KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts
KUT and KUTX news and music podcasts for Austin, Texas and beyond
Rahsaan Roland Kirk was an American jazz tenor saxophone player who was known for his ability to play multiple instruments at once. He was an outspoken activist and was known also for his sense of humor on stage.
In this edition of Liner Notes, Rabbi and jazz historian Neil Blumofe talks about the lessons we can learn from Roland Kirk’s approach to music and to life.
Chick Corea is an American jazz composer and pianist, known for his ability to smoothly glide between jazz standards, avant-garde jazz and fusion. In this edition of Liner Notes Rabbi and jazz historian Neil Blumofe talks about the life and work of Chick Corea, and what his approach to music can teach us today.
Tonight at Noon is an album by jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus, released on the Atlantic label in 1965. The record includes tunes that are melodic and easy, and yet tinged with a dark sentiment that makes you feel as if you are enjoying a beautiful sunset, whilst sitting atop a volcano.
The title Mingus chose for the album almost outlives the music, in subsequent movie titles and book titles about his life. In this edition of Liner Notes, Rabbi and jazz historian Neil Blumofe talks about what the album, and it’s title evoke in us.
There is a mystery in the night that Mingus is urging us to see as normal, perhaps in an effort to demystify the jazz conversation, by saying “noon” is not something to be afraid of. “Noon” is happening right here at night and it’s just as acceptable and respectable as anything that happens during the day. In essence, he is taking the darkness out of the night.
Wes Montgomery was born “John Leslie Montgomery” in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1923. From humble beginnings in the Midwest, he went on to become one of the all time leading jazz guitar players, taking after luminaries like Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian.
In this edition of Liner Notes, Rabbi and jazz historian Neil Blumofe, talks about how the unassuming nature of Montgomery allows us to see that revolution and innovation are all around us each day. In the ordinariness of his playing, Montgomery was dangerous. Threatening to the status quo of, not only the everyday, but the avant-garde as well.
“Progressive art,” said Salvador Dali. “Can assist people to learn not only about the objective forces at work in the society in which they live, but also about the intensely social character of their interior lives. Ultimately, it can propel people toward emancipation.”
I’m not sure Max Roach would agree with that, but he definitely was part of a collective conversation which challenged the power of art, the concept of freedom, and the sanctity of tradition.
Listen back as we discuss Max Roach and The Art of Emancipation, on this edition of Views and Brews, with KUT’s Rebecca McInroy in conversation with Rabbi and Jazz historian Neil Blumofe.
Some of Texas’s jazz musicians are featured on this show including: Shelley Carroll on tenor sax; Ephraim Owens on trumpet; Brannen Temple on Drums; Roscoe Beck on Bass; and Red Young on Piano.
Rudresh Mahanthappa is an American jazz alto saxophonist and composer. Much of his music fuses the western improvisational approach to jazz, with sacred music from India, to expand the understanding of what it means to be in a present moment intercontinentally.
In this edition of Liner Notes, Rabbi and jazz historian Neil Blumofe, talks about what Mahanthappa’s work and style, can teach us about how we understand the process of becoming, as we live in this world.
Lee Konitz is an American jazz composer and alto saxophonist, who continues to build space for evolving styles and techniques in his work on the alto-sax. Inspired by Benny Goodman, Konitz carved out a sound that was, at times, contrary to prevailing ideas of what was “cool” in jazz in the shadow of Charlie Parker.
In this edition of Liner Notes, Rabbi and jazz historian Neil Blumofe talks about the importance of Konitz’s life and work, and what his dedication to his craft can teach us about re-inventing our days and selves as we live.
In this edition of Liner Notes, Rabbi and jazz historian Neil Blumofe talks about the life and legacy of Austin-based composer and artist Tina Marsh.
Don Byron is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist, rooted in jazz. However, his stylistic influences range from heavy metal to klezmer and more. In this edition of Liner Notes, Rabbi and jazz historian Neil Blumofe explores what it means to go beyond the idea of “avant-garde” and remain inspired and open to all elements of musical expression in this post-post modern era.
Pharoah Sanders is an American jazz saxophonist who came up along side John Coltrane to experiment with “sheets of sound”, and went on to become one of the most inventive composers and musicians in the Avant-garde movement. In this edition of Liner Notes, Rabbi and jazz historian Neil Blumofe, talks about what we can learn about presence and living in the moment, from the life and work of Pharoah Sanders.
Chico Hamilton was a jazz drummer and band leader who began his career in California, playing with Charles Mingus, Dexter Gordan and others. He helped to develop an avant-garde sound in jazz in the late 50s and 60s that was, at the same time, accessible and elusive. In this edition of Liner Notes Rabbi and jazz historian Neil Blumofe talks about what the music and legacy of Chico Hamilton can teach us today.
Johnny Hodges was an American jazz alto saxophonist best known for his work with Duke Ellington’s big band and Billy Strayhorn. His sound was so smooth and melodic that Duke Ellington said, just his tone could bring a tear to your eye.
In this installment of Liner Notes Rabbi and jazz historian Neil Blumofe talks about what it means to add your voice to an ensemble, and to know that no matter how big of an impression you make it is but a blink of an eye in the cosmic landscape.
What does it mean to be everything and nothing at all? How do we negotiate our place in this universe, holding at the same time the grandeur and insignificance of each moment? Listening to Johnny Hodges we can understand how important it is to give all we have to making of each piece, and know that it is not the same without us and that we are nothing without it.
Eric Dolphy was an American born jazz saxophonist, composer and bass clarinetist who worked with many jazz greats including Charles Mingus to shape a new direction forward for jazz in the 1960s. In this edition of Liner Notes Rabbi and jazz historian Neil Blumofe talks about what Dolphy’s approach to his music and his life can teach us about courage and determination.