Hey, y’all! Hope you’re doing your best. It’s Tuesday again, and we’re back on the air this week! Read on down to learn more about what we’re playing tonight on datafruits.fm!
Talkie Time : Broadway Is My Beat – The Alice Mayo Murder Case / The Joey Condon Murder Case
The legendary Larry Thor, in his element. Some of the most poetic lines you'll ever hear in old-time radio came from this man right here.
“In the soft night of May, Broadway’s heart beats fast. The winds of twilight have scattered their street with their promises, have drifted back into the river, and the avenue is glitter and the throats of women are spangled with the quick jewels of night lights. Their perfumed walk is promise. The hawker is promise. That neon doorway, the muted trumpet, the frenzied drum that rides the trailing edge of twilight wind…promise.
There is much to be said for that neon doorway. So dig deep for the buck, kid, and buy a May night. It’s a chance in a lifetime.”
–Broadway Is My Beat
…You know, I make a lot of jokes about the colorful characters that make up the catalogue of old-time radio on these here writeups, but it’s lines like these that are why I love them so much. Hard-boiled, romantic, violent and sharp, old-time radio still has a poetic edge all these years later.
We’ve actually heard the hard-boiled dulcet of Larry Thor as Detective Danny Clover fairly recently on this program; we played two episodes back in June alongside a Windham Hill Records spotlight on The Jazz Program. But I’m in a bit of a waxing-poetic mood this evening, and so we’re going to be hearing another hour’s worth of Broadway beat-cop-poetry this evening.
First up, it’s the already-quoted episode “The Alice Mayo Murder Case”, originally aired on May 24, 1952, in which a wall-splintering gunshot keeps our boy Danny from diggin’ deep for a dollar on a May night and keeps Sgt. Muggavan out of a Euchre game.
Next up, we’ve got an episode with a bit more seasonally-appropriate intro for a September evening: “The Tony Blair Murder Case”, originally aired on September 20, 1952. In this one, Tony Blair–no, not that one–ends up dead after an English ballerina he trained claims she’s about to be murdered. Also, somehow, a clown is involved, because it wouldn’t be old-time radio if it wasn’t at least somewhat ridiculous no matter how elegant and hard-boiled the prose gets.
The Jazz Program : Bobbi Humphrey - Satin Doll (1974) / Blacks And Blues (1973) / Fancy Dancer (1975)
(This program schedule was originally aired March 19, 2024.)
If you've listened to this show, you know I hold quite a few flautists in high regard. As far as I'm concerned, Bobbi is damn close to the top of the tier list.
Yes, I know I said no more reruns for a bit, but I’m gonna be honest here; I just really wanted to hear some Bobbi Humphrey tonight, so here we are.
There were many fantastic women in the jazz scene in the ’70s, but only one has the unique distinction of being the first instrumentalist ever signed to Blue Note. That honor belongs to one Bobby Humphrey, one of the greatest to ever put wind to the silver stick. Born in Marlin, raised in Dallas, and signed to the Note only weeks after first setting foot in the Big Apple, Humphrey’s flautist chops are only truly rivalled by the mark she made on jazz at the time and continues to make on DJs and sample-flippers today.
We’ve got three fantastic albums from The First Lady Of Flute for you this evening. First up is 1974’s “Satin Doll”, easily one of my favortes from her oeuvre.
Next up, we’ve got 1973’s “Blacks And Blues”, her first release with Blue Note. If I can point to one record in these three that justifies my claim about her effect on sample-flippers, it’s this one–connoiseurs of sound who have used this record in their own work include Quebec group La Constellation, MF DOOM’s original group KMD, and New York’s own Eric B. And Rakim.
And finally, we’ve got 1975’s “Fancy Dancer”, her fifth release on Blue Note and one that very much showcases exactly how versatile she could be. All three of these records are worth a listen, and I hope you can join us tonight as we give these a look.
That’s all for this week! Thank you so much for reading, and I do hope you enjoy tonight’s show.
Speaking of which: if you’re reading this the day of, and you can make it in tonight, you should 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: on datafruits dot fm..