For the last of our four-episode examination of discs we missed from various best of 2010's lists (and that's almost, but not quite, rapping, isn't it?) it's all about "something blue". Or, in this case, something Blue Note. One entry on Avant sneaks in on the basis of its title, so at least it's not a Blueopoly. J D Allen – AMERICANA – MUSINGS ON JAZZ AND BLUES; Blue Note All Stars – OUR POINT OF VIEW; Nels Cline – LOVERS; Kenny Barron – CONCENTRIC CIRCLES. In pop matters, Mike takes a minute t...
Nov 11, 2020•1 hr 23 min•Season 8Ep. 204
In this third podcast on some of the best-reviewed jazz of the 2010's that we missed first time 'round, the boys look at four albums that 'borrow' something, whether inspiration from a sci-fi author, jazz protests of the sixties, or jazz greats of the past such as Charlie Parker or Duke Ellington. It's a light pop matters segment this time but little known indie band The Bolshoi and Italian horror soundtrack maestros Goblin do get a mention. Delfeayo Marsalis – SWEET THUNDER; Irreversible Entang...
Oct 28, 2020•1 hr 25 min•Season 8Ep. 203
In this second episode of our prestigious four-part series (we got that idea from Masterpiece Theatre), "new" or at least "newish" music is the focus. Four albums from the best of the 2010's that seem to promise ambition and adventure and, for the most part, deliver. The journey may get rocky at times, but brace yourselves as we head for the hinterlands. Matana Roberts – COIN COIN CHAPTER TWO: MISSISSIPPI MOONCHILE; Linda May Han Oh – AVENTURINE; Sons of Kemet – YOUR QUEEN IS A REPTILE; Christia...
Oct 14, 2020•1 hr 37 min•Season 8Ep. 202
The boys start their trawl through some best-of-decade picks they missed during the last eight years by focusing on four albums in the, let's face it, somewhat amorphous "something old" category. By which we mean, I think, albums on best of decades lists featuring well-established artists playing in fairly familiar modes. Any, the results are mixed (surprised, anybody?) but do let us pontificate on a few of the big names from the last few decades and dream of being jazz producers . . . Jack DeJo...
Sep 30, 2020•1 hr 21 min•Season 8Ep. 201
This is a strange one, listeners, as the boys compare and contrast various jazz "best-of" lists for the 2010's and then let you, the listener, "behind the curtain" as they decide how to populate the next four shows of the podcast. Mike's rubric: something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. Having already discussed 250 (count 'em) albums from the 2010's, can our intrepid podcasters find a "Kind of Blue Killer" from the last decade? And will any of us be around for episode 300...
Sep 16, 2020•1 hr 19 min•Season 8Ep. 200
Sometimes the boys just can't agree. This is one of those times. Two new selections split them down the middle (though they at least "like" both selections), while one of the two oldies drives poor Mike (and Mike's family) up the proverbial wall (or is that escalator?) Carla Bley (and poet Paul Haines) – ESCALATOR OVER THE HILL; Matt Ulery – POLLINATOR; Mathis Sound Orchestra – WORLD UNITY; George Adams – AMERICA. Odd crooner Scott Walker and the Giles Martin remix of Abbey Road are the focus of...
Sep 02, 2020•1 hr 27 min•Season 8Ep. 199
Lockdown can't stop the boys from interviewing interesting musicians (it's not like we did it in person before . . .) This time pianist, composer and educator Danny Green visits our slightly demented neck of the woods to discuss his latest project (a group called LP and the Vinyl with a vocalist covering . . . gasp . . . rock and pop tunes as well as jazz standards) as well as three albums that influenced his approach to music making. The discussion ranges from favorite San Diego haunts to the p...
Aug 19, 2020•1 hr 28 min•Season 8Ep. 198
Ya want big bands? We got big bands. Sometimes we got one in each speaker. In this exploration of the more extroverted side of jazz, the boys explore works by a blazing trumpet player (and world-class womanizer), a so-so clarinetist with a heart of gold, two piano-playing band leaders who both worship Duke Ellington, and two (but it sounds like thirty) major-league skin-pounders. Much musing on the glory days of fifteen musicians criss-crossing the nation via bus results, and there's just time l...
Aug 05, 2020•1 hr 30 min•Season 8Ep. 197
Does harp music fill you with images of celestial angels - or a (relatively) tamed Pharaoh Sanders? Either way, there's something for you here in this brief overview of "cosmic" jazz. We start with a good, long look at the early career of Pharaoh Sanders and his brief gig with displaced resident of Saturn, Sun Ra, then move on to Alice Coltrane's contribution to the formation of cosmic/spiritual music. Finally, two exemplars of the genre - including one who's active and trending right this very ...
Jul 22, 2020•1 hr 29 min•Season 8Ep. 196
The boys take a break by cobbling together an episode from a lengthy pop matters segment discussing Funkadelic, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Suzanne Vega, and Dr. Demento (among others) with an episode of Pat's Vinyl Corner covering Blue Note's recent LP issues as well as box sets by Coltrane and Leonard Bernstein (?)
Jul 08, 2020•1 hr 11 min
Listeners of a certain age will remember the Saturday Night Live "sound" - all squealing saxes and twice-removed soul gestures. In this podcast we talk about one possible precursor to the sound and three of its best known practitioners - some of whom may or may not have partaken in Bolivian Marching Powder from time to time. No Pop Matters this round, as it ended up growing so big it got its own .5 edition. Brecker Brothers – LIVE AND UNRELEASED; Donald Byrd – STREET LADY; David Sanborn – SONGS ...
Jun 24, 2020•1 hr 4 min•Season 8Ep. 195
In this wide-ranging interview, the boys talk with bassist Nicholas Krolak, a Philadelphian with insights on pacing a set, marketing difficult-to-publicize music like jazz, the cost of including standards on a cd, and the oblique thinking of Bad Plus pianist Orrin Evans. There's also some discussion of "bachelor cookies" (not a euphemism) in there. Nicholas Krolak - VOICE = POWER; Booker Ervin - TEX BOOK TENOR; Orrin Evans - FLIP THE SCRIPT.
Jun 10, 2020•1 hr 28 min•Season 8Ep. 194
Female vocalists take the stage this episode, with voices ranging from small and whispery to bold 'en brassy and approaches ranging from the hardest of hardcore jazz to relatively pop-oriented (if not populist or low-brow). Most of these are brand new releases, so grab them up and support musicians stuck, with the rest of us, in lock-down mode. Pop matters trots out some obscure artists including Faun Fables, Paolo Nutini and Lorna Hunt. Jazzmeia Horn – LOVE AND LIBERATION; Leslie Beukelman – GO...
May 27, 2020•1 hr 36 min•Season 8Ep. 193
The boys aren't called bastards for nothing and sometimes they can be hard on unfamiliar musicians. This episode they are pleased to revisit two artists whose earlier projects got rough treatment but whose new releases tickle a bastard's fancy. At the same time, they discuss two artists brand new to the show and like their releases as well. What are the odds? (Seriously, we don't know. We're both bad at math.) Pop matters wanders from Urge Overkill (the most hated band from Chicago for a while t...
May 13, 2020•1 hr 20 min•Season 8Ep. 192
As lockdown enters day number "both of us have lost count, haven't you? ", the boys decide to check out some new releases. There's a prestige project celebrating the First Couple of jazz, offerings from North and South of the US border, and a lo-fi jam session cut and pasted for your listening pleasure. Then Pat apologizes for the Alan Parsons Project and the Damned. Somebody has to. Gabriel Chakarji – NEW BEGINNING; Makaya McCraven – HIGHLY RARE; Lakecia Benjamin – PURSUANCE; Rachel Therrein – ...
Apr 29, 2020•1 hr 28 min•Season 8Ep. 191
The boys focus on two pianists this time - the recently departed McCoy Tyner (stalwart of John Coltrane's "great quartet" and indefatigable leader of countless record sessions) and the long-departed Lennie Tristano (reclusive doyen of cool jazz education). The subjects couldn't be less alike but both made fascinating music. Normally, we'd insert some kind of joke right about here, but we're too busy hoarding toilet paper. In pop matters, Mike's a real bastard while Pat muses about the Beatles' "...
Apr 15, 2020•1 hr 27 min•Season 8Ep. 190
Four six-string masters going solo are the focus for this fortnight's podcast, and they cover the gamut from acoustic true-believers to studio mavens ready to mix it up with multi-tracking and effects pedals. What are the benefits - and dangers - of attempting jazz without compadres? Wouldn't you know it, Pat & Mike have opinions on that topic. Pop matters focuses squarely on the King - at least for white people of a certain age - Elvis Presley. Steve Khan – EVIDENCE; Duck Baker – SPINNING S...
Apr 01, 2020•1 hr 10 min•Season 8Ep. 189
In this very special episode the boys sit down to talk with alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and raconteur David Binney, who talks about his long career in jazz, his recent move from New York to Los Angeles, his upcoming projects, and his work mentoring young musicians.
Mar 18, 2020•1 hr 33 min•Season 8Ep. 188
After the "politicapocalypse" (Mike's coinage - ask him) of the previous episode, the boys decides to gently transition away from that minefield by looking at two artists more obliquely engaged with political discourse and two artists more or less removed from it entirely (by temperament and timing). To soothe Pat's scalded nerves, Mike brings a couple "cool" cats to the party, though by the end he agrees that one of them just might have been satirizing a certain mid-sixties obsession with Latin...
Mar 04, 2020•1 hr 31 min•Season 8Ep. 187
Try as he might, Pat can't escape Mike's jones for jazz mixed with politics, so he submits and the boys do a trawl through just a few of the examples of art-music and rhetoric spilling forth from improvising musicians less than thrilled, let us posit, by the political bent of the last few years. Do the bastards pontificate more than the music they're criticizing? You be the judge. Cutting edge acts such as Black Sabbath, Jethro Tull, and the Go-Go's give Pop Matters that contemporary vibe it so ...
Feb 19, 2020•1 hr 34 min•Season 8Ep. 186
Inspired by bassist Cecil McBee's star-turn on Lloyd McNeill's Elegia, the boys devote a whole episode to examining works led by Cecil or just plain enhanced by his presence. He's had a wide-ranging career as a side-man so they cherry-pick what highlights they can while wondering if the next setting on the engineering knob after "10" and "11" is really "sexual." A rapper, a classic by Beck, and some brand new dream pop get look ins during pop matters.
Feb 05, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Season 8Ep. 185
The boys look at three recent releases including a vocal-focused celebration of Canada, a two-hander by composers of children's television soundtracks and a Swedish flutist upset with the political tides of the last few years. After a spirited, if dispiriting, discussion of jazz as "protest music" propers get paid to a pivotal recording of avant-funk-folk jazz by a co-founder of the World Saxophone Quartet. Finally, Brad Mehldau's flirtation with Bach gets a look-in during a very high-brow pop-m...
Jan 22, 2020•1 hr 9 min•Season 8Ep. 184
Purely because Pat ran across a classic artist and a brand new find (for him, at least) who are both women guitarists, we decided to build a whole show around artists fitting that description. Which lets us cover four very different albums while still leaving Mike time to complain about classic rock eminence Kansas. Emily Remler – EAST TO WES; Leni Stern – WHEN EVENING FALLS; Camila Meza – RETRATO; Mary Halvorson – DRAGON’S HEAD.
Jan 08, 2020•1 hr 14 min•Season 8Ep. 183
The Bastards' Christmas present to you (should you listen to this episode the day it drops) is a seventh anniversary celebration featuring - you guessed it - septets. And copper, sheep, speculation about the role a great title makes in creating a jazz classic, and all sorts of other goodies. Unwrap and enjoy. The Fat Babies – 18TH AND RACINE; Oliver Nelson – BLUES AND THE ABSTRACT TRUTH; Pierre Dorge and the New Jungle Orchestra - LIVE IN CHICAGO; Ben Allison – RIDING THE NUCLEAR TIGER; Mulgrew ...
Dec 25, 2019•1 hr 28 min•Season 7Ep. 182
Every now and then when the holidays roll around, the boys celebrate by surveying some jazz-related Christmas releases. This is one of those now and thens, and they've picked an eclectic bunch indeed. After the tinsel talk winds down, Mike muses about Nick Cave (little known fact - Nick is Santa's favorite artist), tries to guess Pat's glam rock favorites, and gets an update on "world's angriest sunbeam" Nellie McKay. Various Artists on Columbia Records – JINGLE BELL JAZZ; Stan Kenton – A MERRY ...
Dec 11, 2019•1 hr 30 min•Season 7Ep. 181
William, oh William, it was really nothing - but an all-Bill all the time podcast! At Mike's suggestion, this round's musicians are all named Bill. Heck, half of them are white guys named Bill Evans who gigged with Miles Davis. How's that for homogeneity? Don't fret - the other Bills at this party bring heavy-gauge avant credentials to balance things out. Bill Evans – YOU MUST BELIEVE IN SPRING; Bill Evans – STARFISH AND THE MOON; Bill Dixon – INTENTS AND PURPOSES; Bill McHenry – ROSES....
Nov 27, 2019•1 hr 17 min•Season 7Ep. 180
You won't bee-lieve how hard it is to avoid apian puns in this podcast description, but we'll do our best after this sentence. Mike and Pat dig into the Beehive catalog and pluck five albums out its sixteen-strong lineup. Small independents like Beehive kept bebop alive during the dark days of fusion, and the boys find out how. They also talk way too long about “In High Profile’s” unfortunate album cover. Stay tuned for Mike's discussion of seeing one of his heroes - Kurt Elling - live. Nick Bri...
Nov 13, 2019•1 hr 24 min•Season 7Ep. 179
A couple oldies, a couple newies - the boys sort out the third (THIRD!) Contemporary Jazz Quintet release they've discussed in the podcast's history, pay their propers to Jack DeJohnette's best ensemble of the eighties (realistically, of ever) and then look at an avant pop and an avant jazz album from 2019. Kenny Cox – LOCATION ; Jack DeJohnette – SPECIAL EDITION; Dopolarians - GARDEN PARTY; Nels Cline and Yuka C. Honda– SPINNING CREATURES.
Oct 30, 2019•1 hr 31 min•Season 7Ep. 178
Clarinetist Sam Sadigursky is our special guest this episode, and we discuss his own career, his work with James Darcy Argue, and his thoughts on the difficulty of plighting one's troth to that "delicate lady," the clarinet. He sticks around to discuss a new-ish album by bass clarinet specialist Jason Stein, and then the boys are on their own with two brand new releases. Sam Sadigursky – FOLLOW THE STICK; Jason Stein – LUCILLE!; Marquis Hill – LOVE TAPE; Jamie Branch – FLY OR DIE II: BIRD DOGS O...
Oct 16, 2019•1 hr 41 min•Season 7Ep. 177
In honor of Blue Note's new signing, Joel Ross, the boys devote a whole podcast to vibraphonist-led dates, ranging from the early sixties to right gosh darn now. From the introverted to the at least somewhat less introverted, from pure acoustic to part electric, vibists are everywhere. Eighties alt-western group Thin White Rope lassos up popmatters. Walt Dickerson – TO MY QUEEN; Dave Pike – INFRA RED; Stefon Harris – GRAND UNIFICATION THEORY; Joel Ross – KINGMAKER.
Oct 02, 2019•1 hr 25 min•Season 7Ep. 176
