Deep Focus

Every once in a while, an artist comes along who gets so caught up in the sweep of history that the world seems to create itself for the artist's work, rather than the other way around. Dollar Brand came of age as a pianist in South Africa in the late Fifties, just in time for the multiethnic explosion of Johannesburg's Sophiatown. In the wake of the repression that followed the Sharpeville Massacre of 1960, he became a European exile. Within months, his music came to the attention of Duke Ellington who was so moved that he brought about the LP session Duke Ellington presents The Dollar Brand Trio on Frank Sinatra's Reprise label. Brand came to New York, subbed for Duke leading the Ellington Orchestra and attended Juilliard. But experiences with John Coltrane, Don Cherry and the progressive cadre of the Jazz world gave him a new appreciation of his African roots and he incorporated them into his music. He returned to South Africa, converted to Islam and became Abdullah Ibrahim. With these changes came a new style of music that embraced the multi-kulti, freedom-loving culture of his native Cape Town. His song "Mannenberg" became a theme for the anti-apartheid movement. After South African police fired on children during the Soweto Uprising of 1976, Ibrahim publicly came out in support of the African National Congress and subsequently returned to New York. Here he found a community of open-minded musicians and an audience that was supportive of his distinctively contemplative and deeply grooving music. After the Apartheid regime fell and Nelson Mandela became president, Ibrahim returned to Cape Town; In 2022, he is still recording and performing throughout the world. What's that you say? "Gary Lucas? That guy's a rocker! Who is he to talk about Abdullah Ibrahim?" A rocker? Guess what: so is Abdullah Ibrahim! Have you heard Gary's version of Ibrahim's "Bra Joe From Kilimanjaro"? You will have a whole different understanding of who both of these guys are. Besides, Gary Lucas is a true musical gourmand of the New York old school and I love to talk about music with him. I can't wait to hear what he has to say about his fellow iconoclast. As always, the WKCR archives have delivered some rare beauties for us to cherish. This Monday (Sept. 19) on WKCR 89.9FM, WKCR HD-1 and wkcr.org. Next week it goes up on the Deep Focus podcast on your favorite podcasting app or at https://mitchgoldman.podbean.com/ #WKCR #JazzAlternatives #DeepFocus #AbdullahIbrahim #GaryLucas #MitchGoldman #JazzInterview #JazzPodcast Photo credit: Tore Sætre, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Even among his collaborators who were known for going their own way-- Cecil Taylor, Sun Ra and Archie Shepp, to name but a few-- trumpeter Bill Dixon was an iconoclast. When the music was dismissed as being chaotic and structureless, Dixon was an aggressive organizer and conceptualist. Was this a whole new way of arranging sound to convey ideas? Graham Haynes worked with Bill Dixon late in Dixon's life and shares insights with host Mitch Goldman about the man and his music. The WKCR archives reveal recordings that even many of his greatest fans have not heard. Monday night Sept. 5 from 6pm to 9pm NYC time on WKCR 89.9FM, WKCR HD-1 and wkcr.org. The following Monday the show goes up on the Deep Focus podcast, available on your favorite podcasting app or at https://mitchgoldman.podbean.com/ #WKCR #JazzAlternatives #DeepFocus #BillDixon #GrahamHaynes #MitchGoldman #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast Photo credit: fair use.

Even among his collaborators who were known for going their own way-- Cecil Taylor, Sun Ra and Archie Shepp, to name but a few-- trumpeter Bill Dixon was an iconoclast. When the music was dismissed as being chaotic and structureless, Dixon was an aggressive organizer and conceptualist. Was this a whole new way of arranging sound to convey ideas? Graham Haynes worked with Bill Dixon late in Dixon's life and shares insights with host Mitch Goldman about the man and his music. The WKCR archives reveal recordings that even many of his greatest fans have not heard. Monday night Sept. 5 from 6pm to 9pm NYC time on WKCR 89.9FM, WKCR HD-1 and wkcr.org. The following Monday the show goes up on the Deep Focus podcast, available on your favorite podcasting app or at https://mitchgoldman.podbean.com/ #WKCR #JazzAlternatives #DeepFocus #BillDixon #GrahamHaynes #MitchGoldman #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast Photo credit: fair use.

Even among his collaborators who were known for going their own way-- Cecil Taylor, Sun Ra and Archie Shepp, to name but a few-- trumpeter Bill Dixon was an iconoclast. When the music was dismissed as being chaotic and structureless, Dixon was an aggressive organizer and conceptualist. Was this a whole new way of arranging sound to convey ideas? Graham Haynes worked with Bill Dixon late in Dixon's life and shares insights with host Mitch Goldman about the man and his music. The WKCR archives reveal recordings that even many of his greatest fans have not heard. Monday night Sept. 5 from 6pm to 9pm NYC time on WKCR 89.9FM, WKCR HD-1 and wkcr.org. The following Monday the show goes up on the Deep Focus podcast, available on your favorite podcasting app or at https://mitchgoldman.podbean.com/ #WKCR #JazzAlternatives #DeepFocus #BillDixon #GrahamHaynes #MitchGoldman #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast Photo credit: fair use.

Mitch Goldman's Deep Focus is back live on WKCR this Monday (8/8) for the first time since March 2020. Guitarist/sonic architect Ben Tyree joins Mitch in examining rare live recordings of the magnificent guitarist Pat Martino who we lost since our last live broadcast. If Pat Martino had not existed, some brilliant screenwriter would have had to make him up. But who would have ever believed such a crazy story? What other artist ever brought himself to the top of his game (a highwire act if ever there was one), then fell back to earth due to a near-fatal brain seizure (he had no recollection after it of guitar or even of his own family) and then started from the beginning to teach himself again to be "the guitarists' guitarist"? And too bad the movie could never be made because no one else could play with his flawless chops and immediacy. Pat Martino is an enduring model of how to live on the bandstand. This Monday from 6pm to 9pm NYC time on WKCR 89.9FM, WKCR HD-1 and wkcr.org. The following Monday it goes up on the Deep Focus podcast on your favorite podcasting app or at https://mitchgoldman.podbean.com/ #WKCR #JazzAlternatives #DeepFocus #PatMartino #BenTyree #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast #MitchGoldman Photo credit: by Tom Beetz. This file is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 2.0.

Mitch Goldman's Deep Focus is back live on WKCR this Monday (8/8) for the first time since March 2020. Guitarist/sonic architect Ben Tyree joins Mitch in examining rare live recordings of the magnificent guitarist Pat Martino who we lost since our last live broadcast. If Pat Martino had not existed, some brilliant screenwriter would have had to make him up. But who would have ever believed such a crazy story? What other artist ever brought himself to the top of his game (a highwire act if ever there was one), then fell back to earth due to a near-fatal brain malformation (he had no recollection after his surgery of guitar or even of his own family) and then started from the beginning to teach himself again to be "the guitarists' guitarist"? And too bad the movie could never be made because no one else could play with his flawless chops and immediacy. Pat Martino is an enduring model of how to live on the bandstand. This Monday from 6pm to 9pm NYC time on WKCR 89.9FM, WKCR HD-1 and wkcr.org. The following Monday it goes up on the Deep Focus podcast on your favorite podcasting app or at https://mitchgoldman.podbean.com/ #WKCR #JazzAlternatives #DeepFocus #PatMartino #BenTyree #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast #MitchGoldman Photo credit: by Tom Beetz. This file is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 2.0.

Mitch Goldman's Deep Focus is back live on WKCR this Monday (8/8) for the first time since March 2020. Guitarist/sonic architect Ben Tyree joins Mitch in examining rare live recordings of the magnificent guitarist Pat Martino who we lost since our last live broadcast. If Pat Martino had not existed, some brilliant screenwriter would have had to make him up. But who would have ever believed such a crazy story? What other artist ever brought himself to the top of his game (a highwire act if ever there was one), then fell back to earth due to a near-fatal brain seizure (he had no recollection after it of guitar or even of his own family) and then started from the beginning to teach himself again to be "the guitarists' guitarist"? And too bad the movie could never be made because no one else could play with his flawless chops and immediacy. Pat Martino is an enduring model of how to live on the bandstand. This Monday from 6pm to 9pm NYC time on WKCR 89.9FM, WKCR HD-1 and wkcr.org. The following Monday it goes up on the Deep Focus podcast on your favorite podcasting app or at https://mitchgoldman.podbean.com/ #WKCR #JazzAlternatives #DeepFocus #PatMartino #BenTyree #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast #MitchGoldman Photo credit: by Tom Beetz. This file is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 2.0.

In the wake of Ornette Coleman's death in June of 2015, Mitch Goldman presented a series of Deep Focus episodes around his music. This one, with bassist/bandleader Melvin Gibbs, one of the many alumni of Harmolodic High School, focuses on rare recordings from Prime Time in the critical year of 1978. Monday (7/25) from 6pm to 9pm on WKCR 89.9FM, WKCR HD-1 and WKCR.Org. Tuesday morning it goes up on the Deep Focus podcast on your favorite podcasting app or at https://mitchgoldman.podbean.com/ #WKCR #JazzAlternatives #OrnetteColeman #MelvinGibbs #MitchGoldman #DeepFocus #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast Photo credit: Brianmcmillen, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

In the wake of Ornette Coleman's death in June of 2015, Mitch Goldman presented a series of Deep Focus episodes around his music. This one, with bassist/bandleader Melvin Gibbs, one of the many alumni of Harmolodic High School, focuses on rare recordings of Prime Time from the critical year of 1978. Monday (7/25) from 6pm to 9pm on WKCR 89.9FM, WKCR HD-1 and WKCR.Org. Tuesday morning it goes up on the Deep Focus podcast on your favorite podcasting app or at https://mitchgoldman.podbean.com/ #WKCR #JazzAlternatives #OrnetteColeman #MelvinGibbs #MitchGoldman #DeepFocus #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast

In the wake of Ornette Coleman's death in June of 2015, Mitch Goldman presented a series of Deep Focus episodes around his music. This one, with bassist/bandleader Melvin Gibbs, one of the many alumni of Harmolodic High School, focuses on rare recordings from Prime Time in the critical year of 1978. Monday (7/25) from 6pm to 9pm on WKCR 89.9FM, WKCR HD-1 and WKCR.Org. Tuesday morning it goes up on the Deep Focus podcast on your favorite podcasting app or at https://mitchgoldman.podbean.com/ #WKCR #JazzAlternatives #OrnetteColeman #MelvinGibbs #MitchGoldman #DeepFocus #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast

This we love: when a guest on Deep Focus chooses a previous guest as the subject. It's only happened once before but it's happening again on Monday: guitarist/sonic architect Ben Tyree has selected fellow plectrist Vernon Reid. Even though Vernon Reid has reached the heights of recognition as an instrumentalist (for instance, Rolling Stone calling him one of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time), Ben and host Mitch Goldman still think he is wildly underrated and they are going to prove it to you. It's a rebroadcast of a highlight of 2019. It features music originally performed in the WKCR studios as part of Charles Blass's Live Constructions and what seemed at the time to be Vernon Reid's personal salon, Tonic. Deep Focus this Monday from 6pm to 9pm NYC time on WKCR 89.9FM, WKCR HD-1 and wkcr.org. Tuesday morning it goes up on the Deep Focus podcast on your favorite podcasting app or at https://mitchgoldman.podbean.com/ #WKCR #JazzAlternatives #DeepFocus #VernonReid #BenTyree #MitchGoldman #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast Photo credit: Cygaretka real name: Matylda Sęk, CC BY-SA 3.0 , attraverso Wikimedia Commons

This we love: when a guest on Deep Focus chooses a previous guest as the subject. It's only happened once before but it's happening again on Monday: guitarist/sonic architect Ben Tyree has selected fellow plectrist Vernon Reid. Even though Vernon Reid has reached the heights of recognition as an instrumentalist (for instance, Rolling Stone calling him one of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time), Ben and host Mitch Goldman still think he is wildly underrated and they are going to prove it to you. It's a rebroadcast of a highlight of 2019 and it features music originally performed in the WKCR studios as part of Charles Blass's Live Constructions. Deep Focus this Monday from 6pm to 9pm NYC time on WKCR 89.9FM, WKCR HD-1 and wkcr.org. Tuesday morning it goes up on the Deep Focus podcast on your favorite podcasting app or at https://mitchgoldman.podbean.com/ #WKCR #JazzAlternatives #DeepFocus #VernonReid #BenTyree #MitchGoldman #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast Photo credit: CC BY-SA 3.0 , attraverso Wikimedia Commons

This we love: when a guest on Deep Focus chooses a previous guest as the subject. It's only happened once before but it's happening again on Monday: guitarist/sonic architect Ben Tyree has selected fellow plectrist Vernon Reid. Even though Vernon Reid has reached the heights of recognition as an instrumentalist (for instance, Rolling Stone calling him one of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time), Ben and host Mitch Goldman still think he is wildly underrated and they are going to prove it to you. It's a rebroadcast of a highlight of 2019 and it features music originally performed in the WKCR studios as part of Charles Blass's Live Constructions as well as from what seemed at the time to be Vernon Reid's personal salon, Tonic. Deep Focus this Monday from 6pm to 9pm NYC time on WKCR 89.9FM, WKCR HD-1 and wkcr.org. Tuesday morning it goes up on the Deep Focus podcast on your favorite podcasting app or at https://mitchgoldman.podbean.com/ #WKCR #JazzAlternatives #DeepFocus #VernonReid #BenTyree #MitchGoldman #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast Photo credit: Cygaretka real name: Matylda Sęk, CC BY-SA 3.0 , attraverso Wikimedia Commons