This week's Schedule:
8/26 Freda Payne
8/27 Roger Corman
8/28 Bob Rummage
8/29 Alonzo Bodden
8/30 Megg Farrell
Monday, August 26
Vocalist Freda Payne is best known for her 1970s R&B hit, “Band of Gold,” but it’s her jazz roots she celebrates on her CD Let There Be Love, a collection of duets with Kurt Elling, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Johnny Mathis and Kenny Lattimore.
We discuss this CD and Freda’s journey to get back to her jazz roots.
Tuesday, August 27
Director, producer and occasional actor, Roger Corman, was called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is celebrated as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. He is known for his cycle of low-budget cult films adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe and many other horror classics, including Little Shop of Horrors and The Man With the X Ray Eyes. In Hollywood, Corman is equally celebrated for mentoring and giving a start to many young film directors and actors, from Francis Ford Coppola, Ron Howard and Martin Scorsese to William Shatner, Bruce Dern, Jack Nicholson and many more.
I met Roger Corman years ago, socially, and was immediately struck by his focus, enthusiasm and complete engagement in the moment. I had played a recital in the home of a mutual friend and met Roger during the social time after the music. We immediately launched into a discussion that ranged from music and psychology to horror films and children’s books. Not light, party banter. I was lucky to know him and even luckier to record this conversation. Roger died in 2024 at the age of 98. This is a conversation worth revisiting.
Wednesday, August 28
Chicago based drummer and Director of percussion at Elmhurst University, Bob Rummage is an old-style swinger. Bob has brought his groove to tours and recordings with Dizzy Gillespie, Nat Adderley, Benny Golson and many other jazz giants.
Bob Rummage and guitarist Andy Brown joined me onstage at the Dixon Historic Theatre in Dixon Illinois in March 2022 as part of my Jazz Inspired Onstage series to talk, play music and swing like mad!
Thursday, August 29
Comedian Alonzo Bodden’s wit and social commentary is well-known to his stand-up fans and to listeners of NPR’s Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me, where he is a regular panel member. Alonzo is also an enthusiastic jazz fan and has been host to many jazz concerts and interviews as part of various jazz-themed cruises, which has given him a chance to not only hear his beloved music but to become friends with many jazz musicians, a happy circumstance he mentioned throughout our conversation. Alonzo feels there is a deep connection between jazz and comedy and talked to me about his passion for both.
Friday, August 31
Vocalist Megg Farrell, or as she is often called, Sweet Megg, has been a jazz singer, a country singer a river boat tour guide, an athlete, and now, to her delight and surprise, she’s a circus performer. Yes, all her talents have combined to get her a gig with Cirque de Soleil. Her actor parents encouraged her to live an interesting life and that she’s certainly done.
I spoke with Megg Farrell when she was only a few days into performing with Cirque de Soleil, and now, with Megg’s collaboration, that Canadian entertainment company has gone Country.
Listen each morning on WBGO from 6 to 8 am ET.
For an archive of episodes on WBGO, visit the show’s page here.
