How hard can it be to write about our birthright? All of you who remember the Ed Sullivan Show know of what I speak. The British Invasion of the 1960s introduced both mods and rockers to us Statesiders, but my allegiance went to the rockers, like the four groups presented here. Each burned indelible earworms into our souls that persist 60 years later until, I expect, death do us part. Some were major hits: All Day and All of the Night, I’m Crying, Get Off of My Cloud, For Your Love. Others were for those who dug a little deeper into the LPs that accompanied those hits: I’m Not Like Everybody Else, Boom Boom, She Smiled Sweetly, I Ain’t Done Wrong. The Yardbirds’ and Animals’ first albums got me started once upon a time and while I no longer buy vinyl (new pressings of Rolling Stones albums, for example, now cost $25-30 and up), the musical obsession lingers on. As in the portable harddrive I ferry back and forth from Mexico to San Francisco with over 40,000 mp3 titles. The upshot...

  Jazz tonight and jazz is alright. We’re stretching the genre but then that’s often times the case with this music. You can’t hem it in. Try and limit the definition and Eric Gale will shout you down, combining medieval European-style plainsong with wailing horns and a chorus bursting at the seams. Or let Lester Bowie dawdle over a classic of 50’s rock “I Only Have Eyes for You” in a most savory batch of minimalist snatches. If Charles Earland is truly leaving this planet he’s being powered by the mighty Hammond B3 organ as he revs it up and roars, following in the wake and stardust of the solar king, Mr. Sun Ra, in a regal procession through ancient Ethiopia. Hans Koller and his group extend our journey even further with Turkish string music, a rhythm section’s response and, finally, soprano sax in mid-Eastern modality. That’s jazz…if you know what I mean. -J.H. Run list for  Jazz tonight and jazz is alright, first broadcast  9-21-23 01 Prince Lasha Quintet with ...

The tango and danzón are two of the best-known dance styles to ever come out of Latin America. They evolved in the 19 th  century as a lower-class form of entertainment, with influence from the Black ex-enslaved people (i.e. African) population and European immigrants. Both were considered scandalous at first by “polite society” as the accompanying dance styles were viewed as salacious, but proved to be too much fun to be ignored. As their popularity spread, the danzón became the official musical genre and dance of Cuba, where it originated, while the tango represented Argentina wherever it was heard. Today, the danzón in its original form is probably more popular and danced more widely in Mexico than Cuba. The tango, on the other hand, has spread around the world though remains firmly rooted as an essential cornerstone of Argentinian cultural pride. The music in today’s program presents a sample of the most notable proponents of each genre. Old school legends like Carlos Gardel an...

The Japanese historically have been a most creative people, excelling in aesthetic conventions like architecture, painting, culinary arts, theatre, music, and more. A craftsman’s care and an artist’s flair have come to define everyday household objects such as articles of clothing and kitchen ware, designed with a sensibility that imbues them with import and elevated status. After WWII in the United States however, an item inscribed “made in Japan” usually indicated a tchotchke of mediocre quality. A perfect example is the large number of Northwest Coast Native American-style bone totem poles made for the tourist shops in the Northwest. There is a distinctive difference in these “artifacts” from the real, home-made variety that illustrates someone from another culture tackling aesthetics they don’t fully comprehend. And that leads us to some of this week’s musical choices. Imitating Western pop, rock and jazz, Japanese artists have recorded many forgettable efforts – not unlike those o...