Jazz Bastard Podcast
Music
About
Two strikingly handsome middle-aged men get together every other week to discuss jazz in depth. Irreverent, irascible, engaged.
Episodes
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 340 - What Shall We Play from Record Store Day?
On Jazz Bastard Podcast 340, hosts Pat and Mike discuss four Record Store Day releases, considering which albums listeners might want to add to their collections. They mention insights about the Jazz Showcase piano tuner and discuss music…
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 339 - More Sugar on the Frosted Flakes, Please
Jazz Bastard Podcast 339 reviews four 2025 releases: Domo Branch’s HAND OF GIFTS, Raphael Pannier’s LIVE IN ST. LOUIS, SENEGAL, Hiromi’s OUT THERE, and Emma Jean Thackray’s WEIRDO, exploring varied stylistic fusions and themes.
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 338 - Take the Smoove with the Rough
In episode 338 of the Jazz Bastard Podcast, the hosts discuss rare vocal group albums alongside instrumental releases. Featured artists include Mario Pavone, Andy Bey and the Bey Sisters, Warren Wolf, and Dave Holland with Norma Winstone.
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 337 - From New Age to Nuclear
Jazz Bastard Podcast episode 337 covers a broad range of improvised music, including spiritual jazz, a contemporary quartet, and avant-garde collaborations. The episode also discusses pop culture observations and a live performance by Joel…
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 336 - Four Quartets
Jazz Bastard Podcast episode 336 compares two sets of quartets, including albums by Branford Marsalis, Keith Jarrett, and Nels Cline. The hosts also explore Beach Boy bootlegs.
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 335 - The Final Four
It's too early for March Madness, but just in time for the bastards to wrap up their survey of the New York Times' Top Ten list of 2025 jazz albums. Some of the choices give the boys mixed emotions and some barely any emotions at all, but…
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 334 - Two from the Times, Two From the Bastards
It's episode two of three covering the New York Times list of Top Ten 2025 jazz albums, and since we generally cover 4 albums a show, and the Times only picked 10 for their top 10 list, we add a couple of our own picks to this "middle" epi…
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 333 - NYT Top 10 for 2025, Part 1
It's sort of nearly a yearly ritual - Pat and Mike pick an outlet's top 10 list for the previous year, work their way through it, and pass FINAL JUDGMENT. Because of course these lists are anything but subjective. Mike picked the list this…
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 332 - Let There Be Lightsey
Welcome to 2026! As what will certainly prove to be an interesting year kicks off, the boys dive deeply into little-discussed keyboard master Kirk Lightsey's discography, checking out a couple of leader dates, an unusual duet exploration o…
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 331 - Taming the Rivers?
For our last podcast of 2025 we delve into two very different big band projects, check out a recording by a brass band formed to cheer a guy up on his half-centenary, and dig through crates to pull out a harmolodic gem from the early eight…
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 330 - Revenge of the Son of Holiday Jazz: Koz and Effect
It's that time of year again, when Mike insists on a holiday music themed episode and Pat is too worried about upsetting Santa to say "no." This year's bag o' tunes has very little coal in it, unless you are allergic to smooth jazz. Mike,…
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 329 - Twin Talk Interview
Join us for a very special interview with Chicago jazz trio Twin Talk, who have made it over a decade without swapping any of the three - count 'em - musicians comprising this fascinating group. Two of those musicians - saxophonist Dustin…
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 328 - Tyreek! So Chic!
There's a historical selection this podcast, with an alto player whose mid-eighties comeback comprised one of the great jazz narratives. But the rest of the episode is devoted to new releases, with a familiar twangin' guitarist, and two ne…
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 327 - The Long Shadow of Steely Dan
It's been a hot minute since the boys did a "pop" episode, but given this very special installment is devoted to jazz-rock gods of the seventies Steely Dan, maybe this doesn't count. The Dan's somewhat controversial 1980's sign-off gets a…
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 326 - Return of the Muse
Some indie labels find a happy home in the afterlife - think Prestige, Contemporary, et al who thrived for years under the Fantasy banner and are now sheltered under the wing of Craft Records. Others aren't so lucky. Super-producer and Rec…
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 325 - Ya Can't Spell "Jazz" Without "Jason"
"High Concept" is sometime used as a derogatory term for movies that are more about a saleable idea than a good script. This installment of the podcast is definitely "high concept," but we can assure you, it still isn't particularly saleab…
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 324 - Vinyl Old, New, and Reissued
Yep, it's one of those "what did Pat find at the record store?" episodes, with an emphasis on lesser known artists (unless the guitarist from Tortoise is a secret superstar). It's a testament to jazz's recent love affair with vinyl that th…
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 323 - Drum Machines and Griot Songs
This fortnight, Mike's cued up four newish releases with very different approaches to modern jazz. We have a couple piano trios (one of which calls in reinforcements from time to time), a duet with some space-age percussion, and a gigantic…
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 322 - (Mostly) Not the Usual Suspects
The Bastards delve into the fecund fields of fusion once again, focusing on that most electric of decades, the 1970s. This excursion sticks mostly to lesser known stars in the fusion firmament, but there's one exception to this rule. That…
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 321 - New from Known
For this particular fortnightly excursion, Mike suggested we look at four newish recordings by artists we've covered - or at least listened to a bit - before. The fresh from the familiar as it were. The results leave Pat speechless. Gonzal…
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 320 - Out from the Vaults
The most recent Record Store Day episode is barely in the rear-view, but the boys decide to take on four more vault finds dug up by jazz detective Zev Feldman. Which ones are keepers and which ones get the dreaded label "redundant" and an…
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 319- Vocals? Sorta
From time to time this august podcast discusses the jazz vocal arts and opinions are expressed. Heavy hitters like Sinatra, Fitzgerald, Vaughan, and Torme have all been inspected. For this episode, the boys venture to the odder corners of…
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 318 - Mike on Brad
This fortnight's 'cast looks at four recent albums by up and coming artists - from the fairly well known to the outright obscure. But hard-core listeners really want to wait for the so-called "pop matters" section, when we finally get to h…
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 317 - From the Vinyl Vault
It's a well-known fact that Pat buys too much vinyl - just ask his long-suffering spouse. But at least some of it comes in handy 'round about podcast time. In this episode, our fearless two-some examine four vinyl finds, mostly by lesser k…
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 316 - Matt Merewitz Interview
Mike's out, so Pat gets to interview publicist turned manager Matt Merewitz solo. Listen for lots of insights, opinions, and tales from the biz by Matt, who can be followed at https://thefullyalteredone.substack.com/.
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 315 - Is It RSD Again Already?
RSD - or Record Store Day for you vinyl virgins- comes but once, er, or twice a year, and while the main focus is who will win the privilege to buy a color-vinyl edition of the Wicked soundtrack, there's a little bit of jazz sprinkled in t…
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 314 - Melody, Please
The boys ponder a batch of 2025 releases on the search for memorable, hummable melodies. These being 2025 jazz albums, you can guess the results of the search. Still, much to enjoy is these very diverse selections. Sean Imboden Large Ensem…
- Jazz Bastard 313 - Have You Met Mr. Jones?
At Mike's suggestion, today's podcast explores the truncated career of hard bop trumpeter Carmell Jones. We listen to four albums featuring the little-known musician and talk about the arc of his career, his work with running buddy Harold…
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 312 - 2013 Says "Hi"
The venerable bastards have made it to their twelfth anniversary, so time to dress us in silk and pearls (if you weren't already in your fantasies). While you attempt to scrub that hideous image from your minds, we'll mention that today's…
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 311 - Nichols for Your Thoughts
Normal service resumes with a podcast devoted to tributes celebrating the still-obscure pianist and composer Herbie Nichols. Nichols spent his truncated career in the shadow of Thelonious Monk (a big guy who cast a big shadow). He released…
- "Classic Episode" - Jazz Bastard Podcast 35 - Trio Jungle
As we noted so succinctly way back in 2014: Some trios play nicer together than others - Pat and Mike investigate. Duke Ellington – MONEY JUNGLE; Terri Lyne Carrington – MONEY JUNGLE PROVOCATIVE IN BLUE; Jean-Michel Pilc – WELCOME HOME; He…
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 310 - NYT Top 10 Part Fin
All lists come to an end at some point (often after ten entries) and this third and final podcast on the New York Times' selections for best jazz albums of 2024 considers the final two entries plus two more 2024 releases which the boys - s…
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 309 - NYT Top 10 Part 2
The boys are back to take on four more entries from the New York Times' Best of 2024 list and Mike especially is happy with these selections. "Spiritual Jazz" leaves a imprint on several of this episode's albums and bastard number 2 loves…
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 308 - NYT Top 10 Part 1
At the end of the year, media outlets make lots of lists, so many lists that there's even one for best jazz recordings. At the start of the following year, the bastards pick one lucky list to listen through and question every step of the w…
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 307 - Live from the Archive
There's a new Record Store Day ritual in the jazz world - archival live releases from one of the many labels Zev Feldman has a hand in running. This year's two RSD days saw several releases on labels like Resonance, Reel to Real, and Eleme…
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 306 - Way Down Low
To start off what is certain to be an interesting new year, Mike and Pat look at leader dates by the deepest of the regularly-used saxophones, the baritone. All four leaders are specialists on the unwieldly horn, though some do dabble in d…
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 305 - Christmas Hedgehogs and Foxes
Every musician, it seems, does a holiday album sooner or later, and visions of residuals dance in their heads. But given the flood of releases each year, it's hard to stand out, and the canon of Christmas favorites is already pretty crowde…
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 304 - Waiting and Waiting for Gardot
A couple releases exploring older repertorie, a out-ish excursion that goes all over the map, a young woman singer with our time on her hands. Yep, it's a classic mixed bag courtesy of eclectic Mike, with the bastardy mostly courtesy of Pa…
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 303 - Jazzed in the Mouse House
Jazz has gone some pretty wacky places - Russia, South America, the White House - but believe it or not, sometimes it even invades that princess-industrial complex we know and love as the Disney corporation. Listen and learn as Mike leads…
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 302 - Big Feet and Nu Blues
Halloween's in the rear view mirror but the boys still have a mixed bag of treats on offer, including an album whose cover boasts the best costumes of the year. A piano playing Duke makes his appearance on the 'cast for the first time in r…
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 301 - Revenge of the Son of Rule of 3
Podcast 301 picks up where 300 left off, looking at albums from 1993, 2003, 2013, and 2023. Jazz trends get a little harder to pick out once the new millennium begins, but at least our 1990's selection is REALLY 1990's, right down to the h…
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 300 - Rule of Three
Three hundred podcasts is the kind of milestone worth of an echo chamber at the very least and a themed episode at the very, er, leaster. Pat had the bright idea (he thought) of reviewing albums from 1953, 1963. 1973, and 1983. Mike explai…
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 299 - Wake Up! It's Twenty-Twenty Four
Back in the saddle again, the boys look at three recent releases and one cute little two-year-old. Two of the recordings are lead by bassists and two by drummers, so you could say all four were led by a member of the rhythm section - if yo…
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 298 - The Boys are Back! (On the Same Continent)
Never mind what your podcast feed may seem to imply - the bastards haven't recorded a podcast together in two months, and this one got completed by the skin of their teeth. In this episode we look at two alto sax players from two very diff…
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 297 - My Summer with Sonny - The Podcast
Summer's winding down. How'd you spend yours? Pat spent his immersed in the music and life of Sonny Rollins, one of the greatest improvisers to grace the story of jazz. In this podcast, which is kind of an upcoming article in summary (and…
- Classic Episode Flashback - Jazz Bastard Podcast 81 - The Saxophone Solo in Pop
Those crazy hazy lazy days of summer got us in their thrall and scheduling's been tough, so please enjoy this flashback to episode 81: Mike and Pat discuss Walk on the Wild Side; Shine On You Crazy Diamond; Aja; Waiting on a Friend; Baker…
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 296 - Author James Kaplan Discusses 3 Shades of Blue
What's the most famous jazz album in the world? Don't say Duke Ellington Plays Mary Poppins unless you have a really good excuse, like you work for Disney. And please don't name some album by Kenny G even if that's sort of true. No, of cou…
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 295 - Curation Vs. Creation
A lot of listeners worry that jazz has ossified in the last, say, fifty years or so, but Mike decides to do something about it, terminological speaking, anyway. So this fortnight's episode explores the difference between curating a traditi…
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 294 - NRG not NPR
Jazz releases these days fight a game of inches. Almost everybody releasing music in the genre is technically accomplished and the rules have been laid out so long that almost everybody knows how to meet the listener's basic expectations.…
- Jazz Bastard Podcast 293 - From Bach to Calloway to the Woods at Night
The boys warned you things were going to get eclectic, but they may have outdone themselves this time, as the selections run the gamut from a jazz trio reimagining Bach preludes to a cutting edge big band arranger/composer tipping the cap…