Ryan Porter's 'Force For Good'
On his follow up to 2018’s The Optimist, Ryan Porter and his friends the West Coast Get Down are once again swinging for the fences and bring jazz into the spotlight for a whole new generation. Rehearsed and recorded in five-hour bursts in multiple locations, Force For Good is a fearless step forward into the future of American jazz that celebrates America’s greatest art form even as it challenges what came before it. Join us as we discuss Porter’s seemingly limitless talent, the normalization of jazz in the popular culture, and much more.
Episode 376: Heaven & Earth - Kamasi Washington
The otherworldly jazz titan Kamasi Washington and his friends are back with a fittingly epic follow up his 2015 jazz odyssey The Epic, and the results are out of this world.
Episode 313: Harmony Of Difference - Kamasi Washington
Bolstered by the success of Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly and his own, uh, epic 2015 release, The Epic, saxophonist Kamasi Washington, along with the rest of The West Coast Get Down have spent the past few years popularizing jazz to a whole new generation of fans. On Harmony Of Difference, Washington is digging deep and exploring smaller themes like the meaning of life and our place in the universe. Kevin and Marcus K. Dowling (Decades, Capitol Wrestling) sit down to discuss Kamasi's latest masterpiece and consider a few universal truths of their own.
PLUS! Aaron "Ab" Abernathy's new album Dialogue, is a potent statement about the state of America today as seen through Abernathy's unique perspective, and is one of the best, and most important albums of 2017. We've got a listen to one of its highlights, "Generation," which is sure to be a rallying cry for the struggles in this "new" America for years to come.
Episode 288: Miles Mosley
Besides being one of the founding members of the mighty West Coast Get Down, bassist Miles Mosley's resume (Kamasi Washington, Kendrick Lamar, Lauryn Hill...) reads like a who's who of the biggest names in music. Earlier this year we reviewed his stellar debut solo LP, Uprising, and recently we had the chance to sit down with the master innovator before his ground shaking show at Songbyrd Music House right here in Washington, DC. Join us and get delivered some TRUTH about music, life, and existential excellence from one of modern music's most electric voices.
PLUS! Cameron Graves (also a founding member of the West Coast Get Down) is one of the most innovative keyboard players on the modern jazz (or any) scene. On his new album Planetary Prince, he's pulling out all the stops and taking the listener on an intensely cosmic jazz odyssey...that also happens to be one of the best albums of 2017. Tune in, and drop out with the lead off track from this funk and soul infused triumph, "Satania In Our Solar System."