Deep into Jazz - The Podcast

Saxophonist Richard Howell’s latest release, Moon Over Tiburon, features family and friends bringing joy to his original and plain-spoken jazz compositions. Richard’s expansive sound comes from a surprising convergence of influences: “Let me put it this way. I am immersed in John Coltrane, I love the music of John Coltrane, I want to play like John Coltrane. But I always want to phrase like Ronald Isley, from the Isley Brothers – with a mixture of James Brown. With the Afro-polyrhythmic simplicity of James Brown.” Join Derek and Dave as they dance through the very cool world of composer and producer Richard Howell, on this episode of Deep into Jazz.

This week, Derek and Dave speak with drummer Bill Goodwin. After more than 60 years in the business, Bill has literally become a permanent fixture at the oldest jazz club in America – the Deer Head Inn – by moving into an apartment above the club. Bill shared the stage there with the great saxophonist Phil Woods in countless performances from 1973 until Phil’s passing in 2016.

The recent autobiography of Phil Woods, Life in E Flat (written with the help of jazz writer Ted Panken), chronicles the career of one on the greatest musicians of all time. We speak about the Phil Woods Quintet, the book, and the 50-plus albums that Bill produced for the band. We’ll also briefly leave the jazz genre to discuss one of Bill’s more famous gigs – drummer for Schoolhouse Rock!

In an interview with composer, Gerald Wilson-then 94-years-old, he confided to Dave that musicians in New York had not even heard the term ‘swing’ in relation to music until Bennie Moten came out with the 1929 recording, ‘Moten Swing’. Musicians said, “What is swing?” The swing beat is jazz’s default rhythm, yet defining swing is still notoriously difficult. In this week’s episode, Dave and Derek discuss two ways that the term is commonly understood – as a technical description of the beat and as a more organic, intuitive, feel. Swing, on the next deep into Jazz.

Album: Old Friends

This week, David and Derek sit down with two giants of the LA jazz scene: energetic vocalist / songwriter Mark Winkler and multifaceted composer / pianist / Renaissance man David Benoit. We discuss their new album, Old Friends (released on Feb 15, 2021), which celebrates the strength of their long-standing musical relationship that began in 1983. We talk about how musicians forge long-time collaborations in a for-the-moment city such as Los Angeles, and we dig into Mark and David’s perspectives on songwriting and their relationships with the many musical genres that have influenced them.

The Saxophone is the Instrument That is Most Like the Human Voice

Vocalist, Billie Holiday and saxophonist, Lester Young were practically inseparable for a time. The music that they created in 1936 and 1937 speaks to us today, as strongly as it did 90 plus years ago. Derek Zinger and David Basse, for this edition of Deep into Jazz, as they discuss the saxophone and the innovators that shaped the way we feel about jazz today. The voice of the horn is in so many ways the voice of jazz.

Album: A Change for the Dreamlike. A Midwesterner with an Eritrean background, Hermon Mehari is an amalgamation of his high-flying globetrotting experiences and the down-home common sense of his upbringing in Jefferson City, Missouri. His music, despite the pandemic and personal loss, has continued to flourish, and his new album explores Eritrean influences. In this episode, David and Derek sit down with Hermon to speak about roots, identity, the Parisian scene and more.

Join Derek Zinger and David Basse as they pay tribute to one of the most recorded drummers of all time: Earl Palmer. Twice elected Treasurer of local 41, the New Orleans drummer became one of the most beloved musicians in Hollywood. This episode is packed with music, all of it driven by Palmer’s drums. Though eclectic and cross-genre, the songs we’ve chosen tell the story of the man who drove the music from 1949 into the 21st Century. We also touch on Little Richard, whose death coincided with a very uncertain time in history. Two diverse themes collide in real time, and another kind of time is kept with Earl’s steady-rockin’ snare drum.

Simeon Davis Group

“Ba Humbug: An Absolutely Unnecessary Christmas Album”

This album features 11 iconic festive tunes for quartet, quintet, and septet taken in the most unexpected of directions. Paying tribute to musical legends such as Horace Silver, James Brown, Art Blakey, John Coltrane, Hiatus Kaiyote, The Bad Plus and more, this tune’s “derangements” are sure to entertain and satisfy listeners of all backgrounds and genre affiliations.

Join Derek Zinger and David Basse as they pay tribute to one of the most recorded drummers of all time: Earl Palmer. Twice elected Treasurer of local 41, the New Orleans drummer became one of the most beloved musicians in Hollywood. This episode is packed with music, all of it driven by Palmer’s drums. Though eclectic and cross-genre, the songs we’ve chosen tell the story of the man who drove the music from 1949 into the 21st Century. We also touch on Little Richard, whose death coincided with a very uncertain time in history. Two diverse themes collide in real time, and another kind of time is kept with Earl’s steady-rockin’ snare drum.

Do jazz musicians have standards?

No, they play standards! Join Derek Zinger and David Basse as they discuss three of the Five Scamps almost 40 years into their membership in the band. A band evolves in the same way that musical standards evolve: ebbing and flowing with the passing of time and the changing of styles.Can a band play an entire show in one key? Can a musician really never play the same song the same way twice? Find out, as we look into standards, on the next Deep into Jazz.