Hey, y’all! Good to see you. It’s Tuesday, and you know what that means; it’s once again time for Talkie Time and The Jazz Program on your favorite radio station, datafruits.fm!
Let’s see what we’ve got playing tonight…
Talkie Time: Box 13 - Triple Cross / Three To Die
(This program originally aired April 11, 2023.)
Good ol' trouble in your mailbox, courtesy of the Mayfair Transcription Co.
Three’s usually a lucky number, but there’s nothing lucky about anything if it involves Dan Holiday. It’s time for more episodes of Box 13 on Talkie Time, the show about a mystery novelist with a need for ideas and adventure, a penchant for getting himself into trouble and a PO box that just seems to keep getting filled with exactly that kind of trouble.
Of course, the textual reason as to why trouble keeps ending up in said mailbox is Holiday’s own damn fault. Poor sap ran a classified ad in the newspaper he used to work for saying, and I quote, “Adventure wanted, will go anywhere, do anything – write Box 13, Star-Times”.
Personally, I feel like that’s a great way to get a pipe bomb in your mailbox, but he seemed to spend much of the series getting people who just wanted to knife him instead. Not the brightest idea a noir protagonist’s ever had, which is impressive given the genre he’s a protag in…
We’ll be listening to Triple Cross (originally aired November 7, 1948) and Three To Die (originally aired June 2, 1948)
The Jazz Program: Bob Berg - New Birth (1978) / Short Stories (1987) / Another Standard (1997)
(This program originally aired April 11, 2023.)
We aren't playing this one tonight. I just really like the cover art. For Reasons, you understand.
Horace Silver, Miles Davis, Chick Corea. If you’ve heard those names, congrats–you’re not too far from Bob Berg. The Brooklyn-born tenor sax wielder recorded with a laundry list of post-bop and modern jazz household names in his long career, and helmed his fair share of records under his own group as well.
We’ll be checking out two of his post-bop recordings in two separate decades tonight, as well as a smoother record that lands somewhere in the middle of both.
First off, it’s 1978’s New Birth, released on the somewhat obscure but absolutely solid Xanadu Records catalog and featuring a sextet with Al Foster (best known for his work in Miles Davis’ band) heading up the rhythm section.
After that, we’ve got something a bit smooth in the middle, with 1987’s Short Stories. This one was released on the Japanese label Denon and features the one and only David Sanborn playing duets on the alto sax alongside Berg on the tenor and soprano. Helluva combination, if you ask me.
Finally, we’re back in post-bop land with Another Standard, released in 1997 on Stretch Records and featuring the one and only Chick Corea on production duties.
That’s all for this week! Thank you so much for reading, and I do hope you enjoy tonight’s show. We’re back to reruns as I’m a bit under the weather–caught a head cold thanks to this cold snap that seems to have whacked both the Madison area and my sinuses last night. They’re good reruns though, I promise.
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..