Memorial Day

Playlist, May 28, 2006

Set One
Joel Harrison; Here Comes the Sun; Harrison on Harrison
Harvie S; Rhythm-a-ning; Funky Cha
Bobby Matos; Tunji; Acknowledgement
Jim Cifelli; Young Dan; Groove Station
Arturo Sandoval; Eastern Blues; Live at the Blue Note
[mic break 10:47 a.m.]

Interview with Christopher Healy (11:00-11:25 a.m.]

Set Two
Gandalf Murphy & the Slambovian Circus of Dreams; Genius; A Good Thief Tips His Hat
Gandalf Murphy & the Slambovian Circus of Dreams; Silent Revolution; A Good Thief Tips His Hat
Professor Louie & the Crowmatix; Forever Young; The Spirit of Woodstock
Kerry Kearney Band; Stuck Inside of Eko with J.P. Blues Again
Who Are Those Guys; Blue Attitude; 25th Anniversary Edition
[mic break 11:52 a.m.]

Set Three
George Gee Big Band; Bass In Yo' Face; Settin' The Pace
Art Tatum; Sweet Lorraine; Willow Weep For Me
Coleman Hawkins; Speak Low; The Hawk Relaxes
Jackie Allen; Lazy Afternoon; Jazz Vocalists Hear & Now
Donald Fagen; The Great Pagoda of Funn; Morph the Cat
Eric Alexander; It's All in the Game; It's All in the Game
[mic break 12:30 p.m.]

Set Four
Brad Goode; Hypnotic Suggestion; Hypnotic Suggestion
Miles Davis; Fran Dance; At Newport 1958
[mic break 12:47 p.m.]

Set Five
Rodney Jones; Summertime; Dreams and Stories
Sophie Milman; Ochi Chemye (Dark Eyes); Sophie Milman
Sara Gazarek; Blackbird; Yours
Matthias Lupri Group; Still; Metalix
Matthias Lupri Group; (Still) Lingering; Metalix
Gary Burton/Chick Corea; Señor Mouse; Crystal Silence
Vijay Iyer; Kinship; Blood Sutra
[mic break 1:25 p.m.]

Set Six
Sai Ghose Quartet; Cing-ro-mesh; New Blood
Eddie Daniels Quartet; It Had To Be You; Mean What You Say
Sophie Milman; I Feel Pretty; Sophie Milman
Donald Fagen; Security Joan; Morph the Cat
[2:00 p.m.]
Technorati tags: WPKN, playlist, Morning Maniac Music, radio

Playlist, Sunday, May 21st

Set One
Bob Mintzer Big Band; My One and Only Love; Old School New School
Weather Report; Havona; Heavy Weather
Christian McBride; See Jam, Hear Jam, Feel Jam; Live at Tonic
[mic break 10:47 a.m.]

Set Two
Sonny Stitt; Oh, Lady Be Good; Just Friends
Sonny Stitt; What's New; Just Friends
Gerry Mulligan & Ben Webster; The Cat Walk; Gerry Mulligan Meets Ben Webster
Count Basie; The World Is Mad; The Essential Count Basie vol. 1
Count Basie; Lonesome Miss Pretty; The Essential Count Basie vol. 3
Sonny Stitt; Barkan the Blues; Work Done
[mic break 11:27 a.m.]

Set Three
Miles Davis; Walkin'; In person, Friday Night At The Blackhawk vol. 1
Jack Walrath; Inn The Pit; Wholly Trinity
Frank Morgan; Polka Dots and Moonbeams; Raising the Standard
Bill Bruford/Tim Garland; Bajo del Sol; Earthworks Underground Orchestra
[mic break 12:19 p.m.]

Set Four
Paul Abler; The Days & Nights of Marion Hayden; Fearless
Paul Bollenback; Together; Brightness of Being
Pamela Luss; Fools Rush In; There's Something About You I Don't Know
Michael Coppola; Take Five; Monster Guitar
Patricia Barber; Use Me; Companion
Shannon Gibbons; This Could Be The Start of Something Big; Shannon Gibbons
[mic break 12:55 p.m.]

Set Five
Harry James; Headin' For Hallelujah; First-Team Player on the Jazz Varsity
Harry James; Tuxedo Junction; First-Team Player on the Jazz Varsity
Harry James; Alice Blue Gown; First-Team Player on the Jazz Varsity
Coleman Hawkins; Take The "A" Train; Bean Stalkin'
Coleman Hawkins; Indiana; Bean Stalkin'
Harry James; Four or Five Times; First-Team Player on the Jazz Varsity
[mic break 1:33 p.m.]

Set Six
Ron Carter; Stella By Starlight; Standard Bearers
Miles Davis; Milestones; Miles in Berlin
Sonny Stitt; Stardust; Work Done
[2:00 p.m.]
Technorati tags: WPKN, playlist, Morning Maniac Music, radio

Now THIS is funny!

You might recall my unsuccessful first attempt at arranging a radio debate between U.S. Senate candidates Joe Lieberman and Ned Lamont. We're two days from the state convention, and Lamont is starting to run television ads. His first ad has been remixed, and remember...kos rhymes with mentos.

UPDATE 5/21/06
Now that the convention is over, and Lamont is on the ballot for a primary, I will get to work on Sean Smith again to set up a debate. Stay tuned for details.

Technorati tags: WPKN, Ned Lamont, mentos, kos

Christian McBride--Live At Tonic

Listeners are going crazy for this one. It's a new 3-CD live set from Christian McBride and his buddies with special guests. The phone rings off the hook when I play anything from it.

Disc One is the best of the two first sets from the nights of January 10 & 11, 2005. Discs Two and Three are the entire second sets from each night, and the music runs continuously as guests such as Charlie Hunter and DJ Logic weave in and out of the jam.

Technorati tags: WPKN, Christian McBride

Playlist, May 14, 2006

Set One
McCoy Tyner Big Band; Fly With The Wind; The Turning Point
Bill Bruford/Tim Garland; Speaking in Wooden Tongues; Earthworks Undergrond Orchestra
Michel Camilo; Prelude No. 2 (Gershwin); Rhapsody in Blue
Lalo Schrifrin; Pampas; Letters from Argentina
Fernando Huergo; Moonlight Over Somerville; Living in these times
[mic break 10:50 a.m.]

Set Two
Cecil Brooks III with Gene Ludwig; You've Changed; Double Exposure
Don Braden; Where There's Smoke; Workin'
Medeski, Martin & Wood; Sugar Craft; Note Bleu (Best of the Blue Note Years)
Christian McBride; Ab Minor Jam; Live at Tonic
Santana; Batuka; Santana III (Legacy Edition)
Santana; No One To Depend On; Santana III (Legacy Edition)
Allman Brothers Band; In Memory of Elizabeth Reed; Live at the Atlanta International Pop Festival
[mic break 11:52 a.m.]

Set Three
Paul Bollenback; Siberian Passages; Brightness of Being
Issi Rosen; Late Afternoon; Red Sea
Red Garland Trio; Perdido; At The Prelude
Red Garland Trio; Satin Doll; At The Prelude
Joe Chambers; In A Sentimental Mood; The Outlaw
Locke/Hazeltine Quartet; I Say A Little Prayer; Mutual Admiration Society
Orchestre National De Jazz/Frank Tortiller; Stairway to Heaven; Close to Heaven: A Led Zeppelin Tribute (hat tip: Station Manager Ken at WFMU)
[mic break 12:50 p.m.]

Set Four
Melodye; Black Coffee; Nocturnal Velvet
Sondre Lerche; Everyone's Rooting For You; Duper Sessions
Benny Green; Bellarosa; These Are Soulful Days
Don Byas; Stardust; Midnight At Minton's
DJ Earworm; Stairway to Bootleg Heaven; unknown
Lisa Michel; This Isn't Me; You Should Be Nicer to Me
Weather Report; A Remark You Made; Heavy Weather
Grateful Dead; Friend of the Devil; 10/15/89 Meadowlands Arena
Spliceway to Heaven; Splice Life Inc.; unknown
[mic break 1:46 p.m.]

Set Five
The National Cynical Network; Stairway to Heaven Medley; Walking on Roof
[2:00 p.m.]

Technorati tags: WPKN, playlist, Morning Maniac Music, radio

A more aggressive '73

For some reason, I recall Top 40 artists that had a fairly soft or easy sound coming out strong in 1973 with some harder (for them) material. I always wondered what it was. (Keep in mind that in those days I was listening to Top 40 radio, and not very familiar with the rockers of the day.

• Elton John, who had already racked up hits with softies like Daniel, Rocket Man and Crocodile Rock, came out swinging with Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting.
• Chicago, who lulled us with Color My World and gave us the happy romp of Saturday in the Park, lurched onto the radio with Feelin' Stronger Every Day. (Little did I know that in the late 1960s, Chicago was a hard-rocking band. Give the live Toronto 1969 album a listen for a great example of this period.)
• Paul McCartney, the epitome of sweetness, did James Bond and released Live and Let Die in the summer of '73.
• Gilbert O'Sullivan -- the epitome of syrupy pop at the time -- released Get Down. OK, it's a stretch, but his loving ode to a misbehaving dog was uptempo and was a virtual rocker compared to Claire and Alone Again, Naturally.

I don't know if there was something in the water that year, if it was the times, or just my own teenaged perceptions, but I will always remember 1973 as the year the pop stars rocked.

Technorati tags: 1973

Inside Tales

I had the chance to become reacaquainted with an old friend this week: Tales From Topographic Oceans. It's long, almost too long, but I think it's their crowning achievement of their early career. When it was new, WPLJ played two "emphasis tracks" (actually excerpts) from the album: "The Revealing Science of God" and "The Remembering." These were probably the two most accessible passages from the recording.

I tended to listen to sides 1 and 4 -- "The Revealing Science of God" and "Ritual - Nous Sommes du Soleil." Ritual was the one piece that stayed in their live show for many years. The two "inside tracks" on sides 2 and 3 didn't have the same appeal to me. I found them somewhat woozy and rambling, although the classical guitar and voice section of "The Ancient" has a certain charm, and it too appeared in their concert playlist.

Technorati tags: Yes, Tales From Topographic Oceans

Playlist, May 7, 2006

Set One
Miles Davis; Milestones; Miles in Berlin
Christian McBride; Technicolor Nightmare; Live at Tonic
Christian McBride; Technicolor Nightmare; Live at Tonic
[mic break 10:46 a.m.]

Set Two
Grateful Dead; Mexicali Blues; 1/2/72 Winterland
Grateful Dead; Playing in the Band; 1/2/72 Winterland
Joe Gallant & Illuminati; Playing in the Band; Live vol. 2
Joe Gallant & Illuminati; She's So Heavy; Live vol. 2
UK.; Ceasar's Palace Blues; Danger Money
Eddie Jobson; Inner Secrets; Theme of Secrets
Hiromi; Kung-Fu Champion of the World; Brain
[mic break 11:35 a.m.]

Set Three
Chronophonic; Reflections of the Shadow of the Flame; Footwork
John Whelan and friends; Reels: January's Journey, DD's Car; Flirting with the Edge
Afro-Celt Sound System; Rise Above (remix); Pod
Yoshida Brothers; Hit Song; III
Keller Williams; Scarlet>Fire; unknown
[mic break 12:12 p.m.]

Set Four
Miles Davis; Ah-Leu-Cha; At Newport 1958
Miles Davis; Straight, No Chaser; At Newport 1958
Miles Davis; Seven Steps to Heaven; Seven Steps to Heaven
Miles Davis; There is No Greater Love; "Four" and More
Miles Davis; I Thought About You; In Europe
Miles Davis; If I Were A Bell; Miles in Tokyo
[mic break 1:11 p.m.]

Set Five
The Kinks; A Gallon of Gas; Low Budget
Jack McDuff; Theme From Mission Impossible; That's The Way I Feel About It
Jack McDuff; Mellow Gravy; The Prestige Years
[1:30 p.m.]

Technorati tags: WPKN, playlist, Morning Maniac Music, radio

Welcome to the new Morning Maniac Music blog!

I'll be posting my playlists here with updates at the end of each set, and commentary during the week. My "official" WPKN home page is still here on the WPKN web site.