason Moran won a MacArthur grant this week, I knew I had to mention it. Suddenly, an idea crept into my head about how to put together a set of interconnected music

Another week, another Line-Up. This week's show sort of felt like pulling teeth, largely because I didn't have a particular theme or focus. Still, I felt like the show turned out alright. Christian Scott - K.K.P.D. Yet another song that showed up on The Line-Up because it showed up on my commute. Plus, I haven't played this song on the air in a while. I figured it would be a good idea to start this week's show off with a bang. Roy Hargrove Big Band - Roy Allen I can't say enough how much I like this song. It's smooth and cool and the best thing about Hargrove's Emergence album. This is yet another one of those songs that's been a while since I played it. Terence Blanchard - Choices The computer picked this one but Blanchard has been on my mind since I rented Just Wright last weekend. That was an okay movie, and it was everything a forward thinking black person would want to put in an okay movie... other than better writing. Still the Terrence Bl

I decided to branch out pretty far with The Line-Up. This will happen from time to time. I'll decide to play some music a little further out from the show's comfort zone and then reel myself back in for the subsequent week. This week was provoked by my pulling Bonobo's Black Sands from the station's "No" shelf. I thought it was different but still sort of jazzy, so it found its way onto this week's show. Then the rest of the hour sort of formed around this one song. Robert Glasper - Maiden Voyage/Everything in its Right Place I figured I would want to start a little light. I want the audience to warm up, so I started with Robert Glasper. If you listen to The Line-Up, you know his work. It's courageous but palatable. It signifies that if I start the hour with Glasper, we're going to be taking some twists and turns, but it'll still be a pretty good ride. Pat Metheny & Brad Mehldau - Ahmid 6 I went through a lot of fighting with myself a

One year ago (really 364 days ago, but it still was 52 weeks ago, so I'm counting this as the anniversary), I hit the airwaves taking The Line-Up from Lyz, who went off to grad school. So began the fun I've had here each week playing great new jazz that I think the masses would love. The theme for this week's show is all about pianists. Since my favorite musicians all happen to be pianists and I used to play the piano many moons ago, that's what I'm running with for this one year anniversary. Vijay Iyer - Fleurette Africaine When I saw this track on the listing for Iyer's Solo album , I wondered how he'd be able to pull off playing this track by himself as opposed to with a trio. I can remember an interview with The Bad Plus in which the interviewer was talking with the group about this song. If memory serves, they don't play it because Reid Anderson just couldn't move as fast on the bass as Charles Mingus. So it really surprised me the first

While I may have been spreading my interests around musically, I always come home to roost with The Line-Up. It may be a good thing because for this week, I'm playing some folks I haven't even thought about for a while and I'm playing some other folks who just caught my eyes and ears. I rather like how this week's episode was put together. There are a few folks here tonight who I've wanted to play for a little while but just couldn't find a good place to play them until now. Tonight, one could say this is the episode in which the chickens come home to roost. Avery Sharpe Trio - My Favorite Things Yep, the computer picked it. This episode also has another live selection. I don't quite know how well they work and were edited for radio, but the performances are sound and I'm standing by them. Pat Metheny - Orchestrion From time to time, I'll put the show together and I'll wonder when's the next time I should play something from

I was in a pretty bad mood a couple of days ago and I just needed to play a bunch of ballads to get myself out of it. The next morning, I filled a whole Post-It note with songs I knew I'd play this week. I don't normally play an evening of ballads but that's where I'm headed for this show and I hope you come along for the ride. Christian Scott - Isadora I find this song placement sort of odd on this album. Much of the press and commentary for Yesterday You Said Tomorrow lauds it for being such a spot on political jazz album, but in the midst of all those angry tunes with a message is a song to Scott's girlfriend that's as beautiful as any other love song. Sometimes when you're fighting the power, you still have to take some time for loving. I guess this song isn't that out of place, after all. Esperanza Spalding - Wild is the Wind A friend of mine some months ago wanted me to play this song originally as Nina Simone sang it. I told him I couldn'

Hey, everybody! The Line-Up is a cool, funky episode tonight. I go where the wind blows me, you know. It's totally not the reverential feel I was noting this week over at Nextbop . It's all about enjoying the music this week. The Dominant 7 - An Ounce of Hope This is a cool track from a band with a cool name. That's all I really have to say about that. Esperanza Spalding - Winter Sun It's pretty much impossible to escape this album lately and I still haven't yet heard it (though I'm about to fix that nigh immediately). This track is here largely because JJ Lopez said it was awesome. Robert Glasper - No Worries I'm pretty sure this is my favorite track off of Double Booked and I know I haven't played it in a while. Brad Mehldau - When It Rains Before I got Mehldau and Jon Brion's Largo , I used to go to the Apple Store in Atlanta's Lenox Mall and listen to it on any iPod they had on display. This song sounds really great but it sounds

Yes, it's Friday the 13th but I'm not the superstition sort so this week's show is just as awesome as you would expect it to be. This week is focused initially on everything from the Newport Jazz Festival (many of the sets are available at NPR ), but then things just splintered out to a grab bag of all sorts of great stuff. Give it a listen... Esperanza Spalding - Inútil Paisagem I didn't want to be the last person on earth to play Esperanza Spalding's latest album (still streamable in its entirety at NPR First Listen for the week) but she wasn't at Newport this year, so I had to find some way to play her while still adhering to the initial theme of this week's show. Fortunately, Gretchen Parlato shares this track and she had a great set last weekend. Fly - Super Sister It is amazing how more and more Mark Turner, Larry Grenadier, and Jeff Ballard make their own accolades. Listening to them live should be proof of that. Darcy James Argue's Secr

Last week's Line-Up didn't quite gel right and that sort of bugs me. For a moment, I considered playing the exact same songs but in a more coherent order, but instead I chose to just move forward as I do with everything else I do and make this show at least 200% better than before. Hopefully, you'll agree that this show fulfilled that promise... St. Germain - Sure Thing I try not to get too far from this song. It's just too cool to let go. Gerald Clayton - Scrimmage I find it funny when an artist I would want to play anyway is chosen by the computer. I didn't even have to ask, "When's the last time I heard some Gerald Clayton?" This computer knows me too well. Jaspects - Chitlins & Chalupas Nothing says "black guy on the radio in San Antonio" than a song called "Chitlins & Chalupas." Freddie Hubbard - Red Clay JJ Lopez had a whole CTI label feature on his Diggin' Deep Soul Shakedown show last Saturday and it so

I'm not going to go into a lot of particulars about what today entailed but let me just say you know I love everyone who hears this show when I still put together such great music for you all to hear after a long day like this. It's been long, tiring, but good. With such a runaround day like this, it's perfect to listen to this great music... Gretchen Parlato - Doralice I really think one of the best vocalists we have around today is Gretchen Parlato. She has this cool, breathy delivery that just lets the music speak for itself. This song is also as much a showcase of Lionel Loueke as it is for her. She has this way of letting the song just go, the musicians just work (whether it's with Loueke here or Kendrick Scott or Aaron Parks throughout her In a Dream album), and let her voice be her voice. I've loved her music the first time I heard it and it shows. Aaron Parks - Nemesis Speaking of Aaron Parks. I really just put this song here because I wanted to hear h

Today wrapped up KRTU's Summer mini pledge drive. It went quite well and we closed strong. I even finally ponied up and became a good and proper member of the station myself. A good time was had by all so there's no reason why you shouldn't become a member yourself. We'd be glad to have you. Trust me, it's important. And what other reason to join the station than to hear some of this great music... Nnenna Freelon - The Lamp is Low The computer picked it, but as usual, I run with it. Quincy Jones - What's Going On? I initially found this version of this song funny. Now I find it oddly beautiful and a great part of a great album. I distinctly remember Gerry Gibbs playing cuts off of Smackwater Jack on his old show on KRTU. This is, in a sense, a send up to him and a continuing along of the great tradition we hold here at KRTU. Brad Mehldau - Don't Interrupt the Sorrow You know I love Brad Mehldau. I really do. But if I had to pick a favorite track

This week, I don't really have anything special to say here other than I suggest you go read my latest column over at Nextbop . Other than that, let's get to the playlist... Medeski, Martin & Wood - Junkyard I feel a little trepidation sometimes if I start the hour with MMW. I don't want to put a lot of people off, but MMW so clearly defines what The Line-Up is about that sometimes I just run with it and will play them up top. Brad Mehldau - Knives Out I was totally listening to this on the bus yesterday and had so much fun listening to it (as I usually do) that it made its way to tonight. Anat Cohen - Jitterbug Waltz The other day, I said to myself, "Retro, you don't play any Anat Cohen on the show." You saw her in Icons Among Us , you know she's learned and has a great background in jazz. You should totally play her on the show. Besides, you don't play enough talented women in general. You should get on that." Ravi Coltrane - Ginger

It's my birthday on Monday so I'm live tonight and I'm playing some of my favorite stuff of old and of stuff I can't stop playing lately. It's not much different from any other Line-Up but maybe a little more self indulgent. Hopefully, you find it to be just as awesome. The Bad Plus - Flim This is the song you hear week after week as the intro to this show. It's pretty much the definitive song for The Line-Up and I'm glad that it's the theme song. But from time to time, I come back to it and think about it in a new way. In this case, I thought about how this song is a feature point for Dave King. His drumming is just fantastic and I found myself scatting to myself, emulating his drumming throughout the week. It had to play, not only for my own purposes but to remind people how awesome this band is that they can take an Aphex Twin song and make it their own. Some people got onto The Bad Plus from their first album, These are the Vistas , because of the

This week's post over at Nextbop is all about using Antonius Guillimus Amo's teachings on hermeneutics in listening to and analyzing jazz music . I've wanted to write about this for quite some time but the Holy Spirit finally stuck it in my head how to write it. To wit: Amo is heralding authorial intent and states it must be considered when analyzing a work (at least when using a biographical criticism), otherwise, the analysis is ultimately invalid. Cross apply this notion to jazz and its criticism. Right now, one of our biggest issues (upon which I rail habitually) is that of nomenclature. If authorial intent is to trump all according to Amo, if a musician believes his or her work is considered jazz, the audience or the critic theoretically has little basis to state otherwise. The author intended the work to fit under a certain category and the audience must oblige. Once we pass the issue of nomenclature, the issue on which our community should truly focus

Yet again, I have three hours of programming here and boundless opportunity. Oh, I have a new post up over at Nextbop that folks are liking. Give it a read. Otherwise, let's see if this week is any good, shall we? Dr. Lonnie Smith - Mellow Mood I got his last album and thought it was pretty good. It was sort of shocking to see another one so soon but the man is a professional. Terence Blanchard - Byus feat. Dr. Cornel West From time to time, I'll come up to the station and JJ will somehow mention Blanchard's Choices album. Then I think about how much I like what I hear. It happened again today. Etienne Charles - Lala Who? This is another one of those tracks the computer picks but I keep it because it sounds sort of funky. Jason Moran - Blue Blocks Moran's new album, Ten , is proving itself to be quite impressive. The Bad Plus - Comfortably Numb feat. Wendy Lewis If there's anyone I should be playing on this show more often, it's The Bad Plus. Their

I actually did three hours of programming tonight since Galen is no longer doing The Distance after The Line-Up. I'm sad to know he's gone and hope he does well but I figured someone should do something with the time slot, at least for tonight. I'll tell you one thing. It's harder to work with so many shorter songs. This is also the "So I didn't make it to Montreal" show. I'm a little down about it but I never got to program three hours of show before so I guess this is an alright consolation prize. Let me know if I did alright, alright? Vijay Iyer - Big Brother I really do like this song, plus Iyer is doing a free concert with Nextbop during the day at the Montreal Jazz Fest. Terence Blanchard & Bilal - Journey Blanchard is one of those people I don't pay enough attention to but should. Roy Hargrove Big Band - Roy Allen This really is my favorite track off of this album. It's just too smooth, especially for a big band. Herbie

While I'm mentally going over a few other posts for Nextbop and other things on the horizon, I figured I shouldn't let too much time pass without noting the last couple of things I've written for Nextbop. There was a great deal of controversy in the jazz blogosphere in teh last month and I ultimately addressed things with my post, " Insular and Diminishing or Liberal and Proliferating ." Who the hell do we think we are to equate disagreeing with newcomers with the possible loss of pedigree of a publication or the destruction of the genre (or at least its nomenclature)? Why do we so often get up in arms when a contradictory idea rears its head when our own fold is floundering for its own vitality? Why do so many of us require a wide breadth of knowledge on the history of jazz before truly accepting new musicians and commentators? I’m not suggesting we give equal credence to the opinions and talents of the glaringly ignorant, but I am saying it’s equally not as

I actually didn't write this in advance so this is going to be a bit of a challenge to do. I'm typing this in real time from my BlackBerry. Enjoy the show, y'all. Jason Moran - Gangsterism Over 10 Years This track is new and actually streaming over at NPR right now. Moran's Ten albums is releasing next week to positive reviews. I'm just sayin'. Quincy Jones & Bill Cosby - Hicky-Burr What better choice for Father's Day than America's dad? This is really the best I got. Gretchen Parlato - Doralice I dare you to say this song didn't pull you out of a funk. You could have been feeling great and Parlato made you feel even better. Chaka Khan & Freddie Hubbard - Them There Eyes I'll take any excuse I can to play some Chaka Khan. This one: The computer put it there. Vijay Iyer - Big Brother I will whistle songs from Vijay Iyer's Historicity randomly at work. It's an affliction I've become fond of having. Herbie Han

I'm actually trying to do the show live this time. I don't know if you've noticed but the show is typically recorded since I can't find a way home at night by bus. Stanton Moore - Knocker The computer picked this one but I found it to be pretty funky so I decided to keep it. Medeski, Martin & Wood - Uninvisible Yet another one of those, "When's the last time I played ____" moments. Noticing a theme here? Eliane Elias - Oye Como Va The computer picked this and I really wasn't feeling playing a lot of vocal tracks this evening (there are three tonight), but it's "Oye Como Va." Try listening to anyone perform "Oye Como Va" and not get a little chipper. Lizz Wright - A Taste of Honey Once again, I'm playing Lizz Wright to prep the Alamo City for her performance at the Carver tomorrow. The Roots - Teen Town Owen Biddle does too  good of a job on this song. Seriously. It makes be sad it's less than a minute long

It was rather difficult for me to put this show together this time. I sort of walked into the station like a zombie and was hard pressed to put things together, but once I heard the Nels Cline album, I knew exactly how to make all this work. This show gets a little out there but if you have grit, you get to enjoy a really great show. Let's get into it. Maria Neckam - Deeper It's become standard practice for me to ask Seb  for suggestions before putting together a show. He sent me this track to play. I don't play many vocalists but tonight's show is rather vocal heavy. I decided to put much of that singing up front. Gregory Porter - Black Nile This is actually a suggestion from JJ to continue with the vocalists. This was also the first time I put together a show with other people in the room listening. It was weird to have other people around instead of me sitting in a room by myself like a crazy man. Stefon Harris & Blackout - Minor March It should be pretty

Things have been a little out of sorts lately so I haven't had the chance to update you on other things I have written. This is now one of those times. When last we've spoken, I wrote my usual columns over at Nextbop . Today's post entitled "Jazz War, What is it Good For? (Absolutely Nothin')"  ( sing it again now!) was on the pointlessness of jazz commentary infighting and in doing so, I solidified Nextbop's stance to only talk about music that's awesome and not cause fights with sensitive folks... But as a guy who holds the reins on a site dedicated to promoting one of those viewpoints of jazz, it’s hard for me not to bash one ideology to promote my own, especially when such talk is in vogue. Still, I am a man of my word, so I refuse to keep fighting just to increase hit counts (and we really do like steadily increasing our website’s hit count). Besides, there are times when I feel like playing more traditional jazz music. I’m not against that wh

I can't think of much I have to say for tonight's episode. How was your Miles Davis Day? It was last Wednesday if you can't remember. Oh, and you may want to check out the stuff over at Nextbop . After some snags this last week, we've had a whirlwind past couple of days. There's a bunch of talk going on about how we should approach booking shows, with or without opening acts and for how much pay. It got pretty messy but also pretty fun. Check it out. Otherwise, here's The Line-Up for tonight. Lizz Wright - A Taste of Honey Just another friendly reminder to catch Lizz Wright at the Carver this coming June 12th. Russell Gunn - Footprints Aaron Prado has returned to KRTU San Antonio for the summer. This is the man who crafted the sound of the station and we're all pleased as punch to have him back. Last week, I heard him play some Russell Gunn and I really liked it so I made sure to play him this week. Finding out Gunn did some Miles work fit into this we

Yet another show put together for you to enjoy. This one was mostly a "Retro combs through the KRTU library" episodem I hope you enjoy. Joe Lovano & Hank Jones - Six and Four With Hank Jones' passing this past week, I knew I wanted to play something of this tonight. Nextbop posted an interview he did with us and mentioned working with Joe Lovano on a couple of projects so I knew just what to look for. J Dilla - Oblighetto Imagine my surprise to look through the categories and see a J Dilla track. Seeing his name meant mandatory airplay. Brad Mehldau - Dropjes Recently, JD asked me to record a quick promo and asked me if I had any song in mind to play in the background. While I was thinking, JJ chimed in and said, "Something from Brad Mehldau!" Theses people know me too well. Weather Report - Teen Town I've been seriously craving some Weather Report lately. Dafnis Prieto - Taking the Soul for a Walk The computer picked this. I don't mind.