May 15, 2010 - A la basse, Monsieur Alain Caron

I have had the good fortune to see Alain Caron in a number of different settings over the years. My first encounter with him and his music was many many years ago at the Forum at Ontario Place, back in the summer of 1983. They used to run a three day jazz festival there, and one of my most vivid memories was seeing Jaco Pastorius, UZEB, and Miles Davis on the same Friday night. UZEB, with Alain Caron on bass, was the real revelation for me that night. Of course, that started me collecting everything UZEB (and later Alain Caron et Le Band) ever recorded. I think I saw UZEB live on at least two more occasions after that Ontario Place encounter, and I've seen Le Band at least three times as well.

Caron is right up there in the pantheon of great electric bassists, and he's no slouch on the acoustic bass either! I encourage you to have a listen to the breadth of his work from his days with UZEB, his ongoing work with Le Band, and an intriguing release titled "Conversation", where he engages in a series of musical dialogues with various keyboardists. Very tasty stuff, and a great diversity of sounds!

Bright moments!


CHARLES MINGUS - MINGUS AH UM - BETTER GET IT IN YOUR SOUL
ALAIN CARON - CONVERSATIONS - QUESTIONS
MILES DAVIS - KIND OF BLUE - FREDDIE FREELOADER
PAT METHENY - ORCHESTRION - SOUL SEARCH
THE ROSS TAGGART TRIO - PRESENTING THE ROSS TAGGART TRIO - TANARA
CHET DOXAS - BIG SKY - FOR JIM
MCCOY TYNER QUARTET - MCCOY TYNER QUARTET - WALK SPIRIT, TALK SPIRIT
MICHAEL BRECKER - PILGRIMAGE - THE MEAN TIME
DIZZY GILLESPIE - SWING LOW, SWEET CADILLAC - SWING LOW, SWEET CADILLAC
STAN KENTON - KENTON '76 - TIME FOR A CHANGE
THE TAYLOR - FIDYK BIG BAND - LIVE AT BLUES ALLEY - ANTHROPOLOGY
PRIME TIME BIG BAND - FOR OUR FRIENDS - EVIE
FRED STRIDE JAZZ ORCHESTRA - FORWARD MOTION - ODDLY ENOUGH
THE HUGH FRASER QUINTET - RED & BLUE - THANK YOU VERY MUCH
BLUIETT BARITONE NATION - LIBATION FOR THE BARITONE SAXOPHONE NATION - LIBATION FOR THE BARITONE SAXOPHONE NATION

May 8, 2010 - MC Mic Control Reigns Supreme

Doc was away this weekend, and as you know when the Doctor is away, the MC will play! He's got such great taste and jazz sensibility that the show never skips a beat with MC Mic Control at the helm.


RAY BROWN - SOME OF MY BEST FRIENDS ARE…THE TRUMPET PLAYERS - ORIGINAL JONES
KENNY BARRON - LEMURIA-SEASCAPE - FUNGI MAMA
CHRIS DAVIS - BAILE BONITA - YOU DIG?
BILL COON & OLIVER GANNON - TWO MUCH GUITAR - HAVE YOU MET MISS JONES
BRIANNE DE VERTEUIL & HER SAVVY 6 - DO YOU SAVVY? - ST. LOUIS BLUES
THE IAN MCDOUGALL SEXTET - NIGHTS IN VANCOUVER - POLKA DOTS AND MOONBEAMS
BRUNO HEBERT - ROCKY MOUNTAIN JAZZ COMPLIATION - SWEET AND SOUR
HUGH MASEKELA - INTRODUCING HEDZOLEH SOUNDZ - KA YE OYA
MAYNARD FERGUSO - CHAMELEON - SUPERBONE MEETS THE BADMAN
ARTURO SANDOVAL - HOT HOUSE - FUNKY CHA-CHA
STAN GETZ AND GERRY MULLIGAN - GETZ MEETS MULLIGAN IN HI-FI - SCRAPPLE FROM THE APPLE
CHRISTINE JENSEN JAZZ ORCHESTRA - TREELINES - DANCING SUNLIGHT
ERNESTO CERVINI QUARTET - LITTLE BLACK BIRD - COCONUT BILL
MICHAEL BLAKE SEXTET - AMOR DE COSMOS - TEMPORARY CONSTELLATION
CHET BAKER - JAZZ 'ROUND MIDNIGHT - YOU GO TO MY HEAD

May 1, 2010 - FunDrive

We just held our semi-annual FunDrive...ol' Doc like the emphasis on "fun", because that's what it is! We rely on community listener support, otherwise our sounds will never make the airwaves. Boy, did our listeners ever step up...we not only met, but we exceeded our $20,000 goal! It was a fun day on Vitamin J as well...MC Mic Control came in to work the phones and also brought in his keyboard. Doc had his Yamaha midi sax with him, and when you phoned in with a pledge, you also got to request a jazz standard. You ask for it, and we play it!

Thanks again for supporting community-based and campus-based radio where you live...it really is the lifeblood of many communities!

April 24, 2010 - Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band

One of the more exciting big bands on the scene today is Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band. Goodwin himself is an accomplished composer/arranger with a rather prodigous output, and community big bands across the world are thankful for that! Many of the charts played by the GGBPB have been published and are being played by high school, college, and community bands...it is good to see such great music being produced, and keeping big bands alive! Don't ever act your age...but do have a listen to the album of the same name...


CHARLES MINGUS - MINGUS AH UM - BETTER GET IT IN YOUR SOUL
GREAT UNCLES OF THE REVOLUTION - STAND UP - STOMPIN' AT THE SAVOY
FREDERIC ALARIE - TAP BASS - WATER IS WIDE
MICHAEL BLAKE SEXTET - AMOR DE COSMOS - INFIRMARY
DIZZY GILLESPIE - NEW FACES - BIRKS WORKS
GREG BUSH QUINTET - CAUSE AND EFFECT - PUSHIN' AND PULLIN'
ROSS TAGGART QUARTET - THANKFULLY - LAURIER LUXURY WALK
THE CHAD MAKELA QUINTET - FLICKER - FLICKER
DAVE FRISHBERG - CLASSICS - MY ATTORNEY BERNIE
DAVID CLAYTON-THOMAS - JUSTIN TIME RECORDS 25TH ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION - SPINNING WHEEL
MAYNARD FERGUSON - THE LOST TAPES VOLUME ONE - DON'T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME
GORDON GOODWIN'S BIG PHAT BAND - ACT YOUR AGE - WATERMELON MAN
GORDON GOODWIN'S BIG PHAT BAND - ACT YOUR AGE - HIT THE GROUND RUNNING
VEJI - V - SCREEAB-BOP!
WOODY HERMAN HERD AT MONTREUX CROSSWIND
PETER HERBOLZHEIMER RHYTHM CONNECTION - MOJO CLUB PRESENTS DANCEFLOOR - MR. CLEAN
THE HUGH FRASER QUINTET - RED & BLUE - THANK YOU VERY MUCH
JACO PASTORIUS - PUNK JAZZ - THE CHICKEN

April 17, 2010 - M.F. Horn 4 & 5 Live at Jimmy's

M.F., of course, stands for Maynard Ferguson...though on this album he plays like the other connotation of M.F.! "Live at Jimmy's", a wonderful double album, is arguably Maynard's best live recording. It was a bit of a transitional band...up to this point in the mid-'70's he'd been fronting a group of primarily British musicians but this band was a blend of British and American musicians, with the odd (some might say very odd, since he played baritone sax) New Zealander tossed in. The band is on fire, responding well to the assembled audience, with Maynard soaring above the fray. Check out the work on the bari by Bruce Johnstone on both "MacArthur Park" and "Stay Loose With Bruce".


CHARLES MINGUS - MINGUS AH UM - BETTER GET IT IN YOUR SOUL
CHARLES MCPHERSON - LIVE AT THE CELLAR - SPRING IS HERE
STEVE JONES - CHESTER'S WALTZ - LAMENT FOR HUNTER S. THOMPSON
STEVE KALDESTAD - BLOW-UP - SIESTA
SANDRO DOMINELLI - THE ALVO SESSIONS - WICKED GAME
THE AMANDA TOSOFF QUARTET - STILL LIFE - WANDERING
P.J. PERRY - NOTA BENE - GEORGIA ON MY MIND
JOHN COLTRANE - ONE DOWN, ONE UP: LIVE AT THE HALF NOTE - AFRO BLUE
SONNY ROLLINS AND JOHN COLTRANE - THE VERY BEST OF PRESTIGE RECORDS - TENOR MADNESS
THE CANNONBALL ADDERLEY QUINTET - MERCY, MERCY, MERCY - STICKS
THE HUGH FRASER QUINTET - RED & BLUE - THANK YOU VERY MUCH
MAYNARD FERGUSON - M.F. HORN 4 & 5 LIVE AT JIMMY'S - GOT THE SPIRIT
MAYNARD FERGUSON - M.F. HORN 4 & 5 LIVE AT JIMMY'S - MACARTHUR PARK

April 10, 2010 - Burning for Buddy

There is something special about that sound, isn't there? It is a big, brassy, bold band, with as much collective attitude and swagger as its leader. There isn't anyone quite like Buddy, that's for sure. Growing up in Mississauga, I had the good fortune of seeing Buddy and the band a number of times in the late-'70's through to the mid-'80's, and was always amazed by the incendiary sound the band would create. It started from the drum kit and moved out from there. Buddy would start a rhythm, shout a number to the band, and it was a riot watching them riffle through their music folders to make sure the chart was in place on the stand before Buddy hit the one. Steve Marcus (on tenor and soprano) was an absolute standout and also fanned the flames of the band.

If you want to get an idea of the sight and sound of Buddy's band from that era, I encourage you to check out "Buddy Rich: Live in '78" from the Jazz Icons DVD series
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=26896


CHARLES MINGUS - MINGUS AH UM - BETTER GET IT IN YOUR SOUL
PJ PERRY - NOTA BENE - ARNIE
JOEL MILLER - TANTRAMAR - BOOGIE GAUDET
JAKE LANGLEY - HERE AND NOW - GOODBYE PORKPIE HAT
CHET BAKER - JAZZ ROUND MIDNIGHT - YOU GO TO MY HEAD
CHET BAKER AND PAUL DESMOND - UNKNOWN - AUTUMN LEAVES
CHRIS DAVIS - BAILE BONITA - SWEETIE PIE
PEPPER ADAMS - THE COOL SOUND OF PEPPER ADAMS - SKIPPY
THE HUGH FRASER QUINTET - RED & BLUE - MR. RYGA
DAVE BRUBECK - WE'RE ALL TOGETHER AGAIN FOR THE FIRST TIME - UNFINISHED WOMAN
TIME WARP - THE TIME WARP COLLECTION - BLUE SAXOPHONES
DECADENCE - DEMO - MARCHING HOME
THE ED PALERMO BIG BAND - EDDY LOVES FRANK - DON'T YOU EVER WASH THAT THING?
SYLVIN MARC - '92 L'ANNEE DU BLUES - HALF SCALE BLUES
THE HUGH FRASER QUINTET - RED & BLUE - THANK YOU VERY MUCH
THE BUDDY RICH BIG BAND - BURNING FOR BUDDY VOLUME 2 - CHANNEL ONE SUITE

April 3, 2010 - Easter Bunnies

Very special thanks to MC Mic Control (a.k.a. Matt Carter) for hosting the show this week, while I was off in the Interior of BC chasing down the Easter Bunny. Matt is truly one of the most talented people I know...co-host of the Impending Loom on CHLY and an on-air personality with Shaw Cable, Matt is also a lead vocalist and tenor player with local ska band The Kiltlifters, one of a trio of bari players in the Pocket Rockets, and baritone player with the ten-piece outfit Decadence. He composes and arranges for both these groups, and he is an in-demand session player. To top it all off, he's a great human being! He's got impeccable taste in food, beer, and jazz, and I know you liked what he spun while hosting the show. Thanks MC!


DUKE ELLINGTON - VERVE JAZZ MASTERS 4 - ST LOUIS BLUES
PJ PERRY - NOTA BENE - NICA'S DREAM
THE CORY WEEDS QUINTET - EVERYTHING'S COMING UP WEEDS - ELLA'S WALK
ELLA FITZGERALD - ELLA FITZGERALD / GOLD / GREATEST HITS - BLUE SKIES
JAMES CARTER - PRESENT TENSE - RAPID SHAVE
OLIVER GANNON - ROCKY MOUNTAIN JAZZ COMPILATION - KELOWNA
STAN GETZ & GERRY MULLIGAN - GETZ MEETS MULLIGAN IN HI-FI - SCRAPPLE FROM THE APPLE
STEVE JONES - CHESTER'S WALTZ - INTELLECTUAL BLUES
MAYNARD FERGUSON - ONE MORE TRIP TO BIRDLAND - CAJUN COOKING
STAN KENTON - KENTON '76 - A SMITH NAMED GREG
CHRISTINE JENSEN JAZZ ORCHESTRA - TREELINES - DANCING SUNLIGHT
CHRISTINE JENSEN JAZZ ORCHESTRA - TREELINES - RED CEDAR