Radio News

Robinson Breaks Free from the Nest

Source: Michael Ricci
October 19, 2009

Songwriters are the unsung heroes when it comes to music. (Carole King, Kris Kristofferson and Bernie Taupin, long-time collaborator of Elton John come to mind.) There are songs that you've probably heard before, but never knew or thought who wrote them.

A great example of this is Sharon Robinson. She's been a collaborator of Canadian music legend, Leonard Cohen for over 30 years. Many of his finest works has Robinson's touch.

One song I mentioned in our interview in early ...

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The Jazz Session #98: Industrial Jazz Group

Source: Michael Ricci
October 19, 2009

The Industrial Jazz Group is a 15-ish-piece large ensemble that plays the inventive, challenging and often hilarious music of composer Andrew Durkin. That sentence, though, doesn't come close to doing them justice. The band, made up of musicians fluent in jazz, classical and rock and inspired by the free-for-all spirit of Frank Zappa is a force of nature, slinking, striding and crashing through Durkin's charts with an obvious love for the groups collective sound. In this interview, Durkin talks about ...

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The Jazz Session #97: Darius Jones

Source: Michael Ricci
October 18, 2009

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The Jazz Session #96: Joe Morris

Source: Michael Ricci
October 18, 2009

Guitarist Joe Morris has spent three decades finding ways to contribute to the language of the guitar and to the literature of improvised music. Hes managed to stay true to himself and his sound during that entire time, even as hes added the bass to his repertoire. On Today On Earth (AUM Fidelity, 2009), Morris continues to explore the place of the guitar in the world of free improvisation. In this interview, Morris talks about his early decision to play ...

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More Coverage of KFUO Sale

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
October 18, 2009

The proposed sale of radio station KFUO (99.1 FM) is continuing to generate controversy and press coverage. Over the weekend, reporter Charles Jaco of local Fox affiliate KTVI (Channel 2) did a story on the sale that included an interview with Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra president Fred Bronstein. You can see that report online here.(For more background on the sale of KFUO, and why it matters to local fans of jazz as well as classical music, see here, ...

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JazzWeek Radio Chart: October 5, 2009

Source: Michael Ricci
October 14, 2009

TW LW 2W Artist TW LW Move Add Rpts Peak Wks 1 2 1 Roy Hargrove Big Band Emergence (Emarcy) 232 242 -10 1 57 1 7 2 17 — Poncho Sanchez Psychedelic Blues (Concord) 194 120 +74 28 52 2 2 3 1 2 Jackie Ryan Doozy (Open Art) 191 253 -62 0 56 1 11 4 8 8 Heath Brothers Endurance (Jazz Legacy) 176 159 +17 4 52 4 6 5 10 7 Robert Glasper Double Booked (Blue Note) ...

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Art Tatum: The Group Masterpieces

Source: Michael Ricci
October 13, 2009

This week Night Lights pays a centennial tribute to jazz piano giant Art Tatum, whose immense virtuosic talent made it nearly impossible for other musicians to keep up with him. Near the end of his life Tatum recorded a series of albums with musicians such as Benny Carter and Ben Webster that provide an unparalleled opportunity to hear the pianist with colleagues that could, to varying degrees, hold their own with him. Still, it was Tatum who dominated the proceedings. ...

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The Jazz Session #95: Fay Victor

Source: Michael Ricci
October 12, 2009

The Fay Victor Ensemble's The FreeSong Suite (Greene Avenue, 2009) is a tour de force of writing, improvisation and performance. Victor and her band paint one fluid word picture after another, linking these composed sections with free playing that is smart, muscular and emotional. In this interview, Victor talks about why she needed a steady band to realize her musical vision; how she arrived at the mix of freedom and pre-determination that characterizes the album; and what the breakdown of ...

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