Deep Focus
FaktaUnderholdningHost Mitch Goldman and his musician-guest explore rare archival recordings of one of the guest’s favorite artists.
Siste episoder av Deep Focus podcast
- 2025.09.01 Ben Tyree on Spectrum road - 1 of 3 (01:05:31)
Who came up with the idea that the middle of the road is the right place to be? Regular listeners to Mitch Goldman's Deep Focus know that it's those shadowy corners, those Edge Cities, where new things start to happen. And who embodied this idea more than drummer Tony Williams' late sixties supergroup, Lifetime? Lifetime inspired another supergroup in 2008 when guitarist Vernon Reid and bassist Jack Bruce (himself a member of Lifetime) formed Spectrum Road with drummer Cindy Blackman and keyboard conjurer John Medeski. Did these 4 masters of many musical disciplines present faithful recreations of Lifetime's original recordings? Or did their live shows start where Lifetime ended, and end up in the highest towers of their own Edge City? Mitch's guest, guitarist Ben Tyree, knows the answer. Ben has shared stages with and drawn inspiration from at least 2 of these 4 innovators. He credits John Medeski with inspiring his life-changing move to New York City. And will the WKCR archives yield live, unreleased recordings that will bear him out? We don't know ourselves, and the suspense is just killing us! Find out Monday (9/1) when Mitch Goldman and Ben Tyree plunge into the vast WKCR archive. Deep Focus airs Mondays 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. 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 on Instagram @deep_focus_podcast. Photo credit: no publishing information available. #WKCR #DeepFocus #TonyWilliamsLifetime #SpectrumRoad #JohnMedeski #VernonReid #CindyBlackman #CindyBlackmanSantana #JackBruce #/BenTyree #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast #JazzInterview #MitchGoldman #TonyWilliams #JazzRockFusion
- 2025.08.18 Bob Dee on Jef Lee Johnson - 3 of 3 (01:02:12)
How is it possible that you have never heard guitarist Jef Lee Johnson? He was as incendiary and as nakedly original as any soloist you have ever heard (absolutely any!). But his greater distinction might have been his songwriting. You don’t learn to write songs that are that revealing, that insightful, that cleverly put-together, and that hilariously funny, just by working at it. First, you have to have the wisdom, and Jef had it pouring out of him. It seemed as if he couldn’t make it stop if he wanted to. Jef toured and recorded for decades, but, for whatever reason, he never broke through the way many of us thought he should have. One person who got to witness the artistry up close was fellow guitarist Bob Dee. The two shared the front line in Ronald Shannon Jackson’s Decoding Society, and Bob has never forgotten a moment of what he saw and heard. Bob joins host Mitch Goldman for a Deep Focus that continues the WKCR Lost Masters tradition. Join us Monday (8/18) when Mitch Goldman and Bob Dee unearth live, unreleased recordings. Deep Focus airs Mondays 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. It's ad-free, all 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: no publishing information available. #WKCR #DeepFocus #JefLeeJohnson #/BobDee #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast #JazzInterview #MitchGoldman
- 2025.08.18 Bob Dee on Jef Lee Johnson - 2 of 3 (01:04:39)
How is it possible that you have never heard guitarist Jef Lee Johnson? He was as incendiary and as nakedly original as any soloist you have ever heard (absolutely any!). But his greater distinction might have been his songwriting. You don’t learn to write songs that are that revealing, that insightful, that cleverly put-together, and that hilariously funny, just by working at it. First, you have to have the wisdom, and Jef had it pouring out of him. It seemed as if he couldn’t make it stop if he wanted to. Jef toured and recorded for decades, but, for whatever reason, he never broke through the way many of us thought he should have. One person who got to witness the artistry up close was fellow guitarist Bob Dee. The two shared the front line in Ronald Shannon Jackson’s Decoding Society, and Bob has never forgotten a moment of what he saw and heard. Bob joins host Mitch Goldman for a Deep Focus that continues the WKCR Lost Masters tradition. Join us Monday (8/18) when Mitch Goldman and Bob Dee unearth live, unreleased recordings. Deep Focus airs Mondays 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. It's ad-free, all 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: no publishing information available. #WKCR #DeepFocus #JefLeeJohnson #/BobDee #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast #JazzInterview #MitchGoldman
- 2025.08.18 Bob Dee on Jef Lee Johnson - 1 of 3 (00:59:25)
How is it possible that you have never heard guitarist Jef Lee Johnson? He was as incendiary and as nakedly original as any soloist you have ever heard (absolutely any!). But his greater distinction might have been his songwriting. You don’t learn to write songs that are that revealing, that insightful, that cleverly put-together, and that hilariously funny, just by working at it. First, you have to have the wisdom, and Jef had it pouring out of him. It seemed as if he couldn’t make it stop if he wanted to. Jef toured and recorded for decades, but, for whatever reason, he never broke through the way many of us thought he should have. One person who got to witness the artistry up close was fellow guitarist Bob Dee. The two shared the front line in Ronald Shannon Jackson’s Decoding Society, and Bob has never forgotten a moment of what he saw and heard. Bob joins host Mitch Goldman for a Deep Focus that continues the WKCR Lost Masters tradition. Join us Monday (8/18) when Mitch Goldman and Bob Dee unearth live, unreleased recordings. Deep Focus airs Mondays 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. It's ad-free, all 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: no publishing information available. #WKCR #DeepFocus #JefLeeJohnson #/BobDee #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast #JazzInterview #MitchGoldman
- 2015.08.03 Eric Person on Ornette Coleman - 3 of 3 (01:05:51)
Ornette Coleman, one of our brightest lights, died in June of 2015. Here is a Deep Focus from August of that year, with Eric Person as my guest, remembering Ornette. This show features a beautiful live recording from 1978. Officially, his band is listed as the Ornette Coleman Sextet, but his fans know them as Prime Time.
- 2015.08.03 Eric Person on Ornette Coleman - 2 of 3 (01:16:02)
Ornette Coleman, one of our brightest lights, died in June of 2015. Here is a Deep Focus from August of that year, with Eric Person as my guest, remembering Ornette. This show features a beautiful live recording from 1978. Officially, his band is listed as the Ornette Coleman Sextet, but his fans know them as Prime Time.
- 2015.08.03 Eric Person on Ornette Coleman - 1 of 3 (01:18:34)
Ornette Coleman, one of our brightest lights, died in June of 2015. Here is a Deep Focus from August of that year with Eric Person as my guest, remembering Ornette. This show features a beautiful live recording from 1978. Officially, his band is listed as the Ornette Coleman Sextet, but his fans know them as Prime Time.
- 2025.07.21 Jean-Paul Bourelly on Arthur Blythe, S. Sharrock + P. Sanders, JB Ulmer - 3 of 3 (01:11:56)
This is a rare treat: a former subject of Deep Focus becomes the guest. In 2016, drummer Will Calhoun was our guest for a Deep Focus on one of his heroes, Elvin Jones. Will brought a cassette of a set of music that he had heard as a teenager at the Village Vanguard. At the time, Elvin had an emerging guitarist with a sound entirely unlike that of anyone else who had ever picked up the instrument. For the audience and for this young man, every note that he played brought an amazed sense of wonder and discovery. Little did Will know that, in the years to come, the world would discover Jean-Paul Bourelly's talent, and that he would become a lifelong friend and collaborator. Jean-Paul's music, informed by his Haitian and Chicago Blues roots, as well as hip-hop, West African traditions, and his own unbridled creative imagination, is still immediately recognizable and entirely beyond category. What a privilege to have him on Deep Focus. Join us Monday (7/21) when Mitch Goldman hosts Jean-Paul Bourelly on Deep Focus and unearths live, unreleased recordings. Deep Focus airs Mondays 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. It's ad-free, all 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: no publishing information available. #WKCR #DeepFocus #/Jean-PaulBourelly #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast #JazzInterview #MitchGoldman
- 2025.07.21 Jean-Paul Bourelly on Arthur Blythe, S. Sharrock + P. Sanders - 2 of 3 (01:12:21)
This is a rare treat: a former subject of Deep Focus becomes the guest. In 2016, drummer Will Calhoun was our guest for a Deep Focus on one of his heroes, Elvin Jones. Will brought a cassette of a set of music that he had heard as a teenager at the Village Vanguard. At the time, Elvin had an emerging guitarist with a sound entirely unlike that of anyone else who had ever picked up the instrument. For the audience and for this young man, every note that he played brought an amazed sense of wonder and discovery. Little did Will know that, in the years to come, the world would discover Jean-Paul Bourelly's talent, and that he would become a lifelong friend and collaborator. Jean-Paul's music, informed by his Haitian and Chicago Blues roots, as well as hip-hop, West African traditions, and his own unbridled creative imagination, is still immediately recognizable and entirely beyond category. What a privilege to have him on Deep Focus. Join us Monday (7/21) when Mitch Goldman hosts Jean-Paul Bourelly on Deep Focus and unearths live, unreleased recordings. Deep Focus airs Mondays 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. It's ad-free, all 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: no publishing information available. #WKCR #DeepFocus #/Jean-PaulBourelly #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast #JazzInterview #MitchGoldman
- 2025.07.21 Jean-Paul Bourelly on Arthur Blythe, S. Sharrock + P. Sanders - 1 of 3 (01:05:16)
This is a rare treat: a former subject of Deep Focus becomes the guest. In 2016, drummer Will Calhoun was our guest for a Deep Focus on one of his heroes, Elvin Jones. Will brought a cassette of a set of music that he had heard as a teenager at the Village Vanguard. At the time, Elvin had an emerging guitarist with a sound entirely unlike that of anyone else who had ever picked up the instrument. For the audience and for this young man, every note that he played brought an amazed sense of wonder and discovery. Little did Will know that, in the years to come, the world would discover Jean-Paul Bourelly's talent, and that he would become a lifelong friend and collaborator. Jean-Paul's music, informed by his Haitian and Chicago Blues roots, as well as hip-hop, West African traditions, and his own unbridled creative imagination, is still immediately recognizable and entirely beyond category. What a privilege to have him on Deep Focus. Join us Monday (7/21) when Mitch Goldman hosts Jean-Paul Bourelly on Deep Focus and unearths live, unreleased recordings. Deep Focus airs Mondays 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. It's ad-free, all 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: no publishing information available. #WKCR #DeepFocus #/Jean-PaulBourelly #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast #JazzInterview #MitchGoldman
- 2013.11.13 Roy Campbell on Woody Shaw - 3 of 3 (00:49:18)
When Mitch Goldman invited Roy Campbell to be his guest on Deep Focus, he knew that Roy was a master student of the entire history of the music, but he had no idea that Roy knew Woody Shaw personally. Stunning tales of Ornette Coleman, Lee Morgan, and others emerge in this remarkable program, recorded not 2 months before Roy Campbell's tragic early passing. Roy, you are missed! #WKCR #DeepFocus #RoyCampbell #MitchGoldman #JazzInterview #JazzPodcast #JazzRadio
- 2013.11.13 Roy Campbell on Woody Shaw - 2 of 3 (01:11:59)
When Mitch Goldman invited Roy Campbell to be his guest on Deep Focus, he knew that Roy was a master student of the entire history of the music, but he had no idea that Roy knew Woody Shaw personally. Stunning tales of Ornette Coleman, Lee Morgan, and others emerge in this remarkable program, recorded not 2 months before Roy Campbell's tragic early passing. Roy, you are missed!
- 2013.11.13 Roy Campbell on Woody Shaw - 1 of 3 (01:08:56)
When Mitch Goldman invited Roy Campbell to be his guest on Deep Focus, he knew that Roy was a master student of the entire history of the music, but he had no idea that Roy knew Woody Shaw personally. Stunning tales of Ornette Coleman, Lee Morgan, and others emerge in this remarkable program, recorded not 2 months before Roy Campbell's tragic early passing. Roy, you are missed!
- 2025.05.26 Uri Caine on Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock - 3 of 3 (00:57:36)
In the seventies, when Uri Caine was discovering the piano, two dominant influences were Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock. Both were in their thirties, both had played emerging electric music with Miles Davis after having established their Jazz bona fides, both led successful fusion bands (Chick with Return To Forever, Herbie with his Head Hunters band), and each had a distinctive voice on the keyboard. How stunning must it have been in 1978 when they announced a joint recording and touring project? Just two geniuses on stage at two concert grand pianos. If that's not catnip for an eager young pianist, we don't know what is! You better believe that, when they came to Philadelphia, Uri Caine was in the house. I mean, the guy is still talking about it! What did he hear? What was the big deal? Find out Monday (5/26) when Mitch Goldman hosts Uri Caine on Deep Focus and unearths live, unreleased recordings. Deep Focus airs Mondays 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. It's ad-free, all 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. Please note: this will be a live broadcast. This show was rescheduled after a previously scheduled broadcast was postponed. Photo credit: no publishing information available. #WKCR #DeepFocus #/UriCaine #HerbieHancock #ChickCorea #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast #JazzInterview #MitchGoldman
- 2025.05.26 Uri Caine on Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock - 2 of 3 (01:04:17)
In the seventies, when Uri Caine was discovering the piano, two dominant influences were Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock. Both were in their thirties, both had played emerging electric music with Miles Davis after having established their Jazz bona fides, both led successful fusion bands (Chick with Return To Forever, Herbie with his Head Hunters band), and each had a distinctive voice on the keyboard. How stunning must it have been in 1978 when they announced a joint recording and touring project? Just two geniuses on stage at two concert grand pianos. If that's not catnip for an eager young pianist, we don't know what is! You better believe that, when they came to Philadelphia, Uri Caine was in the house. I mean, the guy is still talking about it! What did he hear? What was the big deal? Find out Monday (5/26) when Mitch Goldman hosts Uri Caine on Deep Focus and unearths live, unreleased recordings. Deep Focus airs Mondays 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. It's ad-free, all 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. Please note: this will be a live broadcast. This show was rescheduled after a previously scheduled broadcast was postponed. Photo credit: no publishing information available. #WKCR #DeepFocus #/UriCaine #HerbieHancock #ChickCorea #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast #JazzInterview #MitchGoldman
- 2025.05.26 Uri Caine on Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock - 1 of 3 (01:04:29)
In the seventies, when Uri Caine was discovering the piano, two dominant influences were Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock. Both were in their thirties, both had played emerging electric music with Miles Davis after having established their Jazz bona fides, both led successful fusion bands (Chick with Return To Forever, Herbie with his Head Hunters band), and each had a distinctive voice on the keyboard. How stunning must it have been in 1978 when they announced a joint recording and touring project? Just two geniuses on stage at two concert grand pianos. If that's not catnip for an eager young pianist, we don't know what is! You better believe that, when they came to Philadelphia, Uri Caine was in the house. I mean, the guy is still talking about it! What did he hear? What was the big deal? Find out Monday (5/26) when Mitch Goldman hosts Uri Caine on Deep Focus and unearths live, unreleased recordings. Deep Focus airs Mondays 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. It's ad-free, all 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: no publishing information available. #WKCR #DeepFocus #/UriCaine #HerbieHancock #ChickCorea #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast #JazzInterview #MitchGoldman
- 2025.05.12 Eric Person on Eddie Harris - 3 of 3 (01:09:14)
"Eddie (Harris) was an enigma. He was also a soulful intellectual. He was an innovator who had hit records. He was a success, but he didn't appear all that popular. I think he must have had 3 audiences in one. Each person seeing something different in his music, and that's problematic to navigate in. But he was who he was. He was a creative force with many talents and interests." Saxophonist/bandleader/composer Eric Person We couldn't put it better ourselves, so how about if we give Eddie Harris a good, hard listen? This Monday (5/12) from 6p to 9p NYC time, host Mitch Goldman invites Eric Person to the WKCR studios for a powerful Deep Focus. If only they had rare, unreleased recordings of Eddie Harris from the WKCR archives. Hmmm... We'll have to work on that! Tune in this Monday (4/27) 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/. Subscribe right now to get notifications when new episodes are posted. It's ad-free, all 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: Eddie Harris 1972 Atlantic Records, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. #WKCR #DeepFocus #EricPerson #EddieHarris #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast #JazzInterview #MitchGoldman
- 2025.05.12 Eric Person on Eddie Harris - 2 of 3 (01:04:33)
"Eddie (Harris) was an enigma. He was also a soulful intellectual. He was an innovator who had hit records. He was a success, but he didn't appear all that popular. I think he must have had 3 audiences in one. Each person seeing something different in his music, and that's problematic to navigate in. But he was who he was. He was a creative force with many talents and interests." Saxophonist/bandleader/composer Eric Person We couldn't put it better ourselves, so how about if we give Eddie Harris a good, hard listen? This Monday (5/12) from 6p to 9p NYC time, host Mitch Goldman invites Eric Person to the WKCR studios for a powerful Deep Focus. If only they had rare, unreleased recordings of Eddie Harris from the WKCR archives. Hmmm... We'll have to work on that! Tune in this Monday (4/27) 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/. Subscribe right now to get notifications when new episodes are posted. It's ad-free, all 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: Eddie Harris 1972 Atlantic Records, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. #WKCR #DeepFocus #EricPerson #EddieHarris #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast #JazzInterview #MitchGoldman
- 2025.05.12 Eric Person on Eddie Harris - 1 of 3 (01:02:45)
"Eddie (Harris) was an enigma. He was also a soulful intellectual. He was an innovator who had hit records. He was a success, but he didn't appear all that popular. I think he must have had 3 audiences in one. Each person seeing something different in his music, and that's problematic to navigate in. But he was who he was. He was a creative force with many talents and interests." Saxophonist/bandleader/composer Eric Person We couldn't put it better ourselves, so how about if we give Eddie Harris a good, hard listen? This Monday (5/12) from 6p to 9p NYC time, host Mitch Goldman invites Eric Person to the WKCR studios for a powerful Deep Focus. If only they had rare, unreleased recordings of Eddie Harris from the WKCR archives. Hmmm... We'll have to work on that! Tune in this Monday (4/27) 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/. Subscribe right now to get notifications when new episodes are posted. It's ad-free, all 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: Eddie Harris 1972 Atlantic Records, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. #WKCR #DeepFocus #EricPerson #EddieHarris #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast #JazzInterview #MitchGoldman
- 2008.06.09 Graham Haynes on Ed Blackwell - 2 of 2 (00:58:22)
Here it is: the very first episode of Deep Focus ever, and it's a killer! Graham Haynes is the guest and Ed Blackwell is the subject. First-hand stories about Blackwell? Yes! Don Cherry? Yes! Lester Bowie? Yes! Carlos Ward? Yes! Roy Haynes? Yes! Fantastic music that we've never heard? What do you think? Tune in to find out. Photo credit: fair use. Find out more about Deep Focus at https://mitchgoldman.com/about-deep-focus/ or join us on Instagram @deep_focus_podcast.
- 2008.06.09 Graham Haynes on Ed Blackwell - 1 of 2 (01:26:16)
Here it is: the very first episode of Deep Focus ever, and it's a killer! Graham Haynes is the guest and Ed Blackwell is the subject. First-hand stories about Blackwell? Yes! Don Cherry? Yes! Lester Bowie? Yes! Carlos Ward? Yes! Roy Haynes? Yes! Fantastic music that we've never heard? What do you think? Tune in to find out. Photo credit: fair use. Find out more about Deep Focus at https://mitchgoldman.com/about-deep-focus/ or join us on Instagram @deep_focus_podcast.
- 2025.03.24 Vijay Iyer on Randy Weston - 3 of 3 (01:06:55)
It's impossible to distinguish between Randy Weston's musical innovations and his conception of the world he was born into. To say that the roots of jazz are in West Africa is hardly a groundbreaking statement nowadays, but it was a mostly unfamiliar notion when he started to say it in the 1950's. It's easy to hear it now, especially when you listen to Weston's 6+ decade discography. It's in his percussive compositions and it's in the story of his life, making music with players from throughout the African diaspora. To this day, musicians are walking through the doors he opened, more than 6 years after his death at age 92. Pianist Vijay Iyer chose Randy Weston for this Monday's Deep Focus with host Mitch Goldman. What inspired him to make that choice? Was it Weston's distinctive touch on the piano? The warmth and humanity that he exudes? Or maybe just pure admiration for one who always charted his own path? To find out, tune in this Monday (3/24) 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. It's ad-free, all 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: Randy Weston - Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of David D. Spitzer. #WKCR #DeepFocus #VijayIyer #RandyWeston #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast #JazzInterview #MitchGoldman
- 2025.03.24 Vijay Iyer on Randy Weston - 2 of 3 (01:04:58)
It's impossible to distinguish between Randy Weston's musical innovations and his conception of the world he was born into. To say that the roots of jazz are in West Africa is hardly a groundbreaking statement nowadays, but it was a mostly unfamiliar notion when he started to say it in the 1950's. It's easy to hear it now, especially when you listen to Weston's 6+ decade discography. It's in his percussive compositions and it's in the story of his life, making music with players from throughout the African diaspora. To this day, musicians are walking through the doors he opened, more than 6 years after his death at age 92. Pianist Vijay Iyer chose Randy Weston for this Monday's Deep Focus with host Mitch Goldman. What inspired him to make that choice? Was it Weston's distinctive touch on the piano? The warmth and humanity that he exudes? Or maybe just pure admiration for one who always charted his own path? To find out, tune in this Monday (3/24) 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. It's ad-free, all 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: Randy Weston - Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of David D. Spitzer. #WKCR #DeepFocus #VijayIyer #RandyWeston #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast #JazzInterview #MitchGoldman
- 2025.03.24 Vijay Iyer on Randy Weston - 1 of 3 (01:02:21)
It's impossible to distinguish between Randy Weston's musical innovations and his conception of the world he was born into. To say that the roots of jazz are in West Africa is hardly a groundbreaking statement nowadays, but it was a mostly unfamiliar notion when he started to say it in the 1950's. It's easy to hear it now, especially when you listen to Weston's 6+ decade discography. It's in his percussive compositions and it's in the story of his life, making music with players from throughout the African diaspora. To this day, musicians are walking through the doors he opened, more than 6 years after his death at age 92. Pianist Vijay Iyer chose Randy Weston for this Monday's Deep Focus with host Mitch Goldman. What inspired him to make that choice? Was it Weston's distinctive touch on the piano? The warmth and humanity that he exudes? Or maybe just pure admiration for one who always charted his own path? To find out, tune in this Monday (3/24) 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. It's ad-free, all 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: Randy Weston - Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of David D. Spitzer. #WKCR #DeepFocus #VijayIyer #RandyWeston #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast #JazzInterview #MitchGoldman
- 2013.11.18 Jack DeSalvo on Ronald Shannon Jackson - 1 of 3 (01:28:12)
Ronald Shannon Jackson's music was open source. It was not possible to play it correctly without bringing your own voice to it: your background, your proclivities, your vocabulary. And if you didn't have it to bring, the music wasn't going to make it off the stage. Jack DeSalvo brought a musical lexicon to the Decoding Society that was unmatched. When Shannon expressed a mood-- on drums or flute or schalmei or in a composition-- Jack was able to flesh it out in a completely distinct way. Entire new pathways were charted. Mitch Goldman presents the third installment of his memorial broadcasts for Ronald Shannon Jackson from 2013, with guest Jack DeSalvo. This week's show features guest cameos of Prince(!), Iron Maiden(!) Ethan Singer(!), a stolen vanload of gear(!) and that guy at the hotel in the south of France(!). I tell you, this one is not to be missed. #WKCR #DeepFocus #MitchGoldman #RonaldShannonJackson #JackDeSalvo #JazzRadio #JazzInterview #JazzPodcast #DecodingSociety Photo credit: no publishing information available. Here is part 2 of this episode: 2013.11.18 Jack DeSalvo on Ronald Shannon Jackson - 2 of 3 And here is part 3: 2013.11.18 Jack DeSalvo on Ronald Shannon Jackson - 3 of 3