By the time of the 1960 sessions that resulted in the album “J.J. Inc.” (and today’s Song Of The Day), J.J. Johnson had been an established figure in Jazz for about 18 years, having already played with the likes of Miles Davis, Benny Carter, Count Basie, Max Roach, Elvin Jones and Charlie Parker. By this […]
Song Of The Day – “Toki’s Theme” by The Dave Brubeck Quartet
Ever since the news broke about Dave Brubeck’s passing earlier this week, I’ve been mourning the only way record geeks like myself know how to, grab all of the music you own by the artist and start listening. I’m a serious record collector who has been at it now for over 40 years. In that […]
Song Of The Day – “I Got Rhythm” by Bud Freeman Trio
The other day I was pondering about the lack of Jazz clarinetists in today’s Jazz landscape which got me on a clarinet binge here at the homestead, which in turn led me to Bud Freeman. Chicago’s own Bud Freeman got his start on the clarinet before switching over to the tenor saxophone where he became […]
Song Of The Day – “Sebbin Come Elebbin” by Jimmy Heap
Taking my daughter back to school today provided me with several hours of uninterrupted music listening in the car, part of which was spent with the first volume of “A Capitol Rockabilly Party.” The three-part compilation spanning over 90 tracks was put out in the late 1990s by a CD reissue company in the Netherlands […]
Song Of The Day – “Jump Into The Fire” by LCD Soundsystem
I finally got around to watching the LCD Soundsystem film “Shut Up And Play the Hits” which chronicles the last LCD show from April, 2011 before James Murphy and company decided to pull the plug on the band. While I loved LCD, I always thought they were somewhat derivative of their inspirations including Talking Heads, […]
Today in Rock History – July 12
1962, The Rolling Stones made their live debut at the Marquee Jazz Club, London, with Dick Taylor on bass (later of The Pretty Things) and Mick Avory on drums, (later of The Kinks). They were a last minute fill-in for Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated, who had been plucked to appear on BBC radio’s Jazz Club […]
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Golden Gate Gospel Train” by Golden Gate Quartet
What we have here is some prehistoric Doo Wop for you Sunday morning revelers. The Golden Gate Quartet consisted of Orlandus Wilson, Willie Johnson, Henry Owens and Clyde Riddick and started out as a Barbershop Quartet in Virginia back in the early 1930s. The group began performing for audiences and soon migrated to North Carolina […]
Song Of The Day – “St. James Infirmary” by Anat Cohen
Whatever happened to the prominence of the clarinet in Jazz? Sure, the clarinet is still the front-and-center instrument in Klezmer music, but over the years the clarinet’s prominence in Jazz has shrunken to the point of non-existence, only to be replaced by the soprano or alto saxophone. There was a time when the clarinet was […]
The RadioActivity’s Most BestEst
I’m your Uncle Marty as The 3D RadioActivity reaches number 488, where we’ll drill down into the most superlative music for the third time. Martha Stewart might say, “it’s a good thing”, we’re going beyond those tangibles that are far more than superior, they’re The BEST. Get your helmet ready for next time as we take the RadioActivity […]
Song Of The Day – “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive ” by Johnny Mercer
With a resume that includes writing the lyrics to some of the greatest songs of the 20th century including “Goody Goody,” “I’m An Old Cowhand,” “Too Marvelous For Words,” “Hooray For Hollywood,” “You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby,” “Jeepers Creepers,” “And The Angels Sing,” “Sweet Georgia Brown,” “G.I. Jive,” “Day In Day Out,” “I […]
