Friday, December 9th, 2009 ... 6:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. ... KZSU, 90.1 FM

(Return to playlists.)

Substitute show for "No Cover, No Minimum," DJ Fo's usual jazz/world/blues show. I kept to a straight-jazz vibe for most of the show.

Format:
ARTIST -- "TRACK TITLE" -- ALBUM TITLE (LABEL, YEAR)
Horizontal lines denote microphone breaks.

* Michael Moore and Fred Hersch -- "Canzona" -- This We Know (Palmetto, 2008)

Previously noted here.

? Dexter Gordon -- "Tanya" -- One Flight Up (Blue Note, 1964)

? John Coltrane -- "Mr. P.C." -- The Paris Concert (Pablo/Fantasy, 1979; recorded "circa 1961-2")

A 26-minute version, and not just because Coltrane keeps on blowing and blowing. Jimmy Garrison gets a long bass solo with some wonderful arco playing that receives big applause, and Elvin Jones tosses in a robust drum solo. The sound fidelity isn't perfect, but I love this track as an example of what the classic quartet could do.

Someday I'll have to listen to the 50-minute "My Favorite Things." (Not on this album, was that on Live in Japan?) That'll be a trip.

* Art Blakey and the Giants of Jazz -- "Perdidio" -- Live at the 1972 Monterey Jazz Festival (Concord/MJF, 2008; recorded, duh, 1972)

From late in the giants' careers, obviously, but still worth hearing. The band includes Thelonious Monk, Clark Terry, and Roy Eldridge, among others (Terry and Eldridge being replacements for an absent Dizzy Gillespie). Part of a series of CDs started in 2007 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Monterey Jazz Festival; Concord, which is helping the MJF label, has more infomation here.

* Art Blakey and the Giants of Jazz -- "Perdido" [cont'd]

* Cal Tjader -- "Now's the Time" -- Best of: Live at the Mon terey Jazz Festival (Concord/MJF, 2008; recorded 1958)

Nicely tangly stuff, including a 13-minute Sam Rivers tribute that I'm going to have to check out later. You know the Dave Holland drill by now: accessible enough to share with friends, deeply complex enough to subtly alter their brain cells in good ways. This track does have a "sum of parts" feel, with lots of stuff going on that all clicks together nicely. Rewarding on a deep listen.

Check out the very recent (as in, hours before my show broadcast) review of Holland's Octet in NYC, posted over at JazzObserver.

* Oliver Lake Organ Trio -- "Makin' It" -- Makin' It (Passin' Thru, 2008)

Previously noted here.

Source: ProgArchives.com

Abercrombie's career with ECM had already taken off (pun! haha!) when this one came out, which makes this album all the more perplexing. Maybe it's just a difference in eras, since DIY and small-market album art can be extraordinarily good these days, but this LP, found in our KZSU library, just has a cheesy, low-budget, K-TEL kind of look.

As you might imagine, the music ain't bad. It's just that it's all covers. In this trio setting, Abercrombie's guitar takes on a quiet, fleet, flickering sound, especially on the faster tracks like this one. The quality of the playing is leagues ahead of what you might expect from looking at the cover, if you didn't know Abercrombie.

Anyway, I'd glimpsed this in the library a few weeks ago, and today a listener called up and noted that Abercrombie would be at Yoshi's this coming week. Seemed a good excuse to give the LP a test run and a bit of airtime glory.

* Bruce Katz -- "Better Get It in Your Soul" -- Live! at the Firefly (Vizz Tone, 2008)

Some straight blues, upbeat and danceable, with Hammond B-3.

Classic old session recently rereleased on CD.

* Australian Bebop Ragas -- "Bollywood Fantasia" -- Snakes and Ladders (Family Tree, 2008)

Previously noted here.

Previously noted here. This is the 15-minute tour de force that concludes the album; IIRC, there's a passage where Mahanthappa and Kadri Gopalnath trade fluttery sax solos. Great stuff, and the CD apparently received lots of good year-end press.

Previously noted here.

* = Item in KZSU rotation
! = Pop anomaly
? = Item not in KZSU library

-- Go back to Memory Select playlists.
-- Bay Area free/improv music calendar: http://www.bayimproviser.com.