Programming Notes

I'm happy to announce that the managers at 88.9 FM WDNA have decided to add another time slot for Passing Notes -- so you can tune in during drive time every Friday after the BBC News, 6:06 pm to be precise.  That new broadcast time is in addition to the 11:06 spot just before Studio 360.  Passing Notes is up to its 230th episode, and if you miss any of the broadcasts, you can always find the latest 10 or so episodes as podcasts on iTunes or Stitcher.

My music show, The Sunday Time Warp, continues to build audience and is coming up on its first full year -- despite for the past five months having to go against NFL football from 1:00 to 3:00 pm. We'll have a first anniversary show on March 3. The feature interview each week on the Time Warp -- Segment3 -- which I started out with very low expectations -- has taken off very quickly.  Segment three is booked already well into March.  Who knew?  And remember, all those Segment3 episodes are also available as podcasts.

If you like what I do, please tell folks about Passing Notes and the Sunday Time Warp.  You can also take a minute and sign up for the e-mail newsletter (the link is at the top of the right sidebar), or become a liker/follower through all kinds of social media, particularly Twitter and Facebook (at the links below).  Lastly, if you do listen to the podcasts from time to time, reviews and thumbs up are a huge help in terms of helping me bring in a few more thin dimes from the work I do!  Much appreciated!

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PN 230 - John McCusker - 'Creole Trombone'

Photojournalist and serious jazz fan John McCusker finds that he's the person to end up writing a first-rate biography of Kid Ory, a more important figure in the early years of jazz than many had previously thought.



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John McCusker







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Video Jukebox - Kid Ory

Exclusively the converting and uploading work of Jasper Van Pelt, here's a Video Jukebox selection of clips of Kid Ory performing on television in the late 1950s.  In addition to playing on Louis Armstrong's Hot Five recordings, Ory was an important New Orleans bandleader in the 1910s, a mentor to many jazz figures of the 20s century, and a genial purveyor of the New Orleans sound well into the sixties.  He's the subject of a new biography by John McCusker, Creole Trombone: Kid Ory and the Early Years of Jazz.  McCusker will be my guest on today's Passing Notes.


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Video Jukebox - Louis Durra

Pianist Louis Durra brings his eclectic song selections and contemplative arrangements to the Video Jukebox this week.  You've got Dylan, Marley, Radiohead in the mix of nine performances the playlist below.  He's also released a couple of fine albums of late -- Rocket Science and The Best of All Possible Worlds.

Durra will be the guest on this weekend's Sunday Time Warp.


Louis Durra




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PN Unscripted - Billy Martin

Drummer Billy Martin breaks down the history of his new project, Wicked Knee, a new album, 'Heels Over Head,' and what he's up to when he's not grooving with Medeski Martin and Wood.  We get into a serious discussion of being in the groove, getting out of the groove, and how you might think of every instrument as a percussion instrument.

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PN Unscripted - Eric Deggans

Media critic Eric Deggans discusses his new book, Race-Baiter: How the Media Wields Dangerous Words to Divide a Nation.  He offers insights on changes in media over the past two decades, the rise of Fox News, the decline of right-wing radio, and the need for a more thoughtful and persistent discussion of race in the mainstream.

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Deggans will be appearing at Books and Books in Coral Gables on Wednesday, January 23 at 8:00 pm.


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Sunday Time Warp - Playlist 1/20/13

Song, Artist, Album
Freedom Jazz Dance, MALTA, Jazz Up Back Up Dress Up
Stuck In The MIddle With You, Nicole Henry, So Good So Right
The Crunge, Joshua Redman Elastic Band, Momentum
Hopscotch, Vincent Herring, Mr. Wizard
The Archer or the Arrow, Motet, Live
Lose Blues, Pamela Hines, 3-2-1
Key Swing, Matthew Shipp, Greatest Hits
Mbwemofolo, Billy Martin's Wicked Knee, Heels Over Head
Ohnedaruth, Art Ensemble of Chicago, Bap-Tizum
Absolutions, Max Roach, Members Don't Git Weary
Luna, Jeff Babko, Crux
On The Milky Way Express, Wayne Shorter, High Life
Nostalgia Is For Suckas, Jeff Babko, Crux
Post Punk, Jeff Babko, Crux
Man of Constant Sorrow, John Hollenbeck, Songs I Like A Lot
Grant's Stand, Booker Ervin, Freedom Book
Power of Soul, Idris Muhammad, Power of Soul
Hey Fela!, New Mastersounds, 102%

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Segment3 - Jeff Babko

The versatile keyboardist Jeff Babko gets to the heart of the compositional matter on his new album, 'Crux.'




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Movie Notes - Straight, No Chaser (Monk Documentary)

One of the first full-fledged jazz documentaries I saw back in the day was 1988's Straight, No Chaser, a black-and-white film I had to drive an hour to the Railroad Square Cinema to see.  I didn't have many jazz records in my collection of LPs, but I had three albums of Monk's (Solo Monk, Criss Cross, Mysterioso), and I'd just about worn out the others I found in the university's music library. Back then, it was a revelation for me to see Monk even-larger-than-larger-than-life on the screen.  The performances are brilliant, and I could tell that Monk was more than just an "eccentric genius" that he'd been marketed as all those years.  He was mentally ill, sick and going without proper treatment -- all the more sad to think how he and those around him suffered because of his struggles.  Current day biographers know the full picture of what was going on, of course.  Doesn't take much away from Charlotte Zwerin's film, though.





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PN 229 - Eric Deggans - 'Race-Baiter'

Media and TV critic for the Tampa Bay Times explains how the media wields dangerous words to divide a nation in his new book, Race-Baiter.



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Eric Deggans

Deggans will appear at Books & Books in Coral Gables on Wednesday, January 23 at 8:00 pm.





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Video Jukebox - Jeff Babko

Keyboardist Jeff Babko is known for his versatility -- and for being a key member of the house band for Jimmy Kimmel Live!  He's also a graduate of the University of Miami music program.  His new album is called Crux, and he'll be my guest on Segment3 this weekend on the Sunday Time Warp.  For now, check out his playing in this week's Video Jukebox.




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Listener's Notes - 2013 NEA Jazz Masters Concert

This evening you can catch a fine concert from Jazz at Lincoln Center, the 2013 NEA Jazz Master's Awards Ceremony and Concert, honoring Mose Allison, Lou Donaldson, Lorraine Gordon, and Eddie Palmieri.  The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. EST and can be accessed by the public at arts.gov/jazzmasterswebcast as well as jalc.org/neajazzmasters. An archive of the webcast will be available the following day. Wynton Marsalis will emcee the evening, and the music will be provided by a trio of Ron Carter, Kenny Barron, and Jimmy Cobb, with additional music from  Paquito D'Rivera, Sheila Jordan, Dave Liebman, and Randy Weston.  And you never know who might also be sitting in.

Again, the concert begins streaming at 7:30 pm this evening.  When the time comes, click here!


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Sunday Time Warp - Playlist 1/13/13

Song, Artist, Album


Cross Culture, Joe Lovano Us Five, Cross Culture
Dive Bomber, Daniel Strange, Life As I Hear It
Ocho Rios, El Michaels Affair, Sounding Out The City
Ain't It Funky Now, Jimmy McGriff, Greatest Hits
The Burners Jam, Cookin' On 3 Burners, Baked Broiled and Fried
Johnny's Blues, Art Blakey & Jazz Messengers, Like Someone In Love
Muffaletta, Billy Martin's Wicked Knee, Heels Over Head
Button To Button, Billy Martin's Wicked Knee, Heels Over Head
Ghumba Zumba, Billy Martin's Wicked Knee, Heels Over Head
Sugarfoot Stomp, Billy Martin's Wicked Knee, Heels Over Head
Double Game, Illy B, Drop The Needle
Farther On Up The Road, Lonnie Mack, Memphis Wham!
San-Ho-Zay, Freddy King , The Very Best Of
Blue Greens and Beans, Gene Ammons, Blue Gene
I'm In An Awful Mood, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, Old Kidney Stew Is Fine
Superstitious, Beck Bogert & Appice, Beck Bogert & Appice
Home In Your Heart, The Derek Trucks Band, Joyful Noise
Shamading, Les McCann, Talk To The People
Cosmic Strut, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Visions of the Emerald Beyond
The Shadow, Garaj Mahal, Blueberry Cave
Freedom Jazz Dance, Nils Landgren Funk Unit, Fonk The World


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Segment3 - Billy Martin's Wicked Knee

Drummer Billy Martin keeps busy when he's not in Medeski Martin and Wood.  One of his many projects -- Wicked Knee, a drums-and-brass group, has a new album out, Heels Over Head.  Martin talks about playing with horns, the White Stripes, and the benefits of getting out of the groove from time to time.



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Billy Martin's Wicked Knee



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Movie Notes - Blue Note: A Story of Modern Jazz

As many of you wait for the remaining NFL playoff games today has to offer, spend a little time getting smarter about the history of jazz with this respectable 2007 documentary about the Blue Note label. Produced by EuroArts and directed by Julian Benedikt, it features interviews with Tommy Turrentine, Johnny Griffin, Lou Donaldson, Horace Silver, Herbie Hancock, and Freddie Hubbard.


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Listener's Notes - Kneebody Live from Kennedy Center

Late this afternoon (or early this evening), you can tune in to a live and free broadcast of Kneebody from the Kennedy Center's Milennium Stage.  Call the music high-volume post-bop, call it high-level indie-rock, call it what you will, Kneebody is worth checking out.  At 6:00 pm Eastern time, just steer your browser over to the Kennedy Center website, and stream away.  Link here.


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Video Jukebox - Billy Martin's Wicked Knee

Uber-drummer Billy Martin is joined by Steven Bernstein (trumpet), Curtis Fowlkes (trombone), and Marcus Rojas (tuba) in his neo-juke-joint band Wicked Knee, who are releasing their new album, Heels Over Head.  In this week's V-Juke, Wicked Knee struts its stuff on a number of tunes, including two versions of "Manic Depression" - one with John Medeski, one without.

Martin will be the guest on this week's Sunday Time Warp.



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PN Unscripted - Chris Ware

Chris Ware has an extended conversation about his latest comics-in-a-box masterpiece, Building Stories.  Ware talks about the sense of touch, the artist Joseph Cornell, and how we might need to stop spending so much of our time staring down into little digital holes.  We're looking at you, people.


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Sunday Time Warp - Playlist 1/6/13

Song, Artist, Album

Bite Than Bark, Takuya Kuroda Sextet, Six Acres
Matte Kudasai, Kurt Elling, The Gate
Heartbeat, Wave Mechanics Union, Further to Fly
The Luckiest, Sara Gararek, Blossom & Bee
Six - Balance, David Gilmore, Numerology: Live at Jazz Standard
Four - Formation, David Gilmore, Numerology: Live at Jazz Standard
Zero to Three - Expansion, David Gilmore, Numerology: Live at Jazz Standard
11th Hour Blues, David Gilmore, Unified Presence
Scotch Blues, Kenny Burrell, Blue Lights - Volumes 1 & 2
Sweet Home Chicago, Joe Carter, That Ain't Right
You Gave Me The Blues, Bernard Allison, Keepin' The Blues Alive
Don't Let The Sun See You Crying, Big Maybelle, The Same Old Story
Strange Things Happen, Magic Slim and the Teardrops, That Ain't Right
Where Have You Been?, Medeski Martin and Wood, Uninvisible
Palm Grease, Herbie Hancock, Thrust
Pucker Up, Speedometer, A Lover And A Friend
Freedom Jazz Dance, Beigels Daisy Toasts, Omnibus

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Segment3 - David Gilmore

Guitarist and composer David Gilmore talks about his 'Numerology Suite,' recorded live for his new album, Numerology: Live at Jazz Standard.




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David Gilmore



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