Hey, y’all! Hope you’re doing well this evening. I’m finally over that massive cold I had last week, and we’re back on the air this week with some more fantastic programming! Let’s see what we’ve got on the schedule this evening…
Talkie Time: It’s Alka-Seltzer Time!
this week on "horrendous atrocities created by advertising executives": Speedy, the indigestion sleep paralysis demon
We’ve heard a lot of old-time radio shows that talk about drugs on this program. Cocaine, marijuana, opium…hell, you’ve heard Planet Man. You can’t look me in the eyes and tell me Dantro’s on the fuckin’ wagon.
But, for the first time since I’ve started this program, I’m pleased to announce that tonight’s program was (at least at the time) sponsored by drugs1. Not like, any of the fun ones. Just Alka-Seltzer. So I hope you’re a big fan of indigestion relief, cuz we’re hittin’ that shit hard tonight, baybeee.
Dopey bits aside, Curt Massey and Martha Tilton take the mics for this variety program (which was originally named after them, rather than after the sponsor), and Ford Pearson plays announcer.
The shows don’t have any official titles, and I sadly don’t have original air dates like I normally do, but CD compilations from various tape-dubbers will often refer to the shows by the name of the first song rendition performed, and that’s how we’ll refer to them here. We’ll be listening to the first four episodes in order for this outing, so that’s “On The Sunny Side Of The Street”, “Choo Choo Train”, “Moonlight”, and “When Love Goes Wrong”, respectively.
The Jazz Program : Grant Green - Green Street (1961) / Green Is Beautiful (1970) / Shades Of Green (1972)
Very few jazz guitarists compare to the sharp tone of my home city’s own Grant Green. Born in STL in 1935, Green played in local bands around town until 1959, when he was discovered and picked up by Lou Donaldson and brought to NYC, eventually ending up as Blue Note’s house guitarist and eventually a bandleader in his own right.
If you want something more in-depth than a paraphrasing of his Wikipedia biography, however, you’re in luck; I’ve got some fantastic jazz writing to put you up on. Dr. Wayne Goins did a very in-depth write-up and deep dive on Green’s career for Positive Feedback magazine, and instead of making you skim me blatherin’ on I’m going to point you on over there to something worth reading. Go read Part 1, and Part 2 here. There isn’t a Part 3 that I could find at time of writing, but even unfinished, the good doctor’s got you covered with the clever, introspective, and incredibly informative kind of deep dive I wish I could write.
Speaking of me blathering on, however; we’re sticking with the vaguely-drugs theme we have goin on this evening2, and we’re keeping it green–not as in “jazz cabbage”, regretably, but as in “Green plays Green”. We’ve got 1961’s Green Street, Blue Note release #4071, followed by Green Is Beautiful, released as Blue Note #84342 in 1970. Finally, we’ve got Shades Of Green released in 1972, Blue Note #84413.
aaaaaand that about covers this week’s show! Next week, we’ll be taking a look at some of the best records I’ve picked up at local brick-and-mortars this month, as well as “some of the worst acting and writing of any detective show to reach the airwaves”.
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…
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Real loose technicality if you squint. I guess there’s been fifteen million programs sponsored by cigarette companies, and if you want something clearly created due to the side effects of the cannabis plant Casey and the gang’ll probably be back on the show at some point. But yeah, we’ve yet to have a show SPONSORED BY OPIUM or something. ↩︎
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And no, Grant Green to my knowledge was not a drugs enjoyer. I write the little “guess what we’re playing next week” riddles in part to cue future me in to where my head is at, but after a week and a half in the Dextromethorphan Vortex with minimal oxygen getting to my brain thanks to a head cold the size of a horse I’m honestly not sure what my original plan when I wrote that line about “jazz cabbage”. So yeah, I kinda had to improvise this week’s Jazz Program with a bad pun about smokin’ the leafy greens.
Hell, I don’t think there’s even a jazz record or jazz-adjacent band called “jazz cabbage”. There’s a third-wave Midwest emo band, but that’s the closest I got. Surprisingly, I wasn’t even sick yet on the 8th when I hinted at this week’s show, so I can’t even blame Nyquil for this. ↩︎