Hey, y’all! Hope you’re doing your best. We were absent last week, but we’re back on the air this week with two all-new programs and two fresh new write-ups! Read on down to learn more about what we’re playing tonight on datafruits.fm!
Talkie Time : Broadway Is My Beat – The John Lomax Case / A Fixed Prize Fight
Old newspaper ads for radio programs are the best, man. Lookat dat font layout. Peak quality.
You really can’t talk about old time radio without someone bringing up Broadway Is My Beat. Perhaps the quintessential police procedural1, Broadway Is My Beat told the stories of one Detective Danny Clover, as he worked the most lonesomest mile in all the world: the titular Broadway Ave in New York, New York, from Times Square to Columbus Circle.
Played by Anthony Ross from May 29, 1949 to June 23, 1949 and by Larry Thor from July 3 onwards until the show ended on August 1, 1954, Danny Clover is a bit less goofy and gaudy than some of the other detectives and sleuths we’ve featured on the program (koff Casey Crime Photographer koff), leaning more towards noir-stern and solemnly-serious as he narrates his way through his casebook.
This doesn’t stop some of these cases from being a tad bit ridiculous, including our first case this evening, “The John Lomax Case”, which originally aired on December 31, 1949 and Larry Thor in the detective’s role. In this episode, our boy Clover stumbles into a drunk guy who’s about to get thrown out the window. Issue is, that drunk guy’s supposed to be dead. Like, dead before he got thrown out the window. Hit by a car. Probably? Look man, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, what happens in Chico stays in your bloodstream for up to thirty-six hours, and what happens on Broadway is prolly some drunk guy running a scam on you. You know how it is.
And speaking of getting chiseled, after that we’ve got “A Fixed Prize Fight” which aired on March 27, 1949 and is one of the few episodes where Anthony Ross plays the lucky detective. In this one, Clover hits the local boxing ring to put some money down on the fights. You can probably imagine what happens next, and it’s not him getting paid.
The Jazz Program: Shadowfax – Watercourse Way / The Odd Get Even / Shadowfax
i expect you all to be in uniform tonight uwu
soooooo…. guess who bought a new hoodie this past week?2 :3
Me being gay and cute as hell aside, this here is part one of an informal series of spotlights on the now-defunct and perpetually legendary Windham Hill Records imprint. Founded by William Ackerman (who we absolutely will get to at some point) and brought onto the A&M Records label ran by the god of exotica and smooth himself, Herb Alpert, Windham Hill was exceedingly influential both in new age music and folk and progressive rock as well.
Oh, and jazz. There’s a lot of chamber and smooth jazz in these here parts.
We’re starting off this here spotlight on the ol’ hill with the fantastic progressive rock and new-age jazz act Shadowfax.3 Fronted by saxman and inventor Chuck Greenberg (the inventor of the lyricon, believe it or not, which you can hear on nearly all of Shadowfax’s records), Shadowfax also featured the likes of Grammy-winning violinist Charlie Bisharat, bassist Phil Maggini, and blues-guitarist G.E. Stinson, as well as quite a few other fantastic musicians.
Look at that leather jacket, man. Lookit aaaall that denim. The '80s were somethin else.
Tonight, we’ve got three of their fantastic records for you, albeit only one on my beloved Windham Hill. Starting off, we’ve got their debut record on Passport Records, 1976’s “Watercourse Way”. It’s the record that most clearly demonstrates their prog-rock and bluesy roots, and it’s one of my favorites of theirs.
After that, it’s 1989’s “The Odd Get Even”, released on Private Music and featuring a bit of a return to form, with G.E. Stinton’s guitar work front and center–fitting, seeing as this was his last album with the group he helped found.
Finally, we finally get back to Windham Hill with the self-titled 1982 release. It’s quite a bit softer and more “new-age”-y than the other two we’ve played this evening, and it’s arguably one of the most Windham Hill-y Windham Hill releases to ever Windham Hill. Smooth flute, gentle acoustic guitar, and complex chamber-music passages–we’re letting you all down to sleep easy at the end of the program this evening.
Aaand that’s it for this week! My apologies for last week’s absence; I’ve been working hard on some new comics for you all to read, as well as working hard to move to Chicago. Hopefully some new programming this evening more than makes up for the wait.
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…
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I’m sure someone would argue that Dragnet should take that spot, and as far as sheer cultural impact and longevity goes you could make a helluva case for it, but in my mind Dragnet always belonged to the early days of television. It was the radio format where Broadway truly shined. ↩︎
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This is mostly not a joke, I actually do now own this hoodie. Came in the mail the other day. Fits great. I’ve had those tights and booty shorts (or at least ones similar to ’em) for a while, too. And as far as you’re concerned, nothing else is in that image. Who’s asking? What are you, a cop? ↩︎
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Named after Gandalf’s horse in Lord Of The Rings, in case you were doubting their progressive rock street cred. ↩︎