In the Groove, Jazz and Beyond

Ken Laster

From Jazz masters of past and present to emerging new artists performing modern jazz and fusion. No smooth jazz here!

  • 58 minutes 51 seconds
    RIP Zakir

    This episode begins by paying tribute to tabla master Zakir Hussain who passed away last week. He is one of the greatest musicians of my generation, and brought Indian Classical Music awareness to many in the jazz scene. That is followed by a set of music from some of the most influential Hartford jazz mentors.

    Playlist
    Artist ~ Name ~ Album
    Shakti & Shakti ~ Mind Ecology ~ Natural Elements
    Dave Holland, Zakir Hussain & Chris Potter ~ Island Feeling ~ Good Hope
    Zakir Hussain ~ Zakir ~ Making Music
    Zaccai Curtis ~ 52nd Street Theme ~ Cubop Lives!
    Steve Davis ~ What Is This Thing Called Love ~ Say When
    Rich Goldstein ~ What a Difference a Day Makes ~ Into the Blue
    George Benson ~ Take Five ~ Bad Benson
    Terell Stafford ~ Hey, It's Me You're Talking To ~ Fields of Gold
    The Ed Palermo Big Band ~ Peaches En Regalia ~ Plays the Music of Frank Zappa
    Miroslav Vitous ~ Bamboo Forest ~ Universal Syncopations

    22 December 2024, 11:01 am
  • 59 minutes 29 seconds
    Episode Dec 15 2024

    This week's show starts with 3 guitarists; Goldstein, Bernstein and McLaughlin. The show ends with a couple great trumpet players in Hubbard and McGhee. Lots of great jazz in between.

    Playlist
    Artist ~ Name ~ Album
    Rich Goldstein ~ Hard Days Night ~ Into the Blue
    Peter Bernstein ~ You Go to My Head ~ Better Angels
    John McLaughlin ~ Binky's Dream ~ Extrapolation
    David Borgo ~ Segmented ~ Persistence
    Joe Zawinul ~ In a Silent Way ~ Zawinul
    Gretchen Parlato ~ Holding Back The Years ~ The Lost And Found
    Freddie Hubbard ~ Weaver of Dreams ~ Ready For Freddie
    Howard McGhee ~ Maggie's Back In Town ~ Maggie's Back In Town!

    15 December 2024, 11:03 am
  • 59 minutes 17 seconds
    Episode Dec 8 2024

    After kicking off this episode with classic Miles, we delve into some of jazz's best and most creative pianists. The show ends with Indian/Jazz fusion from McLaughlin's Shakti.

    Playlist
    Artist ~ Name ~ Album
    Miles Davis ~ Seven Steps to Heaven ~ Seven Steps to Heaven
    Renee Rosnes ~ Frevo ~ Crossing Paths
    Brad Mehldau, Mark Turner & Peter Bernstein ~ Ditty for Dewey ~ Solid Jackson 
    Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock & Jack DeJohnette ~ All the Things You Are ~ Standards, Vol. 1
    Billy Childs ~ Master of the Game ~ The Winds of Change
    George Cables ~ Helen's Song ~ My Muse
    John McLaughlin & Shakti ~ India ~ A Handful of Beauty

    8 December 2024, 11:01 am
  • 1 hour 14 seconds
    Thanksgiving Leftovers

    Thanksgiving dinner is great, but we also dig chowing down on leftovers. The first set is inspired by those great ingredients transformed. We also have new music by Kenny Barron, Samara Joy and a re-release of early Miles. 

    Playlist 
    Artist ~ Name ~ Album
    Atla DeChamplain ~ Soul Food ~ Pause
    Matt Hall ~ Biscuits & Gravy ~ I Hope to My Never
    Zaccai Curtis ~ Black Rice ~ Cubop Lives!
    Matt Dwonszyk ~ Softly as in a Morning Sunrise ~ Donny Time
    David Borgo ~ Tabula Rasa ~ Persistence
    Billy Childs ~ The Black Angel ~ The Winds of Change
    Kenny Barron ~ The Nearness of You ~ Beyond This Place
    Samara Joy ~ Day By Day ~ Portrait
    Miles Davis ~ Four ~ Miles '54: The Prestige Recordings

    1 December 2024, 6:47 pm
  • 58 minutes 23 seconds
    Thanksgiving 2024

    This is our Thanksgiving special, with the first set paying tribute to perhaps my favorite holiday. Jimmy Greene and Thelonious Monk provide the musical setting for a Thanksgiving feast. The podcast episode concludes with a modern classical composition depicting a ballroom dance with Madam and Chairman Mao for Nixon's visit from composer John Adams and the San Francisco Symphony. In between, there is new music from Borgo, Z. Curtis and Wilcox as well as a new release from Charles Mingus previously released studio tapes.

    Playlist  
    Artist ~ Name ~ Album
    Jimmy Greene ~ Give Thanks ~ Mission Statement
    Thelonious Monk ~ Stuffy Turkey ~ It's Monk's Time
    David Borgo ~ Pilgrimage ~ Persistence
    Zaccai Curtis ~ Maple Leaf Rag ~ Cubop Lives!
    Andrew Wilcox ~ Self-Doubt ~ Dear Mr. Hill
    Charles Mingus ~ Re-incarnation Of A Love Bird (1st Version /Take 4) ~ Reincarnations
    Edo de Waart & San Francisco Symphony ~ The Chairman Dances (Foxtrot for Orchestra) ~ Adams: The Chairman Dances

    24 November 2024, 9:05 am
  • 59 minutes 49 seconds
    Rest In Power Roy, Lou, Quincy

    We begin this show with a tribute to three jazz greats that passed away in recent days, Roy Haynes, Lou Donaldson and Quincy Jones. The show continues with other legends of this music, one still living and actively touring, Charles McPherson followed by Bird and Dexter.

    Playlist
    Artist ~ Name ~ Album
    Roy Haynes ~ Moose the Mooch ~ Birds of a Feather
    Lou Donaldson ~ Blues Walk ~ Blues Walk
    Quincy Jones ~ Walking In Space ~ Walking In Space
    Charles McPherson ~ Surge ~ Reverence
    Charlie Parker ~ Ornithology~ Ornithology: The Best Of Bird
    Charlie Parker ~ Just Friends ~ Charlie Parker With Strings
    Dexter Gordon ~ Round Midnight ~ Homecoming - Live At the Village Vanguard

    17 November 2024, 9:00 am
  • 59 minutes 58 seconds
    Episode Nov 10 2024

    This week's show is an eclectic mix. It was recorded in the week following the elections and perhaps reflective of my emotions during this time. There is no real theme to the selections, and is music I have been listening to recently.

    Artist ~ Name ~ Album
    Joe Henderson ~ Short Story ~ In 'n Out 
    McCoy Tyner ~ When Sunny Gets Blue ~ Today and Tomorrow
    Lori Bell Quartet ~ Inner Urge ~ Recorda Me - Remembering Joe Henderson
    Nduduzo Makhathini ~ Water Spirits: Iyana ~ uNomkhubulwane
    Miroslav Vitous ~ I Will Tell Him On You ~ Infinite Search
    Weather Report ~ 125th Street Congress ~ Sweetnighter
    Charlie Haden ~ This Is Not America ~ Not In Our Name

    10 November 2024, 11:03 am
  • 59 minutes 2 seconds
    Election Day 2024

    Today's show begins with a reminder to vote on or before Election Day, Nov 5, 2024. Let's start with a tribute to Dizzy Gillespie's run for President in 1964. That's followed by Ella's Vote for Mr. Rhythm. A new posthumous release from trumpeter Roy Hargrove has a track, Kamala's Dance (written for Roy's daughter). After that is just some music I have been listening to this past week.

    Playlist 
    Artist ~ Name ~ Album
    Dizzy Gillespie ~ Salt Peanuts ~ Groovin' High
    Ella Fitzgerald ~ Vote For Mister Rhythm ~ The Complete Decca Singles Vol. 1: 1935-1939
    Roy Hargrove ~ Kamala's Dance ~ Grande-Terre
    Roy Hargrove ~ Ethiopia ~ Grande-Terre
    Jackie McLean ~ Star Eyes ~ Nature Boy
    The Dave Brubeck Quartet ~ The City Is Crying ~ Jazz Impressions of Japan
    David Borgo ~ Relational View ~ Persistence
    Steve Davis ~ Milestones ~ We See
    Wayne Shorter ~ Orbits ~ Celebration, Volume 1

    3 November 2024, 11:03 am
  • 58 minutes 53 seconds
    More Cross-Coastal

    Following my recent themes of music from SoCal and New England, I will feature music that exemplifies some of the fine jazz artists from these two areas of the country. Also, we close out the show with classic guitar work from Kenny Burrell and brand new music from Imannuel Wilkins.

     

    Playlist
    Artist ~ Name ~ Album
    Rob Thorsen ~ Dexterity ~ Lasting Impression
    Gilbert Castellanos ~ Bilad as Sudan ~ Espérame En El Cielo
    Mackenzie Leighton ~ November ~ I Remember
    Steve Davis ~ To Wisdom, the Prize ~ We See
    Abena Koomson-Davis ~ Everyday I Have the Blues ~ Where Is Love
    Matt Dwonszyk ~ It's Donny Time ~ Donny Time
    Kenny Burrell ~ Kenny's Sound ~ Midnight Blue
    Immanuel Wilkins ~ DARK EYES SMILE ~ Blues Blood

    27 October 2024, 10:03 am
  • 58 minutes 35 seconds
    Episode Oct 20 2024

    Kind of a random playlist of music I have been listening to this week. Of particular interest are the tunes that feature McCoy Tyner, including a Michael Brecker piece (composed by Metheny). Also a track from Immanuel Wilkins' new release Blue Blood has some interesting vocals.

    Playlist 
    Artist ~ Name ~ Album
    Andrew Renfroe ~ SPRINGS ~ Big Country EP
    Michael Brecker ~ Song for Bilbao ~ Tales from the Hudson
    McCoy Tyner ~ When Sunny Gets Blue ~ Today and Tomorrow
    McCoy Tyner ~ Sama Layuca ~ Sama Layuca
    Dan Pugach ~ My Favorite Things (feat. Nicole Zuraitis) - Single
    Immanuel Wilkins ~ MOTION (feat. June McDoom) ~ Blues Blood
    Billy Childs ~ Upstairs by a Chinese Lamp ~ Map to the Treasure: Reimagining Laura Nyro
    Bill Bruford's Earthworks & Tim Garland ~ Tramontana ~ Random Acts of Happiness
    Larry Goldings, Peter Bernstein & Bill Stewart ~ FU Donald ~ Perpetual Pendulum

    20 October 2024, 10:00 am
  • 58 minutes 51 seconds
    From Monterey to Hartford

    This episode continues from last week in bringing new music that I heard from Monterey Jazz Fest recently. Following that is more music from the Hartford jazz scene with Abena Koomson-Davis, Andrew Wilcox and Matt Dwonczyk.

    Playlist 
    Artist ~ Name ~ Album
    Marquis Hill ~ A Star Is Born ~ Composers Collective: Beyond The Jukebox
    Brandee Younger ~ Brand New Life ~ Brand New Life
    Robert Glasper ~ Prototype ~ Keys To The City Volume One
    Anat Cohen ~ Paco ~ Quartetinho: Bloom
    Abena Koomson-Davis ~ Just the Two of Us ~ Where Is Love
    Matt Dwonszyk ~ Groovin' on Wine ~ Donny Time
    Matt Dwonszyk ~ What a Difference a Day Makes ~ Donny Time
    Andrew Wilcox ~ Old Devil Moon ~ Dear Mr. Hill
    Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra & Wynton Marsalis ~ Freedom Day ~ The Music of Max Roach

    13 October 2024, 10:03 am
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