Hello again! It’s time once again for yours truly to hit the airwaves on your favorite radio station, datafruits.fm. We’ve got two new episodes worth of programming for you this evening, and I’m sure you’ll enjoy what you hear. Let’s get into it, shall we?
Talkie Time: The Blue Beetle - Smashing The Restaurant Racket / Two Rackets In One
ththat's the face of a man who'll smash your racket baby. uwu, etc
Ah yes, the Blue Beetle. Last we heard from him,, our little blue spandex man was busy smashing and blasting, as men like him are wont to do.
This week, though, he’s got some smashing in mind. Look at that face in that picture. That’s a man who’s here to smash. Smash rackets, apparently. Come on. He’s a crime fighter, not a twink in latex at a dunegon party. That’s a different type of spandex man. Honestly, I don’t know why you’d get the two confused. Superheroes are always completely heterosexual and have never awakened anything in anyone ever.
Anyways, tonight Frank Lovejoy is smashing checks notes line cooks and two random groups of men at the same time, in that order apparently. Totally normal and completely hetero behaviour. Don’t question it. We’ve got “Smashing The Restaurant Racket”, which originally aired on July 31, 1930, and “Two Rackets In One”, which originally aired on August 7, 1930.
Get your Mr. Scruff records and your industrial size container of lube ready–to trip the bad guys up, of course. Lube is very slippery and it will make it very hard for those dastardly men to run away. Look, quit asking questions. What are you, a cop?
The Jazz Program Presents Black Orpheus Around The World: Antonio Carlos Jobim, Luiz Bonfa, and Bola Sete’s Original Soundtrack To Black Orpheus (1959) / Isao Suzuki Trio’s Black Orpheus (1976) / Vince Guaraldi Trio’s Jazz Impressions Of Black Orpheus (1962)
I know I always give y'all homework, but this one is mandatory if you like free jazz: Masabumi Kikuchi's utter dismantling of bossa nova in a rare 2016 recital recording, published by ECM, is a fantastic listen. We will be doing a special on his life and work at some point; stay tuned for that.
The film Black Orpheus wasn’t the true firestarting point of the Bossa Nova craze in America in the late ’50s and early ’60s; that honor, in a lot of jazz heads’ minds, goes to the 1964 Stan Getz and João (and Astrud) Gilberto record Getz/Gilberto, released on the Verve label. What Black Orpheus was, was a catalyst, an introduction point that gave many folks of the time their first ever exposure to the Brazilian craze.
We’ll be starting this evening’s tribute to the 1959 film (which you absolutely should watch, by the way) with the original soundtrack by Luiz Bonfá, Antônio Carlos Jobim, and Bola Sete.
That would be the same soundtrack that American jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi eventually heard, which wormed its way into his mind and eventually gave us our second album of the night: Jazz Impressions Of Black Orpheus, released in 1962. Guaraldi actually eventually collaborated with Bola Sete on multiple records released on the Fantasy label from 1963 to 1966…perhaps a subject for a future episode.
And finally, from America we’re off to Japan, home of bassist Isao Suzuki and his trio’s 1976 record Black Orpheus, released in Japan on the Three Blind Mice label.
That about covers this week’s show! Next week, we’ll be hipping and hopping with a herbaceous pianist and trying to keep our footsteps soft while we do it.
(Can you guess what we’re playing next week from these clues? If so, email me at piperbomb (at) protonmail (dot) com if you think you can guess our programming for either The Jazz Program or Talkie Time. If you can, I’ll give you a shoutout on-air!)
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..