This Week: Theme? We don't need no stinkin' theme!

This article is cross-posted from the Miles to Go Before I Sleep blog...

This week on Miles to Go Before I Sleep, I decided to ditch that trite, old convention of the theme (until next week) to just bring you a great assortment of jazz. Intern Dan Rasch joined me in the studio, and together we spun tunes from some of the greats.

We also paid homage to Clifford Brown this week, as he would've celebrated his 80th birthday on 30 October 2010. Brown, aka "Brownie," was an influential and highly rated American jazz trumpeter, and played with the likes of Max Roach, Horace Silver, and Sonny Rollins, among others. He died at the age of 25 in a tragic automobile accident, leaving behind only four years' worth of recordings. Even in such a short time, Clifford Brown made a name for himself as one of the greatest to ever pick up the horn, and is still regarded among the greats today.

We enjoyed a great listenership this week, many of whom wrote and called in to the show. We even featured a reading from the talented Paul Dougherty over the air, and I gave my regards to Kenyon (in Hindi) from one of my friends abroad. But enough of that - here's a look at what we played this week:

1. Cosmic Rays - Charlie Parker
2. Dream a Little Dream of Me - Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
3. Don't Get Around Much Anymore - Duke Ellington
4. Lazybones - Leon Redbone
5. Mean to Me - Paul Desmond
6. Heart of Glass - The Bad Plus
7. Mètché Dershé - Mulatu Astatke
8. 21st-Century Schizoid Man - The Crimson Jazz Trio
9. Theme from M*A*S*H (Suicide is Painless) - Bill Evans
10. Lover, You Should've Come Over - Jamie Cullum
11. Eggs and Sausage (In a Cadillac with Susan Michaelson) - Tom Waits
12. Stardust - Clifford Brown & Max Roach
13. Butch & Butch - Oliver Nelson
14. Someone to Watch Over Me - Ella Fitzgerald
15. Aurora en Pekin - Marc Ribot y Los Cubanos Postizos
16. Rebel Rebel - Seu Jorge
17. Nuages - Django Reinhardt
18. Sing, Sing, Sing [Live] - Benny Goodman
19. Sweet Rain - Stan Getz
20. Milestones - Miles Davis

Talk-over music this week came courtesy of Booker T. & The MG's, The Crimson Jazz Trio, Paul Desmond, Yoko Kanno & The SeatBelts, Walter Wanderley Trio, Django Reinhardt, and Mark Soskin.

As per usual, for a rundown of the Miles to Go playlist each week, keep your browsers here, and for the best jazz et al. around, keep your radios (or your iTunes) tuned to WKCO 91.9 FM!

This Week: Great Jazz? You Betcha'!

This article is cross-posted from the Miles to Go Before I Sleep blog...

This week on Miles to Go Before I Sleep, the theme was...well, there was no theme - just great jazz. I took particular relish in featuring songs from artists new to my library, such as Clifford Brown, Haden & Rubalcaba, Art Blakey, and legendary pianist Horace Silver (pictured right). I was joined in the studio by my two interns - Sam and Daniel - and over the airwaves by the show's largest listenership thus far, and the lot of us bebopped and scatted to swingin' tunes through the night.  I also had the pleasure of debuting several liners produced by yours truly. Our selections this week were:

1. Excerpt: American Haikus - Jack Kerouac
2. Smells Like Teen Spirit - The Bad Plus
3. Yègellé Tezeta - Mulatu Astatke
4. What's New? - Clifford Brown & Max Roach
5. Windows - Chick Corea
6. Moonlight (Claro de Luna) - Charlie Haden & Gonzalo Rubalcaba
7. 'Til the Clouds Roll By - Paul Desmond
8. My Romance - The Ray Brown Trio
9. Come Rain or Shine - Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers
10. IX Love - Charles Mingus
11. Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis - Tom Waits
12. Rhapsody in Blue: A Medley - Eugen Cicero
13. In a Sentimental Mood - The Modern Jazz Quartet & Sonny Rollins
14. Stolen Moments - Oliver Nelson
15. The Lover - Medeski, Martin & Wood
16. Without You - Horace Silver
17. St. Thomas - Sonny Rollins
18. The Look of Love - The Ahmad Jamal Trio
19. The St. Vitus Dance - Horace Silver
20. Solar - Miles Davis

Talk-over music came courtesy of Mulatu Astatke, Paul Desmond, Yoko Kanno & The SeatBelts, David Holmes, The Gerry Mulligan Quartet, and Medeski, Martin & Wood.

As per usual, for a rundown of the Miles to Go playlist each week, keep your browsers here, and for the best jazz et al. around, keep your radios (or your iTunes) tuned to WKCO 91.9 FM!

This Week: They Were Collaborators

This article is cross-posted from the Miles to Go Before I Sleep blog...


This week's theme on Miles to Go Before I Sleep: "They Were Collaborators," so I made sure to lay down the tracks featuring partnerships from some of the best jazz cats and blues-hounds, known and unknown, around (such as two of the greatest, Davis and Coltrane, pictured, in the studio, on the right). And, as if that weren't enough, Miles to Go enjoyed a visit from the beautiful and talented Lili Martinez. Thanks again to all of those who listened in, and for your comments and requests. Here's the rundown for all of you who may have missed it, or want a reminder of I what I played tonight:

1. San Francisco Scene (The Beat Generation) - Jack Keroauc & Tom Waits
2. Pent-Up House  - Clifford Brown & Sonny Rollins
3. Big Nick - Duke Ellington & John Coltrane
4. Afternoon in Paris - Sonny Rollins & Dave Brubeck
5. St. James' Infirmary - Eric Clapton & Dr. John
6. Help the Poor - Doc Dalton & The Healing
7. Worried Life Blues - Eric Clapton & BB King
8. Summertime - Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
9. Misty - Stan Getz & Dave Brubeck
10. Moten Swing - The Oscar Peterson Trio
11. So What [Live] - Miles Davis & John Coltrane
12. Mood Indigo - Duke Ellington & Coleman Hawkins
13. In a Sentimental Mood - John Coltrane, Miles Davis, & Duke Ellington
14. Corcavado (Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars) - Stan Getz & João Gilberto
15. See You Space Cowboy... - Mai Yamane w/ Yoko Kanno & The SeatBelts
16. Off Minor - Thelonious Monk & John Coltrane
17. On the Sunny Side of the Street - Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Stitt, & Sonny Rollins
18. In Case the World Changes Its Mind - Medeski, Martin & Wood feat. John Scofield
19. Three O'Clock Blues - Eric Clapton & BB King
20. 'Round Midnight - Miles Davis & Sonny Rollins

Talk-over music came courtesy of Medeski, Martin & Wood, Mulatu Astatke, The Swingle Sisters, and Yoko Kanno & The SeatBelts.

For a rundown of the Miles to Go playlist each week, keep your browsers here, and for the best jazz et al. around, keep your radios (or your iTunes) tuned to WKCO 91.9 FM!