It’s Tuesday, and you all know what that means–it’s time for Talkie Time and The Jazz Program on your favorite radio station, datafruits.fm! Here’s what we’re playing tonight!
IN THIS EPISODE, OUR BRAVE HERO STUBBORNLY RESISTS MAKING EVEN ONE JOKE ABOUT THE CURRENT STATE OF AMERICAN POLITICS DESPITE BEING THREATENED BY A LITERAL CLOWN WITH A GUN!
Talkie Time: Casey, Crime Photographer - The Loaded Dice (09/04/1947) / The Tobacco Pouch (09/18/1947)
(This program schedule was originally aired January 2, 2024.)
…would you believe me if I said I didn’t even half to change that caption joke from the original time we aired this schedule? Cuz yeah. Evergreen, really.
We’ve got two episodes of everyone’s favorite flash-toting, trenchcoat-wearing, raging-alcoholic somehow-hasn’t-been-arrested-for-being-a-weirdo-in-public-yet nutjob named Casey for you tonight, and despite what the names of these episodes would imply they don’t see our boy having that great of a night.
We’re starting out with “The Loaded Dice”, which originally aired on September 4, 1947 and sees our boy Casey’s professional gambler bud Steve getting framed for murder over some kind of misunderstanding involving such inconsequential details like “there’s a dead body in Steve’s apartment and the stiff owed Steve money”. Y’know, stuff like that. Happens every day. Nothing to see.
Next up, we’ve got “The Tobacco Pouch”, which aired two weeks later on September 18, 1947. Ann Williams wants to go do some shopping, and Casey has a run-in with a kleptomaniac and then gets straight-up abducted just to get out of boyfriend-pack-mule duties.
If you’re wondering why I love this particular radio program so much, it’s because of dumb shit like this. Don’t just take my word for it, though–come tune in and hear the magnificent dumb shit Casey gets up to for yourself.
The Jazz Program: Smoke If Ya Got ‘Em - Joe Henderson’s ‘Relaxin’ at Camarillo’ (1979), Antonio Carlos Jobim’s ‘Stoneflower’ (1970), and Jeremy Manasia’s ‘Witchery’ (2007)
I genuinely don't know why, but I can't look at this cover art and not hear a reggae cover of 'Ocean Man'.
(This program schedule was originally aired May 9, 2023.)
Look, we gotta have at least one dumbass theme night on the schedule every month. We’re just front-loading it this month.
The idea of “records with dudes smoking on the cover” honestly comes directly from my recent listens of Jeremy Manasia’s “Witchery”, a record I put on because the cover amused the hell out of me. The idea of a relatively energetic piano jazz record with a cover art featuring the lead pianist ripping a hit off a blunt with ‘Murica sunglasses and a giant doofy grin on his face is just a fantastic one.
It then occurred to me that there’s an absurd amount of jazz records that just have “band leader hitting a cigar/cigarette/blunt” for cover art. So, I put together a list. You find recurring themes in the strangest places, lemme tell ya.
We’ll be listening to Joe Henderson’s seminal ‘Relaxin’ At Camarillo’, Jobim’s masterpiece of bossa nova ‘Stone Flower’, and the aforementioned New York jazz scene staple’s ‘Witchery’.
That’s about all we’ve got for this week! Thank you all for reading, and I do hope you tune in live and hang out in the chat with us on Datafruits! We’ve got a good crowd of folks in the chat every week, and whether you have a suggestion for a future show or just want to hang out and chat with fellow jazz enjoyers, you’re welcome here with us.
You’re all amazing and don’t let anyone tell you that you’re not. Stay safe out there, and I’ll see you back again next week. Same time, same station.
Have a good one.
–piper