The Friday Riff

Today, we highlight some of the amazing music made by multi-instrumentalist, composer, and teacher Yusef Lateef. Lateef is, like Bill Dixon and Sam Rivers, an octogenarian improviser still making vital, creative music after a long career of performing with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Cannonball Adderley, et. al. Lateef has also been an important educator, having taught at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst for many years. He calls his music “autophysiopsychic” music, and we’ll hear samples of his mastery of various instruments including tenor sax, flute, and more!

Today we welcome special guest, Professor Aldon Nielsen, for a show focusing on the relationship between African-American poetics and jazz. We’ll listen to an eclectic mix of jazz musicians and poets, often in literal dialogue with one another, and investigate the social and aesthetic significance of the jazz/poetry connection.  We focus specifically on the new “Inside Songs of Curtis Mayfield” project, a collaboration between bassist William Parker and poet Amiri Baraka.

Aldon Lynn Nielsen is the George and Barbara Kelly Professor of American Literature in the Pennsylvania State University ‘ s Department of English. His works of scholarship include Writing between the Lines, C.L.R. James: A Critical Introduction, Black Chant, and Integral Music: Languages of African American Innovation, and  Every Goodbye Ain ‘ t Gone, an anthology of experimental poetry by black American artists co-edited with Lauri Ramey.

Welcome to the magical acoustical mystery tour: today’s show investigates the ways in which jazz uses musical time –rhythms, meters, tempos, etc.– and sonic spaces to create a wide range of textures and moods. We’ll hear a version of Paul Desmond’s “Take 5” in 4/4 time, Max Roach’s swinging waltzes, and other temporal jazz paradoxes…

Dedicated to the brave Zaca Firefighters.

Drummer, composer, activist, and amazing human being Max Roach passed away this week at age 83. Roach was not only one of the most talented and influential musicians of the last century, he was also a tireless advocate for human rights, and a creative artist who never compomised to the demands of the market or ignorant critics. He performed with everyone from Charlie Parker to Cecil Taylor to Fab Five Freddy. He will be missed. His music and influence lives on. Today we’ll listen to a sample of his wide-ranging recording career.

Thanks, Max. We’ll miss you.

Another edition in our series of shows on various groupings of instruments and musicians in jazz. Today we listen to several examples of one of the most important and aesthetically pleasing combinations in improvised music: the trio. Just as in rock music, the trio in jazz and other improvised genres seems to bring out the best in many musicians, encouraging the perfect combination of personal expression and group communication/support. We’ll hear music from Bill Evans, Nat King Cole, Abdullah Ibrahim, and more!

From one jazz duo–Rob and Bryan–comes a show about other (actual) jazz duos. Today we start a series of occasional shows highlighting different historical and current combinations of improvisers. The history of jazz has been significantly shaped by the various groupings of different musicians into trios, big bands, quintets, etc. Today, focusing on perhaps the most pared-down (pun intended) version of jazz conversation, we listen to some incredible duos, including Raw Materials (Vijay Iyer and Rudresh Mahanthappa), Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock, and more!

Finally, we return LIVE to the KCSB studios after a hiatus of several weeks. And we are even jazzier than ever; Bryan has a new scooter, and Rob has new records! We’ll feature some music new and old including jazz from NYC’s Vision Fest, Nepal’s Jazzmandu Festival, and more!

The second in our series exploring the diverse sounds of jazz and improvised music in Europe. From Scandinavia to the Mediterranean we’ll hear cuts from an amazing range of artists, including Jan Garbarek, Pierre Favre, and more!

Today we start a series of shows exploring the various directions that jazz and improvised music have taken in Europe. The creativity and diversity of these musics are amazing and we’ll barely scratch the surface today with music from Django Reinhardt, John McLaughlin, and more!

Today we feature the music of amazing jazz octogenarian Sam Rivers, multi-instrumentalist and composer. From his early days in Boston in the 1950s to his recent and consistently excellent and inspiring work, Mr. Rivers remains one of the most important voices of post-bebop jazz. We’ll hear music from his classic Blue Note albums as well as more recent recordings. Catch him at www.rivbea.com!