September 3, 2010

Our busiest week ever.

Brian Hurst is back to present Extra Inches: The Music of…Steely Dan & Donald Fagen. Covering music from Steely Dan’s debut in 1972 through to Donald Fagen’s last solo project back in 2006, twelve tracks are on offer here which prove beyond all doubt both the durability and versatility of Messrs. Becker and Fagen. Here’s the link to aural happiness this Thursday: http://tinyurl.com/2vmlvpz

Phil Driver returns with his weekly Soul Unsigned extravaganza. Fourteen tracks featuring the hottest new music on the independent Soul scene. Will Downing’s here with a track from his forthcoming new album, and so is Dorian Wright, Matt Bianco and Richard Earnshaw, along with a host of other great artists. Here’s the link in all it’s glory: http://tinyurl.com/38bm4nf

We’ve never been busier. Over 4,000 hours of our programming is being downloaded every week and month-on-month this figure continues to rise. We’ve much planned for the rest of the year and we have a feeling that those that have been with us since the early days will be very pleased with developments over the next four months. You’ll see a little further below, mention of Talking Jazz with Ben Sidran which we hope you’ll agree, is our very first ‘giant step’. There’s many more to be taken.

Continuum – A Journey Through Jazz returns with Episode 20 ‘Re: New Orleans’. Five years ago this week, one of America’s greatest cities was 80% underwater. This show is a remembrance of what happened, a celebration of the New Orlean’s rebirth, and a call for continued renewal in the face of oil and all other odds. The show, which features 14 resonant tracks, is like the city of New Orleans itself – full of sorrow and joy, reflection and celebration in the face of death itself. There is a time to mourn and a time to dance – and this show does both…with a big ‘ol dose of hope. http://tinyurl.com/3axt2dt

Saturday night saw Brian Hurst return to present the fastest growing radio show in Atlanta: The Hurst Selection – London to Atlanta 6:00-9:00 p.m. EDT on WCLK 91.9 FM /wclk.com. Each week seems to set new levels of response and contributions from both the good people of Atlanta and on-line listeners as well. It leads us to believe, not unreasonably, that basically all people want to hear is good music. If only other stations understood this very basic of principles. Our advice? Trust the DJ. The ‘Listen Again’ feature is now enabled and all you have to do is look under Previously on WCLK or easier still, click on this link to make Thursday an even better day. http://tinyurl.com/2uezp5o

The Live Tropical Fish head to shore with their latest look into the freshly filled Aquarium. Sailing solo this time round is Captain Lurpak who’s mixed a wonderful combination of Jazz-Funk, Jazz-Fusion and Spiritual Jazz flavours into a delicious two-hour blend. The full track listing is below and the link is very helpfully, right here as well. You know what to do next! http://tinyurl.com/35gak4c

What a way to celebrate the 200th podcast. Following on from our first installment, we are proud to present Extra Inches: The Music of Stevie Wonder Vol.2. This time round it’s Jamie Davis who has kindly taken time out from his busy touring schedule to select tracks by the great man, that have inspired him over the last forty years. His thoughts on Steveland Morris? “There is no other musician that has created so many rhythmic passages that dominates the music scene today.” How could we disagree? Jamie’s also added some notes to each song, giving you his personal view on this thirteen track, musical showcase. You’ll find the track listing below and the link here takes you to aural heaven http://tinyurl.com/337gz2l

Back in the mid-80’s on National Public Radio (NPR) in America, a show ran called Sidran On Record. Presented by Ben Sidran, a musician, author, lecturer and journalist, the show featured interviews with the great and the good from the world of Jazz. Miles, Dizzy, Herbie and Grover were amongst 60 interviews that ran over the course of 5 years. Many of the legends featured are sadly no longer with us, but the recordings are, and several years back Ben released these as part of a wonderful, 24 CD box set called Talking Jazz – bringing to life a golden period of entertainment and understanding as we learn about the masters, their thoughts and their works.

Whilst this may seem like an advert for this prestigious box set, it isn’t really. Promise. We’ve been in touch with Ben and asked for his permission to use these interviews and create our own 45 minute shows based on his works. Ben’s given it the two thumbs up and we’re delighted to tell you that we’ll be premiering Talking Jazz with Ben Sidran, our most ambitious project to date, on September 15, 2010. The show will be published fortnightly thereafter and will feature the original interviews along with our music selections. Make a note in your diary then, as you’ll certainly not want to miss Episode One featuring Miles Davis. It just doesn’t get better than this. Oh, and if you fancy buying the essential box set, which includes the full sixty interviews, then here’s where you need to go: http://www.talkingjazz.com

We recently started a Soul and Jazz fan page on Facebook and we’d be delighted if you’d join us there too:
http://tinyurl.com/yzfl84x

You’ll also find us on Twitter – you’re welcome to follow us there as well:
http://twitter.com/soulandjazz

For those of you who use LinkedIn here’s the link to Brian Hurst. He’d love to hear from you there:
http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/brian-hurst/6/251/1a5

And finally, here’s details of the two most recent shows posted – we think you’ll like what you hear.

All podcasts are available to download in HD+ (320 kbps) with The Hurst Selection additionally providing a LE – (64 kbps) version.

For further information, please contact Brian Hurst: info@soulandjazz.com

Stereo, not stereotypical™

Enjoy