#0064: This Week On The Air–June 23, 2026

Hello again! It’s time once again for yours truly to hit the airwaves on your favorite radio station, datafruits.fm. Let’s take a look at what we’ve got on the docket this evening…

Talkie Time: 21st Precinct - The Fall / The Certified 600

It’s been almost an entire calendar year since the last time we checked in on ol Grampa–er, I mean, Captain Kennelly, and it’s about high time to head back to the “nine-tenths of a square mile between Fifth Avenue and the East River” and check in on how the old man’s doing. Gotta stop in at the hospice and check in from time to time. You understand how it is.

You can always click on that link in the previous paragraph and check out my writeup from June 17, 2025 to see what the 21st Precinct is all about; go on ahead, I’ll wait here. But if not, the basic gist is this: Mercury Theater alum and star of Citizen Kane (yes, that Citizen Kane) Everett Sloane plays the old fatherly voice in charge of NYC’s 21st Precinct, telling you stories from the crazy things that go down on the beat. All stories are (supposedly, anyways; personally, I wouldn’t trust the cops for anything but exaggeration) ripped direct from real life accounts from cases worked by members of the NYC Patrolemen’s Benevolent Association.

We’ve got two episodes for you this evening. First off, it’s “Case Of The Fall”, originally aired on October 27, 1953–not to be confused, of course, with the version that aired on June 12, 1956, which stars Les Damon as “Captain Keouge”, a stand-in for Captain Kennelly after Sloane left the program¹. After that, it’s “The Certified 600”, originally aired on September 8, 1953.

The Jazz Program : Sonny Rollins - Work Time (1955) / The Bridge (1962) / This Is What I Do (2000)

One of the best saxophonists ever to grace this planet’s surface passed away last month. Sonny Rollins – Harlem staple, tenor sax legend, and noted Williamsburg Bridge enthusiast – was 95 years old when he left us on May 25th. He left behind one of the most colossal bodies of work in the history of jazz, and we’ll be taking a look through a half-century of his life through three records this evening.

We’re starting in the ’50s, with Work Time, released in 1955 on Prestige Records and featuring Max Roach on drums, George Morrow on bass, and Ray Bryant on the piano.

After that, we’re heading to the 1960s, after his first sabbatical. He took a few of these throughout his career; times in which he stepped away from the music industry to turn inward, playing his sax on the Williamsburg Bridge for hours upon hours on end and meditating on where he wanted to be and where he wanted to go next, only to return stronger and more focused than ever. We’ll be hearing that focus on our second record, The Bridge, released in 1962 on RCA Victor.

And finally, we’re sprinting forward to the new millenium, with the Grammy-award-winning 2000 This Is What I Do, released in 2000 on Milestone Records. He didn’t stop there, mind you; between several years of dedicated touring and a few records here and there, the Colossus never truly stopped.

There’s a dedicated effort to rename the Williamsburg Bridge after him as of late, and I genuinely hope they succeed. With his passing, both the jazz world and the New York City streets seem a lot less lively. Come tune in and help us remember one of the biggest names in jazz.

And that about covers this week’s show!

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..

Footnotes…