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: Pat Novak For Hire - The Only Way To Make Friends Is To Die / Shirt Mix-Up At The Laundry
"dude, where's my boat" --this guy, probably
Before he was solving crimes as Sergeant Joe Friday, Jack Webb was getting his ass beat as Pat Novak, a boat-hire man down at Pier 19 who simply cannot stop running face-backward into leather saps and straight into trouble he didn’t want. Last time we heard from Pat, he stumbled into the cases of Wendy Morris and Rita Malloy. This week, he’s got two more troubles he didn’t ask for. Relatable character, really.
First up, it’s “The Only Way To Make Friends Is To Die”, originally aired on June 18, 1949. In this one, some guy named Joe Dineen has a whole lotta friends, and I’ll give you three whole guesses as to how he made ’em. Answer’s right there on the tin. You know who doesn’t have a whole lotta friends, though? Pat Novak…at least for now. Sure seems like half the city wants to invite him to the kinda shindig that they sing about on Oingo Boingo records, so maybe he’ll make some friends yet.
After that, we’ve got “Shirt Mix-Up At The Laundry”, originally aired on May 7, 1949. As it turns out, even when he’s dropping off his laundry, he’s still finding a way to get his ass beat. You’d think he’d have moved towns by now, maybe figure out a different profession or something. Something gentler and away from dead bodies.
We all know how much I cosign pirate blogspots and the work of archivists on this show. While the uploaded compilation pictured here got lost with the demise of Zippyshare, Boogiewoodie of Bebop Wino has a fantastic write-up on Cootie Williams, Willis Jackson, and the rest of the band over on his site that you absolutely should go read.
The Jazz Program: Willis Jackson - Bar Wars / The Gator Horn / Single Action
You wouldn’t expect if it you haven’t heard him play, but Willis “Gator” Jackson doesn’t get his nickname from his home state of Florida. Rather, his performance with Cootie Williams’ band on “Gator Tail” – which featured the young Willis absolutely losing it on both the horn and on the mic, screamin’ and hollerin’ his lungs out – slapped him with the moniker, and he proceeded to earn it for the next three decades, with some of the most expressive and toothy horn-playin’ this side of the Gulf.
Tonight, we’ll be hearing three of his more acidic and smooth tracks from his later years on the Muse label. Wikipedia and Discogs seem to disagree on the exact years these records were dropped, so I’m going with Discogs for the release dates here.
First up, we’ve got Bar Wars, released in ‘78 (according to Discogs, at least) and featuring a young Pat Martino on guitar. After that, we’ll be hearing The Gator Horn, released in 1979 and featuring Buddy Caldwell on the congas.
Finally, we’ve got the fantastic record Single Action, released in 1980 and featuring Pat Martino not only on guitar, but also sharing a credit on the cover as bandleader. Carl Wilson takes up organ duties on this one, and there are some fantastic basslines laid down by the one and only Jimmy Lewis as well.
That’s all for this week! Thank you so much for reading, and I do hope you enjoy tonight’s show. My brain’s still a bit fried from all the writing I did yesterday, but I wanted to make sure we had some new shows up for y’all tonight.
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: Tuesday nights, on datafruits dot fm..