#2 St. Louis Blues

Art Tatum plays W.C. Handy to bless this mess.

#3 Smashing Thirds

Fats Waller, I put in behind Art Tatum, because it was said if Fats was playing in a club when Art walked in, Fats would get up from the piano to make room for Art. "Easy money," Fats was heard to say about that. Anyhoo.

This is a great example of a "shout" stride piece, and Fats cycles through the styles and devices of several other stride players. The first verse he plays straight up, with a high bass pattern like Willie "The Lion" Smith. The second time through, you hear him play the kind of "drop bass" invented by James P. Johnson. The third section, he's using several left hand chord styles, including drop bass, 10ths, moving octaves, and single note runs. Hence the title, "Smashing Thirds."

I think my housemouse ate my nuts. Tho i shall listen with some vodka direct from the kremlin, and candle that tastes of vanilla.

#4 Yardbird Suite

Charlie "Yardbird" Parker got his nickname because he had, well, say, a "colorful" personal life, and some reputation for being "as a messy as a yardbird," when he showed up in New York from Kansas City. But if he had his devils, he also played like an angel, as he does here, in a 1949 recording of his signature tune, so much was forgiven him. This is be-bop folks. Recorded March 28, 1946 at Dial studios. That's Miles Davis on trumpet.

Glad you're in, UWS!

#5 Bluesette

Toots Thielemans whistling (yes! whistling! he's Dutch, and he can are the only reasons I can think of, that he does it) a version of his signature composition from the Compact Jazz Toots Thielemans compilation. On other recordings, he played it memorably on harmonica, too.

Awesome.

Is he playing any instruments, cos he is so in time with the guitar? Incredible either way.

#6 What Is This Thing Called Love?

The thing I love (and often love to hate) about re-issue CD's of old jazz albums is all the "previously unreleased" takes that are used to pad out the meager contents of the original album, to something like CD length, so that buyers don't feel too ripped off. Too many times, the "bonus" tracks are cruft, but then you get things like this. Here baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan trades phrases nicely with tenor man Ben Webster on a familiar Cole Porter tune, and I, for one, am delighted it's out of the vault, even as filler on a re-issue.

I don't know, UWS, if Toots "plays" anything other than whistling, and harmonica. When I've seen him live, he's usually just out front, with a hand mike, and a funny little smile, like the cat the ate the canary.

Despite being asleep, my right toe's tapping along!

#7 Scrapple from the Apple

Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock, and Jack De Johnnette from the 2003 Up For It album, we heard another cut from, last time. Jack does some great drumming here.

The beginning of Scrapple is how i like my techno to sound when i mix it.

Glad your along, again, phoenixc. We've got to keep meeting like this!

*pouts about being at work where 'streaming media' is blocked*

#8 Black Orpheus (Manha de Carnaval)

Regina Carter's 2003 album Paganini: After a Dream began as a bit of cocktail party conversation, in which she heard about the famous Guarnari violin, named "Il Cannone" or "The Cannon" (for its projection and power), once played by the famous violinist and impresario Nicolo Paganini, who willed it to the city of Genoa on his death in 1840. On her website [warning: one of those un navigable Flash scripted Web sites], in her notes for the discography of this album, she recounts how one thing lead to another, and this album is the result. This Joabim tune was the theme for the Brazilian movie Black Orpheus, and Carter selected it, she says, as a "bridge" between the music Paganini played, and the jazz she wanted to record with the instrument.

paul, while i'm reminded, if you ever get to a French band called Magma (tho you probably know more about them than me) go and see them. Completely unknown to me until my sound-engineer friend who'd working with them, invited me along to a once-in-a-lifetime gig on the south bank. They were incredible.

So sorry for you, youngergirl44. I hope the links from this thread at least point you to the source albums, if you want to hear the material yourself.

So long as there is open time on Radio Mecha, I suppose I could repeat these set playlists at off-hours, but I don't know what a reasonable schedule is. I'm open to suggestions.

UWS. Magma isn't anyone I've heard of, until now. But that's the fun of sharing musical interests, and I'll look 'em up!

#9 Sunflowers

Wynton Marsalis is a one man "Save the Jazz" industry unto himself. He does the Lord's work, and I'm fine with his music, but not a big fan of either his cooler-than-thou or his tendency to phone it in, sometimes. I mean, I understand that when you're doing what you gotta do to consistently get lots of media attention in this day and age, you're bound to be a busy guy, but much of the time, more and more, his playing sounds, well, jazz like, but isn't somehow, the real deal. Here's 10 minutes of what I'm talking about, from his 1999 release, The Marciac Suite. A Freddie Hubbard tune, that everybody from Miles Davis to Tito Puente has recorded. Nothing bad about it, kind o' jazzy, but is it jazz? You decide.

In the meantime, let me take a few minutes to recite the Jazz Pharisee's prayer, as a warning to myself, not that Wynton ever does, or doesn't:

"Oh, Lord, I thank thee, that I am not like other men, being possessed of a better nature, and a more sensitive ear, not to mention a finer sensibility than You, in your infinite Wisdom, have seen fit to bestow on the rest of humanity...."

And with that out of the way, let's turn to a question asked last time by LoriFLA: "Why doesn't the XM jazz on satellite TV sound this nice?"

That, LoriFLA, is the focus of some investigative (and/or opinionated) jazz journalism for this set, coming right up. In which, I try to answer that question, without knowing much of anything about XM jazz programming, but guessing it's a "smooth jazz" format, or programmed by people who listen mostly to "smooth jazz."

#10 Something Borrowed, Something Blue

Tommy Flangan's excursion on electric piano for the title tune of the album "Something Borrowed, Something Blue" on this January 30, 1978 recording with Keter Betts on bass and Jimmie Smith on drums was partly influenced by producer Ed Michel, as a more "contemporary" sound. As Flanagan was working away from being Ella Fitzgerald's regular accompanist towards an expanded career of his own, it may have seemed a reasonable way of setting a new direction.

But you know what? It wasn't an idea for increasing a jazz man's market in changing times, so much as it was a clue, a first inkling, that something, somewhere, was askew in the universe. And here we start with the investigative jazz journalism I promised last time. Right here, with Tommy Flanagan, in 1978, putting out records where he played electric piano in a trio. He was leaving Ella Fitzgerald, to make it on his own, even if it meant playing 1978 electric piano. That's a clue, kids. That has got to be a clue, in the quest to answer LoriFLA's question.

I still can't mark me down as playing atm. paul, at the end of your set i would like to carry on.

You go, UWS. I'll be listening.

#11 Bud Powell

Here's Gary Burton on vibraphone and Chick Corea on piano from their famous October 28, 1979 concert in Zurich. The ECM album that was recorded that night, which this track is taken from, won the 1982 Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance. So, this is certifiably jazz, if the Grammy academy is able to judge. But what about this near contemporary recording is different than the one we just heard from Tommy Flanagan, aside from technical details like instrumentation and studio vs. live concert, that make this jazz, if what we just heard from Tommy Flanagan is suspect?

I think it's the Bud Powell factor, who is the namesake of this tune.

Bud Powell was either a tragic genius, or a dangerous madman, depending on who you talk with. At his best, on a good night, he could throw down musically with anybody. Problem was, that after 2 drinks, or somebody looking at him sideways, his "throwdown" wasn't on the piano, it was liable to be on someone who he thought had slighted him. You just never knew with Bud, because of his mental health, his problems with drugs and booze, his genius, or his demons, what was going to happen. And yet, a lot of people liked and respected him, and many went out of their way to help him, throughout his life. For all his issues, he had some spark that warmed others, enough that they wanted to help him keep that spark going.

Jazz is like Bud Powell, in that it, too, necessarily has a certain element of uncertainty, and a spark of divine fire that people want to help encourage. If your ear knows, too easily, what to expect, it does all the work, and never needs to engage your mind. What's in this piece from Corea and Burton, that is largely lacking in the Tommy Flanagan thing before (try as he mightily did with that awful 1978 electric piano), and that is also reliably missing in most of "smooth jazz," is the "juice" that keeps your ear connected to your brain.

The next tune is going to make my point by contrast, again, but for now, enjoy that certain uncertainty, courtesy of Mssrs. Burton and Corea.

Your last point about jazz requiring a level of intellectual engagement is a very interesting one, paulsc...#10 sounded rather like one of those dreaded tracks you'd expect to hear while on hold and this latest one is decidedly not.

#12 Angela (Theme from "Taxi")

Bob James worked as a producer with a lot of people in what is called "smooth jazz" and this is probably his best known personal piece. I put it here because, following Chick Corea and Gary Burton, it probably grabbed your ear about the same time your memory started serving up TV images. That's the commercial value of "smooth jazz" (that it doesn't load your brain much, and so can be reliably hooked up to programmed memories) and I thought it was a decent way to work into a little stream of the stuff. 'Cause when I say I'm "playin' jazz," this is what some people have in mind, and have even been hoping I'll get to, sooner or later. (See, I do read my email!)

But it's not what I'm talkin' about, for some of the reasons I've already elucidated. I'm not trying to arbitrate taste, here. Anyone who knows me IRL will tell you that all my taste is in my mouth. I'm just sayin', if you click in on a stream with my name on it, 99% of the time, unless I'm making a point, this kind of stuff is not what you'll hear. Not that there is anything "wrong" with it.

It just doesn't hook up my ear with my brain. And, life's too short to walk around with a vacuous expression.

#13 Down Here on the Ground

Wes Montgomery worked with producer Creed Taylor (who would later found the CTI label) on this 1968 release that some people feel is Node 0 of what's become known as the "smooth jazz" genre. So, Down Here On the Ground, as an album, gets dissed by "serious" jazzers and ignored as old skool by the likes of those who fawn over Boney James.

Me? I listen to Wes, and forget about the hired string section (and back then, it was a real, hired string section, not a synth track). And I admire Creed Taylor's marketing savvy so much I still listen to some slick studio stuff, now and again. But I don't fool myself into thinking it's jazz, and I don't wanna fool you either. So, here it is, Node 0, as even so populist a source as Wikipedia defines, in what folks now call "smooth jazz."

And yet, Wes is playing something genuine, in front of all that studio stuff. I can listen to Wes, and filter the rest, and it's not even hard. Wonder why?

Aw. Andy Kaufman RIP.

It was a great show, UWS. But what makes you think Kaufman is dead? :-)

#14 Discovery

Larry Carlton is a guitarist who was doing a lot of West Coast session work when he got some notice for his solo debut album on acoustic guitar "Alone/But Never Alone" on the MCA label, and followed up quickly with the 1986 album of which this is the title track. He was shot outside his studio, while working on the follow up to this album, but recovered, and continues to record and tour. I won't use this anecdote as a jumping off point for comments about what should be the fates of commercial musicians and purveyors of "smooth jazz," if y'all won't. It may not be memorable, but there's nothing morally bankrupt about a little ear candy, from time to time. What's morally bankrupt is radio programming that makes this kind of stuff, and all it's progeny, increasingly the "jazz" diet of the world.

But mostly I put this in as an example of what had been going on in commercial "jazz" during the first half of the '80s, which is when lots of people in the record business started looking at the serious numbers guys like Larry Carlton were suddenly putting up, and radio stations starting developing and putting up the "smooth jazz" radio format.

#15 Curves Ahead

The Rippingtons released this "Colorado inspired album" in 1991, and the album art suggests it might be music by which you could maniacally snowboard. Here they are, in full tilt, before they became widely known for later work on the Weather Channel and various syndicated Clear Channel outlets.

(Sorry for the level pump on this one folks, if that makes it through Shoutcast. This cut is so "hot" not even renormalizing the track's playback level shuts it down. You may need to cut down the volume on your end.)

#16 Something to Remind You

The Pat Metheny Group's 1994 release of We Live Here was their first in 5 years, and it featured a lot of pop and hip-hop rhythms, and a much more popular approach than had most of this jazz group's, or its leader's, earlier work, although it wasn't to hear them tell it later, intended as a commercial ploy. You might say they got on the "smooth jazz" money train, I guess, without wanting to seem like they were buying a ticket. In this track, Metheny's phrasing and the arrangement and synthesized string section harkens directly back to Wes Montgomery's 1967 Down Here on the Ground. But that Creed Taylor sensibility is all over the place, too, once you know what it sounds like. As I hope you do, now.

OK, to be fair, styles come and go, and Pat Metheny hasn't become locked in any one period. If musicians aren't free to experiment while trying to make a living, there will be no new music worth anyone's listening.

Great stuff as usual, paulsc, though that 'smooth jazz' turn might've surprised me a little.

We're fixin' to get off this train, directly, box. Good to have you along.

#17 Tears Inside

Here's Pat Metheny in back 1983, with Charlie Haden and Billy Higgins. Less atmospheric, by far, than the previous cut, and to my mind, more musical, although it's pretty clear that he was channeling Wes Montgomery, even back then. But this is all Wes, some Joe Pass, no Creed Taylor, isn't it?

OK, I'm done talkin' 'bout "smooth jazz," for one set. I hope I didn't spill my drink on anybody's shoes, because the last thing I want to do in these little streams is get into arbitrating taste. If you keep a smooth jazz station on preset in your car, at work, or at home, bless you, but if we go out for lunch sometime, IRL, let's take my car, OK?

Man, that was smooth.

My favorite thing about Pat Metheny: that anti-Kenny G rant he posted on his website a while back.

#18 Get-With-Itness

Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, from The Ellington Suites, with a brief reminder of the point of it all, from the man who gave us It Don't Mean A Thing, If It Ain't Got That Swing, which we'll get into another time.

#19 Afro Blue

This Mongo Santamaria tune has been a staple for McCoy Tyner since his days playing it with Miles Davis and John Coltrane. This version is from the 1999 album McCoy Tyner and the Latin All Stars (McCoy Tyner, piano; Johnny Almendra, timbales; Gary Bartz, saxophones; Ignacio Berroa, drums; Giovanni Hidalgo, percussion; Claudio Roditi, trumpet & flugelhorn; Avery Sharpe, bass; Steve Turre, trombone & shells; Dave Valentin, flute).

#20 Black Nile

Wayne Shorter's "Night Dreamer" recorded April 28, 1964 in Englewood Cliffs, NJ, takes us back to an earlier style of ensemble jazz, written for a time when people could hear something darkly brooding, without brooding themselves, as a result.

#21 I Will Say Goodbye

The Bill Evans Trio with the title track from the 1977 album "I Will Say Goodbye" with Eliot Zigmund on drums, and Eddie Gomez on bass, takes us out. To recap, in this set, we heard:

1. McCoy Tyner - The Greeting (2:27)
2. Art Tatum - St. Louis Blues (2:31)
3. Fats Waller - Smashing Thirds (Piano Solo) (3:06)
4. Charlie Parker - Yardbird Suite (2:57)
5. Toots Thielemans - Bluesette (4:46)
6. Gerry Mulligan - What Is This Thing Called Love? [Previously Unreleased] (7:28)
7. Keith Jarrett - Scrapple From The Apple (9:41)
8. Regina Carter - Black Orpheus (from 'Manha de Carnaval') (5:23))
9. Wynton Marsalis - Sunflowers (10:00)
10. Tommy Flanagan - Something Borrowed, Something Blue (6:36)
11. Chick Corea/Gary Burton - Bud Powell (8:40)
12. Bob James - Angela (Theme from ``Taxi'') (5:45)
13. Wes Montgomery - Down Here on the Ground (3:42)
14. Larry Carlton - Discovery (5:23)
15. Rippingtons - Curves Ahead (5:41)
16. Pat Metheny Group - Something to Remind You (7:03)
17. Billy Higgins/Charlie Haden/Pat Metheny - Tears Inside (3:49)
18. Get-With-Itness Duke Ellington & His Orchestra (1:54)
18. McCoy Tyner - Afro Blue (12:22)
19. Wayne Shorter - Black Nile (7:03)
20. Bill Evans Trio - I Will Say Goodbye (3:30)

Until next time, I remain,

Yours for better mental health, through better music.

Next up: technomeister UWS! Stay tuned to Radio Mecha, your non-radio, non-commercial Internet "radio" station, "for the fun of it."

Hey, I finally caught your radio show. Yay for me, it just made working late way more bearable. Thanks, Paul.