When he passed away Charlie Parker was not even 35 years old. The impact of his genius however has been ever-lasting. This week we continue our exploration of his influence on the generations of musicians that followed him, featuring their original take on his music as well as music composed to celebrate him. [For the first part of this Charlie Parker special go to: https://www.mixcloud.com/MondoJazz/charlie-parker-100-reincarnations-of-bird-mondo-jazz-106-1/] The playlist features Greg Osby, Ch...
Apr 09, 2020•1 hr 56 min•Ep. 106
100 years on, the music of Charlie Parker remains relevant and vital. This week we celebrate his foundational contribution to modern jazz by featuring renditions of his work by contemporary musicians who have drawn inspiration not only from his compositions but especially from his spirit as a forward-looking creative artist. Enjoy these reincarnations of Bird! Happy listening! The playlist featurs: Paul Motian, Manu Codjia, Geraldine Laurent, Christopher Marguet, Steve Cardenas, Walking Distance...
Apr 02, 2020•1 hr 38 min
Second part of our weekly exploration of new releases showcasing new and upcoming gems with a special focus on musical forces of nature like Cuban violinist and singer Yilian Cañizares, and prolific British reedist Shabaka Hutchings (check out his South African forays with his Shabaka and the Ancestors and with Idiosyncratic guitarist Sibusile Xaba!). A special mention for Chris McCarty's Still Time to Quit Project and the new album by Wildflower. Happy listening! The playlist also features Bowm...
Mar 28, 2020•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 105
In our weekly exploration of new releases, here are beautiful albums featuring piano trios, adventurous guitarists, Miles Davis alumni, a tribute to John Coltrane and vocalists that explore electro-acoustic soundscapes. Happy listening! The playlist features Franck Amsallem, Marco Bardoscia, Lynne Arriale, Kenny Barron, Dave Holland, Dave Liebman, Ross Hammond, Isabelle Olivier, Rez Abbasi, Camille Bertault, Kassa Overall, Heroes Are Gang Leaders, Lakecia Benjamin Detailed playlist at https://sp...
Mar 15, 2020•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 105
Anthony Braxton playing standards? Don Byron and Phillip Johnston playing the music of Raymond Scott? Nothing to be surprised about... as musicians have a more open mind than critics like to recognize. So here's the second part of this week's show focusing on retro-sounding jazz performed by forward-leaning musicians - a bit like the jazz equivalent of Blade Runner. For the first part go to https://www.mixcloud.com/MondoJazz/avant-retro-or-retro-avant-mondo-jazz-103-1/ Happy listening! The playl...
Mar 08, 2020•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 103
Rigid categories are not what music should be about. This week we focus on music that some may file under "retro" but is performed by musicians that are often labelled "avant", it may not sound exactly how Count Basie and the Kansas City 7 would have played, but hey... it's 2020 and it debunks the notion that musicians that may like it skronky don't know how to swing. Case in point: Steven Bernstein whose playing and arranging is the common thread through this week's show. Happy listening! Photo...
Mar 04, 2020•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 103
Second part of this week's ride through the new releases prairie with music by artists that cover a lot of ground, from Chicago Underground Quartet to Jesse Harris, from Valentina Ciardelli's take on Frank Zappa to Roger Kellaway' interpretation of Paul Desmond, and much more. For the first part go to: https://www.mixcloud.com/MondoJazz/irreversible-entanglements-goran-kajfes-soul-gnawa-other-new-releases-mondo-jazz-102-1/ Happy listening! The playlist features also Matt Mayhall, Pulcinella, Chr...
Feb 27, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 102
This week's exploration of new and upcoming releases and releases features projects inspired by music from Benin and the Gnawa tradition of Morocco, hip-hop and electronica, as well as a tribute to Eddie Harris and the socially engaged music of Irreversible Entanglements. Happy listening! The playlist features Goran Kajfes, Majid Bekkas, Soul Gnawa, Cheick Tidiane Seck, Irreversible Entanglements, Michael Leonhart Orchestra feat. JSwiss, Slow Poke, Jimi Tenor. Detailed playlist at: https://spini...
Feb 21, 2020•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 102
This week we focus on the art of the duo. A challenging format as one does neither have the complete freedom of a solo nor the support of a larger band. Yet, in the hands of the right artists, it can produce magical music. During the first hour we feature Geri Allen & Marcus Belgrave, Joe Henderson & Christian McBride, Fabrizio Bosso & Julian Oliver Mazzariello, Michael Blake & Kresten Osgood, Günter Sommer & Till Brönner, Charlie Hunter & Leon Parker, Marc Ducret & H...
Feb 14, 2020•2 hr 20 min•Ep. 101
This week Mondo Jazz turns "100 episodes old". So we open with the uplifting "celebration" by South African pianist Bheki Mseleku before delving into what we like best, unearthing precious gems from around the world. During the first hour segment we feature another great stack of new releases, including the upcoming "The Fantastic Mrs. 10" by Tim Berne's Snakeoil and a special focus on the French and Italian scenes, including one of the albums destined to make many 'best of 2020' listicles, Zeno...
Feb 08, 2020•2 hr 13 min•Ep. 100
We start 2020 where we left off in 2019, exploring great new releases. During the first hour we feature music ranging from the upcoming release of the Afrobeat ambassadors Antibalas, who are turning 20 this year, to a previously unreleased superb 1975 live performance by Pharoah Sanders. In the process we take a look at the vibrant Swedish scene with the music of Oddjob and its pianist Daniel Karlsson, two recent albums featuring saxophonist Greg Ward, a very original take on Cole Porter and the...
Jan 29, 2020•2 hr 12 min•Ep. 99
The 2020 edition of the Winter JazzFest has just begun. This week we feature music by some of the most interesting bands from out of town who will be at the JazzFest, and new or unreleased material that will performed on the stages of the JazzFest. Of special interest yet-to-be-released material by Ted Poor, Kevin Eubanks & Orrin Evans and a unique reimagining of the work of Gil Scott Heron by Makaya McCraven, and musicians from the British, French and Italian scenes. The playlist also featu...
Jan 24, 2020•2 hr 34 min•Ep. 98
Mondo Jazz's final stash of new releases of 2019 is the perfect way to end a year that has been generous and full of surprises. During this first hour we'll sample the music of many 'bands without borders' as well as tributes to Mose Allison, Dewey Redman and Bernhard Herrmann. The second part of this week's show focuses on newly released album features, in particular, large ensembles, electronically infused improvised music and the collaborations of the Brazilian transplant in Paris, guitarist ...
Jan 18, 2020•2 hr 37 min•Ep. 97
Herbie Nichols was a master of the piano which has inspired generations of musicians after his passing, despite the little commercial success that his albums obtained when first released. 2019 marks the centennial of his birth and to remedy the lack of retrospectives that his work should have, but hasn't, received this year, this week's edition of Mondo Jazz will be looking into the impact that his memorable compositions have had on a number of contemporary artists. This episode includes both co...
Jan 08, 2020•3 hr 5 min•Ep. 96
This week let's pay homage to the musical legacy of Michael Jackson. It's been 10 years since Michael Jackson passed away and lots of things have emerged since then, but the popularity of his music remains strong, including among jazz musicians (the majority of the tracks featured this week was released after his passing). If you are concerned that jazz interpretations of pop music come very close to smooth jazz, don't worry… that's not Mondo Jazz's fare and the fact that musicians like Lester B...
Jan 05, 2020•2 hr 33 min•Ep. 95
Traditions are traditions... For this year's Hanksgiving episode we celebrate the work of a truly original artist, Hank Roberts. The Indiana-born, upstate New York-based, cellist, jazzaphone fiddler and vocalist, is one of those rare musicians whose name on the front or the back of an album should make any one purchase that record without questions asked, run home and play it immediately. This week we try to squeeze into a couple of hours a discography that spans over three decades and illustrat...
Jan 01, 2020•3 hr 19 min•Ep. 94
Another week replete with deliciuos new releases, from those of European jazz queens Céline Bonacina, Yazz Ahmed and Carla Marciano, to the Pan-African manifesto of Russell Gunn's Royal Krunk Jazz Orkestra, to the collaborative trios of Ben Perowski--John Medeski--Chris Speed, Zach Brock--Matt Ulery--Jon Deitemeyer, and Alban Darche--Matthieu Donarier--Meivelyan Jacquot, not to forget the latest by Keith Jarrett and the first by Harish Raghavan. During the second hour we go from the high-powered...
Dec 20, 2019•2 hr 23 min•Ep. 93
Dec 15, 2019•2 hr 10 min•Ep. 92
After focusing on Enrico Rava's discography as leader, this week we explore his more than five decades of work as co-leader & sideman. The statuture of an artist can be measured not only through the albums s/he has recorded but also by the caliber of the musicians he has played with. There are not many who can claim to have collaborated with such a remarkable and diverse range of musicians like Cecil Taylor, Archie Shepp, Lee Konitz, Gianluigi Trovesi, Franco D'Andrea, Henri Texier, Aldo Rom...
Dec 11, 2019•3 hr 27 min•Ep. 91
Enrico Rava turned 80 this year and has had a five-decade long artistic path that paralleled and often intersected that of the label founded by Manfred Eicher. To mark this double anniversary this week we focus on his work as leader looking at his collaborations with many masters of this art form, from John Abercrombie to Paul Motian and Joe Lovano, the sources of his inspiration ranging from Miles Davis to Chet Baker and Don Cherry, as well the countless young talents he has nurtured in his ban...
Dec 07, 2019•3 hr 31 min•Ep. 90
Another remembrance, this week of a musician with a magic touch which has left us too early, Larry Willis, followed by the perusal of a pile of exciting new releases and re-relases building jazz bridges between North America and Europe, featuring Midnight Lilacs (i.e. Chris Speed, Marc Ribot, Danilo Gallo and Zeno De Rossi), Ethan Iverson Qt. with Tom Harrell, Simone Graziano, Tomeka Reid, Ghost Horse, Matana Roberts, Alban Darche and more. The playlist also features YES! Trio, Sketchbook Orches...
Dec 06, 2019•2 hr 8 min•Ep. 89
A remembrance of Ginger Baker, the jazziest drummer rock music ever had, and a stack of new releases for this week's edition of Mondo Jazz, featuring ensembles that bridge musical cultures - from the Michael Leonhart Orchestra to Brajia, Ajoyo, the Jazzaar Global Ensemble, the Go: Organic Orchestra and Brooklyn Raga Massive - compelling global singers like Youn Sun Nah, Natacha Atlas, Sarah Elizabeth Charles and Petra Haden, as well as Wynton Marsalis' new music for film. In the second part of t...
Dec 01, 2019•2 hr 6 min•Ep. 88
This week we have have decided to do the jazz shuffle, and by shuffle we don't mean the jazz rhythm, but the randomized play. A perfect approach to revel through unexpected pairings, daring juxtapositions and accidental non sequiturs. After all if one is careful to only add great music in an ipod or music collection, then no matter how random the selection is, it'll sound good. Enjoy jumping from John Zorn to Vinicius Cantuaria, from Don Byron to United Future Organization, from Ornette Coleman ...
Nov 29, 2019•2 hr 1 min•Ep. 87
September, what a month! The summer is over... so are the summer festivals. But that's also when record labels start churning out some of their best releases to bring the temperature up in advance of the end of year polls and listicles. And here comes an onslaught of heavy-hitters with their new or upcoming releases, from Jaimie Branch to Kris Davis, from Kneebody to The Bad Plus, from Terri Lyne Carrington to Abraham Inc. and Miguel Zenon and a whole bunch more. Sit down, put your stereo system...
Nov 26, 2019•2 hr 11 min•Ep. 86
September 2019 will mark the 40th anniversary of "Message in a Bottle", an auspicious opportunity to look back at the seminal work of The Police. With Sting and Andy Summers coming to The Police with a jazz background and Stewart Copeland being a master of polyrhythms it’s not a surprise that their compositions would sound very good in the hands of jazz players. These two hours will feature some of their most beloved tunes, from "Roxanne" to "Walking on the Moon", from "Wrapped Around Your Finge...
Nov 19, 2019•2 hr 23 min•Ep. 85
Two hours of genre-defying, global, music, with a special focus on socially engaged projects, Finnish bands, and charismatic artists whose music has a higher than average density of ideas, like Michael Mwenso and Frank Zappa (by way of the tribute paid to him by the Orchestre Franck Tortiller). It all starts with the much anticipated new release by Tenor Triage. The playlist features Tenor Triage, Nérija, Taylor Ho Bynum 9-tette, Bowman Trio, Uri Caine, Avery R. Young, Mwenso & the Shakes, O...
Nov 17, 2019•2 hr•Ep. 84
After three weeks of thematic episodes, we have to get back to checking what's new and what's coming up... The piles of new and upcoming releases have been building up and we could not wait any longer. So here's to a great episode with new, upcoming and reissued gems, featuring the music of Dave Holland, Zakir Hussain, Chris Potter, Ben Van Gelder, Reinier Baas, Emma Frank, Craig Taborn, Louis Moholo and other creative minds. The playlist features Kevin Hays, Lionel Loueke, Dave Holland, Zakir H...
Nov 16, 2019•2 hr•Ep. 83
As much as we favor a complete integration of the jazz sexes, this week we feature twenty-four bands or projects with not a single man in sight, actually in hearing. After all, how much jazz radio have you listened to (not on Mondo Jazz) with playlists made exclusively of all male bands? Here's a small contribution to rebalancing that statistical abherration. The playlist features Rhoda Scott's Lady Quartet, Nérija, Irène Schweizer, Co Streiff, Marilyn Mazur's Shamania, Terri Lyne Carrington, Ak...
Nov 14, 2019•2 hr 17 min•Ep. 82
On 30 July 1969 Miles Davis released "In a Silent Way". After influencing generations of musicians, its tracks continue to sound as modern 50 years later as when they were first recorded. This week we celebrate the musical trail blazed by that seminal album by focusing on musicians that have embraced Miles' electric legacy. The playlist features Hot Club of Detroit; Médéric Collignon; Don Byron; Animation; Betty Davis; Henry Kaiser, Wadada Leo Smith; Bill Evans; Miles Davis; Jeff Ballard; Yazz A...
Nov 07, 2019•2 hr 50 min•Ep. 81
On 20 July 1969, while Herbie Mann was over the figurative moon, because his "Memphis Underground" was the best selling jazz album in the country, the man was landing on the actual moon (apologies for the gender insensitivity here but otherwise the pun won't work...). What a day! 50 years later we celebrate the latter milestone with two hours of jazz inspired by the moon and the desire to cross big divides. The playlist includes Herbie Mann, Maria Ahn, Ahn Trio, Nguyên Lê with NDR Bigband & ...
Nov 03, 2019•2 hr 12 min•Ep. 80
