Vibes, Good Better Best
Let me introduce you to my eleven-year-old. “Good Vibes,” my radio show, features the vibraphone, an instrument I became enchanted with the first time I heard it. And all these years later it still captivates me.
Someone very special is going to sign in here to explain the instrument and its history. (Check out Tony Miceli in my blog) Briefly, though, Lionel Hampton and Red Norvo introduced it to jazz in the 1930s. Hampton had been a drummer and Norvo (real name Kenneth Norville) had been experimenting with mallet instruments of all kinds, the xylophone and the marimba, for example. To really love the sound, though, all you have to do is listen to it, which you can do at www.wwfm.org (follow the JazzOn2 prompt) or streaming online. If you are local to central New Jersey and have an HD radio it’s WWFM, Jazz On 2, 89.1 HD2. In either case, tune in on the first Sunday of the month at 8pm eastern time. The show is rebroadcast the following Wednesday afternoon, 4pm eastern.
In those two hours I also include a half hour of “Where Jazz Goes,” playing tunes that were not born as jazz but ones you may recognize from rock, R&B, Motown, country, and even classical genres. Listen to talented jazz artists adapting non-jazz to the jazz style.
Hey All,
Put December 5th on your calendar for the December edition of Good Vibes. 8pm eastern, Jazzon2. And Dec 8 at 4pm.
There's a sprinkling of holiday/winter tunes, a dash of standards, a dollop of rock and pop remakes on Where Jazz Goes and my always interesting patter. Learn why the theme song from Frasier, played by Gary Burton and Friends, is named "Tossed Salad and Scrambled Eggs."
Shows are also posted after they air on JazzOn2 at mixcloud.com. Search Good Vibes with Gloria Krolak.
While you're here, see my book
Jazz Lines...free verse in the Key of Jazz and my photographs.
Enjoy Thanksgiving!
gloria
Good Vibes
JazzOn2
ALERT: We're having a changeover of program directors in 2022. Winifred Howard has been a stalwart of jazz in general and of vibraphone programming in particular and I will miss her terribly. There is a chance the general manager may opt out of the jazz format. If that happens you'll be hearing the last of GK on GV, sad to say.
December '21 Good Vibes
December 5, 8-10p eastern
December 8, 4-6p eastern
www.wwfm.org or streaming online
November '21 Good Vibes
November 7 8-10p eastern
November 10, 4-6p eastern
www.wwfm.org or streaming online
November!
And I'm listening to Christmas music in prep for December (Warren Wolf, Dave Stryker, Jay Hoggard, for example). But I get ahead of myself.
Back to November. Blue November (Joe Locke) Some lovely ladies (Jean De Fleur, Waltz for Hannah) and a few dance steps (Jive Samba, RMM Mambo). A share of standards like What's New and On Green Dolphin Street. Then there's Yimba Rudo and "I Dig Facts, Man." And if you think I'm editorializing, you're right. I am!
And more!
Listen in.
gloria
October '21 Good Vibes
October 3, 8-10p eastern
October 6, 4-6p eastern
www.wwfm.org or streaming online
Hey Vibrafans,
The October program will be airing soon at JazzOn2 and I hope you'll be listening.
Rolando Morales-Matos opens with "El Cumbanchero" (The Fun Lover), followed by Stefon Harris on "Thandiwa," (Beloved One) and a track by Jalen Baker from his new CD, "Faith."
Pheralynn Dove and Tyrone Brown (with Randy Sutin on vibes) welcome our old friend Autumn with attitude ("Such Is Autumn"). And we continue exploring Eldad Tarmu's Jazz Chamber Ensemble from Songs for the Queen of Bohemia, the fantastical story of a traveler to a new land who enchants everyone he meets with the sounds of a strange vibrating instruments.
That's just the first half-hour. Much more!
Meanwhile, go jump in a pile of leaves. It's that time of year.
September '21 Good Vibes
September 5, 8-10p eastern
September 8, 4-6p eastern
www.wwfm.org or streaming online
September's Good Vibes is nearly here and it features two singles, the first by Joe Locke. It's Stevie Nick's "Landslide," which she wrote in Aspen. She was feeling like she was at the center of an avalanche of emotions and so the metaphor is entirely appropriate. Locke's version is as tender as it gets.
The other single is by Cleveland musicians, The Nice Jazz Trio, the standard "Taking a Chance on Love." Is releasing music as singles a new trend?
The show opens with Bobby Hutcherson who settled in California and wrote the tune "Highway One," for the Pacific Coast Highway. I was raised along the East's own Highway One, better known as Route 1, which travels from Maine to the Florida Keys. It's not as scenic as Hutcherson's byway, but it serves the same purpose, moving people up and down the coast.
Chuck Redd and La Lucha close the show with "Lullaby Medley" where Redd is a guest of the trio.
In the middle we continue to explore Eldad Tarmu's new chamber jazz release, Dan McCarthy's excellent new offfering and Tony Marino's "Your Bad Self." We all have one, and this tune is a naughty reminder.
The August Good Vibes is ready, set, and nearly go, full of interesting new players and albums. Vibes players Jalen Baker, Tony Marino, Alan Petersen and Dan McCarthy are on the new-ish side, at least as far as Good Vibes is concerned. Eldad Tarmu introduces his Chamber Jazz Ensemble with a concept album and Joe Locke releases a simply must-hear new single, "All Along the Watchtower/Breathe." He combines Bob Dylan's "Watchtower" with his own lyrics, "Breathe," a heart grabbing statement on racial injustice.
Tierney Sutton and Al Jarreau sing a duet in the Where Jazz Goes segment. There's a fine blend of classics ("Sophisticated Lady" and "Naima") with contemporary tunes like Behn Gillece's "The Dog Days," a year-round favorite. Tune in!
August '21 Good Vibes
August 1, 8-10p eastern
August 4, 4-6p eastern
www.wwfm.org or streaming online
Dan McCarthy, one of two debut artists on this month's Good Vibes, plays a tender piece of his own composition, "Goodnight Sweet Cat." The album is A Place Where We Once Lived, written for his and his family's move to Toronto after living in New York for many years.
Also new, La Lucha, a trio of John C. O'Leary III on piano, Alejandro Arenas on electric bass and Matt Feinman at the drums. The track "Everybody Wants to Rule the World," a 1985 Tears for Fears tune that appears in my Where Jazz Goes segment in the second hour. Melissa Aldano guests on tenor sax.
Jon Metzger opens the show with a track from The Spinner, and Bob Dorough, with a little help from Jack Hitchcock on vibes, plays his own "Midnight Sun." All good stuff in between too. Tune in! JazzOn2.
Don't forget you can listen to Good Vibes at mixcloud.com. Type "Good Vibes with Gloria Krolak" into the search box.
Hey Vibrafans,
Remember the Henry Mancini theme song to "Mr. Lucky," a program that lasted only one season? It's on June's Good Vibes, played by the Buddy Rich Big Band in the segment Where Jazz Goes. Behn Gillece lets us know he's "Glad to Be Back," Bobby Hutcherson has an "Inner Glow" and Susan Pascal takes us to the movies with "Film Noir."
Much, much more on this edition of Good Vibes. Tune in!
JazzOn2
On Sunday, May 2nd Good Vibes is celebrating 11 years broadcasting! That's a lot vibraphone jazz over the airwaves.
Each tune is special, selected carefully from among the thousands in my collection. Choosing them is the fun part. Researching them often leads me down the internet rabbit hole where I can spend more time than I intended.
A good example is Anthony Smith's "Blackberry Winter," on his Connections, Vol 1, a gorgeous ballad written by Alec Wilder and Loonis McGlohon. I discovered there is a real thing referred to by farmers as a blackberry winter, then a locust winter, dogwood winter, linsey-woolsey britches winter. If you're as curious as I am, you'll want to know that the phrase arose from the belief that "a spring cold snap helps the blackberry canes start growing." (Wikipedia) I think the same would apply to locust trees and dogwoods, while the last one means you can finally put away your long johns.
It's also the title of a short story by Robert Penn Warren, a 2006 movie directed by Brent Stewart about a cannibal clown in the Antebellum South. Blackberry Winter is also the title of anthropologist Margaret Mead's autobiography (1972). Vietnam has its own version of blackberry winter. Called Miss Ban's Winter, it's an intricate folk tale of the clumsy Miss Ban and the suit of clothes she tries to make for her husband. English farmers call it blackthorn winter and the Finnish call it "takatalvi" (back winter).
And there is more. Another tune by Edith Lindeman and Carl Stutz, recorded on the B-side of Mitch Miller's recording of The Yellow Rose of Texas, a number 1 hit in the U.S. in 1955. It is also the name of symphony by composer Conni Ellisor, and a ballet based on this composition. Who knew?
I climb out of that rabbit hole, finally, knowing I can't share all of this on the radio, and look at the next 20 tunes on the list. Every one has a story.
Here's to year #12!
g
PS: Don't forget you can listen to Good Vibes on mixcloud.com
April is Jazz Appreciation Month. It's great to have a whole month, not just a day, but I know you and I appreciate jazz all year. In this month's show I share many of the ways listeners can show they care. If you know others I haven't mentioned, let me know. But first you have to listen to the show, right?
Two new vibes players, it's always exciting to discover them. Susan Pascal hails from Seattle and Abe Lagrimas, Jr. was born and raised in Hawaii. Pascal will play on "Audrey's Dance" with horn player Dmitri Matheny. It's on the CD Jazz Noir. The tune was inspired by the character Audrey Horne from the quirky TV series Twin Peaks, played by Sherilyn Fenn. Lagrimas plays both vibes and ukelele on Ukelele Vibes. Yes, you read that correctly. The tune is "Cookies and Ice Cream." Listen to Chuck, Lem, Stefon, Terry, Milt, Joe, Gary and many more!
Also, check out mixcloud.com to listen to Good Vibes on your own schedule. Type Good Vibes with Gloria Krolak in the search bar. I post Good Vibes there after they've played on JazzOn2. They go back to June of 2020.
March 2021 Good Vibes
March 7, 8-10p eastern
March 10, 4-6p eastern
www.wwfm.org or streaming online
February 2021 Good Vibes
February 7, 8-10p eastern
February 10, 4-6p eastern
www.wwfm.org or streaming online
Good Vibes, the first and only broadcast program to feature the vibraphone, will air on March 7, 2021 and March 10, 2021. Details below.
I wish Joe Locke and Stefon Harris happy March birthdays by playing Joe's "The Shadow of Your Smile" from Sound Tracks and Stefon's "Easy Now" from the album Keep Searchin'. Gary Burton reunites with Astor Piazzolla, Bryan Carrott is In Your Dreams, Behn goes to church, and Tony tells Porgy of his love. So much more! Tune in.
I'm also posting shows on mixcloud.com where you can listen anytime.
Winter is almost over. I hope for you it hasn't been as bad as predicted. I've had both vaccines but it's going to take some getting used to being all and about like "normal." What does that mean anymore, anyway?
By the way, La Chiquita Studio on Etsy is selling a cool Good Vibes doormat. $38.
February's Good Vibes is a varied, eclectic show of jazz
standards ("If You Could See Me Now" by Lolly Allen) and
new compositions ("Thanks, But No Thanks" by Steve Shapiro)
traditionalists ("If I Were A Bell" by Jon Metzger) and modern
("Aamos" by Severi Pyysalo), the mellow ("Early Morning" with
Lem Winchester)and the percussive ("Angel Eyes" with the
Kevin Hart Latin Jazz Quintet) all tied together by our favorite
instrument.
Let's not forget the half-hour of Where Jazz Goes - The Rolling Stones, Sting and Lennon/McCartney compositions, for example.
My favorite piece in this playlist is Mike Mainieri's "America." He's joined by alto saxman Charlie Mariano and Dieter Ilg on bass. Very moving.
January 2021 Good Vibes
January 3, 8-10p eastern
January 6, 4-6p eastern
www.wwfm.org or streaming online
Happy New Year! May 2021 bring us all the relief we so need from the unrelenting Covid-19 we've experiened. I, for one, celebrate a new administration and a new start.
January's Good Vibes is overflowing with the best of the vibraphone scene today. Steve Shapiro has a new group, Tri/0, through which he is experimenting with an electronic marimba, called the MalletKat. The album is Try The Veal. Steve Nelson's
new album with vocalist Naama Gheber is still in rotation, as we continue to explore it. Same with Cobb's Pocket, the new CD by Hendrik Meurkens and Lolly Allen's Coming Home.
Two hours on the Vibraphone Highway, punctuated by an off-road experience to follow Where Jazz Goes. This month, Jorge Garcia with "Purple Haze" (Jimi Hendrix) and Bill Frisell with John Lennon's "Woman."
best,
gloria
December 2020 Good Vibes
December 6, 8-10p eastern
December 9, 4-6p eastern
www.wwfm.org or streaming online
Hi Everyone,
The December show is filled with happy tunes
Some do double duty as Christmas songs,
like Jay Hoggard on "Joy to the World," a
bunch actually have some form of "happy"
in their titles, including Spanish, and the closer,
Stevie Wonder's "Overjoyed," (Songs in the Key of Wonder) is just happy to the nth power. Dany Doriz and his big band open with "Halle Hallelujah." Some, like Tony and Paul's "Hush," and Steve Nelson with vocalist Naama Gheber playing "Since I Fell for You," are completely unrelated to anything going on. But one tune says it all, "What A Difference A Day Makes," by the Steve Hobbs Quartet.
Hope you all enjoyed Thanksgiving as best you could. It came with mixed blessings, not seeing those we love in person but also not having to put up with that annoying uncle or cousin.
best,
gloria
good vibes
November 2020 Good Vibes
November 1, 8-10p eastern
November 4, 4-6p eastern
www.wwfm.org or streaming online
Hi All!
This is NEW! I've been posting my shows at mixcloud.com. Go to the website and in the search box on the top left, type Good Vibes with Gloria Krolak. There are a number of Good Vibes programs; none but mine feature the vibraphone. Hope that makes it easy for you all to listen whenever you want. I haven't advertised it, Vibes lovers, so it's up to you to build up those numbers. ;)
November's show: After our TRAVELS to the BOSSA NOVA SUNSET CLUB in the LAND OF GIANTS, we'll be COMING HOME, ALONE TOGETHER, UNDER THE SAME SKY. SOUL FINGERS, KEEP SEARCHIN' for VAN GOGH BY THE NUMBER and THE SONGS OF STEVIE WONDER. And more.
PS: If I'm not playing your new release it could be because I don't know about it. Write to me.
best
gloria
Hi Everyone,
Hope you and your loved ones are all healthy and safe! I know what a tough time this is for musicians and so fervently wish we could get back to seeing and hearing you in live settings.
Meanwhile, the October show is slated for October 4 and 7.
It opens with my favorite election tune, "Elect 'Oral' Blues" by the Jerry Tachoir Group. The Blues with a capital "B" has got it just about right.
Here's the playlist of musicians alphabetically:
Bobby
Bryan
Christos
Chuck
David B
David F
Gary
Jay
Jerry
John Lolly Mike Nick Rusty Stefon Terry Tony Warren
best,
gloria
September 2020 Good Vibes
September 6, 8-10p eastern
September 9, 4-6p eastern
www.wwfm.org or streaming online
September always feels like New Year’s to me. In the past it meant going back to school with new teachers, new notebooks, new clothes. There were old friends to see and the possibility of making new ones. It was always an exciting time filled with promise. The weather would be crisp and in the air was the smell of leaves burning. I loved that aroma! Not to mention jumping in those leaf piles beforehand.
September’s Good Vibes also seems like a new beginning. The majority of the tunes I’ve not played before so they’re as new to me as they probably are to you. We’re still exploring Dave Stryker’s newest release, as well as those by Thaddeus Tukes, Anthony Smith and Martin Fabricius. The View from Madeleine’s Couch is also their newest, as is Chris Dingman’s. And let’s not forget Chuck Redd’s latest, Groove City.
From older but well-loved albums are Bobby Hutcherson, Tony Miceli, Dave Pike, Warren Wolf, Joe Locke and Cal Tjader. Behn Gillece joins the scene as do Arthur Lipner, Mike Freeman, Ted Piltzecker and Randy Sutin. I feel like I’m taking roll call on the first day of school. There are all their bright faces ready to share the music they’ve made over the summer. Class is in session!
August 2020 Good Vibes
August 2, 8-10p eastern
August 5, 4-6p eastern
www.wwfm.org or streaming online
I hope you were able to catch last month’s all-Jobim program, played by an assortment of many our favorite vibraphone players. If you were listening you may have noticed one important, well-loved Jobim composition that was omitted. I didn’t have time to fit in “Girl from Ipanema”! So, I’m making that up to you now with an arrangement by The View from Madeleine’s Couch on their newest album, Bossa Nova Sunset Club. The album was recorded at a mountaintop studio in Australia’s Sunshine Coast. The original is called “Garota de Ipanema.” This version features Kym Ambrose on vibraphone and Anje West vocals. The rest of the vibes crew includes, Bobby Hutcherson, Dave Samuels, Arthur Lipner, Emil Richards, David Friedman, newcomer Thaddeus Tukes, Arturo Serra and Warren Wolf. That’s the first half!
In the Where Jazz Goes segment, which doesn’t always
include vibes players, I was surprised to hear David
Friedman on Bob James’ “Feel Like Making Love” on the
album One. Roberta Flack had a giant hit in 1974 and
James recorded his instrumental that same year. The rest of
that segment includes Gregory Porter on “The In Crowd,”
Dave (Brubeck) Digs Disney, Anthony Smith and Retrosonik
on “True,” and Marvin Gaye’s “Trouble Man,” by Dave
Stryker, Bob Mintzer and the WDR Big Band. When we
come back to the Vibraphone Highway, we’ll be riding with Milt Jackson, Chuck Redd, Behn Gillece, Steve Nelson and Christian Tamburr. A great line-up!
July 2020 Good Vibes
July 5, 8-10p eastern
June 8, 4-6p eastern
www.wwfm.org or streaming online
July is a first-of-its-kind program for Good Vibes; it features the work of just one composer, the Brazilian father of the bossa nova, Antonio Carlos Jobim. The acclaimed composer and musician plays on a few of the tunes but most are performed by a select group of our favorite vibraphonists. Solos by Gary Burton and Ted Piltzecker, and small groups with Behn Gillece, Roland Morales-Matos, Rusty Burge, Roy Ayers, Tony Miceli and more. There are many enchanting vocals, including those of Gal Costa and Karrin Allyson. Some of the tunes are familiar but others, like “Two Kites” and “Retrato Em Branco E Preto,” are less well-known. This a major chill session for all the weary minds and hurting hearts suffering bravely through the events of the last few months. Close your eyes, open your ears, and enjoy the soul-satisfying music of Maestro Jobim.
Album cover photo by Pete Turner
June 2020 Good Vibes
June 7, 8-10p eastern
June 10, 4-6p eastern
www.wwfm.org or streaming online
Here’s what’s coming up in June. We welcome Lolly Allen who makes her debut on Good Vibes with an Antonio Carlos Jobim tune, “O Grande Amor.” Her album is Coming Home, just released in 2019. Find out more about it in “Featured.”
This month’s roster includes Behn, Bobby and Joe; Dave Pike, Steve Shapiro, and Anthony Smith; Chris Dingman, Fats Sadi, and Mike Freeman. And more. Denmark’s Martin Fabricius closes the show by sending us his “Best Wishes.” Now is a good time to get reconnected to the radio. Tune in to JazzOn2 and we’ll improve your day.
Heads up for July. I’ll feature a full two hours of Antonio Carlos Jobim as performed by the vibraphone players we love and several recorded by Jobim himself. That’s July 5th at 8pm eastern.
Hi Everyone,
I'm hoping you are all safe and healthy and doing what you need to do to stay that way!
I'm filing May's show very early, trying to keep ahead and free up time to help my friend with her mask-making endeavors. She's makin' 'em good to look at, color-coordinated from cheery fabrics. Mine is Minnie Mouse and Michael's got Batman. Mine are going to be made with some wild and colorful African prints.
So, Good Vibes, the real reason for writing this. May's show continues to explore new albums from Chuck Redd, Madeleleine's Couch, Christian Tamburr, Martin Fabricius and Behn Gillece. I'll be playing an amusing little piece from David Friedman called "Bubbles of Nothing." It's very short, only about a minute, and the bubbles are all in your imagination. Let 'em go. Das Vibenbass, a now defunct Seattle-based group, returns with a track I found online, "Da Loop." It's on HOP Records Anthology Vol. 1. (BTW, the record company is named for an ingredient used to make beer.) Justin Sorenson, the vibes player with the group, has been exploring other interests since the group's dismantling. I wish him well.
Stay positive!
gloria
April 2020 Good Vibes
Let's JAM! That's Jazz Appreciation Month, celebrated
in April. The tradition began in 2001 with the folks
at the Smithsonian Institute's National Museum of
American History and grows in scope every year.
To celebrate, Milt Jackson starts us off with a trip
to "Tahiti," Mike Mainieri takes off on "Song of My
People," and Chuck Redd catches us crying over his
lovely rendition of "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Cryin'."
And so much more!
Let me tell you a bit about Christian Tamburr's new CD The Awakening. His inspiration were the statues by Seward Johnson at Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, New Jersey. Throughout the park there are hundreds of super-realistic statues in natural settings. A young woman lays on the grass reading, but as you tiptoe around her you realize she is one of Seward's subjects. Tamburr wrote tunes for each of ten artworks, and the one I play this month is "Hiding in the Light," inspired by The Stainless Girl. The highly polished work lays beside a waterfall. The CD cover is of The Awakening, a giant struggling to free himself from the ground. There are sculptural re-creations of famous works of art, like Manet's Bridge Over Water Lilies. Some of the statues are over-sized, as is the one of Marilyn Monroe who barely keeps her white dress from blowing up over her head. The grounds are meticulous, populated with real peacocks and sprinkled with ponds and fountains. The restaurant, Rats, lest you feel uneasy about eating there, is named for a very hospitable character in "The Wind in the Willows" by Kenneth Grahame. Visit this playground of the arts, if you can.
March 2020 Good Vibes
March 1, 8-10p
March 4, 4-6p
www.wwfm.org or streaming online
March is not so lamblike on Good Vibes. It features four crazy good new albums. Christian Tamburr, Chuck Redd, The View from Madeleine's Couch and Martin Fabricius are all offering new CDs. Martin is from Denmark and this album sounds like the aurora borealis looks. Chuck's Groove City is a place you'll want to go. He plays Billy Strayhorn's "A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing." (Check out my photography page to realize how heartily I agree.) Christian was inspired by Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, New Jersey, where J. Seward Johnson's super-realistic works pop out at you wherever you wander. Lastly, Mad Couch, an Australian group, really lives in their Brazil of the mind. Nothing wooly here.
Stefon Harris transports us to Cape Verde, an island country off the coast of Africa. The Wee Trio reprises a favorite, "Tig Mack," and Warren Wolf elegantly melds Hoagy Carmichael's "Stardust" with Frederic Chopin's "The Minute Waltz." March actually does go out with a lion, Lionel Hampton, that is, with "Running Home."
February 2020 Good Vibes
I took the month of January off to attend to some business and am now so glad to be back! Jazzon2
replayed the November show. So, it's
February. Here's the line-up:
Christos, Stefon, Gary, Chuck (two tracks),
Tim, Behn, Bobby, Hendrik, David, Arthur,
Steve N., Steve S., Tony, Kym, Jay and
Steve H. A collection of the exceptional. You know them all, and if you don't, all the more reason to tune in.
My half hour of Where Jazz Goes includes two Sting tunes, two very different Beatles compositions, a Percy Mayfield hit and one from West Side Story. So, stay "Cool" and listen in.
www.gloriajazz.com
Happy Valentine's Day,
December 2019 Good Vibes
The December show has aired but it’s still in rotation for a rebroadcast on Wednesday, Dec 4 at 4:00p. You can still catch it at wwfm.org. It opens with a burner from MCcoy Tyner and Bobby Hutcherson, cools down with Cal Tjader’s “Black Orchid,” played by the Kevin Hart Latin Jazz Quintet, and picks up the pace again with Arturo Serra’s “The Sealer,” from Nebulosa. I’m playing a track from Dave Stryker’s new Eight Track Christmas every half hour. Teddy Charles, Steve Hobbs, Matthias Lupri and David Friedman pitch in, (pun intended), as do Joel Ross, and Dave Samuels. In that order. That’s just the first hour. The second, Where Jazz Goes, opens with a new group from Sweden that recorded Phil Collins’ “Another Day in Paradise.” Amidst the holiday merriment the Collins tune about homelessness is from the album is Four Wheel Drive. There’s so much more. Two ballads, “Blue Sojourn” by Behn Gillece, should touch your heart. The second is the show closer, “Everything Must Change,” played by Jay Hoggard and written by Benard Eghner. As always, IMHO, an eclectic variety of the very best of the vibraphone.
November 2019 Good Vibes
Putting a radio show together turns out not to be so simple.
There’s the tempo of each tune to consider, like the fast
paced “Yardbird Suite” (Gibbs) and “Alice’s Journey,”
(Gillece) and the slow pace of “Stargazer” (Fisher) and
“Dusk, ” (Rossy). Mid-tempo tunes like “My One and
Only,” (Redd) and “Frankie and Johnny” (Wolf) help weave everything together. There should be variety among the composers. Jazz icons like Ellington and Charlie Parker share a spotlight with the newer kids in the flock, (Mancini). Classic tunes want to blend with contemporary and the timing has to come down literally to the second. In a two-hour no-commercial program, it’s easiest to divide by four and put each quarter together. There are 26 minutes of music per quarter, usually five songs. Depending on their length, however, there could be six or four. Allow three and a half minutes for announcements, including station ID at certain intervals. That adds up to the required 59 minutes per hour. In a show like mine that features a specific instrument, I have to consider over a hundred vibraphone players and how often I play their music. Some are more prolific, others who record less have less to play so the distribution of airtime may seem lopsided. Something else to keep in mind are the combos themselves. Have I played a big band (Dany Doriz), a solo record, a quartet, duo, vocal (Tierney Sutton) and are they equally distributed, not solo against solo? Lastly, there is personal taste. What I choose to play must be melodic. It you can’t tap your feet, the music’s too offbeat.
November 3, 8-10p eastern
November 6, 4-8p eastern wwfm.org,, click on jazzon2
October 2019 Good Vibes
First, a welcome to Kevin Norton, a native New Yorker, who is new to Good Vibes. Much of his work seems experimental but a track on his new album, Yimba Rudo, caught my ear. It's "Winter Retreat" (we'll be there before we know it). It's moody, icy and atmospheric.
Joe Locke plays from an old album and Terry Gibbs from his newest and maybe, he says, last. (Happy Birthday, Terry!) Tony Miceli plays on bassist Nicholas Krolak’s first release, then Tony comes back for a solo from Invitation. Jerry Tachoir bemoans the "Elect 'Oral' Blues," (just the beginning, my friends) and Behn Gillece dedicates a tune to bossa nova pioneer Roberto Menescal, who also celebrates his birthday in October. It’s on Behn’s Parallel Universe. Stefon Harris plays vibes on Dave Stryker's "After the Dance," as well as a Stevie Wonder tune with the SF Jazz Collective. David Friedman shares a track from his newest, Flight, and the Jazz Passengers (with Bill Ware) reprise "Imitation of a Kiss," to commemorate October as Domestic Violence Awareness Day. The lyrics, sung by Deborah Harry, are stunningly real. If you know someone in this situation the national hotline to share is: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).
I learned something about Maracatu, the northwestern Brazilian drumming groups for which Joe Chambers wrote “Samba de Maracatu” that appears on his Landscapes. One parade group might include up to 100 drummers (imagine it!), singers with a chorus, dancers, costumed characters representing the area’s African and European roots. Something to put on the bucket list.
And more. Enjoy the show!
October 6, 8-10p eastern, www.wwfm.org. Click on jazzon2.
October 9, 4-6p eastern
September 2019 Good Vibes
September’s Good Vibes boasts another vibes-packed
playlist. I may not be celebrating a wedding, but I've
included something old ("Black Orchid" by Cal Tjader),
something new (Lucky To Be Me from David
Friedman's newest "Flight"), something borrowed
(five tunes borrowed from rock hit lists), and something
blue ("Samba D'Blue" with Steve Nelson).
Roy Ayers is on hand to celebrate his September birthday, Terry Gibbs pays homage to Lionel Hampton, both Hamp and Red show up to celebrate vibraphone beginnings, and Tony plays his tender solo of "Tennessee Waltz." What more could you ask for?
Many more. Like Mike Freeman and Zonavibe, Ed Saindon and Kenny Werner with an extended version of “Invitation,” Eddie Costa, Milt Jackson, Bill Ware, Stefon Harris & Blackout, and Bobby Hutcherson. Welcome to vibes heaven!
September 1, 8-10p eastern, www.wwfm.org. Click on jazzon2.
September 4, 4-6p eastern
August 2019 Good Vibes
Cool off with some hot vibraphone jazz as Good Vibes, August Edition, racks 'em up for you. The line-up is stellar, as always, with legend Milt Jackson, established names (for good reason) like Steve Nelson, Stefon Harris, Joe Locke and Tony Miceli, and the new man in town, Joel Ross. Lots more!
There's always a good mix of standards, like those written by Mulgrew Miller, Lennie Tristano, Sidney Bechet, Horace Silver, Freddie Hubbard and Dizzy Gillespie, and more contemporary tunes by songwriters/vibraphonists Bill Ware and Behn Gillece. Then there's the half hour following Where Jazz Goes. This month it's the disco-born "Street Life," Paul Simon, Lennon/McCartney, and the groups A-Ha and Steely Dan. So much good music and so many things to learn about it. Did you know that Joe Sample, pianist, composer and founding member of the Jazz Crusaders, wrote "Street Life," a top 40 hit in the US and a Top 20 Billboard in the UK? Will Jennings, who wrote lyrics to Eric Clapton's "Tears in Heaven," also write the lyrics to "Street Life."
July 2019 Good Vibes
In July, there are a few albums I recently acquired
that I’m continuing to explore; Anthony Smith’s
double set, Songs from a Lighter Planet; Dinah
Sings Some Blues with Red (Norvo); Dave Stryker’s Eight
Track III with Stefon Harris; and Tyler Blanton’s
Sense of Place. Also, The Sequel with Mulgrew
Miller and Steve Nelson. Gary Burton has a set
of his own from Like Minds, Reunion and Libertango. Jerry Tachoir celebrates George Shearing and Anita O’Day, with Larry Bunker, pays homage to Billie Holliday. New young lions include Joel Ross, Ethan Fisher and Smith Dobson. Joni Mitchell performs a Mingus tune. Then there’s our old friends Karl Berger, Joe Locke, Arthur Lipner and Tom Collier. So much to like! Airing July 7, 2019, Sunday, 6-8 p eastern, www.wwfm.org and again on July 10, 2019, Wednesday, 4-6p eastern, same place. Local (NJ) HD2 radio 89.1. BTW, Anthony and Retrosonik are on the featured page this month.
June 2019 Good Vibes
Sunday 2nd, 8p eastern, Weds 5th, 4pm eastern
I finally was able to get a copy of a an album I've kept my eye on for years. At first it was not available on CD. Then when it finally was, it was too expensive (almost $200 new). So I broke down and bought a used copy, something I've never done before. It was a reasonable price (under $20) and it turned out to be perfectly fine. The CD I'm writing about is Dinah Shore Sings Some Blues With Red. You'll hear the first track in June's show. I'll also play Lionel Hampton's and Curley Hamner's "Hey, Ba-Ba-Re-Bop. Marv Goldberg, at his website uncamarv.com, gives a dissertation length analysis of this song and the often conflated "Open the Door, Richard," written a year later. Check it out if you want to take that deep dive with him.
May 2019 Good Vibes
Sunday 5th, 8p eastern, Weds 8th, 4p eastern
Happy Birthday, Good Vibes! We're beginning our 10th year! And they (or someone) said it couldn't be done. A program featuring the vibraphone would become boring, and there would there not be enough content to continue for very long. As it happens, neither one is true. The program continues to showcase fresh and exciting young players - Joel Ross in this month's edition - and new compositions (tomorrow's standards) like Tyler Blanton's "Oaty" blended with the classics we all know and love. Ted Piltzecker takes things up a notch when he combines his music with one of Langston Hughes' best known poems, "What Happens To A Dream Deferred?" with vocals by Taylor Burgess. Check it out!
April 2019 Good Vibes
Sunday 7th, 8p eastern, Weds10th, 4p eastern
April is Jazz Appreciation Month, appropriately abbreviated JAM – and was started in 2001 by John Edward Hasse, PhD, curator of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History – that’s where the legendary Ella’s archives are stored – and initially funded by the Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation. There are lots of ways to celebrate and I talk about some of them on April's Good Vibes.
We're honoring the month by listening to some new albums, Behn Gillece (Parallel Universe), Tony Miceli (Invitation), Ted Piltzecker (Brindica), Joe Locke (Subtle Disguise) and Mike Freeman (Venetian Blinds). And some old ones as well, by Hendrik Meurkens, Bill Ware, Steve Nelson and Chuck Redd. One of those oldies is the Klenner/Lewis standard "Just Friends" played by Lem Winchester. I became aware of a Little Rascals episode ("Mush and Milk") where five-year-old Tommy, played by Tommy Bonds, was asked to sing the sophisticated tune for his class. It's a classic in its own right. Check it out on YouTube.
March 2019 Good Vibes
Sunday 3rd, 8p eastern, Wednesday 6th, 4p eastern
Sometimes for no apparent reason a show comes out as fast-paced, or slow. Maybe it's just my mood when I edit the show. March, like the month itself, happens to have a breezy feel, the tone set by Arthur Lipner who opens with "Street Vibes." With a few exceptions, (funky "Penny for A Pound" by Nick Mancini, and Dave Pike's "Middle Earth Herd"), feel free to chill out with lodestars Cal Tjader and Milt Jackson, contemporary geniuses Joe Locke, Steve Shapiro, Steve Nelson and Tony Miceli, and up-and-comers Ethan Fisher and Joe Doubleday. Where Jazz Goes features a Hank Williams tune, Sting, the McCartneys and more.
February 2019 Good Vibes
Sunday 3rd, 8p eastern, Wednesday 6th, 4p eastern
Includes recordings by four jazz legends, Gary Burton, Astor Piazzolla, Terry Gibbs and Bobby Hutcherson and generous servings of contemporary giants like Joe Locke, Bill Ware and Arthur Lipner. Helping me follow Where Jazz Goes - Bill Frisell, Stefon Harris, Don Braden and Kevin Mahogany. Tune in, turn on, chill out.