Mahmoud Chouki – Caravan

“Instead of staying three or four days in New Orleans, I ended up staying almost three weeks. And yeah, I started hanging out with the musicians, jamming, and yes, that’s how I fell in love with this city. I remember I went to Austin just to take a flight back.
 
I moved to New Orleans and a year later I went to Europe for a tour with my band. As soon as I started playing, everybody looked at me and said, “You changed, completely.” I didn’t see that actually, but I feel like when I moved to New Orleans, I removed a lot of chains. I became more free. I don’t calculate my music as much. I grew up in a culture that calculated music, and calculated notes. But here, everything is free. Everything is easy. I gained confidence. I began writing music here. Musicians are amazing here. There’s so, so much talent. And I’m so happy to be here, surrounded by these artists. Everything I write, it sounds beautiful, and that’s because of the generosity and the love and dedication that the musicians have here.
 
It’s an interesting thing because I don’t play jazz. I’m not a jazz musician. I’m a composer and most of my music, it’s a mixture of many influences, like North African and Middle Eastern, Spanish, Latin, and now there’s jazz. It became a part of my music. It gives my music a lot of breathing room. Freedom.”
 
– Mahmoud Chouki

– Ken McCarthy
Jazz on the Tube

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Jerry Wexler recalls growing up as a jazz kid

One of the great record producers, Jerry Wexler of Atlantic Records, recalls growing up as a jazz kid in New York City when jazz was rocking and what it was like to run an indie label during the golden age of LPs.

– Ken McCarthy
Jazz on the Tube

P.S. Our unique programming is made possible by help from people like you. Learn how you can contribute to our efforts here: Support Jazz on the Tube
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Gene Santoro – The bard who grasped the unity of music

Source: SideTrackLinerNotes.com

Photo by John Peden used with permission

John Peden (and I) say: “Read Gene’s books!”

 

 

Life is full of ironies.

A week or so after I posted my video that said essentially that blues, country and western, jazz, gospel, and rock and roll are all from the same tree…

I discovered Gene Santoro and his book “Highway 61 Revisited: The Tangled Roots of American Jazz, Blues, Rock, and Country Music.”

It turns out he and I went to the same high school, though he graduated eight years earlier than me.

He kept a place in the city, but he also had a place in the country just a half hour from me (and ten minutes from folks like Pat Metheny, Jack DeJohnette, Sonny Rollins, and Al Foster.)

And he died last year.

This is why I work so hard to do serious interviews of everyone I can. (If you don’t know our interview, go to the home page and click “podcasts.”)

Anyway, one person, the photographer and music maven John Peden of SideTrackLinerNotes.com, did a superb interview of him and has been kind enough to let us share it with you.

– Ken McCarthy
Jazz on the Tube

P.S. Our unique programming is made possible by help from people like you. Learn how you can contribute to our efforts here: Support Jazz on the Tube
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The African Influence in Cuba

– Ken McCarthy
Jazz on the Tube

P.S. Our unique programming is made possible by help from people like you. Learn how you can contribute to our efforts here: Support Jazz on the Tube
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The country roots of jazz legend Charlie Haden

A track from Charlie’s album “Rambling Boy” (title track)

“Ramblin'” with Ornette Coleman

Charlie and the Portugal concert

A talk by Charlie Haden

– Ken McCarthy
Jazz on the Tube

P.S. Our unique programming is made possible by help from people like you. Learn how you can contribute to our efforts here: Support Jazz on the Tube
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Yes, country and jazz music are cousins


Note: The eye-opening article by Geoffrey Himes to which I referred is here: “Jazz and Country Fusion: The Searchers.”

Two supplementary videos below

Country Jazz Guitarists – A compilation by Ment Morris

Guitarists:

George Barnes
Chet Atkins/Les Paul
Jimmy Bryant
Roy Nichols
Hank Garland
Leon Rhodes
Jimmie Rivers
Andy Reiss
Redd Volkaert
Jim Campilongo

The Jazz on the Tube video that got this conversation started

Related Jazz on the Tube podcasts

Vic Hobson, barbershop quartet, and the education of Louis Armstrong
https://www.jazzonthetube.com/vic-hobson-and-the-roots-of-louis-armstrongs-music/

“Country” Eddie Durham was one of the key quarterbacks of the swing
https://www.jazzonthetube.com/ed/

Ornette and the Texas Hillbillies
https://www.jazzonthetube.com/ornette-in-amarillo/

When Robert Johnson played that Italian wedding in Newark
https://www.jazzonthetube.com/bruce-conforth-and-the-real-robert-johnson/

– Ken McCarthy
Jazz on the Tube

P.S. Our unique programming is made possible by help from people like you. Learn how you can contribute to our efforts here: Support Jazz on the Tube
Thanks.