KCCK’s music producers have chosen their 10 favorite jazz and blues releases for 2024.
Bob Stewart: Monday-Friday 6 a.m. – 10 a.m.
1) Rebecca Kilgore “A Little Taste: A Tribute to Dave Frishberg” (Cherry Pie)
Ms. Kilgore has been one of my favorite vocalists for decades and this disc did not disappoint. She honored one of her good friends, the songwriter Dave Frishberg, with a program of his wonderfully quirky tunes. Sadly, Ms. Kilgore was in a battle with cognitive decline toward the end of the year so this will the final output of a marvelous career.
2) Affinity Trio “Hindsight” (Origin)
3) Anthony Branker & Imagine “Songs My Mom Liked” (Origin)
4) Jeff Coffin “Only the Horizon” (Ear Up)
5) Caity Gyorgy “Hello! How Are You?” (La Reserve)
6) Art Hirahara “Good Company” (Posi-Tone)
7) Ryan Keberle & Catharsis “Music is Connection” (Alternate Side)
8) Teri Parker’s Free Spirits “Peaks and Valleys” (Modica)
9) Chris Potter “Eagle’s Point” (Edition)
10) Mike Stern “Echoes and Other Songs” (Mack Avenue)
Hollis Monroe Monday-Friday 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
1) Basie Orchestra – Basie Swings the Blues (Candid). The authenticity of the Count Basie Orchestra blasts thru as they exult the Blues in their own time monored way.
2) Terry Gibbs Dream Band – The Lost Tapes, 1959: Vol. 7 (Whaling City Sound). Can someone please tell me why this man hasn’t been names an NEA Jazz Master????
3) Sarah Hanahan – Among Giants (Blue Engine). Great debut album featuring Hanahan on alto, with pianists Marc Cary, bassist Matt Reeves, drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts and percussionist Bobby Allende. Hanahan handles standard and originals with great aplomb and harmonic sense.
4) Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Charles Mingus, Max Roach – The Complete Jazz at Massey Hall Concert (Craft). Astounding performances with Mingus’ genius finally highlighted.
5) Isaiah J. Thompson – A Guaraldi Holiday (Outside In). Coproduced by John Pizzarelli, this album is a refreshing and nostalgic take on pieces by the eclectic master Vince Guaraldi, many of which served as “gateways” to Jazz for countless young listeners.
6) Donald Vega – All Is Merry and Bright (Imagery). A wonderful selection of holiday favorites thoughtfully and sensitively reimagined for this season.
7) Warren Wolf – History of the Vibraphone (Cellar). A master for his instrument playing favorites from the repertoire of past and current masters like Terry Gibbs, Lionel Hampton, Milt Jackson, Bobby Hutcherson, Cal Tjader, Gary Burton, Roy Ayers, Dave Samuels and Joe Locke.
8) Wolf/Clark/Dorsey – A Letter to Bill Evans (Jazz Avenue 1). A wonderful expression of the creativity and improvisational skills of Bill Evans.
9) Charles Ruggiero – But of Course (RMF). A swingin’ band dishing up originals, a few standards and a couple of great tunes from the pens of their contemporaries.
10) Planet D Nonet – Echoes of Harlem. (Eastlawn). I really loved Planet D Nonet’s previous album, “Blues to Be There: A Salute to Duke Ellington”, and this new release continues to simultaneously exude and exalt the music of The Duke.
Ron Adkins: Monday-Friday 2-6 p.m.
1) Kevin Burt & Big Medicine – Thank You, Brother Bill
Iowa bluesman Kevin Burt pays loving tribute to Bill Withers, one of his musical heroes. But this is not a cover album. Every song is a personal statement, sounding fresh and full of energy. I recommend listening from cover-to-cover. It’s an experience that’s full of energy, Kevin’s personality, and incredible musicianship.
2) Dave Brubeck Quartet – “Live from the Northwest, 1959” (Brubeck Editions)
3) Mark Egan – “Cross Currents” (Wavetone)
4)Daggerboard – “Escapement” (Wide Hive)
5)Hiromi’s “SonicWonder – SonicWonderland” (Telarc)
6) Joshua Redman – “where are we” (Blue Note)
7) Bria Skonberg – “What It Means” (Cellar)
8)Monty Alexander – “D-Day” (PeeWee!)
9)John Scofield – “Uncle John’s Band” (ECM)
10) Craig Erickson – “Dream Tracks” (Craig Erickson)
Saul Lubaroff: Saturday 8 a.m. – Noon, Sunday 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
1) Michael Wolff Memoir
Mike is a good friend and I have had the pleasure of playing with him many times in the last 20 yrs. In August of 2023 I had the opportunity to play with drummer Mike Clark, and Michael Wolff and we played several unreleased originals that Mike had written for an upcoming album called ‘Memoir.”
2) Jim Rotondi – “Finesse”
3) Jeff Lorber – “Fusion”
4) JGhost-Note – “Mustard n’ Onions”
5) Mark Egan – “Cross Currents”
6) Jeff Coffin – “Only the Horizon”
7) Dave Brubeck Quartet – “Live from the NW”
8) Brian Bromberg – “LaFaro”
9) George Benson – “Dreams Do Come True”
10) Joey Alexander – “Continuance”
Bob DeForest: Da Blues Saturday 6-10 p.m.
1) Joanna Connor “Best of Me’ (Gulf Coast)
2) Chris Daniels and the Kings “40” (Moon Voyage)
3) JD Simo & Luther Dickinson “Do the Rump” (40 Below)
4) Jovin Webb “Drifter” (Blind Pig)
5) Rick Vito ‘Cadillac Man” (Blue Heart)
6) Tab Benoit “I Hear Thunder” (Whisky Bayou)
7) Albert Castiglia “Righteous Souls” (Gulf Coast)
8) Ronnie Baker Brooks “Blues in My DNA” (Alligator)
9) Reverend Shawn Amos “Soul Brother No. 1” (Immediate Family)
10) The Chess Project “New Moves” (CZ-YZ)
John Heim: Da Friday Blues Friday 6-10 p.m.
1) Miller and the Other Sinners – “Thieves In The Breadline”
My top 10 albums are the releases I can pick up, look at the song list and spot something I really want to play on the air. Miller really knocks me out with his talent, song writing and social consciousness.
2) Tab Benoit – “I Hear Thunder”
3) John Primer, Bob Corritore – “Crawlin’ Kingsnake”
4) Danielle Nicole – “The Love You Bleed”
5) Altered Five Blues Band – “Testifyin’ EP”
6) Catfish Keith – “Shake Me Up”
7) Larkin Poe – “Bloom”
8) Seasick Steve – “A Trip A Stumble A Fall Down On Your Knees”
9) Damon Fowler – “Barnyard Smile”
10) Rick Estrin & The Nightcats – “The Hits Keep On Coming”
Bob Naujoks: Gentle Jazz Sunday 7 a.m. – 10 a.m.
1) Dave Brubeck Quartet: Live From The Northwest, 1959 (Brubeck Editions)
Right on top is a recording from the Dave Brubeck Quartet [Brubeck, Desmond, Wright, Morello] from their early “glory days” in 1959 made in Portland, OR. The wonderful integrated sound of these musicians is one of the hallmarks of jazz music, and a joy to hear even today. It is not nostalgia, but ever-present classic spontaneous interplay and living improvisation. The other issues in this list certainly deserve a second listen.
2) Emmet Cohan & Houston Person: – “Master Legacy Series, Vol. 5” (Bandstand)
3) Ken Peplowski – “Live At Mezzrow” (Cellar Music)
4) Eric Alexander & Mike LeDonne – “Together” (Cellar Music)
5) Bob McChesney – “Come Sunday” (MoCo)
6) Basie Swings The Blues – “The Count Basie Orchestra” (Candid)
7) Catherine Russell & Sean Mason – “My Ideal” (Dot Time)
8) Rebecca Kilgore: A Little Taste – “A Tribute to Dave Frishberg” (Cherry Pie)
9) Samara Joy: – “Portrait” (Verve)
10) Betty Bryant – “Lotta Livin’ “(Bry-Mar)
Amira Kellison: Thursday 6-8 p.m.
1 )Terry Gibbs Dream Band – “Volume 7: The Lost Tapes”
2) Dave Brubeck Quartet – “Live from the Northwest, 1959”
3) Chick Corea and Bela Fleck – “Rememberance”
4) Christian Sands – “Embracing Dawn”
5) Parker/Gillespie/Powell/Mingus/Roach – “Hot House: The Complete Jazz at Massey”
6) Basie Orhcestra – “Basie Swings the Blues”
7) Lakecia Benjamin – “Phoenix Reimagined”
8) George Benson – “Dreams Do Come True”
9)Matt Wilson – “Matt Wilson’s Good Trouble”
10) Javon Jackson – “Javon & Nikki Go to the Movies”
Hey, Jazz fans! Be sure to tune in this week as we celebrate the birthdays of brassmen Wendell Culley, Vernon Brown, Willie Dennis and Don Sickler, percussionists Chano Pozo, Sam Woodyard, Kenny Clarke and Max Roach, bassist Eldee Young and more.
Grammy nominated trombonist, composer and arranger Papo Vazquez has been a key player on New York City’s Latin jazz scene since the late 1970s, performing with top names such as Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, Jerry Gonzalez, Hilton Ruiz and Dave Valentin. His appreciation and knowledge of the indigenous music of the Caribbean provides him with a unique ability to fuse Afro-Caribbean rhythms, specifically those from Puerto Rico, with freer melodic and harmonic elements of progressive jazz. For his 11th release as a leader, “Songs del Yucayeke,” Vazquez is joined by his Mighty Pirates Troubadours for a program of original compositions and arrangements running the full gamut of the ensemble’s fusion of jazz, Puerto Rican folkloric music, and other Afro Caribbean rhythms.
Jazz Night In America (January 2)
Ryan Middagh, the Nashville-based composer, arranger, and baritone saxophonist is beloved by his contemporaries as a writer whose work is influenced by and caters to the unique persona of each musician with whom he works. Now, after already leading his big band, the Ryan Middagh Jazz Orchestra, successfully on their debut, he steps into the studio to create a second, this time with a change: this album was going to be all about shining the spotlight on the band members. “Tenor Madness” is a love letter to the saxophone itself, and the ebullient saxophonists of the Nashville music scene, including Joel Frahm, Jeff Coffin, and Don Aliquo.
Growing up in Mt. Vernon, New York, Bob Baldwin was exposed to the legends of jazz at an early age by his father, who was a pianist and music teacher. Playing on a Steinway piano that is over one hundred years old, Baldwin gathered a trio in the recording studio to record an album to pay homage to his father, who died in 2008. Recorded all in one day, half the set list on “Songs by Father Would Dig” is comprised of tunes composed by Coltrane, Miles, Herbie Hancock, Stevie Wonder, and one by his late cousin, Larry Willis. The other half are Baldwin originals.
