Miles to Go

This episode of Miles to Go looks at jazz and democracy. On this week's show: -Aaron Copland: The Open Prairie (Billy the Kid Ballet Suite) -Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers: Moanin' (Paris 1958) -Miles Davis: Blue in Green (Kind of Blue) -Duke Ellington: Dimenuendo and Crescendo in Blue (Duke Ellington at Newport 1956) -Dave Brubeck Quartet: Why Phyllis Waltz (Time in Outer Space) Thanks also for interview clips from Powerhouse Radio (http://www.powerhouseradio.com/archive/art-blakey.html) and www.radioopensource.org. Oh yeah, and don't forget to visit the New Castle-Henry County Public Library, www.nchcpl.lib.in.us!

-Johann Sebastian Bach: Ciaccona in D, improvised by harpsichordist Skip Sempe based on original notes left by Bach for a violin piece. -Scott Joplin: Maple Leaf Rag (Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz, Vol. 1) - Charles “Pine Top” Smith: “Pinetop's Blues” (www.openmusicarchive.org). - George Lewis & His New Orleans Stompers: Buddy Bolden’s “Don’t Go Way Nobody” (www.openmusicarchive.org). -Paul Whiteman Orchestra: George Gershwin's “Rhapsody in Blue” (George Gershwin, piano) (www.internetarchive.org). Miles to Go is a production of the New Castle Henry County Public Library. Visit the library at www.nchcpl.lib.in.us.

This week Miles to Go presents five jazz recordings to start your jazz collection. There is so much great jazz out there, it was really tough to break it down to five, and depending on taste, these five might not appear on your own list. However, this list is especially meant for jazz beginners, so the choices will tend to be “classics” in most books. I will periodically repeat this exercise, with five different recordings, but the first five are: -Miles Davis: “So What” from Kind of Blue -Miles Davis: “Deception” from Birth of the Cool -Wynton Marsalis: “When You Wish Upon a Star” from Hot House Flowers -Dave Brubeck: “Take Five” from Time Out -John Coltrane: “Countdown” from Giant Steps. One final note about starting a jazz collection: I would recommend not buying individual tracks on I-Tunes or other services. Buy the entire recording, and listen to it in the original track order. Like many classical pieces, the complete effect—the entire story of what the musicians are trying to say—is only fully appreciated when the album is heard in full. Don’t forget to visit the New Castle Henry County Public Libraryat www.nchcpl.lib.in.us

April is Jazz Appreciation Month. I started this series as an educational tool for the New Castle-Henry County Public Library in New Castle, Indiana, to share jazz with people from a fan's perspective. Join me and learn about jazz, the best music in the world! In this first episode we'll ask, "What is Jazz?", and we'll use the music of Nirvana to help. Here's the playlist: -Main Theme: My Heart Stood Still by Bill Evans, from his Trio 64 album -Nirvana: All Apologies (Nirvana) -Herbie Hancock: All Apologies (The New Standard) -Nirvana: Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana) -Paul Anka: Smells Like Teen Spirit (Rock Swings) -Nirvana: Come as You Are (Nirvana) -Charlie Hunter Trio: Come As You Are (Bing, Bing, Bing!) Don't forget to visit the library! www.nchcpl.lib.in.us