The Friday Riff

Pianist, composer, arranger, and educator Mary Lou Williams is frequently credited for her contributions to jazz, yet she is too often portrayed as either a token woman genius in the male canon, or as a nurturing, motherly figure who helped the male beboppers blossom. Today we’ll take a listen to some of her music, and to her absolutely amazing piano playing. Simply put, Mary Lou Williams had the talent and imagination that few jazz musicians had, be they male, female, black, white, or blue!

It’s that time of year again. Time for Rob and Bryan to pitch the benefits of community supported radio in the form of KCSB – the very station that allows The Friday Riff to broadcast on its airwaves. Call 805-893-2424 and make a donation to KCSB, and keep enjoying the music, discussion, and general zaniness of the The Friday Riff.

You can also donate online via PayPal or Network for Good. Pledge your support TODAY!

Do not adjust your radio dial– you’ll be too scared to move when you tune in to our HALLOWEEN EDITION of the Friday Riff. We’ll freak out with scary music from Tom Waits, Sun Ra, Arcana, and more! Tune in with your favorite ghoulfriends!

There is no “Bryan and Rob”–there is only Zeul.

This week we begin a series of shows dedicated to the music of Sun Ra, aka Sunny Blount, aka Mr. Mystery, aka Le Sony’r Ra, aka, aka. . . Whether you’ve always wondered what the deal is with Sun Ra, or if you are a long time fan, this show will be a treat of space-jazz goodness for you. We’ll survey a small sampling of the many sounds of Sun Ra, the pianist and composer who spanned the history of jazz with his idiosyncratic take on the music of the cosmos!

Africa and jazz are inexorably linked together, as the major creators and innovators of the music have been African-American. But today we’ll consider musicians from Africa and their contributions to jazz. What emerges is a sound portrait of some of the most amazing music of the last few decades. We’ll hear music from Abdullah Ibrahim, Chris McGregor and the Brotherhood of Breath, Manu Dibango, and more!

This week marks The Friday Riff’s first year anniversary! Bryan and Rob reaffirm their vows: to give you gifts of eclectic music, somewhere in the orbit of “jazz”, in order to investigate the various ways in which jazz shapes (and is shaped by) our world. Music from nearby and far-away, from yesterday, today, and, as Sun Ra might say, “somewhere there”!

This show is dedicated to all our listeners, near and far! Thanks!

Since it’s an anniversary, Bryan and Rob are on a honeymoon (in separate places). This is a pre-recorded celebration.

Today we listen to selections from the diverse soundworld of composer, multi-instrumentalist, philosopher, and friendly experiencer, Anthony Braxton. Braxton has developed an incredible musical vocabulary in his playing and in his compositions, and we’ll here samples from various periods of his career. This is the first in a series of programs dedicated to the work of this important figure in American music.

Today’s show highlights several of the artists featured at the first annual Solvang Jazz Festival, on Sept. 28th and 29th. We’ll hear music from Airto, Freddie Hubbard, and Hubert Laws. Then we’ll do a brief sonic tour of the career of Miles Davis, who died 16 years ago today.

For more info about the Solvang Jazz Festival, visit http://www.solvangjazz.com/

Today we pay tribute to yet another great figure in jazz who passed away in recent weeks: keyboardist, composer, and band leader Joe Zawinul. Originally hailing from Austria, Zawinul (along with John McLaughlin) became a key European jazz artist tapped by Miles Davis to electrify the trumpeter’s fusion- period work. Zawinul was also known for his contributions to Cannonball Adderley’s group, particularly his classic tune “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy.” Zawinul was most well-known, however, for co-founding (with Wayne Shorter) Weather Report, the most successful jazz fusion group of the 1970’s.

Today’s show features some of the amazing sounds from last week’s Guelph Jazz Festival and Colloquium, in Guelph, Ontario. For 13 years, this festival has combined scholarship, public interviews and lectures, and great concerts spanning a wide range of improvised music. It is quite simply one of the most incredible events in North America for creative music making. Today we’ll listen to several artists featured in this year’s festival, including Myra Melford, Anthony Braxton, Marianne Trudel, Isaiah Ceccarelli, Jesse Stewart, and festival organizer, professor, and pianist, Ajay Heble.

For more information on the festival, visit www.guelphjazzfestival.com