We open the vault to launch "The Blind Pig," a new ongoing series featuring rare, unreleased bootleg recordings of legendary live performances. To kick things off, we go back exactly 22 years to June 25, 2004, at the Village Vanguard for the JVC Jazz Festival. The featured recording captures Uri Caine’s "Blue Wail" project, featuring Greg Osby, Drew Gress, and Ben Perowsky. We explore the context of the 2004 jazz scene while listening to the MiniDisc audio capture, and reflect on the era. 

Note: Please go find and enjoy the music of Uri Caine, Greg Osby, Drew Gress, and Ben Perowsky. A few clips of their music were reposted in this episode. Birch Grove Media does not claim ownership of these performances or musical works, and is not monetizing this episode. This is shared purely for educational and archival appreciation.

Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro: Launching the Blind Pig bootleg series

01:17 - Traveling back 22 years to June 25, 2004

01:46 - Uri Caine's Blue Wail at the JVC Jazz Festival

03:35 - Cheesy Vanguard marketing and Uri Caine's legendary week-long run

07:40 - The impressive audio quality of 2000s MiniDisc recorders

10:08 - Disclaimer: Birch Grove Media makes zero money on these recordings

10:36 - Listening to the trio swing and Ben Perowsky’s deep feel

18:22 - Where Uri Caine, Greg Osby, and Drew Gress were in 2004

21:04 - Alan reflects on his sophomore year at William Paterson

27:43 - Giving bass players generous solos and listening to Drew Gress

32:03 - Listening to Greg Osby's original composition "Equalatogram"

33:57 - Playing Osby charts in James Weidman's ensemble

36:09 - Outro

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