September 9, 2008

I'm on time this week! Here's the track list, posted in the same day as the show:

"III Wooster St." - Francois Bourassa Quartet (Rassnotes)
"Minor mood" - The Poll Winners (he poll winners: Barney Kessell with Shelly Manne and Ray Brown)
"Golden eagle dance" - Didier Lockwood & Raghunath Manet (Omkara)
"House of Haynes" - Joel Haynes Trio + Seamus Blake (Transitions)
"Brick steps (part III: fallback plan suite)" - Taylor Eigsti (Let it come to you)
"Monkey waits" - Simon Fisk/Chris Gestrin/Jerry Granelli (Vague hotels)
"The real mcbop" - Arturo Sandoval (Live at the Blue Note)
"Paris of the prairies" - Mark Dejong (The unknown)
"Breaking and entering" - Adam Niewood & His Rabble Rousers (Epic journey)
"Law of balance" - David Gilmore (Unified presence)
"Sway" - Jane Bunnett (Embracing voices)
"There was something in my drink" - Bobby Previte and the New Bump (Set the alarm for Monday)
"El amor en los tiempos de la finca" - Rova Saxophone Quartet (Beat kennel)
"Measure up" - Robert Walter (Cure all)
"Death of a space piper" - Rare Air (Space piper)
"Homage" - Frank Gratkowski Quartet (Spectral reflections)
"Fall song: dusk" - Jan Jarczyk (Fall songs)
"If that's true" - Esperanza Spalding (Esperanza)
"Kitten" - Dave Douglas (Moonshine)
"In a sentimental mood" - The Brooklyn Saxophone Quartet (The way of the saxophone)
"Agur janunak" - Elkanno Browning Cream (Elkanno Browning Cream)

In some ways, this is a fairly "straight" set (for Breaking The Tethers), at least for the first couple of hours. Nothing wrong with that, though. The last hour is more on the freakier side, especially with the Gratkowski Quartet piece and the rock-like "Kitten" by Dave Douglas.

Folks may notice that there were two sax quartets featured this week, Rova and Brooklyn. I didn't plan to play tracks from these similar groups (they have the same instrumentation: soprano, alto, tenor, baritone) but that's the way it turned out. It got me to thinking that there are actually a fair number of saxophone quartets, perhaps the most famous of which is the World Saxophone Quartet.

Next week's edition of Breaking The Tethers will be my last for a month. For a variety of reasons, I'll be unavailable until the October 14 show.

Andrew

September 2, 2008

I'm very, very late with this, close to a week. I really try to get the list for each show posted within a day or two after the show but it just didn't happen this week; I just got snowed under in other aspects of my life (still am!). Anyway, apologies and here's the list:

"Cousin Esau" - Tilden Webb Trio (Cellar groove)
"Glass" - Blink (The epidemic of ideas)
"Green haze" - Miles Davis (Musings of Miles)
"Dakar" - John Coltrane (Dakar)
"Beyond the limit" - Bob Mintzer Big Band (Swing out)
"Bamboo pants" - Billy Martin & John Medeski (Mago)
"Cherokee" - Sharel Cassity (Just for you)
"Mr. Yunioshi" - Ted Nash (The Mancini project)
"Off blue" - The Mark Atkinson Trio (IV)
"Shades of jade" - Mark Johnson (Shades of jade)
"Nine minute (or so) chabad nigun" - Daniel Zamir (I believe)
"Spirit of '76" - Michael Moore & Fred Hersch (This we know)
"The sulpher miner" - Michael Occhipinti (The Sicilian jazz project)
"Gastro funk" - L'Orkestra Des Pas Perdus (Project 9)
"Penske" - Will Bernard (Party hats)
"#42 take 15 (Duke's last soliloquoy)" - Mal Waldron (The cool world)
"I hear voices" - Jane Bunnett (Embracing voices)
"Track 2" - Marion Brown (Koeln, Germany, March 13, 1977)
"!!!!!" - The Peter Evans Quartet (The Peter Evans Quartet)
"Morning mantra" - William Parker (Double sunrise over Neptune)
"Moment" - Francois Carrier/Michel Lambert/Jean-Jacques Avenel (Within)

I think my fave part of this show was the last hour: The first playing of Marion Brown on Breaking The Tethers (more from him in the future!), the crazed "!!!!!" from the Peter Evans Quartet, and I very much liked ending things with the two lengthy "out there" pieces by Parker and the Carrier/Lambert/Avenel team. Earlier on, I was particularly fond of the "Nine minute (or so) chabad nigun" by Zamir, the bit from The Cool World (been meaning to play this for a while), and the track by Martin and Medeski (apparently, there's a new MMW CD coming out, with some sort of a connection to a work by John Zorn; I'll have to get my hands on it somehow).

Andrew

August 26, 2008

"Casual coordinates" - Elaschuk/Ryga Quartet (Cellar live: the first five years)
"Straight-up" - Eric Allison (After hours)
"Four folk songs" - Ben Allison & Man Sized Safe (Little things run the world)
"Interlude" - John Stetch (Standards)
"Rahsaan in the serengetti" - Ari Brown (Venus)
"Sounds like seven" - Marian McPartland (Ambiance)
"Stalker" - Francois Couturier (Nostalghia - Song for Tarkovsky)
"Sniffin' around" - Brubeck Braid (Twotet/deuxtet)
"Deluge" - Taylor Eigsti (Let it come to you)
"Amad" - Duke Ellington (Far east suite)
"Some echoes" - Steve Swallow Ohad Talmor Sextet (L'histoire du clochard)
"Stolen moments" - Gary Bartz Sonny Fortune (Alto memories)
"Dry September" - John Patitucci (Line by line)
"A place to roam" - Simon Fisk/Chris Gestrin/Jerry Granelli (Vague hotels)
"Hey you" - Ethel Ennis (If women ruled the world)
"Chant poo" - Francois Bourassa Quartet (Rassnotes)
"I adore you" - Esperanza Spalding (Esperanza)
"Flood (maqam hijaz kar)" - Amir ElSaffar (Two rivers)
"Men in black" - Mark Dejong (The unknown)
"Five corridors" - Adam Niewood & His Rabble Rousers (Epic journey)
"Minellos (part 2)" - Rubin Steiner (Wunderbar 3)
"The long view: postlude" - Marty Ehrlich (The long view)

Another not too bad show, with plenty of piano and some performers I'd never played before (or, in some cases, even heard of before I pulled the CD from the shelf in the CJSW library). Top tune o' the day has to be "Four folk songs" by Ben Allison; great arrangement, fantastic melody played by the trumpet, possibly my fave jazz track released last year.

Andrew

August 19, 2008

"My soul's been anchored in the Lord" - Paul Neufeld (Walk together)
"Sister Mamie" - Yusef Lateef (Live at Pep's)
"Theme from Night Visitor" - Ted Nash (The Mancini project)
"To whom it may concern" - Tony Williams Lifetime (New York 1969)
"Wow" - Sharel Cassity (Just for you)
"Basswave" - Markus Stockhausen/Ferenc Snetberger/Arild Andersen/Patrice Heral
(Joyosa)
"Always there" - Joel Haynes Trio + Seamus Blake (Transitions)
"Celebration jig" - Bob Brookmeyer/New Art Orchestra (New works)
"Remember Fela" - Gangbe Brass Band (Whende)
"Greasy brain food" - Crash (Candy shop)
"Witch doctor no. 2" - Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All-Stars
(Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All-Stars: lighthouse at Laguna)
"Experience" - Francois Carrier/Michel Lambert/Jean-Jacques Avenel (Within)
"Bedtime story" - Michael Moore & Fred Hersch (This we know)
"Misadventures" - Blink (The epidemic of ideas)
"Laura" - Coleman Hawkins (The hawk flies high)
"O.G.D."- Jake Langley/Joey DeFrancesco Trio (Sound of jazz series: 30th anniversary collection)
"Seventh day rain" - The Chad Makela Quartet (Flicker)
"Lights of Lake George" - William Parker (Double sunrise over Neptune)
"Going home" - Teddy Edwards (Smooth sailing)
"7 midot" - Daniel Zamir (I believe)

This was my return show to Breaking The Tethers, in a sense, after hosting Pound Cake Jazz on Thursday. Everything went fairly well; this was a fun show to do.

Looking at the music, kudos go to Yusef Lateef, William Parker, and Daniel Zamir though I have to say that I really liked pretty much everything. I should note that "Greasy brain food" (great title!) by Crash was the 2500th track played on Breaking The Tethers, in a little over two years.

Andrew

August 15, 2008

This was a showfill for one of the alternating Friday 6-9 am jazz programs, Pound Cake Jazz (the other show on Fridays is Jazz For Quantum Cats):

"Third invocation" - D.D. Jackson (Suite for New York)
"Night dreamer" - Wayne Shorter (Night dreamer)
"Concrete view" - Nils Wogram, Root 70 (Getting rooted)
"Some other time" - Bill Charlap Trio (Somewhere: the songs of Leonard Cohen)
"A tale begun" - Jan Garbarek (In praise of dreams)
"My bucket's got a hole in it" - Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis (Two men with the blues)
"Coupe" - Robert Walter (Cure all)
"Concorde" - The Modern Jazz Quartet (Concorde)
"Flintstones II" - Herb Ellis/Ray Brown Sextet (After you've gone)
"Vague hotels" - Simon Fisk/Chris Gestrin/Jerry Granelli (Vague hotels)
"Walkin'" - Frank Morgan (Reflections)
"Black Thursday" - Tin Hat Trio (The sad machinery of spring)
"Jaya jaya Rama" - Alice Coltrane (Huntingdon ashram monastery)
"Concerto for George" - The People's Band and Congress of Musicians (B.J. Levy presents ThePeople's Band and Congress of Musicians)
"For Nick/Horn/Know" - Francois Houle 6 and Danielle Hebert (Poor boy: songs of Nick Drake)
"The unknown" - Mark Dejong (The unknown)
"Flute down" - Karl Denson (Dance lesson #2)
"Trap-op" - Ed Littman (Splatt)
"Event horizon" - Assif Tsaher with John Tchicai (Vision one: Vision Festival 1997 compiled)
"Tin tin deo" - Stanley Turrentine (Look out!)
"O'Neal's bridge" - William Parker (Double sunrise over Neptune)
"Blues for" - John Lloyd (Four and five)
"Ellingtonia II" - Rosella Washington & Tyrone Brown (CIMPosium, volume 9)

Not a bad show, I must say. I had to dig into the CJSW library a bit for some of the tracks in the last hour and made some interesting discoveries (the Vision one and CIMPosium CDs; John Lloyd's Four and five). Sometimes when I do this, I find myself struggling to discover anything that will fit the progrsm; other times, it's amazing CD after amazing CD. Such is the way things go.

My next show is on Tuesday, my usual Breaking The Tethers spot.

Andrew

August 12, 2008

"Couvre-feu" - L'Orkestra Des Pas Perdus (Project 9)
"Composition no 345" - Anthony Braxton Sextet ((Victoriaville) 2005)
"Inner city blues" - Grover Washington, Jr. (Inner city blues)
"Theme for Darfur" - Cosmologic (Eyes in the back of my head)
"Reprise" - Adam Niewood & His Rabble Rousers (Epic journey)
"Relaxin'" - Willie "The Lion" Smith & Don Ewell (Stride piano duets: live in Toronto, 1966)
"One is the water" - Simon Fisk/Chris Gestrin/Jerry Granelli (Vague hotels)
"Concerto de aranjuez" - Buster Williams (Griot liberte)
"Benny's tune" - Lionel Loueke (Karibu)
"Snakes and spiders" - Robert Walter (Cure all)
"Favourite addiction" - Heather Blush and the Uppercuts (Vice)
"Langrage" - Michael Moore & Fred Hersch (This we know)
"Sinopia" - Bill Dixon (17 musicians in search of a sound: Darfur)
"Remember Rockefeller at Attica" - Mark Shim (Mind over matter)
"Chamalongo" - Jane Bunnett (Osian)
"The return" - Frank Vignola and Frank Wess (Without a doubt)
"Falling" - Elliot Sharp's Terraplane (Do the don't)
"Antiquity" - The Chicago Underground Trio (Flamethrower)
"If 6 was 9" - Don Byron (Nu blaxploitation)
"She has information" - Bobby Previte and the New Bump (Set the alarm for Monday)
"Stress talks" - Gone Fission (Phoenix)
"Right balance" - Maciek Grzywacz (Forces within)

This ended up being a more varied show than originally planned. Nothing wrong with that, though. I was also surprised that I managed to fit in 22 tunes, especially considering the first hour featured a lengthy tune (as have the past few shows), Anthony Braxton's "Composition no 345"; I didn't play even half of it, however (it goes on for nearly 70 minutes).

Fun tune of the day: The Hendrix cover, "If 6 was 9" by Don Byron, which incorporates the Turtles' "Happy together", believe it or not.

Guitar solo of the day: "Reprise" by Adam Niewood & His Rabble Rousers. The solo appears about half-way through the track. Good stuff. It reminds me of the guitar work on the Paul Motian Band record Garden of Eden.

Sax solo of the day: "Theme for Darfur" by Cosmologic. It pops up toward the end of the performance.

I'm doing a showfill on Pound Cake Jazz on Friday, August 15, 6-9 am. The regular programmer, Stewart, can't make the show so I'll be filling in. He'll be doing the same for me on September 30 (thanks, Stewart!). I'll still be back with a regular edition of Breaking The Tehters next Tuesday.

Andrew

August 5, 2008

"Levitation" - Nancy Walker (Levitation)
"Core" - Francois Carrier/Michel Lambert/Jean-Jacques Avenel (Within)
"Bees-ees" - Johnny Griffin (Johnny Griffin)
"Allo caveman" - Martin & Fisher (Little man on the boat)
"Exposition sans tableau" - Martial Solal (Exposition sans tableau)
"Ipanema" - Rob Wasserman (Space island)
"Bossango" - Howard Alden and Ken Peplowski (Pow-wow)
"Violet sky" - Eri Yamamoto (Duologue)
"Little anthem" - The People's Band and Congress of Musicians (B.J. Levy presents The People's Band and Congress of Musicians)
"The source in between (latin re-mix)" - Elio Villafranca (The source in between)
"Cro-Magnon" - Sinistrio (Sinistrio)
"Neptune's mirror" - William Parker (Double sunrise over Neptune)
"New orbit " - Matthew Shipp Trio (Rock the net: musicians for network neutrality)
"Hidden haiku" - Eric Hofbauer & The Infrared Band (Myth understanding)
"'Round midnight" - Hein Van de Geyn & Lee Konitz (Meeting again)

I think that this is the show with the shortest number of tracks played, only 15 in three hours. This is because of the two long pieces that I included this week, "Core" by Carrier/Lambert/Avenel (40 min) and "Neptune's mirror" (22 min) by William Parker. I'm particularly fond of the latter, which features a myriad of instruments and goes in all sorts of directions; it also has a great rhythm guitar and bass groove. I was also pleased to be able to throw in some Matthew Shipp; I discovered this on a compilation CD while browsing the other playlist sections in the CJSW booth.

Andrew