WFMU RADIO: Give The Drummer Some 01/24/14

Listener comments!

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8:57am duke:

Let the fun begin.

8:59am Doug Schulkind:

No beach balls are allowed on the field during broadcast.

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8:59am listener james from westwood:

i hear percussion, so i must be in the right place! good friday, doug and all!

9:01am Jeff Golick:

...and the getting on down has begun!

9:01am Doug Schulkind:

Those drums are my "dog whistle" calling all Drummersomers home. Good morning Listener James!

9:01am ndbob:

morning Doug and everyone!

9:01am Doug Schulkind:

How do you get down off a horse, Jeff Golick?

9:02am ga01:

Morning!

9:02am Doug Schulkind:

Thanks for getting up, ndbob!

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9:02am duke:

You get down off a goose.

9:03am Maggie B.:

was that a dog whistle?

9:03am Doug Schulkind:

Howdy ga01, nice to see you here!

Thank you duke!

MAGGIE!

9:05am Jeff Golick:

Beat me to it, @duke.

And by "beat me to it," I mean remembered that punchline, which I had no chance of actually recalling.

I always imagine Doug scrambling around madly searching for vinyl during this music...

9:08am Doug Schulkind:

Jeez, my voice sounds like shit. I'm not sure I'd actually spoken yet this morning till just now. Sorry folks.

9:09am Doug Schulkind:

@Jeff Golick
I was madly scrambling some eggs about 30 minutes ago. Maybe that's what your antennae were picking up.

9:12am Jeff Golick:

What do I know, I'm just a yolkel.

9:12am Doug Schulkind:

Sonny Red (Kyner) ~ alto sax
Blue Mitchell ~ trumpet
"The University of the Piano" Mr Barry Harris ~ piano
Bob Cranshaw ~ bass
Al "Tootie" or "Kuumba" Heath ~ drums

Yusef ~ tenor sax

9:13am Doug Schulkind:

When a drummer has two different nicknames, look the fuck out!

9:18am Goyim in the AM:

Technically speaking, it's a Doug whistle.

9:19am Matt F:

Y'know, this Grant Green track is a recent favorite from a Blue Note V/A comp of funky organ stuff that I've been listening to a bunch at work, but I never looked at the personnel listing and didn't know it was Yusef playing on it. Huzzah!

9:19am Doug Schulkind:

@Goyim in the AM
That got me salivating. Woof!

9:19am Doug Schulkind:

Organist here is (not yet "Brother") Jack McDuff.

9:20am Doug Schulkind:

Cousin Matt!

9:21am Jeff Golick:

My bagel just turned into grits.

9:21am Jeff Golick:

Greasy grits.

9:22am Rich in Washington:

Hola, Senor Doug!

9:23am Doug Schulkind:

Thanks for getting up oily, Rich in Washington!

9:26am holland oats:

drumma peoples friday!

9:27am Rich in Washington:

Well, oily to bed - oily to rise.

9:28am Gary:

Gives new meaning to "rise and shine"

9:28am Doug Schulkind:

I am generally not a huge fan of jazz guitar (I am even less a fan of categories like "Jazz guitar"), but sometimes I am.

Like Omar on The Wire, I prefer my holland oats of the honey nut variety.

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9:29am listener james from westwood:

sweet sweet sounds for copyediting and fact-checking.
::doug heads out for honey nut cheerios in bathrobe, terrified neighbor drops g-pack out window::

9:29am Doug Schulkind:

The audio for this Clarence Wheeler track is crappy. Do NOT adjust your equipment.

Also, on this Clarence Wheeler record, Yusef is performing under his occasional pseudonym "Joe Gentle" (which is an English translation from Arabic of "Yusef Lateef").

9:31am Doug Schulkind:

Greetings Gary!

9:31am Jeff Golick:

[unsuccessfully fighting the urge not to go here]
doug: you might dig the D:O marathon premium this year
[feels dirty]

9:31am Gary:

Joe Gentle suddenly reminded me of this, from my childhood: www.imdb.com...

9:32am Holly in NC:

Morning! Not really here, unfortunately :-( Will try & check in later. Curious about tooth decay.

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9:32am Artie:

Not with it, but with you.

9:33am Doug Schulkind:

All of the programs on GIVE THE DRUMMER RADIO are doing marathon premiums this year. Even Gary Sullivan who only just started his show two weeks. Even Kenzo who just put his show on hiatus until after the marathon. I am wowed by all the GTDR premiums this year.

If you are on WFMU's (snail)mailing list, keep your eyes on the mailbox for a marathon brochure with descriptions.

Well HELLO to not really HOLLY!

And HELLO to really ARTIE!

9:34am Doug Schulkind:

@Gary
I was more of a "Flipper" guy than a "Gentle Ben" guy. And of course, well all just mocked "Lassie."

9:36am still b/p:

Good morning.

Temp. - 2

Remember the kid gross-out song:
Greeeeeeat big greasy grimy golick grits...?

9:38am Doug Schulkind:

Now "Mr. Ed" was high art.

...Yusef is billed as "Joe Gentle" on this Ray Bryant LP, too. The first time that pseudonym was used was on Jimmy Scott's album "The Source," I believe.

Welcome aboard still b/p! Pittsburgh's got you beat by 2 degrees.

9:39am Doug Schulkind:

Coming next:

Epic Mingus joyride alert...Epic Mingus joyride alert...Epic Mingus joyride alert...Epic Mingus joyride alert...Epic Mingus joyride alert...Epic Mingus joyride alert...Epic Mingus joyride alert...Epic Mingus joyride alert...

9:40am Uncle Michael:

You and Yusef been killin' it again this morning, Doug.

9:46am doca:

Hey, Doug and all!

@Gary: not only your blog has been assassinated, but also Monrak Plengthai. I hope there's a way to solve it.

9:47am Doug Schulkind:

I aim to kill us all, Uncle Michael (but not until after your show).

Hello doca! OH NO! Not Monrakplengthai! Fucking horrible.

9:48am Gary:

Yeah, Peter thought maybe it was just maintenance, but I'm worried for him at this point.

9:48am Gary:

PREEBIRD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<-----------[sorry]

9:49am Doug Schulkind:

And of course dear friend Jillem, who has had more Internet blog lives than all of us put together, is down once again. His latest incarnation, Renousha, got wiped earlier this week.

9:50am doca:

@Doug: My reaction was the same.

9:51am doca:

I just thought it: maybe the GTD djs could do a marathon premium in which they all burned a MP3 DVD or something of their favorite blogs (just a suggestion)

9:53am Doug Schulkind:

@doca
I would love to do/receive that kind of premium. Maybe for next year's marathon.

9:57am Doug Schulkind:

Alice Coltrane's half-brother Ernie Farrow on bass here.

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9:58am Brian in UK:

Hey up, Boss. Arf.
New word description. Lassitude - The dogs eaten your slippers again.

9:59am Doug Schulkind:

Hello Slipperless Brian in UK!

10:02am Gary:

Hey Doug, I don't think I've been to Renousha. Is the site itself still up? Would love to take a look, even if the files are no longer accessible, assuming the site itself is still live

10:04am Doug Schulkind:

85-year-old Yusef is playing here with French brothers Lionel and Stéphane Belmondo. Added together, the two brothers' ages were still younger.

10:05am Doug Schulkind:

@Gary
a) I misspelled it. It is Reneshoua

b) Sadly, no. reneshoua.blogspot.com

10:09am Gary:

Argh. Sad. And scary.

10:11am Stanley:

Hi Doug. Beavering away here but listening.

10:12am doca:

This Tribute CD is like those Elliott Carter centenary celebrations, in which Carter himself took part

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10:16am listener james from westwood:

take two more hours of lateef and call me in the morning. better than penicillin or chicken soup.

10:21am Doug Schulkind:

Stanely, re: "Beavering" I am tempted to say "Too much information." But otherwise hello!

10:23am Uncle Michael:

This sure reminds me of "Rockhouse."

10:26am SeanG:

Swingin Hard! Hola all!

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10:27am listener james from westwood:

mark me down as a total fan of faux-radio-broadcast albums. esp. if the cuts are mastered to sound like they're coming from an AM radio.

10:28am Doug Schulkind:

Bienvenu, SeanG!

10:29am Doug Schulkind:

Good ears, Listener James.

I remember fretting for hours over which LP to bring with me to get Yusef's autograph. I have no idea why, out of so so many, I selected this one.

10:30am Uncle Michael:

Because it wasn't a cutout?

10:30am Uncle Michael:

I remember you saying you bought Peaches out of their cutouts.

10:32am Doug Schulkind:

I it's a cutout alright.

10:32am ndbob:

wow - quite an interesting "in the still of the night" there

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10:33am Brian in UK:

Anything Sun Ra can do...............

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10:35am listener james from westwood:

w00t! my ears did not lie! my left big toe lies all the time, but not my ears!

10:39am evan also in nc:

Thanks again for making me a YL convert, Doug. You may have already discussed this, but I'd love to hear your thoughts on why he's not among the names that even non-jazz folks know. Over the last few weeks, I keep wondering why I knew of Miles and Trane for so long before I came across this guy. His catalogue is at least as varied, interesting, and accessible (and swings as elegantly) as theirs. I don’t get it.

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10:45am Brian in UK:

There are only so many can be at the top of the popularity tree, no matter how great their skills some are happy to remain grazing in the sun on the lower slopes.

10:50am evan also in nc:

Well said, Brian. It sure makes me pity the version of myself that exists in an alternate reality in which I missed Doug's first Yusef tribute show. Poor guy!

10:50am Gary:

This is great

10:51am Doug Schulkind:

@evan also in nc
Great to hear from you! Speaking selfishly, I have always had a love/hate relationship with Yusef's relative obscurity, despite his prolific output and amazing longevity. I hated that he wasn't revered on a wider scale and loved (the selfish part) that I had this sort of private knowledge of a unknown genius.

Why he actually wasn't better known/popular is open to discussion. Part of the story is that he just kept changing and thus alienating any particular audience he may have been developing at any given time. In the late '50s, he was being promoted as an "exotic" player because of all the strange instruments. In the '60s, he gained "legitimacy" through playing with Mingus and Cannonball Adderley, and on dozens of straight-ahead records as a sideman. In the '70s, he released all these crazy, soulful, funkified records on Atlantic that turned off all the mainstream folks. In the '80s release two disco-tinged records on CTI (wich I adore) turning off even the Atlantic converts, then he moved to Nigeria and was out of the public ear. When he came back, he was into electronic music and tape manipulations. His music got labeled "New Age" (he even won a grammy in the New Age category) and that turned off many more — even me, I have to say, somewhat. Then, in the '90s, he formed his own record label and starting doing projects that were all over the map. Some worked better than others, but they all sounded like him. By this time, I think those like me who were committed to be along for the ride, were going to love it. Others I think just lost interest/knowledge of what he was doing. Which is sad, because even into his 90s, he was making brilliant, passionate music.

Later in this show I will play the encore from his last ever public performance, in April 2013.

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10:52am duke:

@evan also in nc from what I've read Yusef didn't like the term jazz and he explored many styles of music, including what could be called world music and new age (although it still sounds like jazz)

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10:53am duke:

doug said it better

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10:53am Dead Mime Walking:

Read an interview with Hal Willner recently in which he was talking about being in the room for this recording. I believe he said Dorn copped that "Watson, the needle" sample from an old Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes show. One of my absolute favorite Yusef tracks, Doug.

11:00am Doug Schulkind:

@Dead Mime Walking
Willner was Joel Dorn's assistant back then, yes? Hal once told me a story about Yusef. Hal was the producer of the short-lived NBC show "Night Music" that came on after Saturday Night Live. The show was famous for bringing on a freeform array of musical guests. They would each have their song or two, then at the end of the show, they would all play together.

Well Hal had booked Yusef Lateef for one of these shows. Yusef came down to New York and went through the various rehearsals and such, but when he found out the show was sponsored by Michelob and that the Michelob logo was all over the show, he backed out and went back to Massachusetts.

As a devout Muslim (of the Ahmadiyya sect), he had forsworn alcohol. At some point in the 1980s he stopped performing in clubs that served alcohol and this was just being consistent with those beliefs.

I respect his decision, but DAMMMIT!!! if Yusef had popped up on that show I would've freaked out so good.

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11:00am Brian in UK:

I can never get out my head that it is Cannonball not Nat 'Cannibal' Adderley. From a quintet to a quartet.

11:02am evan also in nc:

Thanks for the help, Doug. I guess he really did venture farther afield than most folks, even the ones considered pioneers.

11:11am Doug Schulkind:

Well, Brian in UK, at least Cannibal didn't eat his own brother Nat who was in the band.

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11:14am Brian in UK:

Ooops. Thanks for the subtle correction, Doug.

11:18am Gary:

Sweet suite

11:19am northguineahills:

Ahh, Kurt played "In a Little Spanish Town" the Friday after Yusef passed.

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11:19am Dead Mime Walking:

@Doug Damn! That show sounds mind popping though. Who else performed on it? And yes, Willner was Dorn's assistant at that time.

11:21am Jeff Golick:

@DMW
www.youtube.com...

11:22am doca:

Cannbibal Adderley would be a great name for a B movie character

11:26am Uncle Michael:

my mid morning miso mug makes me mellow

11:27am Doug Schulkind:

@DMW
I've been Googling to find a list of artists. Here is a short one: Charlie Haden's Liberation Orchestra, Screaming Jay Hawkins, Carla Bley, Bootsy Collins, Pharoah Sanders, Leonard Cohen, Henry Rollins, Al Green, Sun Ra, and Mary Margaret O'Hara, Diamanda Galás... I believe Sonic Youth appeared on the show and many other rock acts as well. The end performance of each show had all these disparate artists playing a tune together. Amazing.

The one drawback of the show was that the host was David Sanborn. That wouldn't have horrible by itself, but he had to play on the show every week and was always a prominent part of the ending scene. It seemed foolish to take up precious time with David Sanborn when there were all those amazing artists. Just saying.

11:28am Doug Schulkind:

Speaking of Uncle Michael:

GIVE THE DRUMMER RADIO PROGRAMMING ALERT...
Uncle Michael is up next here on the Drummer Stream with Hinky Dinky Time live from Topeka, Kansas. You can join the playlist page conversation for his show here: wfmu.org...

11:30am Uncle Michael:

Thank you, Doug.

11:33am Uncle Michael:

Funny Doug should mention Hook 'n Sling...

11:33am Goyim in the AM:

Was a regular viewer of Night Music, and was very often pleasantly surprised by the quality of Sanborn's playing -- especially when he was playing out. He played a fine solo, if I recall correctly, with Sonic Youth on "I Wanna Be Your Dog".

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11:34am listener james from westwood:

QB schulkind calling an audible! "omaha omaha!"

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11:35am Dead Mime Walking:

man oh man this show seems perfect for a collector's edition dvd rerelease

11:35am Goyim in the AM:

I think there are unauthorized DVDs out there...

11:36am Gary:

Very lovely track

11:36am evan also in nc:

this track is my vote for most perfect title/song pairing. that's exactly what a plum blossom sounds like!

11:37am earrie:

Just amazed by the range of pieces Lateef played on. Fluid.
Really appreciate these shows, Doug.

11:38am Doug Schulkind:

@Goyim in the AM
There was absolutely nothing "wrong" with Sanborn. I am introducing my own biases that need to be softened. At the time, I just kept thinking "move him outta the way and let me see the guests."

@LJFW
Bless you.

@Dead Mime Walking
Maybe I should re-record the show again with an less hoarse host.

Plum Blossom comes from "Eastern Sounds" which was release on Prestige Records' exotica and sountracks sublabel. On this record, Yusef alto performs the themes from "Spartacus" and "The Robe."

And this is Ernie Farrow on the rebat!

11:39am Doug Schulkind:

@earrie
Your comment is heartfilling.

11:40am Doug Schulkind:

You'd think by now the auto-correct on WFMU's playlist entry system would stop telling me to fix "Yusef" and "Lateef."

11:44am Doug Schulkind:

If you were to ask me what live concert, if any in human history, I could have attended, it would probably be #1 the famous Massey Hall Concert (Bird, Diz, Max, Powell, Mingus) in 1952 and #2 Yusef live at the Keystone Korner in San Francisco, 1974. The live dates that provided the tracks for this record, "10 Years Hence."

11:45am Jeff Golick:

Yusef had a heavy 1984 thing going on, it seems?

11:45am Doug Schulkind:

What about you, dear listeners?

11:45am Uncle Michael:

I'm going to have to find out if Uncle Jim was at *both* of your dream concerts.

11:46am Jeff Golick:

Ornette at the Five Spot.
Monk at the Five Spot.
Dolphy/Booker at the Five Spot.

11:46am Jeff Golick:

Trane at Birdland.
Trane at Vanguard.
Trane at Birdland Again.

11:47am Jeff Golick:

Miles in Japan (60s ed.)
Miles in Japan (70s ed.)

11:47am Doug Schulkind:

That's right, UM! I forgot you told me he was at Massey Hall.

@Jeff Golick
You've always had a five-track mind.

11:47am Uncle Michael:

Christmas at the Patty...

11:48am Jeff Golick:

Dylan's '65 UK tour...

11:49am Uncle Michael:

And he's lived in S.F since Oberlin...and '74 was around the time he was producing the Sun Ra film.

11:50am Jeff Golick:

(That Rite of Spring riot must've been a fun scene, too.)

11:50am Doug Schulkind:

I often say that this record, "10 Years Hence," is my favorite Yusef record. Maybe it's just because it's a 2-record set so you get MORE. Quantity is quality.

But also, because it's a live performance and the musician/audience interaction is thrilling to me. Very few live recordings capture the audience reaction/participation as organically and genuinely as this record does. Produced by Joel Dorn...

11:50am earrie:

My curiosity would drive me in a pile of different directions...

11:51am Doug Schulkind:

Then I think, "The Blue Yusef Lateef" is my fave.

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11:52am listener james from westwood:

must sally forth for lunch. a treasure of a show, doug; looking forward to catching a good chunk of hinky dinky time upon my return!

11:52am Doug Schulkind:

Uncle Michael, we should get Uncle Jim to do a show on the stream.

11:54am Doug Schulkind:

What human emotion ISN'T expressed in this tenor solo?

11:54am Uncle Michael:

I could ask him to suggest a guest playlist.

11:54am evan also in nc:

I'd like to have been there when the woman started dancing to that crazy Paul Gonsalves solo at Newport.

11:54am Jeff Golick:

Has there ever been a box set devoted to Lateef, Doug? Along the lines of the Ornette Atlantic box?

11:55am Uncle Michael:

Trouble is, it would wind up being more D:O than HDT.

11:56am Jeff Golick:

Uh, more D:O is fine w me!

11:57am Uncle Michael:

I know. :)

🥁

11:57am Brian in UK:

Sometimes we favour what players represent as much as what they play. Does that make sense?
Thanks for letting us be indulged, Doug.

11:57am Uncle Michael:

Though, he is the guy that originally got me playing stuff like Blossom Dearie and Slim and Slam on my shows , as well...

11:58am northguineahills:

Awesome Doug. Only one more week! *sniff*

11:58am ndbob:

excellent show Doug!

11:58am Gary:

Thank you for the fabulous show, Doug!

11:58am earrie:

This concert poster for The Supremes at the Lincoln Center in 1965 made it an historical-wonder for me. ecx.images-amazon.com...

11:58am Uncle Michael:

Thanks Doug...see you all in the next room...
wfmu.org...

11:59am Doug Schulkind:

@evan also in nc
My god yes. And speaking of Newport, Anita O'Day's heroin-driven greatness on stage (though that was captured on film, so that covered it.)

@Jeff Golick
When Joel Dorn had his own label (called 32 Records) for awhile in the late '90s/early '00s he was putting out reissues of LPs he had produced for Atlantic (and that Atlantic had no interest in). He put out a four-CD set called "The Man With the Big Front Yard." In those liner notes, he called me the world's authority on Yusef Lateef records. Jesus, that still makes me tremble.

11:59am ndbob:

for a live concert I'd pick the first performance of Beethoven's ninth

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11:59am duke:

Thanks doug

12:00pm evan also in nc:

Thanks again, Doug. This has been such a treat! Now I've got to go track down that Keystone record.

12:01pm Jeff Golick:

A beaut, Doug. Thanks so much, and feel better!

12:02pm Alex In Illinois:

See you at Hinky Dinky . . .

12:02pm Doug Schulkind:

Thank you everyone. I wouldn't be doing this without you.

Theme Music: Sarah Webster Fabio	Jujus: Alchemy of the Blues	Jujus: Alchemy of the Blues (Folkways 1976)
ECD	In Tempo	Major Force: The Original Art-Form (Mo' Wax 1990)

Sonny Red	'Teef	Breezing (Jazzland 1960)
Grant Green	Blues in Maude's Flat	Grantstand (Blue Note 1961)
Clarence Wheeler & the Enforcers	Mighty Burner	The Love I've Been Looking For (Atlantic 1971)
Ray Bryant	Stick With It	MCMLXX (Atlantic 1970)

Charles Mingus	Half-Mast Inhibition	Pre Bird (Mercury 1960)
Yusef Lateef	Love Dance	Prayer to the East (Savoy 1957)
Yusef Lateef & Belmondo	Suite Overtime: Part 2 - Metaphor	Influence (B Flat 2005)

Yusef Lateef	Eboness	The Diverse Yusef Lateef (Atlantic 1969)
Yusef Lateef	From Within	The Three Faces of Yusef Lateef (Riverside 1962)
Yusef Lateef	In a Little Spanish Town ('Twas on a Night Like This)	The Doctor Is in...And Out (Atlantic 1976)
Yusef Lateef	Plaque Party and Compassion Violation (Parlando)	Cantata (YAL 1995)
Yusef Lateef	Palette	A Gift (YAL 2000)
Yusef Lateef	Belle Isle	Yusef Lateef's Detroit (Atlantic 1969)

Yusef Lateef	The Plum Blossom	Eastern Sounds (Moodsville 1961)
Yusef Lateef	But Beautiful	10 Years Hence (Atlantic 1974)
Yusef Lateef	Like It Is	The Blue Yusef Lateef (Atlantic 1968)

	January 24, 2014 To Bro. Yusef A. Lateef, in peace: Program Four
Add or read comments

Yusef Lateef	Second Movement: Transmutation	The African-American Epic Suite (Act 1993)
Yusef Lateef	1984	1984 (Impulse! 1965)

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