Sunday, August 19, 2007

Jazzed


Exactly one reader might know why hearing "jazzed" breaks my heart. It shouldn't, but it does. It's a perfectly good non-word; just not for me.
Anyhow, we had a Jazz Emergency and I wound up hosting one of our Jazz shows directly following my own, non-Jazz program. Our resident Jazz Man set me up with a couple CD's, which I will get to , but first, my show -
The New Breakfast Snob, Sun Aug 19
:

Brian Eno- SkySaw
Eno. E-no. Not Emo. What the hell is wrong with you kids today? You haven't heard of Brian Eno? You should get up earlier and listen to more radio- sheesh.

Genesis-Can Utility and the Coastliners
I bet you kids didn't know there was a time when Phil Collins didn't suck. There was- in the early 1970's he played drums for Genesis. He was awesome until he stepped out from behind his drumkit. Musically, he went straight downhill- financially, he hit it BIG. Funny how that works...

Altan-Beidh Aonach Amarach
Another new (to me ) old Celtic band that I'm liking more every time I hear. It'll be worth getting a job so I can buy some of their older stuff.

Tangerine Dream- Darwin's Motel
Tangerine Dream is one of my new, old-time favorite 'morning' bands. Goes well with coffee.

Gong
- White Doves
I just can't seem to get my frenzy going. I keep playing calming, pleasant songs. Oh well.

Don McLean-If We Try
See? I'm playing goddamned love songs. At least it's a good one.

Chieftains- Morning Dew
This is old Chieftains. They've played with ten gabillion famous artists, but this song is just them.

Pentangle- Once I Had A Sweetheart
Oh, this is more like it. Recently I was trying, with difficulty, to explain to a friend how a profound sadness can sometimes be so intense- almost transcendent- that the experience is beautiful, even if you might not realize it at the time. This song is like that.

Fiona Joyce- Long Road To Travel
I'm a new fan of Joyce, who has been around for some time. I read her books a long time ago, but I was drinking a lot and don't remember much...oh, that was a different Joyce? A guy?
Get outta here...

Briege Murphy- The Sea
Listening to Celtic ballads, one gets the impression that a fishing village would be a great place to meet women. Lots of widows.

Steeleye Span- The Storyteller
And witches. The good kind.

Maire Brennan- Beating Heart
Today's got a green groove- why fight it?

Fairport Convention- Meet on the Ledge
"Don't jump!"

Pretty Things- She Says Good Morning
A caller told me that these guys sound like the Rolling Stones or the Beatles. He had it backwards. It's my belief that the Stones, The Beatles, Pink Floyd and even The Who ripped off the Pretties to some degree or another. It's not when the album was released that matters- it's when it was recorded.

Loreena McKinnett- Hearts of Space
Go buy her stuff. It's often labeled 'New Age' but I pretty much fucking hate most 'New Age' and I love this...she combines many musical elements into a unique but instantly familiar sound...entrancing.

Hot Tuna- The Water Song
Sometimes ya gotta have some guitar-pickin' and who better than Jorma Kaukonen?
(I spilled coffee on my Leo Kottke LP)

Bob Dylan- The Boxer
One great songwriter to another...

Neil Young- Sedan Delivery
Another great American songwriter...he's what? Canadian? Well, Canada fuckin' rocks then!

Soft Boys- Muriel's Hoof
Twin guitar instrumental madness. Frenzy at last!

Steve Hillage- Hello Dawn
I lost my innocence while this album played. This very copy, in fact. That's why it skips.

Robert Fripp- North Star
I really shouldn't make fun of Robert Fripp's fashion sense on-air, but I did anyway. I hope he wasn't listening.

Damien Dempsey- Celtic Tiger
Damo is one of very few current artists that I really, really want to see live. Too bad no one in America cares.

Claanad- Why Worry?
Well...I lost my job and my savings account in the same month...I have nineteen dollars until the unemployment kicks in...fuck. It could be worse. Tune in tomorrow.

Ten Years After- I'd Love to Change the World
This is one of the first songs I learned on guitar. It's a lot easier to play the song than to change the world, but it's a nice thought. If everyone was 5% nicer, it would make a difference...*sigh*

Flaming Groovies
- Whiskey Woman
Ok, Mister Caller- here's a song that really does sound a LOT like the Stones , circa Let it Bleed.
Played directly off the original Kama Sutra vinyl. I like the way that sounds...Kama Sutra vinyl...it was a old record label- a division of Buddah Records, 'natch.

Ok, so I got to play my own selections...not the case for the Jazz show...probably a good idea. My Jazz show would sound like a tribute to Sun Ra...which I like, but our audience is used to more, um, 'normal' cuts.
All I did was babysit a two-hour recording of the 2006 Detroit International Jazz Festival. After six cups of coffee, I was ready to start throwin' down my 1970's punk rock records, but this is what I wound up with:

Clayton Bros. Quintet- Sat. Night Special
Dianne Schuur- If You Want It
James Dapogny- Way Down Yonder in N.O.
Ahmad Jamal- Poinciana
Joe Locke- It Don't Mean a Thing
Johnny O'Neal- Tight
Donald Harrison- Cool Breeze
Jaco Pastorious Word of Mouth Big Band- Soul Intro/Chicken
Wait...Jaco is dead and has been for a long time. This doesn't sound like him at all.
Moutin Reunion Band- MRC
Lou Donaldson- Lou's Blues
Marcia Ball- Just Kiss Me, Baby
organissimo- Back At The Chicken Shack
Lewis Nash- Beyond the Bluebird
Shahida Nurallah-A Felicidade

Jeez, I thought I played long songs on MY show, but this list is only 14 songs...and it took two hours. I need a nap.

8 comments:

AngelConradie said...

i'm not a big jazz fan, i do love blues though...
your show's selection sounds marvellous! so what was the emergency?

Sling said...

Jazz schmazz...okay,I do like like it when the mood strikes,but I'll take the Chieftains,all by themselves,anytime.

whimsical brainpan said...

I'm really picky about my jazz. You (as usual) had another good playlist.

Enemy of the Republic said...

Like the blues, jazz is becoming a lost art. You have to seek it out; it won't find you anymore.

Anonymous said...

this is quite a list! just came over from whimsy's blog to check you out. i will definitely have to come back to visit.

Craig D said...

Man, I really miss the old "free-form" FM days! Back in the mid-seventies, WBUF in Buffalo, whould be playing all these wierd artists' album tracks and it was like falling down Alice's rabbit hole. There's a big overlap between what I used to hear then and what you're playing now.

Those were exciting times of discovery. I hope there are people in your audience that feel that same way when they listen to your show.

This reminds of another weird anecdote that I should throw up on my blog some time. I ended up doing some record store commercials for that self-same radio station, back in the day and it turned creepy...

Ooops - time for 'nother donut!

yellowdoggranny said...

i like sax, drum and trumpet solos...so i like some jazz..but the blues..now there's some music..cause ya gotta suffer to sing the blues...

more cowbell said...

I just like the whole idea of a Jazz Emergency. A Blues Emergency would be even better.