Some essential gems of jazz history hidden in an obscure book I came across about about jazz in Kansas City
The book is built around dozens of great musicians who lived through its Golden Age telling the story…in their own words.
Some of the diamonds I uncovered:
* The essential differences between New Orleans, Chicago, and … Read more
Within months of picking up the saxophone, Ornette was a working musicians in some of the scariest dives in Fort Worth, bringing home much needed money for his family whose father, a baseball player and singer, died when Ornette was seven.
We talk about this and other topics and read from A.B. Spellman’s classic: “Four Lives … Read more
We’re following up on our special program “Ornette: Deep from the Heart of Texas” with Dave Oliphant
We go even further down this fascinating rabbit hole.
When Ornette was 19 (1949), he had an extended gig in Amarillo, Texas where he regularly jammed “after hours” with a legendary avant-garde hillbilly steel guitar player.
The history of … Read more
Avant-garde genius or one of many Master Musicians who sprung from the earth of one of the most fertile musical cradles the world has ever seen?
Of course, Ornette is both.
In this unique podcast we focus on what others have ignored: How Ornette comes straight from the big open musical heart of Texas.
Move over … Read more
Make sure you check out the video below.
You know the narrative…
“Jazz started in New Orleans and traveled to Chicago and Kansas City and New York.”
Historians are starting to come to a more sophisticated – and exciting – view of the music’s origins.
In this program we look at the unheralded role San Francisco … Read more
