Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting Jazz Podcast

This week's episode is about west coast jazz drummer Chico Hamilton.  It features music from the first two decades of his career. Questions? Comments? Requests? email me at wnpmpod@gmail.com

Omnivore Recordings has released Metaphysics, a recently uncovered album by pianist Hasaan Ibn Ali, and it is amazing! This episode talks a bit about the legendary Hasaan, and plays some excerpts from the new album and a track from the other album he appears on, Max Roach Trio Featuring the Legendary Hasaan.  Next week's episode will be about Chico Hamilton, one of the finest drummers in the 50s/60s west coast jazz scene.  Questions? Comments? Requests? email me at WNPMPod@gmail.com Spotify playlists for previous episodes:Modern Jazz Quartet Bud Powell

This week's episode is about the music of Donald Byrd, a trumpeter in the peak of the hard bop movement in jazz.  It features music from his own albums as a leader and as a sideman with artists as diverse as Kenny Drew, Herbie Hancock, and Eric Dolphy. Questions? Comments? Requests? Email me at wnpmpod@gmail.com Playlist here Previous episode playlists on Spotify: Kenny Drew Art Blakey

An episode about trumpeter Donald Byrd will be available next week.  In the meantime, enjoy a fantastic track that shows off his avant garde jazz bona fides.   Questions? Comments? Requests? Email me at wnpmpod@gmail.com

This week's episode is about the virtuoso bassist Scott LaFaro.  LaFaro lived a brief life, but managed to record some incredible music in his short time on this world.  It features music from his early years, his legendary time in Bill Evans' trio, and some of his more avant-garde endeavors. Questions? Comments? Requests?  E-mail me at wnpmpod@gmail.com

It's been a busy week, so I haven't had time to finish the episode about virtuoso bassist Scott LaFaro that I'm working on.  It will be ready for next week, so in the meantime, enjoy a few tracks that LaFaro appears on.

This week's episode is about Benny Golson, a tenor saxophonist who was also a prolific composer and arranger. It features mostly songs he composed, performed by groups he led and by other top notch jazz outfits. Questions? Comments? Requests?  email me at WNPMPod@gmail.com or find me on twitter

Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting returns with an episode about superstar trumpeter Chet Baker.  Baker rose to fame in the 1950's as the prince of cool jazz, and recorded some truly beautiful music.  The episode covers his early recordings with Gerry Mulligan's quartet, his early recordings as a bandleader, and some from later in his career, post-comeback.  Enjoy! Questions? Comments? Requests? email me at WNPMPod@gmail.com or find me on twitter @wednesday_jazz I'll be trying to get back to episodes every week, so if you like the show, spread the word!

I'm working on an episode about trumpeter Chet Baker, and noticed that it's focused mostly on his ballad playing.  So, while I finish that, I thought you'd enjoy hearing some tracks that showcase his singing and faster playing.  Enjoy these couple songs, and tune in next week for a full episode about Baker's music

This week's episode is about the guitarist Wes Montgomery, a self-taught virtuoso who developed a unique, all thumb approach to the instrument.  I hadn't given Montgomery much of a chance after initially being turned off after hearing some of his later work, so I would like to thank the listeners who requested this episode for getting me to give his music another chance and helping me to discover the wonderful music he made.   Questions? Comments? Requests?  email me at WNPMPod@gmail.com or find me on twitter @wednesday_jazz

This week's episode is about the music of Curtis Fuller, a phenomenal trombonist who was one of the earliest in the hard bop idiom of jazz.  It features music from his time playing with John Coltrane, the Jazz Messengers, and others, as well as from his own albums as a leader.   Questions? Comments? Requests?  email me: WNPMPod@gmail.com or find me on twitter @wednesday_jazz

This week's episode is about pianist Bobby Timmons.  Timmons' style is sharp, danceable, catchy, and soulful.  He spent time playing in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers before striking out to make a string of fantastic albums as a leader.   It features music from his time as a Messenger and more from his time as a leader.   Questions? Comments? Requests? E-mail me at WNPMPod@gmail.com Announcement: I'll be moving this weekend, so will probably be taking a few weeks off from making the podcast, but will be back soon.  Thanks for listening!

This week's episode is about the amazing, underrated trumpeter Kenny Dorham, and features music from throughout his career.  Great mostly straight-ahead jazz!  Quetions? Comments? Requests? Email me: wnpmpod@gmail.com

This week's episode is about the music of bassist Richard Davis.  Davis came up in the Chicago jazz scene, and studied classical music intensively, and went on to play on some of the most interesting, progressive albums of the post bebop era in the 1960's.  it features phenomenal performances from his time playing with Eric Dolphy, Andrew Hill, Jaki Byard and others. Questions? Comments? Request?  email me at WNPMPod@gmail.com

This week's episode is about the music of drummer Elvin Jones, best known for his time playing with John Coltrane, during the tenor saxophonist's transition into the most prominent figure in the music's avant garde. It features music by Coltrane's Quartet, and from groups that Jones led and participated in before and after his time with Trane Questions? Comments? Request?  email me at WNPMPod@gmail.com

I took the last few weeks off to deal with some family stuff. I should be back to a regular schedule beginning next week with an episode about drummer Elvin Jones.  In the meantime, enjoy a preview: Elvin Jones at the peak of his powers with John Coltrane's quartet

Last Saturday, August 29th was the 100 year anniversary of the great Charlie Yardbird Parker's birth, and this happens to be the 100th episode of Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting! Join me to celebrate both with an hour of Bird's music! Questions? Comments? Requests? E-Mail me: WNPMPod@gmail.com

This week's episode is about bassist Jimmy Garrison.  It features music from his early days playing in some fantastic hard bop groups like those of Kenny Dorham, Ted Curson, and Jackie McLean, a track from his time in John Coltrane's Classic Quartet, and some exciting free jazz oriented tracks from later in his career.  Enjoy! Questions? Comments? Requests?  WNPMPod@gmail.com or find me on twitter @wednesday_jazz

This week's episode is about the music of bassist Charlie Haden, and features music from the very beginning of his career playing with Paul Bley and Ornette Coleman to the last recordings he made with his own Liberation Music Orchestra. Enjoy!  Questions? Comments? Requests? Email me: WNPMPod@gmail.com

Next week's episode will be about the bassist Charlie Haden, who rose to fame in Ornette Coleman's group.  In preparation, this week features a selection from his album Liberation Music Orchestra.  Enjoy, and check in next week for a full episode about Haden. Questions? Comments? Requests? E-mail me: WNPMPod@gmail.com

This week's episode is about the music of trumpeter Don Cherry.  Cherry is best known for his work alongside Ornette Coleman, pushing the boundaries of freedom in the jazz context.  The episode features music from his time in Ornette's band, some of his own work as a leader of some great free music, and a bit of his more world-music tinged offerings.   Questions? Comments? Requests? E-mail me at wnpmpod@gmail.com

Next week's episode is going to be about trumpeter Don Cherry.  In anticipation of that, and to tie it to last week's episode about Henry Grimes, this episode showcases Cherry's Symphony for Improvisers, which also features Grimes (*and Pharoah Sanders on piccolo, which I left out in the VO... Oops!) .  Enjoy and check back next week for the full Don Cherry episode

This week's episode is about the bassist Henry Grimes.  Grimes was a Juliard-trained musician, who took an interest in free jazz in the 1960's, who disappeared from the music world for three and a half decades.  It features music from his early, conventional playing, from the peak of the free jazz movement, and music he made during his triumphant return in the 2000's.  Questions? Comments? Requests? email me at WNPMPod@gmail.com

On April 15, bassist Henry Grimes passed away.  I will have a full episode about his life and music ready for next week.  In the meantime, enjoy some of his poetry and a track from Spirits Aloft, his live album with drummer Rashied Ali. Questions? Comments? Requests? E-mail me: WNPMPod@gmail.com

This week's episode of WNPM is about drummer Jimmy Cobb, who passed away on May 24.  It features music from his early days in Earl Bostic's and Dinah Washington's groups to his work with the legendary sextet that recorded Miles Davis' Kind of Blue Questions? Comments? Requests? E-mail me at WNPMPod@gmail.com

I had heard that John Coltrane's masterful composition Alabama was inspired by Martin Luther King Jr's eulogy for four young girls who were killed by explosives planted under the steps of their church by members of the KKK.  The nation's collective outrage at the murder of George Floyd by police got me thinking about Coltrane's work, and so I sought out Dr King's speech.  This episode presents both back to back, in an effort to make some small contribution towards filling the void left by the shocking -though sadly not surprising- murder, lest it be filled with bitterness, anger, and rage.  Enjoy. wnpmpod@gmail.com

This week's episode is about the music of George Russell, a pianist and composer who was the first jazz musician to publish a book of the theory of jazz: The Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization   Russell's theories, though presented somewhat esoterically, were incredibly influential in the development of modal jazz, and the music that he created in the late 50's and early 60s- the primary focus of this episode- is brilliant and beautiful. Playlist here: wednesdaynightprayermeeting.wordpress.com/2020/05/21/george-russell-playlist/ Youtuber Bebop Review is currently putting together an incredibly thorough and engaging multi-part series on Russell's Lydian Chromatic Concept... Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7dkmyVz-20 Questions? Comments? Requests? email me at wnpmpod@gmail.com

This week's episode is about bassist Reggie Workman, who in the last year was named an NEA Jazz Master, and received a Guggenheim fellowship for music composition.  Workman has played with John Coltrane, Art Blakey, Archie Shepp, and many more, and this episode features music from throughout his career.   Playlist here:https://wednesdaynightprayermeeting.wordpress.com/2020/05/14/reggie-workman-playlist-wednesday-night-prayer-meeting-jazz-podcast/ Questions? Comments? Requests? Email me at wnpmpod@gmail.com

This week's episode is about the pianist and composer Herbie Nichols.  I first learned of Nichols' music in a book called Four Lives in the Bebop Business by A.B. Spellman, an incredible book that has sections on Nichols, Cecil Taylor, Jackie McLean, and Ornette Coleman.  Get a copy here: https://www.powells.com/book/-9780879100421 Playlist for the episode here: https://wednesdaynightprayermeeting.wordpress.com/2020/05/07/herbie-nichols-playlist-wednesday-night-prayer-meeting-jazz-podcast/ Questions? Comments? Requests? E-mail wnpmpod@gmail.com

I've had a busy week, and haven't had the time to complete the Herbie Nichols episode that I'm working on.  It will be ready for next Wednesday.  In the meantime, enjoy a track from Herbie's first album!

In light of the orders to stay at home and honor social distancing, I thought it would be appropriate to share come incredible unaccompanied solo performances, and to dwell a bit on the beauty that can be created all alone.  This episode features performances by Duke Ellington, Andrew Hill, Art Tatum, Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, Sun Ra, and more.  Lots of piano pieces, but some cello, electric piano, trumpet, and trombone performances for variety.   Playlist here: https://wednesdaynightprayermeeting.wordpress.com/2020/04/07/solo-jazz-wednesday-night-prayer-meeting-jazz-podcast-playlist/ Questions? Comments? Requests? Send email to WNPMPod@gmail.com, call the show's voicemail box at (424) 704-1666, or as of last week you can find me on twitter: @wednesday_jazz

To make up for missing putting out an episode last week, I made an extra long episode this week about the incredible drummer Max Roach. Max Roach was at the forefront of jazz from the beginning his career in the 1940s to the end of his life, and played in a wide variety of styles.  This episode focuses mostly on his music in the late 50s and early 60s, with a little from before and after. Playlist here: https://wednesdaynightprayermeeting.wordpress.com/2020/04/02/max-roach-wednesday-night-prayer-meeting-jazz-podcast-playlist/ Questions? Comments? Requests? send me an e-mail at wnpmpod@gmail.com or call the show's voicemail box at (424) 704-1666 Also, I just set up a Twitter account for the show: @wednesday_jazz

This week's episode is about the music of trumpeter and flugelhorn player Art Farmer.  At a time when nine out of ten trumpeters were trying to sound like Dizzy Gillespie or Miles Davis, Farmer blazed his own path, and developed a soft, thoughtful, beautifully melodic style with a keen sensitivity for dynamic and timbral range. Please forgive the fairly minimal commentary for this episode, I'm fighting a sore throat/cough and so kept things brief Playlist here: https://wednesdaynightprayermeeting.wordpress.com/2020/03/18/art-farmer-wednesday-night-prayer-meeting-jazz-podcast-playlist/   Questions? Comments? Requests? email me at wnpmpod@gmail.com

This week, drummer Roy Haynes turns 95 years old. To celebrate the occasion this episode is about his music.  Haynes career started in the middle 1940s and continues to this day.  This episode focuses mostly on his early work up until the 1960s. Playlist here: https://wednesdaynightprayermeeting.wordpress.com/2020/03/11/happy-birthday-roy-haynes-wnpm-jazz-podcast-playlist/ Questions? Comments? Requests? email me at wnpmpod@gmail.com

Brilliant pianist and last surviving member of John Coltrane's classic quartet, McCoy Tyner, passed away today at the age of 81.  On the occasion of this sad news, I wanted to share with you an incredibly beautiful and uplifting piece of music that McCoy created with the Coltrane Quartet.

This week's episode is about the music of the incredible pianist and arranger Gil Evans.  Gil Evans bridged the divide between prewar big band music and post-war bebop, and is best known for his work with Miles Davis on Miles' incredible, beautiful, groundbreaking orchestral albums, widely known as the best make-out albums ever created.   Featuring songs from his work with Miles, his work arranging for other artists, and from his own albums as a bandleader.   Playlist here: https://wednesdaynightprayermeeting.wordpress.com/2020/03/04/gil-evans-playlist-wednesday-night-prayer-meeting-jazz-podcast/ Questions? Comments? Requests?  email me: wnpmpod@gmail.com

Because my schedule has been packed over the course of this last week, I haven't been able to finish putting together an episode about Gil Evans that I have been working on.  It will be ready next Wednesday, but in the meantime, I'd like to share one of Evans' tracks to get you thinking about his music.  Evans is one of the most successful arrangers of jazz music in the post-swing era, probably best known for the string of orchestral albums he worked with Miles Davis to create.  The song in this week's episode is from one of his albums as a bandleader.  Enjoy, and check back next week for the full episode about Gil Evans Questions? Comments? Requests? E-mail me at WNPMPod@gmail.com

This week's episode of WNPM is about the music of Paul Chambers, an incredibly prolific bassist who recorded on hundreds of albums at the peak of modern jazz in the 50's and 60's, an incredible achievement considering that he only lived to the age of 33. It features songs from his work with Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Bud Powell, and many more.    Questions? Comments? Requests? E-mail me at WNPMPod@gmail.com

This week's episode is about pianist Elmo Hope, a lesser known friend and contemporary of Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk. Questions, Comments, Requests? Email me at wnpmpod@gmail.com

This week's episode is about the music of Dr. Art Davis, a phenomenal bassist who straddled the line between jazz and classical music, whose frequent, innovative use of the bow on the instrument puts him in a class all his own.  It focuses mostly on his early career, including music he recorded with John Coltrane's group and with Booker Little and Max Roach's group Questions? Comments? Requests? Send them to wnpmpod@gmail.com or call the show's voicemail box at (424) 704-1666 Apologies in advance for the state of my voice, I have been a little under the weather this past week.

This week's pod is a callback to the early days of this podcast, when I would alternate between regular episodes of the show and episodes about avant garde jazz musicians called Out There.   Anthony Braxton plays dozens of instruments, and is a prolific composer who has released over 100 albums over the course of his career.  This episode focuses mostly on his early work, but touches on some of his later work as well. Questions? Comments? Requests? email wnpmpod@gmail.com or call the show's voicemail box at (424) 704 1666

WNPM returns with an episode about the Modern Jazz Quartet.   This episode features songs from various points throughout the career of one of the longest lasting small groups in jazz history.  Enjoy!   Questions? Comments? Requests? Email WNPMPod@gmail.com

This week's episode is a brief introduction to the Modern Jazz Quartet, who will be the topic of a full episode next week.  Enjoy!

Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting is back after hiatus with an episode celebrating the music of Art Blakey, in honor of the 100 year anniversary of his birth last Friday.  Blakey is best known as the leader of the Jazz Messengers, a group that launched the careers of dozens of young jazz musicians, including Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, McCoy Tyner, and many many more.  This episode features music from the Messengers, as well as a few tracks from Blakey's drumming with Thelonious Monk.  Playlist here Questions? Comments? Requests? E-mail wnpmpod@gmail.com

This week's episode is about the music of Bud Powell, one of the most influential pianists in jazz history.  His short career, like his life, was tumultuous, but he is cited as an inspiration by Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, and virtually every jazz pianist who followed him.

I was slammed with work and some other things this week, and so did not have time to put together the episode I intended to share with you, about the music of Bud Powell.  The full episode about Powell will be next week, but I thought I'd share one of my favorite Powell tunes with you in the meantime.  Enjoy!

Apropos of the news that broke in the New York Times a couple weeks ago about a devastating fire that destroyed an astonishing number of master tapes in the Universal Music Group's vaults, I thought it was a good time to do an episode about the music put out by one of my favorite record labels, Impulse! Records, one of the labels whose master tapes were apparently destroyed in the fire.

This week's episode is about Horace Silver, a pianist who was instrumental in developing the hard bop idiom of jazz. Silver composed a handful of tunes that, given his gift for melody and rhythmic experimentation, became jazz standards. Playlist here Questions? Comments? Requests? Call the WNPM Voicemail at (424) 704-1666 or email wnpmpod@gmail.com

This week's episode is about the music of Tadd Dameron, the premier writer/arranger of the early bebop era.  It features music that Dameron recorded with his own and in other groups, and versions of songs that he composed performed by Clifford Brown, Miles Davis, Eric Dolphy, and more. Playlist here Questions? Comments? Requests? Call the WNPM voicemail at (424)704-1666 or email WNPMPod@gmail.com

This week's episode is about the music of Billie Holiday, who has been on my mind on account of the upcoming production of Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill at the Garry Marshall Theater in Burbank. It runs from May 15 through June 2.  Discounted ($39) tickets can be found here using the promo code BILLIE  Playlist here Questions? Comments? Requests? Call the WNPM voicemail at (424) 704-1666, or email wnpmpod@gmail.com

This week's episode is about the music of Mal Waldron, who, among other things, did a stint as the house pianist for Prestige Records in the late 50's.  It features music from all throughout his five decade-spanning career.   The opening tune comes from the soundtrack that Waldron composed for this film. Playlist here.  Questions? Comments? Requests? Leave a message at the WNPM voicemail box at (424) 704-1666 or email wnpmpod@gmail.com

This week's episode is not focused on any particular artist, but instead a collection of songs that didn't make it into other episodes, or songs I've come across that have struck me as worth sharing by artists that I'm not sure I could put a whole episode together about.  A wide variety of jazz is covered, from the astonishingly beautiful episode opener by the Rene Hall Orchestra to music by pod favorites like Charles Mingus, Eric Dolphy, Grachan Moncur III and more.   Questions? Comments? Requests? Call the WNPM voicemail at (424) 704-1666, or email wnpmpod@gmail.com ATTN to my Los Angeles area listeners, I've just been informed that the Garry Marshall Theater in Burbank will be producing the Tony Award-winning play Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill about the great Billie Holiday. It runs from May 15 through June 2.  Discounted tickets can be found here using the promo code BILLIE Playlist for this episode can be found here

This week's episode of WNPM is about the music of the incredible bassist Wilbur Ware.  Ware started his career in Chicago, and moved to New York City as part of Art Blakey's band.  In New York, Ware served as the house bassist for Riverside Records, where he recorded with Thelonious Monk and many others.     Questions? Comments? Requests? Call the WNPM Voicemail Box at (424)704-1666 or email WNPMPod@gmail.com (Sorry for the telephone-sounding voiceover this week, something odd going on with my mic, but will remedy ASAP) Setlist here: https://wednesdaynightprayermeeting.wordpress.com/2019/04/25/wilbur-ware/

This week's WNPM is about pianist Bill Evans.  Evans is one of the most renowned pianists in the music.  He pioneered modal jazz in Miles Davis' Kind of Blue era group, and went on to form a trio that set the gold standard for piano trios to this day.  The episode starts with some of his early work as a sideman, but largely focuses on the work of the trio.  If you'd like to ask a question or make a comment or request, you can call the WNPM voicemail at (424) 704-1666 or email wnpmpod@gmail.com   Playlist here: wednesdaynightprayermeeting.wordpress.com/2019/04/21/playlist-wnpm-bill-evans/

I've had a busy week, and have not yet finished the episode that I meant to put out this week, about the music of pianist Bill Evans.  While I was choosing music for the Evans episode, I came across this gem, a piece composed by Charles Mingus for an album called Modern Jazz Concert, put together by Gunther Schuller and George Russell, both true believers in the melding of jazz and classical music. I'll be back next week with an episode about Bill Evans, for now I hope you enjoy Charles Mingus' Revelations (First Movement)  If you have questions, comments, or requests, please call the WNPM voicemail box at (424) 704-1666 or email wnpmpod@gmail.com

This week's episode of WNPM is in the spirit of the Out There series that I used to do regularly, about the music of pianist Paul Bley.  From early in his career, Bley brought a revolutionary spirit to jazz music, seeking to free it from its chordal bases, and a lot of the music he made over the 60ish years that he was active reflects that goal.  The episode features music from his early work in piano trios, as a sideman, from his group at the Hillcrest Club in Los Angeles in the late 50's that introduced the world to the musical mind of Ornette Coleman, and more.  Enjoy!   Playlist: wednesdaynightprayermeeting.wordpress.com/2019/04/21/paul-bley-playlist/

This week's WNPM is about the music of McCoy Tyner, an incredible pianist who is best known for his playing in John Coltrane's classic quartet.  It features music from his early albums as a sideman for various groups, from his time in the Coltrane group, from his early albums as a leader, and more.  Enjoy!   Playlist: wednesdaynightprayermeeting.wordpress.com/2019/04/21/mccoy-tyner-playlist/

This week's episode is another installment in my series on the music of Charles Mingus, this time exploring what I consider to be his creative peak, from the early to middle 60s, including tracks from his amazing Impulse Records albums, his collaboration with Duke Ellington, and more.  Enjoy!

This week's episode is about multi-instrumentalist Yusef Lateef.  Lateef played tenor sax, flute, and oboe, and was one of jazz's earliest players to experiment with eastern music, and world music more generally.  Enjoy!

This week's episode of WNPM is about Rahsaan Roland Kirk, the brilliantly original multi instrumentalist, best known for playing three reed instruments simultaneously, often accompanied by additional, literal, bells and nose-whistles.  It features music from throughout his career, and ends with the story of the Jazz and People's Movement, the protest organization Kirk founded to try to get access to the mass media for jazz musicians.  I read excerpts from the JPM's manifesto, and play a recording of perhaps the peak of its activities, a performance on the final episode of the Ed Sullivan show, where Kirk brought Archie Shepp, Roy Haynes, and Charles Mingus to perform a blistering rendition of Mingus' Hatian Fight Song, a beautiful, if a little overblown, moment in musical and cultural history.  Enjoy!

This week's episode of WNPM is about Joe Henderson, a tenor saxophonist best known for his prolific mid 60's output for the Blue Note label, as a part of one of the most enduringly creative and interesting periods/scenes in jazz music.

This week's episode is about guitarist Nels Cline.  Nels is incredibly versatile and hiis s style difficult to categorize, but his approach to making music is deeply informed by jazz.  His group the Nels Cline 4 put out a beautiful album last year on Blue Note Records called Currents, Constellations, and are touring the US this month, and so I thought I'd share an exploration of his music to spread the word.  Check it out!

This week's episode of WNPM is about the Newport Jazz Festival, which has taken place every summer in Newport, Rhode Island since it was founded in 1954.  It starts with the performance of Round Midnight that catapulted Miles Davis into (further) stardom, and continues with my selections of some of the best performances I've come across recorded at the festival, including songs by Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Misha Mengleberg, and many more.  The last set of songs is from Charles Mingus' performances at Newport, along with one song from a record called Newport Rebels, which features musicians who joined Mingus at the alternative festival that Mingus arranged to compete with the Newport Festival, on the same weekend as and across town from the 1960 festival.

This week's episode is about one of the most celebrated associations in jazz, that between trumpeter Miles Davis and tenor saxophonist John Coltrane.  It features music from their early albums together, where the veteran Miles led the novice Coltrane through some pretty straight ahead but masterful bebop, through Coltrane's maturity as a solo voice, to their work together on albums like Jazz Track and Kind of Blue, where they developed the revolutionary modal approach to jazz improvisation. Beautiful music, all throughout.  Enjoy!

I've been having a busy, busy week, so decided to take a week off the podcast and re-upload this early episode of Out There. I've been listening to the incredible music Mr. Moncur created a lot lately and wanted to share it again for anyone who might have missed it the first time around.  Next week: Miles Davis and John Coltrane

This week's episode of WNPM is a little different than usual.  Rather than focusing on a single artist, I wanted to play some music by a few different trombonists.  The musicians featured are Jimmy Knepper, Curtis Fuller, Julian Priester, and Grachan Moncur III, and the songs played are from their own albums as a leader as well as albums they appear on by John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, and more.    Requests? Questions? Comments?  Leave a voice message at (424) 704-1666 or email wnpmpod@gmail.com!

This week's episode of Out There is about the amazing free jazz guitarist Sonny Sharrock, and features tracks from his albums as a leader as well as songs from albums he recorded as a sideman with Herbie Mann, Pharoah Sanders, Wayne Shorter, and more, and also features a reading of excerpts from an essay on improvising by Sharrock found in full here:   http://www.jazzguitar.com/features/sharrock.html   Also, this might be the last episode of Out There for a while, as I want to focus on doing fewer, better episodes, and so will be either integrating the avant garde stuff into the regular WNPM episodes or just doing them sporadically.  Enjoy!

This week's episode is about the record label ESP Disk.  ESP was started as a means to spread the artificial universal language Esperanto, and somehow wound up releasing some of the most important free jazz of the 60s.  Featuring music by Albert Ayler, Henry Grimes, Marion Brown, Bob James, Paul Bley, Marzette Watts, and many more

This week's episode of Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting, the last in a series of episodes about the members of Miles Davis' second great quintet, is about the most prolific member of the group, Ron Carter.  Throughout his career Carter has appeared on more than 2000 records, and this episode focuses mainly on the albums he was recording before and around the time that he was playing with Miles.  Enjoy!

This week's episode of Out There is a little bit of a continuation of the last Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting, focusing on drummer Tony Williams.  Williams started drumming professionally at age 13, and by 19 was a member of Miles Davis' quintet.  His flowing, angular style was something of an avant garde middle ground between conventional bebop drumming and the all-out free style of drummers like Sunny Murray and Milford Graves.  Features music from his solo albums, his albums with Miles Davis, Grachan Moncur III, and Andrew Hill.  If you have any questions or comments, call the WNPM/Out There voicemail box at (424) 704-1666 or email wnpmpod@gmail.com

This week's episode of Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting is about Miles Davis' second great quintet with Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams, five musicians who elevated the possibilities of group interplay to unprecedented heights.

This week's episode of Out There is about the wonderful free jazz drummer Milford Graves, who started out in the New York free jazz scene in the 1960's.

This week's episode of WNPM is about a true original, Thelonious Monk.  Monk was instrumental in the birth of bebop, as the house pianist at Minton's Playhouse, where the style was developed, yet unlike some of his Minton's contemporaries-especially Bird and Diz-it took a long time for a wider audience to appreciate his work.  Nonetheless, Monk continued to play and to compose beautiful, unusual, eclectic, eccentric music, and put together a body of work that stands today as testament to his genius.

This week's episode of the Out There Avant Garde Jazz Podcast is about Albert Ayler.  Ayler's uncompromising approach to the saxophone and to music in general took jazz into the territory of pure freedom to an unprecedented degree.  In a way it seems to me that making music was secondary to Ayler's true purpose: communion with a higher power through sound.  The episode features music from the various albums Ayler released during his tragically short life, as well as a recording of his performance at John Coltrane's funeral.  Approach it with an open mind, and enjoy an hour or so of some incredible, stimulating, passionate music, like nothing that had come before it.

This week's episode of WNPM is about the music of John Coltrane's quartet with McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison, and Elvin Jones, featuring music from their albums A Love Supreme, Crescent, Live at Birdland, and more.  Also, I set up a Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting voicemail box to encourage some audience participation.  Questions? Requests? Comments? Suggestions for future shows? Call (424) 704-1666 and leave a message, or email WNPMPod@gmail.com

This week's episode of Out There is about the Pianist Don Pullen, an incredibly exciting and relentless player, who played in a style that shares a lot of qualities with that of Cecil Taylor, but who maintained a grounding to traditional ideas of connectedness to theme and chord changes that make him in many ways easier to listen to. Featuring music from his time in Charles Mingus' band, his solo records, his album with Sunny Murray, and more!

Another episode about the music of Charles Mingus, this time focusing on what I think of as the beginning of his maturity as a musician and bandleader, from 1957-1962.  Featuring music from his albums Ah Um, Mingus Dynasty, Blues and Roots, Live at Antibes, and more

This week's episode of Out There is a little unusual.  I realized that all this time I haven't been mentioning the names or credits of the songs I've been using behind the voiceover, so wanted to remedy that by presenting them all in one place, without my talking over them, and saying who is playing what, because they are some great songs, and it's information worth knowing! Enjoy!

This week's episode of Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting is about Lee Morgan, a trumpeter whose prolific output was sadly stopped early, when he was shot to death between sets by his wife, over an apparent affair.  His style strikes an interesting balance between interesting future-minded experimental ideas and great memorable, soulful, catchy hitmaking.

This week's episode of Out There is about Herbie Hancock, a prolific pianist and composer who was a part of Miles Davis' second great quintet.  Hancock was instrumental in developing the "time, no changes" style that was popularized by that quintet, a style that was something of a compromise between avant garde experimentation and accessibility.

This week's episode of WNPM is about Jaki Byard, a pianist who played in some of Charles Mingus' most creatively dense groups in the early 60s before launching his own career as a bandleader. He was an incredibly versatile and eclectic stylist, and recorded dozens of albums as a leader and sideman.

This week's episode of Out There is about the one and only Sun Ra and his variously titled Arkestra.  Sun Ra maintained throughout his life that he was from Saturn, here on earth to spread a message of peace through his music.  His music is some of the most stylistically diverse ever produced by one man, ranging from standard bebop-ish jazz to wild free jazz freakouts, to sound collage/musique concrete, to wholly new and unique experiments with electronic instruments.  Enjoy!

This week's episode of WNPM is about Philly Joe Jones, one of the most prolific drummers in jazz, best known for his time in Miles Davis first great quintet.  Featuring tracks from his work with Tadd Dameron, John Coltrane, Miles, Freddie Hubbard, and as a bandleader in his own right.

This week's episode of Out There is about the music of Archie Shepp, whose screaming tenor tone is unmistakeable.  Shepp was a protege of John Coltrane, as well as a member of Cecil Taylor's band, and the combination of influences led him to develop a deeply moving, complex, free-sonant style.

This week's episode of WNPM is about the music of Freddie Hubbard, a prolific trumpeter who burst on to the New York jazz scene in 1958 and recorded with some of the most innovative players on the scene, including John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy, Art Blakey, Bobby Hutcherson, Ornette Coleman, and dozens more.

This week's episode of Out There is about the amazing avant garde pianist/composer Andrew Hill, who came up in the Chicago jazz scene and gained fame with a string of albums for Blue Note Records in the mid to late 60s, with groups featuring the some of the most advanced players in jazz at the time including Eric Dolphy, Roy Haynes, Woody Shaw, John Gilmore (Sun Ra's long time tenor sax player) and many more.  Enjoy!

This weeks episode of the Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting Jazz Podcast is about an incredible trumpeter, Booker Little.  Though he only lived to be 23 years old, he left behind a body of work that it is among the finest examples of the instrument's use, recording with Max Roach, Eric Dolphy, and many more

This week's episode of Out There is about one of the most exciting innovators in fairly mainstream 1960's jazz, alto saxophonist Jackie McLean.  Features tracks from his own albums as a leader, as well as some tracks from his frequent collaborator, Grachan Moncur III.

This week's episode of Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting is about Hampton Hawes, a pianist from Los Angeles whose early friendship with Charlie Parker led to his becoming one of the most interesting West Coast players in early bebop music

A free jazz freakout episode of Out There, featuring the music of Sun Ra, Willam Parker, Burton Greene, Ken McIntyre and more

This week's episode of Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting is about the early work of Charles Mingus, from the middle 1940s to 1956 when he signed with Atlantic records, and features his work as a leader and as a sideman in the bands of Miles Davis, Teddy Charles, Red Norvo (about whom a story from Mingus' autobiography Beneath The Underdog is shared) and more!

This episode of Out There is about the free jazz multi-instrumentalist David Murray, and explores music from throughout his career, from his first album with a trio to one of his more recent albums The David Murray Big Band Plays the Obscure Work of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn

This episode of WNPM is about the early music of Sonny Rollins, and features tracks from his time in the bands of Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, and Bud Powell, and from his albums as a leader, up to the Freedom Suite

This episode of Out There features the music of Sun Ra, Roswell Rudd, Jaki Byard, and more, and also a couple of songs that didn't make it into the episodes about Eric Dolphy and Bobby Hutcherson

This week's episode of Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting is about the great jazz trumpeter Clifford Brown, and features tracks from his time in the Tadd Dameron Orchestra, his quintet with Max Roach, and his albums with Sonny Rollins and others.

This week's episode of Out There is about the music of Abbey Lincoln, a jazz singer who was married to Max Roach in the 60's.  It starts off with a long selection from We Insist! Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite, and then covers selections from her albums Abbey is Blue, Straight Ahead, and more.

This weeks episode of WNPM is a classic episode, not focused on any particular artist or theme, but just a bunch of great jazz as you might come across it buying albums, exploring the genre.  I play some Miles Davis, Sam Rivers, Martial Soloal, Charles Mingus, and many more.  In jazz reissue news, BBE records just announced the release of a box set of Charles Mingus recordings, from a radio broadcast of his week long engagement at the Strata Concert Gallery in Detroit, 1973. Pre-order here:http://www.bbemusic.com/news/the-lost-tapes-charles-mingus-live-in-detroit/

This episode of Out There is about one of the most unique, mind-bending jazz pianists, Cecil Taylor, who passed away earlier this year.  It is mostly focused on his earlier work, from his performance at the 1957 Newport Jazz festival through his second Blue Note Records album Conquistador.

Legendary jazz saxophonist/composer Wayne Shorter turned 85 years old this past Saturday, so I decided it would be a good time to do an episode about his music.  Featuring music from his albums as a leader and as a sideman with Miles Davis, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and more.  One of the last living greats from the revolutionary changes that jazz underwent in the 60s, Shorter still tours to this day.