The Physically Fit Don Braden

March 6, 2008. Posted by Doug Doyle.

Add new comment | Filed under: anchor, bonds, composer don braden, fitness, Interviews, jazz 88, Jazz Alive, Jazz Osmosis, jazz sports, nutrition program, original tune, rendition, sax, saxophonist, Sports Jam, star spangled banner, two guys

Two guys who never formally met before sat down for an interview...and could have chatted for hours...that's what happened when saxophonist and composer Don Braden came in for the latest SportsJam session. Even though Don had been at Jazz 88 many times, I've never had a chance to talk to him. It's amazing how jazz, sports and kids can create bonds. Don brought his gorgeous sax and thrilled us with his jazzy rendition of the Star Spangled Banner and an original tune he composed for his daughter. Don's strict fitness and nutrition program inspired this overweight anchor to hit the gym!
Check out our conversation.
-Doug Doyle

© 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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Jazz on the Brain

March 5, 2008. Posted by Joshua Jackson.

Add new comment | Filed under: awe, brain, cecil taylor, forehead, funky butt, invisible button, jazz, Jazz Osmosis, kitchen sink, musical improvisation, musicians, neurological functions, new orleans, orleans writer, poem, prefrontal cortex, rampart street, Real Life Stories, scientists, summation, wwoz, ya

People who know me will tell you I always have jazz on the brain. Guilty as charged. Recently, scientists studied improvising musicians, hoping to unlock the underlying neurological functions of high and low level musical improvisation. A summation of the study is here.
Turns out all you have to do is turn off your prefrontal cortex (can an Idiot's Guide to Turning Off Your Prefrontal Cortex be far behind?).
This study reminds me of a conversation I had with the New Orleans writer, performer, and creator Kalamu Ya Salaam. One night on Rampart Street, at a club called The Funky Butt, I watched in awe as Kalamu performed an original poem in a style similar to the way that pianist Cecil Taylor played his music. Kalamu and I worked together at WWOZ in New Orleans. One night, during his Thursday evening Kitchen Sink show, I asked him how he could do such things.
He said, "There's an invisible button located on your forehead. It controls the part of your brain that says you cannot do something. Turn it off."
-Josh

© 2008 WBGO

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