#0020: This Week On The Air–April 22, 2025

Hey, y’all! Hope you’re doing your best. It’s been a hectic week for sure, but wouldn’t ya know it, it’s Tuesday yet again! Time for yet another walk-through of the history behind the subjects of tonight’s episodes of Talkie Time and The Jazz Program on datafruits.fm!

Talkie Time: Defense Attorney - Client: Joseph Moriano (Audition Tape) / Client: Mike Tully

(This program schedule was originally aired February 13, 2024.)

They say that being a lawyer is one helluva profession, so perhaps it’s fitting that one of the most legendary lawyers in old time radio also just so happened to be the voice of the demon from 1973’s The Exorcist.¹

Mercedes McCambridge was more than just the terror of most ’70s teenagers’ dreams, mind you. Once called “the greatest old time radio actress” by Orson Welles himself, Mercedes made appearances on Abie’s Irish Rose, I Love A Mystery, Lights Out, Inner Sanctum, and more.

Sadly, not too much survives from her fantastic role as one Defense Attorney Martha Ellis Bryant; OTRCAT only has twelve episodes available on their catalogue, and OTRR doesn’t have anything at all, as far as I can tell. It’s a shame, because these are all fantastic examples of one of the most shining leading ladies in the history of radio dramas.

We’ve got two of those surviving episodes for you tonight, starting off with the pilot/audition episode “Client Joseph Moriano”, recorded under the series’ original working title “The Defense Rests” and aired on April 17, 1951. After that, it’s “Client: Mike Tully”, which originally aired on August 31, 1951.

The Jazz Program: Pharoah Sanders - Jewels Of Thought / Thembi / Black Unity

(This program schedule was originally aired February 13, 2024.)

Once described by Ornette Coleman as “probably the best tenor player in the world”, Pharoah’s releases for Impulse! are some of the most dynamic and interesting in the entire catalogue. And if you’ve been paying attention–or know anything about Impulse! as a label–you know that’s saying something.

Sanders found himself and his work on the label from 1969 to 1974, and in those five short years gave us eleven entire records, the vast majority of which were legendary and the rest of which were far beyond excellent. We’ll be listening to three of those eleven tonight.

First up is 1970’s “Jewels Of Thought”, featuring what is one of the few–if not the only–recording of Pharoah playing the kalimba (if you know of any others, email me and let me know!).

Next up, we’ve got 1971’s “Thembi”, which features another first with Lonnie Liston Smith’s first time on the Rhodes, according to a 2007 interview with Jim Newsom on Port Folio Weekly.

And finally, we have another release from 1971, with the absolute monolith of avant-garde jazz (and showcase of Pan-African percussion) that is “Black Unity”.

Once again, if we go over time we go over time–you need to hear this record all the way through. And if you can’t stay up all night with us…well, you’ve got homework. Go listen to these records, and then pick up “Promises”– Pharoah’s 2021 collaboration with Floating Points with the London Symphony Orchestra playing backing band–while you’re at it. There’s a reason the jazz heads in your life haven’t shut up about this record for the past four years.

Back to re-runs this week; I was not joking about things being hectic around these parts. At least they’re damn good reruns if I do say so myself. Hopefully, we’ll be back to our regular programming next week!

If you’re reading this the day of, and you can make it in tonight, come 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.

Footnotes…