I took one week off the air, but it was not restful. No, I have done more work in the past week than maybe all summer. Ironically, I did not feel the weight of a to-do list pulling me down all this time. Instead, I did the footshake with these to-dos. So shit got done, until Saturday came around, the date I normally post one of these track breakdowns. To celebrate to-dos done, I spent a Friday night on the town. I did my footshake freely, through 2 am. Turning over at 10 am, fighting fizzing lactic acid from the footshake and a headache. The type of headache that screams and occupies every moment of the day. So I betrayed my Christian upbringing and moved the sabbath to a Saturday. Shabbat shalom, let’s get into what went down on this week’s installment of ‘jazz died??’.

On the shores of Newport, Rhode Island, I was conducting combat coverage from those stationed in Fort Adams. In other words, I interviewed a whole host of artists at the Jazz Festival and bickered with security officials. “This place has more rules than High School!” whined a reporter from Motif. I originally had some distasteful words for this reporter, but I now realize he was an amateur, like myself, trying to live a passion. I cannot knock his spirit, but asking advice of someone ~40 years younger than you is a bit backwards. Instead, I found great mentorship in every other person present. I talked with an anchor from New Orleans and was consoled over my first interviewee standing me up. He also introduced me to members of Downbeat Magazine and I understood the dream that myself and the Motif reporter shared. Thankfully, I had more interviews planned and Kenny Barron cemented his reputation with the blend of wisdom, skill, and finesse, characteristic of a legend. That interview is linked below.

Kenny Barron Interview

If you were unsure about my experience in this field, this interview is clipping and full of stutters. Though through all of it I felt proud to have accomplished this first interview. When I put things on air, I knew I had to swap the order in fear that my listeners would be scared away by the shaky audio quality. So I put my first interview from Day 2 of the festival first in Thursday’s set.

Riley Mulherkar Interview

Riley Mulherkar was a joy to speak to and this interview felt easier and more professional. Maybe because we are both trumpet players, though I think we were more soft spoken than our stereotypes. Riley’s aura of tranquility comes across in the interview and most explicitly in his song Chicken Coop Blues which I started Thurday’s set with. This interview gave me some grounding and allowed me to get ‘in my bag’ for the rest of my coverage.

I followed this interview with the Kenny Barron one and to reflect his favorite non-musical soundscape, I opened with Seascape by Kenny Barron alongside Ray Drummond and Ben Riley.

One of my most energetic interviews took place not long after Riley’s on day 2. Nicole Zuraitis spoke with me after her performance as brightly as if she was still on stage. That interview is here:

Nicole Zuraitis Interview
I had prepared a list of questions for each artist and that list did not include “How do you like your coffee?” and almost every artist wound up giving an answer. It seems jazz can only die when coffee does. For this reason, and because the song is as fun as herself, The Coffee Song (I Like You a Latte) by Nicole Zuraitis was the apt companion to our interview.

The rest of the set consisted of me bargaining that jazz has not died with new releases and old favorites. Alvin Cobb Jr., Katie Ernst, and Julius Tucker’s May release of You’ll Need This Later proved all too true when I lived some Lies at 3 am on the streets of the Lower East Side. Next, Hermeto Pascoal and company took us Passeando Pelo Jardim or passing through the garden. And immediately after Endea Owens plays Where the Nubians Grow and displays spectacular bass lines. No, not bass lines, but bass melodies.

Early electric keyboards have an irreplaceable sound that Steve Kuhn harnesses and lets loose on A Change of Face. From 1974, this album sounds like an illustrative late 80s B-side to a one hit wonder’s one hit. That track forgotten about, where they just have a ball with these sounds. That keyboard a critical one.

Geome Deome by Ronald Burner Jr. and George Duke reflects my thesis, that jazz is most alive in fusion. This song is almost metal, with its glaring guitar riffs. But each riff is deconstructed and reconstructed with improvisational flair. Convergance by Kenny Garret and Svoy uses a drum machine to let jazz instrumentation soar above drum breaks that Charli XCX referred to club classics.

In my interview with Nicole Zuraitis, she mentioned that pop is already starting to blend with jazz because people are bored. Which may be true on a large scale, but R&B singers have toyed that same line between pop and jazz for decades now. Green Eyes by Summer Pearl leans more in the jazz direction, but is a great contemporary display of independent R&B. Finally, Ragú by Langston Bristol flips a jazzy piano loop and pairs it with clean bars. Another variety take, of what jazz fusion can be. And why jazz is still well and alive.

Next week, more Newport Jazz Festival coverage!

This track breakdown may seem erratic and I know it lacks good pacing. I am working to secure a new apartment as I write, but I missed Saturday so this will be out today.

This episode was streamed live on 89.1 FM and on WNYU.ORG, catch more next Thursday 9-10:30 PM.

K3FAY