Hey, y’all! Hope you’re doing your best. It’s been a hectic couple of weeks for sure–sadly, we were out last week, as I was completely fried and knee-deep in commission work–but we’re back on the air this week, and it’s 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!
I'm not sure who did the cover design for this Penguin Classics edition of the book, but I absolutely love it; that hectic random-note lettering and the woodcuts pair masterfully with the story we'll be hearing tonight.
Talkie Time : Mercury Theater On The Air - The Man Who Was Thursday
(This program schedule was originally aired August 1, 2023.)
Just two months before Orson Welles pissed off the world and all the local yokels within it, the Mercury Theater decided to adapt another story about mass confusion, havok, and uncertainty, albeit without all the aliens this time.
G.K. Chesterton’s “The Man Who Was Thursday” is the subject of this week’s Orson Welles treatment. Anarchy, back-stabbery, metaphysics, and blokes named after days of the week abound in this fantastic adaptation of one of the most interesting and mind-rending explorations of modern politics, human psychology, and disillusionment this side of Kafka. Alec Leamas meets Josef K, if you will. Personally, I wouldn’t, but it’s not like the folks in these kinds of stories ever have much choice in the matter.
Oh, and if you’d like to check this out after the fact–as well as every other Mercury Theater On The Air broadcast, lovingly remastered by fans of the man and the medium and available for free–go check out the fine folks at bornalone.org. They’ve got you covered.
The Jazz Program : Eric Dolphy - The Complete Uppsala Concert (1961) / Live At The Gaslight Inn (1962)
Yet more listening homework for all y'all fine folk.
(This program schedule was originally aired August 1, 2023.)
Eric Dolphy needs no introduction; but if you need one anyways, go check out the cornerstone he chucked into the foundations of avant-garde jazz, “Out To Lunch”.
We aren’t spinning that one tonight, however; rather, we’ll be checking out two fairly rare live performances from three and two years prior to that masterwork’s recording and release, respectively.
First off, it’s The Complete Upsala Concert, a 1962 unofficial recording with none other than Herbie Hancock himself on piano, playing both with and against Dolphy at various moments.
After that, we’ve got a bootleg recording from a show at one of Bob Dylan’s favorite haunts, pressed into vinyl by Italian bootleggers Ingo).
Still on re-runs this week; I was not joking about things being hectic around these parts. I do want to get back to regular programming soon, but at the moment I’m completely swamped. Who knows, though; maybe I’ll pull something out of the hat 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.