Deep Focus

When they go deep, we go deeper. We have been thinking about Miles Davis in anticipation of his centennial (May 26). How about we explore a dark corner of his vast touring history, his so-called "Lost Quintet"? We have so many questions about it, but who to ask? How about the guy who literally wrote the book on the subject? On this week's Deep Focus, host Mitch Goldman welcomes musician/professor/author Michael E. Veal. His book, Living Space: John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Free Jazz, from Analog to Digital, opens a door to Miles' confounding and underdocumented 1969 group, whose members all became hugely influential bandleaders in their own right. If only the WKCR archives were overflowing with rare, live recordings of this group. Wait, did anyone check that last shelf on the left? Tune in this Monday (5/25) from 6pm to 9pm NYC time on WKCR 89.9FM, WKCR-HD or wkcr.org. Or join us when it goes up on the Deep Focus podcast on your favorite podcasting app or at https://mitchgoldman.podbean.com/. It will join over 450 promo-free episodes. Subscribe right now to get notifications when new episodes are posted. It's ad-free, all free, sponsor-free, totally non-commercial. We won't even ask for your contact info. Find out more about Deep Focus at https://mitchgoldman.com/about-deep-focus/ or join us on Instagram @deep_focus_podcast. Photo credit: Miles Davis 1970 outside his home, West 77th St., NYC #WKCR #DeepFocus #MichaelEVeal #MilesDavis #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast #JazzInterview #MitchGoldman #LostQuintet #WayneShorter #ChickCorea #DaveHolland #JackDeJohnette

Improvisation is considered a high art form for an instrumentalist, but what about for a composer? Is it even possible to create a piece of music for an ensemble, and to hear it performed in real time? How would you go about that? You would have to have an entire group imagining together. Lawrence "Butch" Morris did it by creating a compositional language that allowed him to convey musical ideas using physical gestures. His system, which he called "Conduction," was immediately transformative. He created compositions in real time that were shaped by the musical language and the performances of the participating musicians. It was an unprecedented musical spontaneity. Butch Morris died in 2013, but Conduction is still making new breakthroughs in the hands of successive generations of musical thinkers. Violinist/composer Mazz Swift, who worked with Butch Morris, is one of them. New forms and ideas continually emerge, and Butch Morris endures as a shaping influence. This Monday (Jan. 19), Mazz Swift joins host Mitch Goldman for a Deep Focus on Butch Morris. Do the vast WKCR archives contain live, unreleased recordings of Butch Morris? We certainly hope so! Tune in to find out. Deep Focus this Monday (Jan 19) from 6p to 9p NYC time on WKCR 89.9FM, WKCR-HD, or wkcr.org. Or join us when it goes up on the Deep Focus podcast on your favorite podcasting app or at https://mitchgoldman.podbean.com/. Subscribe right now to get notifications when new episodes are posted. Just like WKCR, it's ad-free, sponsor-free, all free, totally non-commercial. We won't even ask for your contact info. Learn more about Deep Focus at https://mitchgoldman.com/about-deep-focus/ or join us onInstagram @deep_focus_podcast. Photo credit: Butch Morris - photo by Anthony Barboza - nmaahc.si.edu/object/nmaahc_2014.157.7 fair use under Section 108 of the U.S. Copyright Act. #WKCR #DeepFocus #ButchMorris #LawrenceButchMorris #MazzSwift #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast #JazzInterview #MitchGoldman Deep Focus is a production of Small Media Large.

Meet me at Edge City. Isn't that place where worlds collide the only one where new ideas are ever generated? Saxophonist Jim Pepper knew all about these cultural collisions. His band Free Spirits was arguably the first to combine rock and jazz elements, and his oft-covered song Witchitai-To is perhaps the only hit to feature an authentic Native American chant in the history of the Billboard pop charts (we sure can't think of another one; can you?). Yes, this man changed the world, at least twice! This spirit of discovery and of sharing culture is what this episode of Deep Focus is all about. Fellow multi-reedman Jay Rodriguez-Sierra knows. You know him as a founding member of Groove Collective, but this three-time Grammy nominee has also played with everyone from Prince to Stevie Wonder, Celia Cruz to Gil Evans. He's one of the cats. Jay Rodriguez-Sierra joins host Mitch Goldman in the studios of WKCR to explore the soul and the legacy of Jim Pepper through live, unreleased recordings from the archives. Deep Focus this Monday (Jan 5) from 6p to 9p NYC time on WKCR 89.9FM, WKCR-HD, or wkcr.org. Or join us when it goes up on the Deep Focus podcast on your favorite podcasting app or at https://mitchgoldman.podbean.com/. Subscribe right now to get notifications when new episodes are posted. Just like WKCR, it's ad-free, all free, totally non-commercial. We won't even ask for your contact info. Learn more about Deep Focus at https://mitchgoldman.com/about-deep-focus/ or join us onInstagram @deep_focus_podcast. Photo credit: publishing info not available. #WKCR #DeepFocus #JimPepper #JayRodriguez #JayRodriguezSierra #GrooveCollective #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast #JazzInterview #MitchGoldman Deep Focus is a production of Small Media Large.

Plate tectonics, this idea that the very surface of the earth is not an unyielding solid, but a set of independent segments in a constant state of flow, was not always accepted as truth. It was only developed in 1967, but once geophysicists saw how accurately it described familiar phenomena, there was no going back. At the exact same time, Jack DeJohnette was emerging as a new force on drums. His percussive vigor and complexity were profoundly unsettling to those who relied on the familiar swing beats of the music of previous decades. But it was a new time; there were new issues to address. There was no going back. Had Jack DeJohnette done only that, it would have made him at least a minor legend among the cognoscenti. But the fact that he had a long, fruitful career-- leading many bands, composing, collaborating, bringing younger musicians along-- made him something much, much more. Will Calhoun is one of those younger musicians. A storied drummer, as DeJohnette was, Calhoun is best known for driving the band Living Colour, but his curiosity and range of exploration know no bounds. Let's hear about the doors and windows that DeJohnette opened for him, with freshly unearthed live recordings from the WKCR archives. This Monday (12/22) from 6p to 9p NYC time on WKCR 89.9FM, WKCR-HD, or wkcr.org. Or join us when it goes up on the Deep Focus podcast on your favorite podcasting app or at https://mitchgoldman.podbean.com/. Subscribe right now to get notifications when new episodes are posted. Just like WKCR, it's ad-free, all free, totally non-commercial. We won't even ask for your contact info. Learn more about Deep Focus at https://mitchgoldman.com/about-deep-focus/ or join us onInstagram @deep_focus_podcast. Photo credit: Jack DeJohnette by Isio Saba - Personal archive photo via jackdejohnette.com. #WKCR #DeepFocus #JackDeJohnette #WillCalhoun #LivingColour #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast #JazzInterview #MitchGoldman Deep Focus is a production of Small Media Large.

Plate tectonics, this idea that the very surface of the earth is not an unyielding solid, but a set of independent segments in a constant state of flow, was not always accepted as truth. It was only developed in 1967, but once geophysicists saw how accurately it described familiar phenomena, there was no going back. At the exact same time, Jack DeJohnette was emerging as a new force on drums. His percussive vigor and complexity were profoundly unsettling to those who relied on the familiar swing beats of the music of previous decades. But it was a new time; there were new issues to address. There was no going back. Had Jack DeJohnette done only that, it would have made him at least a minor legend among the cognoscenti. But the fact that he had a long, fruitful career-- leading many bands, composing, collaborating, bringing younger musicians along-- made him something much, much more. Will Calhoun is one of those younger musicians. A storied drummer, as DeJohnette was, Calhoun is best known for driving the band Living Colour, but his curiosity and range of exploration know no bounds. Let's hear about the doors and windows that DeJohnette opened for him, with freshly unearthed live recordings from the WKCR archives. This Monday (12/22) from 6p to 9p NYC time on WKCR 89.9FM, WKCR-HD, or wkcr.org. Or join us when it goes up on the Deep Focus podcast on your favorite podcasting app or at https://mitchgoldman.podbean.com/. Subscribe right now to get notifications when new episodes are posted. Just like WKCR, it's ad-free, all free, totally non-commercial. We won't even ask for your contact info. Learn more about Deep Focus at https://mitchgoldman.com/about-deep-focus/ or join us onInstagram @deep_focus_podcast. Photo credit: Jack DeJohnette by Isio Saba - Personal archive photo via jackdejohnette.com. #WKCR #DeepFocus #JackDeJohnette #WillCalhoun #LivingColour #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast #JazzInterview #MitchGoldman Deep Focus is a production of Small Media Large.