Friday, July 23rd, 2004 ... 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. ... KZSU, 90.1 FM

Giving a nod today to Illinois Jacquet, who died of a heart attack yesterday at age 81. Illinois led his big band up until the end; obituaries say his last show was July 16.

Format:
ARTIST -- "TRACK TITLE" -- ALBUM TITLE (LABEL, YEAR)

* Craig Taborn -- "The Golden Age" -- Junk Magic (Thirsty Ear, 2004)

Really nice album mixing electronica ideas with synth-heavy avant-garde. Lots of crisply snapping tracks here with techno influence, but this one is different: an 11-minute wash, slow and pastoral, with a growing electronic menace in the foreground. Mat Maneri adds some hard-digging viola work towards the end. A really spacey way to start the show.

* George Schuller -- "Distant Cousin" -- JigSaw (482 Music, 2004)

Illinois Jacquet -- "Black Foot" -- Spectrum (Argo, 1965)

* Charnett Moffett -- "Who Took My Shopping Cart?" -- For the Love of Peace (Piadrum, 2004)

Pachora -- "Push" -- Astereotypical (Winter & Winter, 2003)

* Assif Tsahar and Tatsuya Nakatani -- "West 4th" -- Come Sunday (Hopscotch, 2003)

* Brian Woodbury -- "Take the J Train" -- Variety Orchestra (Some Phil, 2004)

Tomas Sauter Tranceactivity -- "Lemons" -- Flora (Altri Suoni, 2003)

*! The Aquamarines -- "Perfida" -- Bay of Reverb Live! (self-released, 2004)

Local surf instrumental music, recorded at the Hotel Utah in SF!

Marilyn Crispell -- "Archaic Visions Part II" -- Selected Works 1983-1986 (Golden Years of New Jazz, 2001; recorded 1983)

* Marilyn Crispell -- "Harmonic Line" -- Storyteller (ECM, 2004)

Showing the two sides of Marilyn. Circa 1985, she was part of the NYC downtown avant-garde crowd, and the spiky yet gentle "Archaic Visions" piano solo reflects that. Lately, she's been doing an equally adventurous but gentler style of improvisation, documented on the ECM label. If you're not into the way-outside thing, give Storyteller a try. Very easy on the ears, yet there's lots of space and exploration in there.

A rockin' quartet record that definitely sounds like jazz but involves hard-driven beats deserving of truck-stop rockabilly (maybe a little slower than that.) Quickly becoming one of my favorite records of the year.

This is the track that made Illinois' name, back when he was a 19-year-old kid. His solo on "Flying Home" includes a trick you hear a lot nowadays -- one note repeated over the changes -- but it's done with flair and panache. It not only turned that song into a hit but made it Jacquet's signature tune for the rest of his career. The Smithsonian track is the original recording, the one that started it all. The second track is a 1967 reunion of the Lionel Hampton Orchestra at the Newport Jazz Festival, where they ripped through an 8-minute version of the song at breakneck speed. Inspiring stuff.

! The Tubes -- "Smoke (La Vie en Fumer)" -- Now (A&M, 1977)

* Trio Derome Guilbeault Tanguy -- "Quek'un!" -- 10 Compositions de Jean Derome (Ambiances Magnetiques, 2004)

* Rich West -- "Curly" -- Bedouin Handbook (pfMentum, 2004)

* MTKJ Quartet -- "Mearsyshmearsy" -- Making Room for Spaces (Nine Winds, 2004)

Moe!kestra -- "Godgloeiendeteringklootzak!!!!!!!!" -- V/A: Knormalities Vol. 2 [limited edition 7" record] (Dephine Knormal/Amanita, 2001)

! Sleepytime Gorilla Museum -- "The Stain" -- Grand Opening and Closing (Seeland, 2001)

Susie Ibarra and Assif Tsahar -- "Prayer for the Unseen" -- Home Cookin' (Hopscotch, 1999)

Illinois Jacquet -- "Illinois Jacquet Flies Again" -- Go! Power (Cadet, 1966)

* = Item in KZSU rotation
! = Pop anomaly
? = Item not in KZSU library

-- Go back to Memory Select playlists.
-- Bay Area free/improv music calendar: http://www.bayimproviser.com.