Liner Notes

Liner Notes > All Episodes

September 26, 2015

Red Rodney (9.27.15)

By: Rabbi Neil Blumofe

Red Rodney was an American bebop and hard bop trumpet player who made came up with mentors like Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. In his lifetime he saw much hardship, including the loss of his wife and daughter in a car accident, and the loss of many of his contemporaries in the jazz world.

In this edition of Liner Notes, Rabbi and jazz historian Neil Blumofe talks about what it means to be a “survivor”, and how jazz, and specifically bebop, allows us to confront oppression through resistance, revolution, and reckoning.


Episodes

November 5, 2019

Terry Gibbs

Terry Gibbs is an American vibraphonist and bandleader who remains the oldest bebopper at the age of 95. In this edition of Liner Notes, Rabbi and jazz historian Neil Blumofe talks about what Gibbs’s long career can teach us about inclusion and unity in the face of isolation and fear.

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November 5, 2019

Azar Lawrence

Azar Lawrence is an American jazz saxophonist who was hired by McCoy Tyner following the death of John Coltrane. In this edition of Liner Notes, Rabbi and jazz historian Neil Blumofe talks about what Lawrence can teach us about continuing a legacy, finding our voice, and knowing our value while holding on to our mortality.

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November 5, 2019

Les McCann

Les McCann is an American jazz pianist and vocalist. In this edition of Liner Notes, Rabbi and jazz historian Neil Blumofe talks about McCann’s influential life and work, and how it can inform us today.

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August 26, 2019

Jazz and The Art of Movement

Where do we consider being at home? When do we feel that we belong in a place and how quickly can we become dispossessed? In this edition of Liner Notes, Rabbi and jazz historian Neil Blumofe talks about how jazz traces various migrations – some arbitrary, some forced, and some chosen – and beyond appropriation […]

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August 12, 2019

Pat Metheny

Rabbi and jazz historian Neil Blumofe talks about the life and work of jazz guitarist and composer Pat Metheny.

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August 5, 2019

Art Neville

Art Neville was an American singer, songwriter, and keyboardist whose music and presence over five decades defined the New Orleans music scene. In this edition of Liner Notes Rabbi and jazz historian Neil Blumofe talks about the life and legacy of Art Neville.

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June 17, 2019

Mental Health

Rabbi and jazz historian Neil Blumofe talks about jazz and the art of mental health.

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May 31, 2019

Conspiracy

Rethink conspiracy through the appreciation of art, hard work, and beautiful music with Rabbi and jazz historian Neil Blumofe.

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