02/08/25 - Jam_8

"The neighbors couldn't believe hearing bagpipes in the ghetto of Philadelphia. So the cops would comes to the house and say, 'Im sorry, we have a complaint that theres bagpipes being played here,' and I would get away saying, 'Do I look like Im Irish or Scottish to you?'" -- Rufus Harley talking about practicing bagpipes for the first time

 Listen to the show below! 

Artist	Track	Album	Label	Year	Notes
Rufus Harley	Nobody Knows the Troubles Us People Had Seen	Re-Creation of the Gods	Ankh Records	1972	The only well-known jazz bagpipe player. Bagpipes put into spiritual jazz. Inspired by JFK's funeral procession, Harley bought bagpipes and developed a unique sound in jazz that few if any have tried to replicate.
DJ Harrison	Pipets (How We Feel)	IndieGiver	N/A	2018	A one-man band. Associated with Stones Throw. Layered, groove-heavy instrumentals. Lo-fi aesthetic rooted in hip-hop and jazz fusion.
Sensational	Thick Marker	Loaded With Power	WordSound	1997	A prolific experimental rapper who started with the Jungle Brothers. Off-kilter flow and muddy beats make his sound unconventional and backpacker-esc.
Donald Smith	Mystic Man	Luv	Whynot	1976	Pianist and brother of Lonnie Liston Smith. Unlike his brother's cosmic jazz, Donald leans toward freer, more dramatic playing. This track comes from his only solo album, Luv.
Sir Douglas Quintet	I Wanna Be Your Mama Again	Mendocino	Smash	1969	A Tex-Mex rock band from San Antonio. This cut features subtle distortion and reverb, standing out from their typical country-rock style.
Damon	Song of a Gypsy	Song of a Gypsy	Ankh	1969	A rare psychedelic folk recording by LA-based Damon, who envisioned himself as a wandering mystic. His debut album is rare enough to be worth thousands of dollars today.
Nick Nicely	Beverly	Psychotropia	Castle	2004 (1983)	A psychedelic artist who bridged the gap between 60s psych and 80s electronic experimentation. His work--especially "Hilly Fields (1892)"--influenced other artists, such as Dukes of Stratosphere (XTC), Robyn Hitchcock (Soft Boys), and Robert Wyatt (Soft Machine).
Deux Filles	The City Sleeps	Silence & Wisdom	Papier Mâché	1982	An ambient pop duo created by two former members of The The, who adopted fictional female personas with a tragic backstory. Their sound is dreamy ambient pop.
Laika	Prarie Dog	Sounds of the Satellites	Too Pure	1997	A mellow, groove-heavy trip-hop track. Formed by ex-Moonshake members Margaret Fiedler and John Frenett.
Augustus Pablo	Dub in a Matthews Lanes Arena	Rockers Meets King Tubbys in a Fire House	Rockers	1980	A semi-late-period track from the dub pioneer, following his peak with King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown. Heavy rhythms, as characteristic of dub.

12/07/24 - Jam_6

"Now, I don't really think it matters where you're based. The internet provides more self-managing platforms for promotion than you could have dreamed of ... It's how you use those opportunities that matters now." - Graham Lambkin, WFMU interview

 Listen to the show below! 

Artist	Track	Album	Label	Year	Notes
Graham Lambkin	The Brendan Drill	Salmon Run	Kye	2007	Independently released musique concrète from England. Graham Lambkin is generally a audio-visual artist, and as such makes experimental music that is common of such folks (e.g., Yoko Ono, Laurie Anderson, Ryoji Ikeda). Lambkin is most well-known for being in The Shadow Ring, a 90s experimental rock outfit that remains still obscure relative to similar groups from that time. I think this track, along with many others from the album, has a great mix of textures and works well as an opener to today's program.
Ünol Büyükgönenç	Japon Balıkçısı	Güzel Günler Göreceğiz	Armoni	1988	Turkish folk with some quirky elements. This song, "The Japanese Fisherman," has the sound of water splashing throughout it and an approximation of Japanese chanting. Ünol was a member of Kardaşlar, a 70s anatolian rock band, before recording this album in 1979. It was not released until nine years later due to the September 12 coup carried out by the Turkish Armed Forces in 1980.
Ernest Hood	The Secret Place	Neighborhoods	Thistlefield	1975	Ambient exploring the peaceful sounds of neighborhoods. Specifically, suburban neighborhoods in Portland, Oregon. Ernest Hood was a jazz guitarist and played with his brother in the Portland area in the 1940s. In the 50s, he contracted polio. He had limited mobility and had to use a wheelchair for the rest of his life. He could no longer hold the guitar. So he picked up the zither, which is not held but lays flat and can be picked or strummed. This record is one of two that he ever recorded.
Beverly Glenn-Copeland	Ever New	...Keyboard Fantasies...	Atlast	1986	One of the most critically acclaimed new age artists, and his most famous song "Ever New." He was on of the first black students to study at McGill University in Montreal. Prior to Keyboard Fantasties, he had released two folk albums. This album was rediscovered and promoted by Ryota Masuko in 2015. the record subsequently recieved quite a few reissues and reprints thereafter.
Lewis	Like to See You Again	L'Amour	R.A.W.	1983	Sparse ambient adult contemporary. He released two albums in the eighties that remained under the radar until they were re-released in 2014 (Light in the Attic!). During the making of these two albums, Lewis worked as a stockbroker in Calgary. It is hard to paint an accurate picture of him because there are so many rumors. One of them is that he was a scammer. This one is connected to him disappearing after not paying the photographer for this record's album cover. Another is that he didn't know how to play any instruments and somehow created a cohesive musical soundscape by himself. He plays all the instruments on this record. But in general, there is very little known about him, and he continues to retain an air of mystery about his life and his music. Even his family lost contact with him; however, he is still alive as LitA reached out to him in order to reissue the albums, and his real name is known as well.
B.W. Stevenson	On My Own	B.W. Stevenson	RCA Victor	1972	Mellow progressive country from the early seventies. B.W. Stevenson, or Buckwheat Stevenson, had a decently sized hit in 1973 titled "My Maria," landing on no. 9 on Billboard. Interestingly, it didn't chart on the country chart at all. This song, however, is from his debut album, which has received little attention in comparison to his one big hit. If you only heard his hit, you would not be prepared for how this record sounds. It is a very gentle listen throughout, this track included.
The Five Stairsteps	In The Beginning	2nd Resurrection	Dark Horse	1976	Progressive soul. The Five Stairsteps are best known for their song, "O-o-h Child" in 1970 which you have most likely heard. At that time, they were a group of six siblings. But by 1976, only four had stayed in the group. Fun fact: the sister left in 1972 and went on to graduate from and work at Emory. The group rebranded as just Stairsteps and released their last record, 2nd Resurrection. This whole album is fantastic and very consistent, which is surprising considering this would be their last. It has yet to be reissued.
Woo	The Heart Sleeps	Into the Heart of Love	Cloud Nine	1990	Somewhat experimental, sort-of new age ambient music. This is a British duo consisting of two brothers Mark and Clive Ives. This track is from their third and most well-known album. They appear to be a very ground-up sort of group musically -- they constantly experimented with new technologies as they were coming out. They are very prolific, so if you're interested you can definitely hear more.
Kaliyuga Pro	Untitled	This One	n/a	2004	Soft instrumental hip hop from Finland. Kaliyuga Pro has been making beats since 1998. This record, along with his others, was self-released which was easier to do by the 2000s (CDr). The song I chose is from an album of untitled tracks, this one being the sixth.
Lewis Taylor	Lucky	Lewis Taylor	Island	1996	Lush neo-soul with psychedelic elements. Lewis Taylor was originally a guitarist touring with the psychedelic rock band Edgar Broughton Band. In the 80s, he released two psychedelia-tinged new wave records under the name Sheriff Jack. The song I've chosen is from his debut album under his own name. it was released as a single, but the album didn't garner too much attention. He had a hard time getting his music out due to label expectations and requirements, which may have had a hand in him not being very well known.

10/12/24 - Jam_2

"What about a blues in W, in the key of W." - Rahsaan Roland Kirk. 

 Listen to the show below! 

Artist	Track	Album	Label	Year	Notes
Rahsaan Roland Kirk	Salvation & Reminiscing	Prepare Thyself To Deal With A Miracle	Atlantic	1973	Roland Kirk is probably best known for playing multiple woodwind instruments at once all while being blind. He'd to have had a strong neck for that. Imagine all those sax straps tearing into your neck... Regardless, he labeled his music "black classical" because he felt jazz was not representative of all the things he was taking from. This track is described generally by the term third stream, a genre that combines elements from classical and jazz to create a somewhat controversial "third stream" between the two.
Grupo Folklórico y Experimental Nuevayorquino	Cuba Linda	Concepts in Unity	Salsoul	1975	Experimental Afro-Cuban group from NYC. They made two albums, both melding traditional Cuban music with modern styles like salsa and Afro-Cuban jazz. This song is a great example of that concept -- a traditional song about missing Cuba that starts with a minute-and-a-half long conga solo a la descarga, then moves into guaguancó-flavored salsa dura for the remaining seven or so minutes.
Rodolfo Mederos y Generación Cero	Homo Sapiens	Fuera de broma	Trova	1976	A very modern take on tango nuevo -- modern for 1976, anyway. Astor Piazzolla's style had overwhelmed the genre throughout the 50s and 60s. A new take was definitely in order, and so came the likes of Rodolfo Mederos. He was the bandleader for Generación Cero, and like just about every other tango nuevo bandleader he plays bandoneon (Piazzolla's influence on the genre is so great that even this continues to be true for many groups doing tango nuevo today!), but his style is more of a tango-flavored jazz rock than a jazz-rock flavored tango.
Walter Franco	Cena maravilhosa	Revolver	Continental	1975	Franco was part of this 2nd generation of MPB artists who were not present for the 60s bossa nova or tropicalia excitement. Franco started out in a more freak folk orientation that represented the more out-there sounds of the late 60s. But on this album, his sound is much more on the mellow side, which is the direction he would continue to go in for the rest of his career.
Brian Eno & Robert Fripp	Evening Star	Evening Star	Island	1975	Easy pick for the musical consistency of the show so far -- sorry for being a bit predictable here. I mean, it's pretty well known that Fripp & Eno did some very innovative things together and apart. Fripp from King Crimson, Eno from... well you can say Roxy Music, but that wouldn't really cover it, would it? Apart from the rock bands that brought them success, Their 70s collab records are some of their first projects outside of the rock bands that brought them early success and attention. These records are considered early bits of ambient music that sprang up in the late 60s/early 70s, along with Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream, Wendy Carlos, and Popul Vuh. This pick is the title track from their second collaboration.
Os Tincoãs	Ogundê	Os Tincoãs	Odeon	1973	Possibly the most musically-pleasing sounds of today's program, Os Tincoãs are a group that deserve more attention than they have gotten outside of Brazil. They started out as an unremarkable bolero trio in the 60s. After some member rotation going into the 70s, they transistioned into afoxé, an Afro-Brazilian style originating in west Brazil. It is a non-religious version of candomblé, an essential part of the Afro-Brazilian religion by the same name. Os Tincoãs completely reinvented themselves in the image and sounds of candomblé. Their sound is very delicate but consistent, with just guitar, some percussion, and vocal harmony. They released three seminal albums in the 70s, only getting better with each record released. This song is from the first of that set, with lyrics mentioning Orisha Ogun, a deity of war and metalwork in the Yoruba religious tradition.
Docteur Nico	Canshita	Orchestre African Fiesta sous la direction du Docteur Nico	Ngoma	1967	Some soukous, a guitar-based dance music emerging from Congolese rumba. Nico Kasanda, or Docteur Nico, was an early figure in Congolese music. He grew up during the Belgian colonial rule in the Congo. He started out as a guitarist in Le Grand Kallé et l'African Jazz, a popular rumba band in the 50s. He soon formed the band African Fiesta with Tabu Ley, another former member of Le Grand Kallé's band. But they had disagreements and split the group in two, with Docteur Nico naming his half African Fiesta Sukisa in '65. This song comes from the first album of this group.
The Mighty Diamonds	Them Never Loved Poor Marcus	Right Time	Virgin	1976	Roots reggae bemoaning the fate of Marcus Garvey. I personally don't really have any significant opinions about Marcus Garvey. As with the other controversial figures in the Pan-African and black power/nationalist movements in history, to me he's just another one of those guys who made an impact on certain elements that have impacted various aspects of black culture and politics, for better or worse. But his impact in Rastafarian culture and politics is perhaps the greatest. You can tell just from the music -- he shows up everywhere in reggae from this time and later. As for his fate, U.S. black orgs considered him controversial, sort of on a Malcolm X level where he spoke angrily about the present conditions, riling people up. So you have folks like W.E.B. du Bois criticizing him. And then later after he left the states, his conservative leanings left him a bit aloof from leftist black orgs like those in London where he lived out his final years. So this song frames the black folks who rejected him as betrayers to the black cause.
Waylon Jennings	Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way	Dreaming My Dreams	RCA Victor	1975	There's a psychedelic twinge to this song that you don't often hear in country music, not even during the period where psychedelia was most popular. This is really due to the phaser effect on the guitar. But it adds a tiny layer of nuance to the track that probably exemplifies what Waylon Jennings is talking about here... country needs some freshening up. Of course, as with other traditional-minded genres and -- really, movements in general, the appeal is not towards the future but to the past for a way to change what's going on in the present. Regardless, there is a bit of subconscious change happening, as this is what is known as progressive country. Very much a reaction to the nudie suit era that was waning in both popularity and relevance in the 70s.
Airto Moreira	Uri (Wind)	Seeds on the Ground	Buddah	1971	Moreira was one of the members of Quarteto Novo, a 60s Brazilian group that very extremely influential to jazz and pop music both in Brazil and abroad. He continued on to be a prolific percussionist in his own solo work and on several monumental records (e.g., Bitches Brew). Down Beat (the top jazz mag) voted him number #1 percussionist in 1981. He consistently has done a samba/latin jazz fusion style for his entire career, not really deviating from that base. But the atmosphere on this track is particularly interesting -- almost with a light drunken feeling? Calling it "Wind" is apt; the sound is not in your face but very subtle, gently winding around the listener... inviting, but not pulling them in.
Batsumi	Anishilabi	Batsumi	Records & Tapes	1974	South African folk jazz, or just afro-jazz for a different term. This group put out two albums in a two year period, so they didn't last very long, but have garnered attention as of recent through reissue labels such as Matsuli Music. Very interesting, this -- to be made during apartheid. Batsumi was inspired by the Black Consciousness Movement of the late 60s, led by forefront anti-aparteid activists Steve Biko. There are a few records like Batsumi during this time that used jazz as a way of defiance against the present opressive system. Batsumi were locally very popular and toured South Africa playing stadiums and festivals. Really speaks to how popular the anti-apartheid movement was.