Archive for December, 2009

Ancient Future: Top 20+ for 2009

Wednesday, December 30th, 2009

2009 Ancient Future Top 20 (in alphabetical order) Dee Alexander, Wild is the Wind, Blu Jazz Jane Bunnett, Embracing Voices, Sunnyside Kurt Elling, Dedicated to You, Concord Oran Etkin, Kelenia, Motema Robert Glasper, Double Booked, Blue Note Stefon Harris & Blackout, Urbanus, Concord Bobby Hutcherson, Wise One, Kind of Blue Vijay Iyer, Historicity, ACT Sean [...]

Ancient Future radio 12/24/09 Playlist

Thursday, December 24th, 2009

Ancient Future radio is produced & hosted by Willard Jenkins for WPFW 89.43 FM, Pacifica Radio for the Washington, DC metro area. Wynton Marsalis Winter Wonderland Crescent City Christmas Columbia Clairdee Baby It’s Cold Outside This Christmas Clairdee Joe Williams Let it Snow, Let it Snow That Holiday Feelin’ Verve Moore By Four Let it [...]

Ancient Future radio 12/17/09 Playlist

Thursday, December 17th, 2009

The Ancient Future radio program airs on WPFW 89.3 FM, Pacifica Radio for the Washington, DC metro region at 50,000 watts. Ancient Future is hosted by Willard Jenkins. Randy Weston African Cookbook Spirits of Our Ancestors The Metronomes Monk’s Mood Something Big! Jazzland Archie Shepp & Horace Parlan See See Rider Trouble In Mind Steeplechase [...]

Wondering Aloud: What’s up with New York Times jazz writers?

Monday, December 14th, 2009

Though not a resident of New York City I spend a fair amount of time there — and if you work anywhere in the jazz business a working knowledge of New York is almost essential. I do a fair amount of work there, mainly curating two annual concert series for Tribeca Performing Arts Center. In [...]

Ancient Future radio: 12/10/09

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

 The Ancient Future radio program is produced & hosted by Willard Jenkins for WPFW 89.3 FM, Pacifica Radio in Washington, DC.   Theme: Randy Weston "Route of the Nile"   Randy Weston The Seventh Queen Spirits of Our Ancestors Antilles   Cannonball Adderley Hi Fly Live in San Francisco Milestone   Jelly Roll Morton I [...]

An evolving, intrepid Artist: MATANA ROBERTS

Wednesday, December 9th, 2009

               Fiercely independent aptly describes MATANA ROBERTS     One of the more compelling young artists to have arrived on the scene the last few years is saxophonist-composer and AACM member Matana Roberts.  She wrote recently to express her appreciation for the Ain’t But a Few of Us Independent Ear series conversations with journalist-author-educator Robin D.G. Kelly, he of [...]

Ain’t But a Few of Us: Black music writers telling their story #13

Wednesday, December 9th, 2009

                                                            RAHSAAN CLARK MORRIS   RAHSAAN CLARK MORRIS (center) with Amiri Baraka and William Parker     I first encountered Chicago-based writer Rahsaan Clark Morris a few years back when working with the Jazz Journalists Association to establish fellowships to a journalist conference in California in the name of my late friend and colleague, the Harlemite jazz writer Clarence [...]

Interview: The multi-faceted Douglas Ewart

Tuesday, December 8th, 2009

DOUGLAS EWART: in a rare moment of relaxation for a man who seems never to sleep    The group photo of modern day renaissance men should include Douglas Ewart.  A saxophonist & all-round woodwind specialist and composer from Jamaica who emigrated to Chicago as a young man and currently splits his time between the Windy City and Minneapolis, is [...]

The Mastery Arc

Friday, December 4th, 2009

Do Jazz Artists enjoy longer artistic lives?                 AHMAD JAMAL            SONNY ROLLINS            Years ago when Suzan Jenkins was the exectutive director of the Rhythm & Blues Foundation, which at the time was based in DC, their major annual event was the Pioneer Awards.  This was the annual occasion on which the giants of [...]

Ancient Future – the radio program 12/3/09

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009

The Ancient Future radio program is produced & hosted by Willard Jenkins for WPFW 89.3 FM, Pacifica Radio in the Nation’s Capital at 50,000 watts.   Thelonious Monk Four in One Big Band and Quintet in Concert Columbia   Sonny Rollins Don’t Stop the Carnival Don’t Stop the Carnival Milestone   Mary Stallings Centerpiece Remember [...]