Hello again! It’s time once again for yours truly to hit the airwaves on your favorite radio station, datafruits.fm.
Last week, a couple friends decided I had been hitting the inks too hard while working on the new Clippings book, so I got dragged out for a bit on the town. We’re back on the air with some fresh programming this week, though, so let’s get on into it!
Talkie Time: Broadway Is My Beat - The Stacy Parker Murder Case / The John Nelson Murder Case
In the high noose blaze of July, Broadway walks soft. Broadway walks slow. The dream walk, the careful walk. Rhythm to a regret for things that have not yet been. Because other summers have blown in these streets, and other winds…and in their ebbing, the erratic gutter-dance of the litter of this season; the snapshot of the July bathing beauty torn in half, then torn again, then torn once more; the phone number written in lipstick on a bar-room napkin, crushed, thrown against an alley wall, because it was a number that rang shrill on emptiness, no answer was the code for last summer. But this time, it’ll be different. So walk into it–but soft.
– Larry Thor as Detective Danny Clover
I’m once again in one of my dour noir moods, and you all know what that means–it’s time once again to drown low in a high-ball glass called Broadway. This series should need no introduction to regular listeners; check in to our September 16, 2025 show should you need one. One of the most beautifully written and most gutturally passionate of the old-time radio noir programs, with the role of Danny Clover performed by Larry Thor, foley legends David Light, Ralph Cummings and Ross Murray providing the ambience, and the opening, lonely chords of Rodgers and Hart’s “Manhattan” performed by Robert Stringer and pulling on the heartstrings of those who know how lonely these streets can be.
We’ve got two episodes for you this evening. First off, it’s “The Stacy Parker Murder Case”, originally aired on July 25, 1953, with the opening salvo quoted above to give you a sneak preview of the gut-punch waiting around the bend. After that, it’s “The John Nelson Murder Case”, originally aired on June 6, 1953.
The Jazz Program : Chet Baker - Chet (1959) / It Could Happen To You (1958) / Embracable You (1957/1995)
On May 13, 1988, a body was found on the sidewalk outside of an Amsterdam hotel. A second story room above had coke and heroin, and the toxicology report said the stiff on the sidewalk had the same. This isn’t a setup to a plotline of a noir radio show, sadly. This is a description of Chet Baker’s death.
Praised early in his career as a once-in-a-generation prodigy, Chet starred in movies, had some of the best-selling records of his era, and recorded alongside the best and brightest in the jazz world. Sadly, the sadness in his voice and the wistfulness of his trumpet wasn’t just for the records. Chet struggled with addiction, the law, and his own wandering impulse for his whole career, briefly getting cleaned up in the ’70s and ’80s before his untimely passing.
This won’t be a formal two-parter; I do have a spotlight planned to look at his post-prison collaborative work with Ennio Morricone as well as his other late-career comeback work, but it won’t be for next week. Spiritually, though…this might as well be an informal Part 1, as tonight we’re looking at the early career of one of the most troubled figures in jazz.
First up, it’s 1959’s Chet, released on Riverside Records and featuring easily one of the most stacked lineups of any record we’ve ever played on this show that wasn’t helmed by Art Blakey, Miles Davis, or John Coltrane. Herbie Mann takes flute, Bill Evans takes piano, Pepper Adams and Paul Chambers take the low end on baritone sax and bass, respectively, and Connie Kay and Philly Joe Jones split drum duties. Absolute legends all the way down.
After that, Chet sets the trumpet down for a bit and picks up the mic, as we head back one year to 1958 for It Could Happen To You - Chet Baker Sings, released (with the subtitle) on Riverside Records. Some of his most haunting vocal performances this side of sobriety are on this album, including the absolutely legendary “Everything Happens To Me”, which will be making another appearance on this show later this year, courtesy of a certain noir enthusiast…but that’s for another time.
And, finally, we’ve got 1957’s “Embracable You”, released on the Pacific jazz label in….1995. Yes, you read that correctly; Chet recorded this in ‘57, but it didn’t see the light of day for nearly a half-century. We’ll be hearing it in its entirety this evening.
That about covers this week’s show! Next week, we’re hanging out in the Big Apple, paying tribute to one of New York’s most legendary bridge-goers and heading down to the donut shop in the nine-tenths of a square mile between Fifth Avenue and the East River.
(Can you guess what we’re playing next week from these clues? If you’ve got a guess, 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..