“Conference of the Birds” is my weekly radio program on WNUR-FM. It airs on Tuesdays from 5-7:30 am Chicago time (UTC-6). And, of course, when technology cooperates, you can just come here for the archives.
This week brought a few nice discoveries: first, I jumped on the chance to get the new album from Eri Yamamoto, who regulars will have been hearing on CotB for a while on her previous duo and trio albums as well as on William Parker’s most recent album with the “Raining on the Moon” group. I was also very pleased with Amina Claudine Myers take on Marion Brown’s “Sunday Comedown,” and expect we’ll go back to that rare 1980 LP again in weeks to come. The Malachi Thompson record is another rarity from 1974, and right next to it in the library I found Walter Thompson’s even rarer Stardate (1980), which includes in the credits Wilco guitarist Nels Cline, although as far as I can tell he didn’t play on this track.
complete program (144 MB, 2 hrs 38 min)
Artist: “Track” – Album (Label)
Eri Yamamoto Trio: “A Little Suspicious” – In Each Day, Something Good (AUM Fidelity)
Dave Burrell Full Blown Trio: “They Say It’s Wonderful” – Expansion (High Two)
Chico Hamilton: “Blues for O.T.” – Man From Two Worlds (Impulse)
Muhal Richard Abrams Orchestra: “Bloodline” – Blu Blu Blu (Black Saint)
Ralph Thomas: “Big Spliff” – Freedom Rhythm & Sound (Universal Sound)
Amina Claudine Myers: “Sunday Comedown” – Poems for Piano: The Piano Music of Marion Brown (Sweet Earth)
Bridge 61: “Nothing’s Open” – Journal (Atavistic)
Arthur Blythe: “Lenox Avenue Breakdown” – Lenox Avenue Breakdown (Sony/Koch)
Marty Ehrlich Quartet: “Melody for Madeleine” – The Traveller’s Tale (Enja)
Dudu Pukwana & Zila: “Baqanga Bay” – Live in Bracknell and Willisau Featuring Pinise Saul (Jika)
Johnny Dyani: “The Boys from Somafco” – Born Under the Heat (Dragon)
Steve Lacy Quartet: “The Mystery Song” – Evidence (Prestige New Jazz)
New Horizons Ensemble: “Mean Ameen” – The Messenger: Live at the Original Velvet Lounge (Delmark)
Malachi Thompson: “Kirk’s Tune” – The Seventh Son (RA)
Vijay Iyer: “One Thousand and One” – Panoptic Modes (Red Giant)
Rudresh Mahanthappa: “Enhanced Performance” – Codebook (Pi)
Thelonious Monk: “Bolivar Blues” – Monk’s Dream (Columbia)
Art Pepper: “Tin Tin Deo” – Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section (Contemporary)
Walter Thompson: “Vamp” – Stardate (Dane Records)
“His popular legacy remains one of speeches, but he attended and organized meetings and direct-action campaigns. He put his money (what little he had), his time, and his life where his mouth was. I imagine he would be frustrated by the passivity and false sense of action that Twitter can promote.”