Back to the Crispy, Crunchy, Low-Salt Mines…

Greetings to you all on this restful and reflective Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. I’m back at it with your RWD and the latest The Jazz Disturbance and Situation Fluxus posted directly to Jazz/Fluxus. I added a new page to the site - Wise 2 Listen (catchy, right?) The first post is last year’s segment I produced for the Pacifica Network Radio Special Black Is for Black History Month. It’s my interview with poet Nikki Giovanni and saxophonist Javon Jackson (rebroadcast here on WGXC 90.7 FM .). For this year’s KPFA Black History Month Special – Past Light, Clear Sight, I’ve focused on “Jazz and improvised music by Black artists, retelling our past, consternating over our present, and expressing their visions of our future” (eloquent, I know.) My guest is vocalist Jean Carne and, oh, oh, oh! The segment will be posted here after the special runs on Pacifica Network stations on Sunday, February 5. Y’see, instead of leaving behind my vast wealth (ha!), I’m leaving behind my chosen body of work, beginning with this website.

Cheers to me!

Oh, and what a treat! This past weekend, I visited “The Jazz Capitol of the World” (to some), New York City, and attended a shindig at Blue Note Jazz Club (thanks for the invite, A&J!). The get-together and presentation were centered around “jazzahead! Building Bridges in New York”. Guests heard a premiere work by saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock’s Lilith, one of the four ensembles representative of this year’s jazzahead! and the “now” of Jazz and improvised music. [NOTE: I was most likely the 10,000th person to approach accordionist Adam Matlock and remind him of how much he looks like British actor Richard Ayoade.]

Like you, I’m here in 2023, not knowing what the next 349 days will bring. I can’t say that I feel optimistic about much, but I am truly reenergized when I come back to programming music, news, chat-chat and all that. Let’s all strap in for the ride ahead, shall we?