Interview - Frank Foster with Gary Walker

March 13, 2008. Posted by Joshua Jackson.

Add new comment | Filed under: ascap, frank foster, gary walker, Interviews, Jazz Community, jazz host, Masters, morning jazz

Morning Jazz Host Gary Walker spoke with Frank Foster this morning.

Click here to listen to the interview.

And did you miss our IAJE coverage of the ASCAP Commissions, honoring Uncle Frank?
-Josh

© 2008 WBGO

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Dr. Billy Taylor's Online Video Archive

March 6, 2008. Posted by Joshua Jackson.

Add new comment | Filed under: 1950s, billy taylor, broadcaster, cbs sunday morning, correspondent, duke ellington, gems, good doctor, half a century, Interviews, Jazz Education, jazz message, jazz musicians, kennedy center, Masters, npr programs, param name, platforms, radio program, seven years, Video, web presence, willie the lion smith, www youtube

Dr. Billy Taylor, at 86, is still a great broadcaster. The good doctor has been spreading the jazz message on multiple broadcast platforms for more than half a century. In the 1950s, he was one of the first jazz musicians to have a daily radio program. He also hosted a weekly television show, The Subject is Jazz. He was the jazz correspondent on CBS Sunday Morning. He hosted two NPR programs, Jazz Alive and Jazz at the Kennedy Center. He founded Jazzmobile. And he's had a web presence for the last seven years. Dr. Billy Taylor's website now includes many classic videos culled from an extraordinary life in jazz. Here's one of the many gems you'll discover - a performance with Billy Taylor, Duke Ellington and Willie "The Lion" Smith:

While you're here, dig this interview with Dr. Taylor and WBGO's Gary Walker.
-Josh

© 2008 WBGO

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Thumbs Up for Wes Montgomery

March 6, 2008. Posted by Joshua Jackson.

Add new comment | Filed under: 1950s, algorithms, billy bauer, Birthdays, dead languages, electric instrument, guitarist billy, happy birthday, Listening Post, Masters, monk, nerds, plectrum, speakers, superhero, thumb, two minutes, Video, wes montgomery

Happy birthday today to Wes Montgomery. Any guitarist worth his or her salt has at least ONE album from Wes Montgomery, the master non-plectrist. No, I didn't invent that word, plectrist. It's actually derived from plectrum, which is what guitar nerds and speakers of dead languages call a pick. [Incidentally, another great guitarist, Billy Bauer, made a record in the 1950s called Plectrist. But I'm getting even more off topic here.]
Wes Montgomery, however, was a non-plectrist. He didn't use an external tool to pick the strings. He used his thumb. That's what makes Wes Montgomery's sound so identifiable - warm, casual, and about as 'natural' as an amplified electric instrument can sound without using algorithms or superhero powers.
Check out this video of Wes playing Thelonious Monk's "Round Midnight." About two minutes in, you'll see the closeup on his hand. Not plectacular, but spectacular. - Josh

PS - Anyone have a favorite Wes Montgomery album, song, or solo?

© 2008 WBGO

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