From The Archives Of Something Blue March 27, 2022

DJ Hairy Larry presents Hairy Larry and The Flying Hungarians playing "Blues For Peace".

1. DJ Hairy Larry Presents Hairy Larry and The Flying Hungarians
2. Something Blue - Guess - 29 second spot

Thanks Marty, today we're going to play one of my original songs recorded by my family band, Hairy Larry and the Flying Hungarians.

From The Archives Of Something Blue March 13, 2022

DJ Hairy Larry presents Joy Sanford playing “Jordu”.

1. DJ Hairy Larry Presents Joy Sanford
2. Something Blue – Mystique – 29 second spot

Thanks Marty, this week we’re hearing a jazz standard played by our favorite pianist that I recorded at KASU Jazz Thursday.

I can’t count the number of times Joy Sanford has helped KASU playing piano at live music events. She played in The Little Big Band, The Adhoc Combo, with Gary Gazaway and Lisa Ahia, and Jazz Alliance. She accompanied Delta Vox at Bebopalooza and she helped frequently with our Jazz Thursday concerts. She also played at the Delta Jazz Workshop which I recorded for Something Blue.

When I was booking Jazz Thursday I thought, “Joy plays for us all the time. We should do a show to feature her.” So on February 24, 2011, our featured act was Joy Sanford.

From The Archives Of Something Blue February 27, 2022

DJ Hairy Larry presents Gary Gazaway playing “The Phoenicians”.

1. DJ Hairy Larry Presents Gary Gazaway
2. Something Blue – Freedom – 29 second spot

Thanks Marty, This week we’re hearing El Bujo recorded live at Jazz Thursday.

Gary Gazaway brought The El Bujo Project to KASU Jazz Thursday held in TheArts@311 on June 27, 2013, and it’s one of the best Jazz Thursday shows I ever recorded for Something Blue.

For today I picked a song Gary wrote called “The Phoenicians”. Introducing the song Gary said that he wrote it for Robert Palmer who was a famous writer and journalist and also an Arkansas musician.

From The Archives Of Something Blue February 13, 2022

DJ Hairy Larry presents The John T. Parks playing “New Orleans Girl”.

1. DJ Hairy Larry Presents John T. Parks
2. Something Blue – Jive – 29 second spot

Thanks Marty, today we’re hearing a New Orleans song by an Arkansas songwriter.

John T. Parks has played for KASU many times, usually playing in a full band. But he also plays solo and duo acoustic sets so it was great to get to record him at the KASU Coffeehouse held at The Arts@311 in downtown Jonesboro.

Thanks Marty, this week we’re hearing a jazz standard recorded at KASU Jazz Thursday.

Matt Jackson played bass in NJHB, the New Jazz House Band, for New Jazz In Jonesboro. He also played with us at the bandshell and at my Senior Recital.

Like many talented bass players he played in more that one band. So when I started booking Jazz Thursday for KASU he mentioned that he also played in the Steve Davis Trio. I was happy to get them on board.

From The Archives Of Something Blue January 16, 2022
DJ Hairy Larry presents Jazz Writers Big Band playing “More Better Days Than Yesterday”.

1. DJ Hairy Larry presents Jazz Writers Big Band
2. Something Blue – Invitation 29 second spot

Thanks Marty, today I’ve got a jazz original performed at Riceland Hall right here at ASU.

First off what’s an EWI? EWI is an acronym for Electronic Wind Instrument and it’s a horn played kind of like a clarinet but with synthesizer output. So besides keyboard synths and guitar synths there are horn synths named EWI.

From The Archives Of Something Blue January 9, 2022
DJ Hairy Larry presents Vikki McGee singing “I’d Rather Be Blind”.

1. DJ Hairy Larry presents Vikki Mcgee
2. Something Blue – Blister 29 second spot

Thanks Marty. Today we’re hearing a classic blues song delivered at a KASU Bluesday Tuesday by a Jonesboro musician.

Vikki McGee is a bandleader and a songwriter. She sings all styles of music but today we’re featuring her blues vocals on a song written by Ellington Jordan and Etta James.

Vikki has played at many KASU events including the Johnny Cash Heritage Festival and the Arkansas Roots Festival. She also performed on campus as the Guest Artist with the Delta Symphony Orchestra. Before she did any of that she played at KASU Bluesday Tuesday in Newport, Arkansas, on February 12, 2013.

It was a great show with a full band including keyboards and electric guitar. Her set included songs by The Band, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, and Bill Withers but I picked this Etta James song because of the way she nails the vocals and because of the fantastic interplay between voice and guitar at the end of the song.

So here’s Vikki McGee at KASU Bluesday Tuesday singing the Etta James song, “I’d Rather Be Blind”.

www.vikkimcgee.com/

From The Archives Of Something Blue December 12, 2021

1. DJ Hairy Larry presents Bebop Beatniks
2. Something Blue – Wastin – 29 second spot

Thanks Marty, today I’m playing a jazz classic recorded at a worship service.

Before the pandemic I used to be the Music Director at the Brookland United Methodist Church so it was a no brainer for me to book Bebop Beatniks in for our Wednesday night contemporary worship. At the time the Wednesday night service was attended heavily by youth so I took it as part of my job to expose them to all kinds of music played by regional bands, folk, blues, bluegrass, ambient, jazz, and even some original worship songs.

On July 20, 2016, it was my turn to get my band, Bebop Beatniks, to play. Bebop Beatniks does jazz standards and originals so we rehearsed the John Coltrane song, “A Love Supreme”, to close the service. Playing in Bebop Beatniks were Kevin Tinker, trumpet; Paul Nunis, bass; and I’m on piano. The entire band has ties to ASU.

When I started working on the arrangement I found Coltrane’s hand written chart that was used at the session when “A Love Supreme” was recorded. This piece of sheet music is considered so important in the history of jazz that it is at The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Thanks to the internet I didn’t have to go to the Smithsonian but instead I wrote my Bebop Beatniks arrangement referring to a digitization of the original score.

Of course now there’s a big buzz going on about “A Love Supreme” including an NPR segment titled “John Coltrane’s Masterpiece Breathes New Life With ‘A Love Supreme: Live In Seattle'”. Not surprisingly, Bebop Beatniks were five years ahead of the curve.

Visit the Something Blue website at sbblues.com for links to the entire concert, the score, and NPR.

And now, here’s Bebop Beatniks playing “A Love Supreme” recorded July 20, 2016, at the Brookland United Methodist Church.

Bebop Beatniks Live at Brookland United Methodist Church on 2016-07-20
archive.org/details/hl2016-07-20

John Coltrane’s Handwritten Outline for His Masterpiece A Love Supreme

John Coltrane’s Masterpiece Breathes New Life With ‘A Love Supreme: Live In Seattle’
www.npr.org/2021/08/26/1031013271/john-coltranes-masterpiece-breathes-new-life-with-a-love-supreme-live-in-seattle

Thanks Marty, today I’m playing a jazz classic recorded at a worship service.

Before the pandemic I used to be the Music Director at the Brookland United Methodist Church so it was a no brainer for me to book Bebop Beatniks in for our Wednesday night contemporary worship. At the time the Wednesday night service was attended heavily by youth so I took it as part of my job to expose them to all kinds of music played by regional bands, folk, blues, bluegrass, ambient, jazz, and even some original worship songs.

On July 20, 2016, it was my turn to get my band, Bebop Beatniks, to play. Bebop Beatniks does jazz standards and originals so we rehearsed the John Coltrane song, “A Love Supreme”, to close the service. Playing in Bebop Beatniks were Kevin Tinker, trumpet; Paul Nunis, bass; and I’m on piano. The entire band has ties to ASU.

When I started working on the arrangement I found Coltrane’s hand written chart that was used at the session when “A Love Supreme” was recorded. This piece of sheet music is considered so important in the history of jazz that it is at The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Thanks to the internet I didn’t have to go to the Smithsonian but instead I wrote my Bebop Beatniks arrangement referring to a digitization of the original score.

Of course now there’s a big buzz going on about “A Love Supreme” including an NPR segment titled “John Coltrane’s Masterpiece Breathes New Life With ‘A Love Supreme: Live In Seattle'”. Not surprisingly, Bebop Beatniks were five years ahead of the curve.

Visit the Something Blue website at sbblues.com for links to the entire concert, the score, and NPR.

And now, here’s Bebop Beatniks playing “A Love Supreme” recorded July 20, 2016, at the Brookland United Methodist Church.

Bebop Beatniks Live at Brookland United Methodist Church on 2016-07-20
archive.org/details/hl2016-07-20

From The Archives Of Something Blue December 5, 2021

1. DJ Hairy Larry presents Caprice
2. Something Blue – Tweezer – 29 second spot