Roscoe Beck

V&B – Jazz & The Art of Family

Join KUT’s Rebecca McInroy along with Rabbi Neil Blumofe and a live jazz quintet, for a night of great conversation and live music as we explore the legacy and influence of the Brothers Jones. Hank, Thad, and Elvin Jones were each supreme musicians – they were also brothers and represent an important legacy in the history of jazz. In our everyday lives, who constitutes our family? How much parental influence do we admit? Beyond blood relationships, who are the people who have our back, who are unconditionally present? How do we collaborate and when do we need our own space to achieve identity? Resisting the atomization of our character, how do we derive meaning and with whom do we gain status as we act?

Featured Musicians: Tom Brechtlein (Drums), Roscoe Beck (Bass), Professor Ben Iram (Piano), Michael Malone (Saxophone), David Young (Trumpet)

V&B: Ornette Coleman & The Art of Entrepreneurship

Saxophonist and innovator Ornette Coleman was a musical trailblazer. Always curious and creative, he inspired a movement of new expression, questioning established practices as he sharpened even the most cutting edge of emotive performance. What do we do with inherited forms? How do we distinguish ourselves and coalesce our vision in the scrutiny and judgment of public taste? What value is there in earning the respect of our colleagues? How far are we willing to go to live our truth? What is genius and what is jive?

Sponsored by KUT radio, Rabbi and Jazz Historian Neil Blumofe in conversation with Rebecca McInroy. Featuring: Michael Malone, saxophone; David Young, trumpet; Red Young, piano; Roscoe Beck, bass; Brannen Temple, drums. Guest featuring Alex Coke, saxophone.

V&B – Miles Davis & The Art of Future (Part Two)

In this edition of Views & Brews, KUT’s Rebecca McInroy joins Rabbi and jazz historian Neil Blumofe, and a live jazz quintet, for a night of great conversation and live music focusing on Miles Davis’ Second Quintet. In all Miles Davis represents, he was also a master teacher and inspired generations of instrumentalists. In the second half of the 60’s how did Davis’ Second Quintet respond to free jazz, and turbulent times? And what does this response teach us today?

Featuring the all-star ensemble: David Young, trumpet; Shelley Carrol, saxophone; Ben Irom, piano; Roscoe Beck, bass; Brannen Temple, drums; and Rabbi Neil Blumofe in conversation with KUT’s Rebecca McInroy.

V&B – Miles Davis & The Art of Future (Part One)

V&B – Bill Evans & The Art of Space

In this episode of Views & Brews, KUT’s Rebecca McInroy joins Rabbi and Jazz Historian Neil Blumofe and musicians Carter Arrington (guitar), David Sierra (drums), Roscoe Beck (bass), Red Young (piano) in a discussion about Bill Evans, addiction, and his understanding of space in his life and music.

V&B: Wes Montgomery and The Art of Confidence

In this episode of Views & Brews, KUT’s Rebecca McInroy joins Rabbi Neil Blumofe in conversation about one of the 20th century’s most influential jazz guitarists, Wes Montgromery. We’ll discuss what we give up as we make a living and how Montgomery’s music and life lessons help us learn about our own choices, and our own sense of purpose and last contribution.

This Views & Brews also features renditions of selected Wes Montgomery works performed by Mitch Watkins (guitar), Ephraim Owens (trumpet), Roscoe Beck (bass), Rich Harney (piano) and Brannen Temple (drums).

V&B: Max Roach and The Art of Emancipation

“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.

V&B: Coleman Hawkins and The Art of Failure

Coleman Hawkins, the great saxophone player, helped to establish jazz as a stand alone art form, distinguished from swing — the popular music of the day. With his originality, lyricism, and his keen sense of appreciating the latest trends, his work was the influence and foundation for bebop and the most expressive jazz ballads. And yet, what is the dearest price given for the artist who expresses his art?

Join Rabbi Neil Blumofe and KUT’s Rebecca McInroy for conversation and superlative live music recorded live at the Cactus Cafe in Austin, Texas. It was an evening dedicated to discovering jazz and appreciating the beauty of this incredible and accessible American art form.

Featuring:

Shelly Carrol, saxophone

Ephraim Owens, trumpet

Red Young, piano

Roscoe Beck, bass

Brannen Temple, drums

V&B: Benny Goodman and The Art of Intersection

In this Views and Brews Remix feature on Benny Goodman host Rebecca McInroy and Rabbi Neil Blumofe engage in a spirited discussion about Goodman’s life, music and his relationships to his musicians — specifically, pianist Teddy Wilson, vibraphonist Lionel Hampton, and guitarist Charlie Christian-and some of Austin’s best musicians help us relive Goodman’s style. Featuring: Ben Saffer, clarinet Erik Hokkanen, guitar Red Young, piano Roscoe Beck, bass Brannen Temple, drums.

In the 1930’s, the clarinetist and bandleader, Benny Goodman, brought jazz stylings to mainstream America. What was the lasting significance of Goodman’s contributions beyond the Swing Era? In an age of segregation, creeping fear, and xenophobia, Goodman boldly set forth a new agenda for American music, integrating his band and exasperating the assumptions of culture, sophistication, and assumed ways of life.

What does it mean to be a visionary? How do we balance our dreams and our dramatic idiosyncrasies with the everyday and grueling disciplined life that we must live to make an impact? How do we know if we have been successful? What does success really mean?

V&B: Thelonious Monk and The Art of Hesitation

Thelonious Monk is an original and unique voice in the shaping and the sound of American music. Both his compositions and his inimitable piano playing continue to confound and resound decades after their inception, bringing us to ask questions — how far can one go when listening to your own muse? Does the artist have a responsibility to instruct while creating? Can art just be enjoyed or does it have to vex to be effective? When looking to swing, how important is rhythm? What is said in the silences? These are the questions we set out to explore during what proved to be an inspirational night of ideas and music at the Cactus Cafe.

Listen to some of the highlights from the event with KUT’s Views and Brews Remix featuring Rabbi Neil Blumofe in discussion with KUT’s Rebecca McInroy along with musicians Rich Harney (piano) Roscoe Beck (bass) Brannen Temple (drums) and Sam Lipman (Saxophone) and special guest Ephraim Owens (trumpet).

V&B: Charles Mingus and The Art of Enigma

Charles Mingus is considered one of the most creative and original voices in American jazz. Uniquely sensitive to the plight of the dispossessed, he challenged his musical ensembles to be improvisatory acts of collective inspiration — responding to the matters of the moment.

The music that Mingus wrote was rooted in standard musical forms and grounded in the blues. At KUT’s Views and Brews Rabbi Neil Blumofe and KUT’s Rebecca McInroy looked at how interpretation of these forms in performance might bring about the transformation of a musician, a listener, and potentially, the world.

The Cactus was packed (standing room only) and the music performed by our all-star quintet was hot! We discussed Mingus, his music, his relationships with his musicians and audience, as well as the agony and the ecstasy he expended in communicating his vision.

Musical Guests
Roscoe Beck , bass
Brannen Temple, drums
Sam Lipman, saxophone
Freddie Mendoza, trombone
Rich Harney, piano

V&B: Leonard Cohen

Leonard Cohen just celebrated his 78th birthday while on a world tour with his new album “Old Ideas” and Oct. 31 and Nov. 01 he and his band kicked off the US portion of this tour right here in Austin, TX. KUT’s Views and Brews had the pleasure of hosting Roscoe Beck , Cohen’s collaborator, producer, bassist and local Austinite, and Sylvie Simmons, author of I’m Your Man: The Life of Leonard Cohen , along with Sharon Robinson, The Webb Sisters, Javier Mas, Mitch Watkins, Alexandru Bublitchi, and Rafael Gayol to explore the life and art of living legend Leonard Cohen.

V&B: Art Blakey and The Art of Revolution

What is in a sound? What qualities are necessary to lead a band for many decades? What passions helped to make Blakey’s music distinctive and propel it forward, representing a particular activism and identity? Listen back to our discussion about Blakey, his music, and his legacy and enjoy the superlative performances from some incredible musicians.

Featuring:
Rabbi Neil Blumofe in discussion with KUT’s Rebecca McInroy along with musicians Brannen Temple, drums; Ephraim Owens, trumpet; Sam Lipman, saxophone; Freddie Mendoza, Trombone; Dr. James Polk, Piano; Roscoe Beck, Bass.