Straight Eighths
Posted on 2026-07-07
DJ Hairy Larry Presents The C3 Big Band Playing A Michael Medrick Composition
From The Archives Of Something Blue 2026-07-05
https://sbblues.com/2026/07/05/dj-hairy-larry-presents-the-c3-big-band-playing-a-michael-medrick-composition/
Thanks Marty, today we're going to hear an original jazz song written by one of my professors.
I met Michael Medrick a few times before he started teaching at ASU where he ended up as the Director Of Jazz Studies before he retired. He plays trombone like nobody's business but his real calling is composing and arranging for big bands.
Now a big band can have 25 or more musicians so writing all those notes is a lot of work. I know, I've done a few big band charts and the experience convinced me to write for octets.
But there are sounds that a big band can produce that smaller bands can't, and that's where composers like Michael Medrick hang their hat.
Now before Medrick came to ASU he was in Dallas where he played in and wrote for the C3 Big Band. On their website it says, "The goal of the C3 Big Band is to bring Dallas/Fort Worth audiences NEW music by current composers."
On their album, "Straight Eighths" Medrick wrote four of the songs. I picked "Flor De Okra" to play for you today. He has the first solo so you'll get to hear him play trombone.
In an email interview he said "The tune was composed after some deep listening to Pancho Sanchez’s "La Familia", The Jazz Crusaders "Chili con Soul" and The Willie Martinez Jazz Sextet. Wayne Henderson of the Crusaders has been very influential on my sound as a trombonist."
So now you know where he's coming from, how about that song title?
He wrote, "That title came from a plant flowering in the garden outside my home office window." ... "Inspiration can be all around us."
When I took Jazz Improv from Dr. Patty in the eighties our textbook was "Improvising Jazz" by Jerry Coker. While taking jazz arranging lessons from Michael Medrick I learned that Jerry Coker was one of his teachers. Just sayin'... somehow I always luck out.
So now, featuring Michael Medrick on trombone, here's the C3 Big Band playing one of his compositions, "Flor De Okra".
DJ Hairy Larry Presents The C3 Big Band Playing A Michael Medrick Composition
From The Archives Of Something Blue 2026-07-05
sblink
Something Blue Archives - List Of Concerts
https://archive.org/details/somethingbluearchives?sort=-publicdate
C3 Big Band
https://c3compositions.com/c3-big-band
music
And that's the C3 Big Band playing a Michael Medrick composition, "Flor De Okra", from their album, "Straight Eighths". Don't miss Something Blue, Saturday night at 10:00, to hear Geof Bradfield, No Wind & No Rain, Atlantic Road Trip, and Neal Alger.
---
DJ Hairy Larry With C3 Big Band Playing Flor De Okra
Something Blue - Abundance - 29 second spot
This is Hairy Larry inviting you to enjoy Something Blue every Saturday night at ten. This week we’re featuring Neal Alger, Chicago Soul Jazz Collective, Geof Bradfield and Atlantic Road Trip. For more about the show visit the Something Blue website at https://sbblues.com.
Don’t miss Something Blue, Saturday night at 10:00 PM Central, at https://www.kasu.org.
Home - Table Of Contents - Most Recent - RSS - Permalink - Text
Jazz Mandolin Project
Posted on 2026-07-04
Something Blue – King – July 4, 2026
https://sbblues.com/2026/07/04/king/
This is Hairy Larry inviting you to enjoy Something Blue every Saturday night at ten. This week we’re featuring Marcus King Band, SLM, and Jazz Mandolin Project. For more about the show visit the Something Blue website at https://sbblues.com.
Don’t miss Something Blue, Saturday night at 10:00 PM Central, at
https://www.kasu.org
Chat with DJ Hairy Larry on Fluxer while we listen to the show.
HairyLarryLand Fluxer Invite Link
https://fluxer.gg/YohSeh7c
Gamer+ is down because of an internet outage so no Mastodon chat, this week.
Home - Table Of Contents - Most Recent - RSS - Permalink - Text
Chris Isom And Josh Carter
Posted on 2026-06-27
Something Blue – Sonny – June 27, 2026
https://sbblues.com/2026/06/27/sonny/
This is Hairy Larry inviting you to enjoy Something Blue every Saturday night at ten. This week we’re featuring Sonny Rollins, the Common Time Quartet, and Dizzie Gillespie. For more about the show visit the Something Blue website at sbblues.com.
Don’t miss Something Blue, Saturday night at 10:00 PM Central, at kasu.org.
Sonny Rollins
The Bridge – Without A Song, The Bridge
Saxophone Colossus – Moritat
sonnyrollins.com/
Common Time Quartet Live at Craighead Forest Bandshell on 2017-06-03
archive.org/details/ct2017-06-03
Dizzie Gillispie With Sonny Rollins and Sonny Stitt
Home - Table Of Contents - Most Recent - RSS - Permalink - Text
Cody Ballard
Posted on 2026-06-20
Something Blue – Mine – June 20, 2026
https://sbblues.com/2026/06/20/mine/
This is Hairy Larry inviting you to enjoy Something Blue every Saturday night at ten. This week we’re featuring luvtrst., Virginia MacDonald, Joe Lovano, and Chris Potter. For more about the show visit the Something Blue website at sbblues.com.
Don’t miss Something Blue, Saturday night at 10:00 PM Central, at kasu.org.
Home - Table Of Contents - Most Recent - RSS - Permalink - Text
Cody Ballard
Posted on 2026-06-15
DJ Hairy Larry Presents luvtrst. Playing St. Thomas
From The Archives Of Something Blue 2026-06-14
Thanks Marty, today we're going to hear a jazz quartet from Northeast Arkansas play a Sonny Rollins song.
Sonny Rollins was a great jazz composer who also redefined jazz saxophone. He wrote the popular jazz standard, "St. Thomas", based on the Bahamian folk song "Sponger Money", a nursery song in the Virgin Islands, that his mother sang to him when he was a child. So, from these tender roots grew "St. Thomas" that Rollins included on his "Saxophone Colossus" album and remains a favorite.
My friend, Derek Doyle, loves "St. Thomas". I remember him playing it with Jazz Alliance, back in the day. (Cue another search through the archives for that recording.)
On May 1, 2025, I recorded luvtrst. at Stage Too. Derek Doyle was on bass so I requested "St. Thomas". To our benefit, they delivered and I was fortunate to get a good recording.
Playing in luvtrst. were
Cody Ballard - tenor sax
Matt Dixon - guitar
Addison Boling - drums
and
Derek Doyle - bass
I went to school with Cody Ballard and Addison Boling, in fact, they both played on my Senior Recital, later released as "Bop Soup".
As always, I will post links on the Something Blue website at sbblues.com.
Ok now, recorded at Stage Too on April 31, 2025, here's luvtrst. doing the Sonny Rollins classic, "St. Thomas".
DJ Hairy Larry Presents luvtrst. Playing St. Thomas
From The Archives Of Something Blue 2026-06-14
https://sbblues.com/2026/06/14/dj-hairy-larry-presents-luvtrst-playing-st-thomas/
Something Blue Archives - List Of Concerts
https://archive.org/details/somethingbluearchives?sort=-publicdate
luvtrst on Youtube
https://youtu.be/-qhCXfxJA88?si=cvgZOECm64UsgAcy
Hairy Larry - Bop Soup featuring Cody Ballard and Addison Boling
https://archive.org/details/hl2013-11-08
music
And that's luvtrst. playing the Sonny Rollins' song, "St. Thomas". Don't miss Something Blue, Saturday night at 10:00, to hear more luvtrst., Virginia MacDonald, Chris Potter, and Joe Lovano.
---
DJ Hairy Larry With luvtrst. Playing St. Thomas
Something Blue - Mine - 29 second spot
This is Hairy Larry inviting you to enjoy Something Blue every Saturday night at ten. This week we’re featuring luvtrst., Virginia MacDonald, Joe Lovano, and Chris Potter. For more about the show visit the Something Blue website at https://sbblues.com.
Don’t miss Something Blue, Saturday night at 10:00 PM Central, at https://kasu.org.
---
Something Blue - Mine - June 20, 2026
Joe Lovano - Paramount Quartet
https://joelovano.com/
Chris Potter - Alive With Ghosts Today
https://chrispotterjazz.bandcamp.com/album/alive-with-ghosts-today
Virginia MacDonald - In Search Of
https://virginiamacdonald.bandcamp.com/album/in-search-of
luvtrst. - Live At Stage Too May 1, 2025
https://youtu.be/-qhCXfxJA88?si=cvgZOECm64UsgAcy
---
Virginia MacDonald - Up High, Down Low
Welcome to Something Blue. I'm Hairy Larry and I've got the blues, for you.
luvtrst. - Red Clay
Now that's what I'm talking about. Recorded for Something Blue on May 1, 2025, that's luvtrst. playing the Freddie Hubbard song, "Red Clay". Kicking us off tonight we heard Virginia MacDonald play "Up High, Down Low".
Something Blue is broadcast on KASU, Saturday nights at 10:00 Central on 91.9 FM and streaming at kasu.org.
I'm Hairy Larry, host of Something Blue. Visit the Something Blue website at sbblues.com to listen anytime and for links to more music by the featured musicians.
Ok now, from the new Chris Potter album, "Alive With Ghosts Today" here's "Mine Eyes".
Chris Potter - Mine Eyes
---
Joe Lovano - First Song
Virginia MacDonald - Last Call at Dimitri’s
All right now from Virginia MacDonald's new album "In Search Of" That was "Last Call at Dimitri’s". Before that we heard Joe Lovano play "First Song".
Something Blue is broadcast on KASU, Saturday nights at 10:00 Central on 91.9 FM and streaming at kasu.org.
I'm Hairy Larry, host of Something Blue. Thanks to Bandcamp for some of the albums we're hearing tonight and thanks to "Stage Too" at Main and Monroe in Jonesboro, for all the live music.
All of the albums we're hearing tonight were released last month. The new Joe Lovano album, "Paramount Quartet", features his new band. Here they are now playing "Amsterdam". Then, closing the show we'll hear Chris Potter play "Into Africa".
Joe Lovano - Amsterdam
Chris Potter - Into Africa
---
Now Playing On Something Blue - Breathing
https://sbblues.com/2026/06/13/breathing/
Home - Table Of Contents - Most Recent - RSS - Permalink - Text
Pharoah Sanders-Karma
Posted on 2026-05-30
Something Blue - Consequence
https://sbblues.com/2026/05/30/greetings-2/
This is Hairy Larry inviting you to enjoy Something Blue every Saturday night at ten. This week we’re featuring John Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders. For more about the show visit the Something Blue website at sbblues.com.
Don’t miss Something Blue, Saturday night at 10:00 PM Central, at kasu.org.
John Coltrane – Meditations
www.johncoltrane.com/
Pharoah Sanders – Karma
pharoahsanders.bandcamp.com/album/izipho-zam-my-gifts
Home - Table Of Contents - Most Recent - RSS - Permalink - Text
