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 newcomers. Mike brings forth his latest vocal find with trepidation - how much bastardy will Pat bestow upon it? Download and/or stream to find out. Tyreek McDole – OPEN UP YOUR SENSES; Frank Morgan – MOOD INDIGO; Mary Halvorson – ABOUT GHOSTS; Dabin Ryu – TRIO! 

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 good look in and then various tributes are dissected, with Pat arguing that jazz musicians need to take the kid gloves off when confronting this most seminal of cross-over hit-makers. Also, Keith Jarrett called and he wants his royalties. Steely Dan - GAUCHO;  Chris Ingham – WALTER/DONALD; Sara Isaksson and Rebecca Tornqvist - FIRE IN THE HOLE; Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz – STEELY DAN ; Woody Herman – CHICK, DONALD, WALTER, AND WOODROW.

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 Record Store Day regular Zev Feldman has now made an enterprise of rescuing records from the long-dormant Muse label. What do the boys think of Zev's first three picks for deluxe vinyl reissues? How about the bonus Muse recording they included to fill out the episode? And what will Mike say when he talks about Talk Talk? You know how to find out, so I'm not going to tell you. Barry Altschul – ANOTHER TIME/ANOTHER PLACE; Carlos Garnett – COSMOS NUCLEUS; Kenny Barron – SUNSET TO DAWN; Roy Brooks – THE FREE SLAVE.

"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 saleable. Struck hard upside the head by inspiration, Mike decided to do a show entirely dedicated to jazzers named Jason - without even one Moran in sight. The results may confound you or titillate you. Either way, we won't be winning any Oscars. Jason Charos – OPENING STATEMENT; Jason Miles – THE LISBON ELECTRIC QUARTET; Jason Palmer – THE CROSSOVER LIVE IN BROOKLYN; Jason Forsythe – IT’S ABOUT TIME.

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 the newest album came out on the black stuff, one of the "historic" albums is a reissue, and another one - a "crate-digger's delight" - is slated for its own deluxe edition.  Franco Ambrosetti – WINGS; Charlie Rouse – CINNAMON FLOWER; Luis Gasca – FOR THOSE WHO CHANT; Jeff Parker – THE WAY OUT OF EASY.

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, sprawling big band project. Pat sneaks some jazz vinyl talk into pop matters. Omar Thomas – GRIOT SONGS; Rachel Eckroth – SPEAKING IN TONGUES; Bill O’Connell – TOUCH; Eric Bell – VULNERABILITY.

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 exception likes his finger-picking fast and his cover-girls nekkid. Neal Ardley – KALEIDOSCOPE OF RAINBOWS; Hermann Szobel – SZOBE; Al Dimeola  - ELEGANT GYPSY; Passport – HAND MADE; Ryo Kawasaki – JUICE.

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. Gonzalo Rubalcaba -  FIRST MEETING LIVE AT DIZZY’S; Kurt Rosenwinkle – THE BRAHMS PROJECT; Jon Irabagon – SERVER FARM; 8 Bit Big Band – ORCHESTRATOR EMULATOR. 

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 invite off the island (or, at least, out of the record collection)? Only listening to this podcast will answer that query! Yusef Lateef – ATLANTIS LULLABY – THE CONCERT FROM AVIGNON; Sun Ra – AT THE SHOWCASE LIVE IN CHICAGO; Art Tatum – JEWELS IN THE TREASURE BOX; Bill Evans – LIVE IN NORWAY – THE KONGSBERG CONCERT.

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 the jazz vocal realm, looking at projects where the vocalist isn't the only - or sometimes even the main - talent featured. Also we talk about ELO, Astrud Gilberto – FOLLOW THE RAINBOW: Frankie Laine – JAZZ SPECTACULAR; Steve Swallow – HOME; Jackie & Roy – A WILDER ALIAS; Kurt Elling – GUILTY PLEASURES VOLUME 2.