This Memorial Day, JPJ concludes our 2-part exploration of the music (and influence) of Miles Dewey Davis III a day after what would have been his 82nd birthday. We'll stroll through a few of the wings of the mansion that is Miles' music, pausing to examine some of his work with Gil Evans, his groundbreaking work with electric instruments (see "fusion"), straight ahead tracks like "Somethin' Else" with Cannonball Adderly and, of course, a taste or two from his touchstone album "Kind of Blue".

Alongside his own music, we'll give a listen not only to music that would have been unthinkable (unplayable?) without Miles' own trail-blazing efforts, but samples of some of the sounds that influenced him (look for sneaky, non-jazz appearances by James Brown and Jimi Hendrix).

Whether your Memorial Day plans include trancing out to repetitive, free-form funk grooves, snapping your fingers to stylish post-bop improvisations or introspective musing to lush, orchestral arrangements - there'll be something for everyone on JPJ this week!  read more »

May 25th (or May 26th) will mark what would have been Miles Davis's 82nd birthday and rather than be a day late and/or a dollar short, JPJ will kick off the festivities a little early and encourage all y'all to listen to a little (or a lot) of Miles' music all week long until the "real" birthday comes around.

Tune in as we not only celebrate a small part of his ground-breaking work across the decades, but also feature work from the wealth of musicians who worked with him over the years- from Cannonball Adderly to Tony Williams, John Coltrane to Shirley Horn, Ron Carter to Bill Evans. And the musicians we'll be hearing alongside him! The best that jazz music has to offer...sigh. You know, I don't think 2 hours is going to be nearly enough time! Let's finish up our celebration of Miles' music next Monday, same time, same place, shall we?

This Monday's show will stress a two-part approach: a strategic retreat from the "high falutin'" sounds of last week's jazz'n'poetry neo-debacle and an enthusiastic embrace of the earthier, rootsier styles of jazz hinted at in the show's name- Just Plain Jazz.

Thankfully, Irving Toast has materialized at KRUU to handle the ethereal world of verse, leaving me free to dig through the giant stack of CDs one of my old running buddies dropped off at the station. I'll only be able to play a tiny fraction, but listen for Jimmy Smith, Brother Jack McDuff, Horace Silver, Karrin Allyson, Chico O'Farrill, Russell Malone, the Matthew Herbert Big Band, McCoy Tyner, E.S.T. (or do you say Esbjorn Svennson Trio?), Lalo Schifrin- well, 2 hours of jazz that I didn't have readily at hand before my friend so generously dropped off his contribution (to my contribution... and that's how community radio grows). By tuning in to hear one of those artists, who knows what you might discover? I found some real gems that I'll be happy to share.

Make sure you're in the right place at the right time. It's Joel DIlley's JPJ every Monday from 2 until 4 in the middle of the afternoon.  read more »

Congress passed legislation which was signed by

the President in August 2003, Public Law 108-72, declaring “(1) the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History should be commended for establishing a Jazz Appreciation Month; and (2) musicians, schools, colleges, libraries, concert halls, museums, radio and television stations, and other organizations should develop programs to explore, perpetuate, and honor jazz as a national and world treasure.”

At Chez Dilley every month is JAM, but if your taste or budget is such that you can only justify appreciating jazz one month a year then by all means make it April! Seriously, the Smithsonian's site has all kinds of neat stuff, so be sure to check it out.  read more »

Joel plays jazz for the just and the unjust alike in this non-thematic, plain good music, just playin' what comes next episode of JPJ. Kicking back, chilling, call it what you will, but I've got a set of jazz lined up with welcome contributions from Coleman Hawkins, Art Pepper, Dexter Gordon, J. J. Johnson, Charlie Christian, Johnny Griffin and many others.

Celebrating the mainstream? Oh, why not, as long as a happy time will be had by all. A handful of long tracks and a mess of shorter ones, some singers and some unsung heroes- just songs that will have your feet tapping, your hands clapping, your mind sparkling and your eyes twinkling.

Have I mentioned before just how good jazz is for you?

This Monday, Just Plain Jazz tackles the serious subject of Humor in jazz. I'll be wearing my jester's cap -a modified fez- for two straight (?) hours as we investigate the lighter side. Funny sounds, amusing lyrics, wry juxtapositions - if not laugh-out-loud, it'll at least coax a smile or two out of you. Good humor can be contagious and yet it's also claimed that it makes you healthier! Go figure...

Q: Why is jazz like comic books?

A: Well, they're both totally American art forms (with roots and antecedents in other cultures, of course) that have been embraced/expanded/modified globally, but I was thinking along different lines. I think it was Harvey Pekar who pointed out that comic books are words and pictures; you can tell any story with words and pictures! Jazz, at root, is about improvisation; you can express any human feeling through improvisation!

Q: I don't like comic books and I don't like jazz.  read more »

Well, Sen. Obama had an interesting speech last Tuesday; honest, thoughtful, maybe even visionary. So of course much of the media coverage was deceitful, idiotic and blinkered. Sigh...

This Monday's JPJ accepts the invitation to have a dialogue about race.

Besides the usual suspects (Miles, Trane, Duke) we offer up some Fred Anderson live at his Velvet Lounge in Chicago, the very underappreciated John Carter, the Ed Blackwell Project caught live just 2 months before his tragic passing and Louis Armstrong dropping the scat bomb on one of the worst songs evah!

Join Joel for Just Plain Jazz every Monday 2pm-4pm

Dick DeAngelis had the great fortune of interviewing Frankie Manning recently. They spoke about his life during the great Swing Era and his innovative influence on the development of the Lindy Hop.

Manning, who is 93 years old, has toured with such jazz greats as Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and others. He performed in several films, including EVERYBODY SINGS with Judy Garland and HELLZAPOPPIN'.

No one has contributed more to the Lindy Hop than Frankie Manning. As a dancer, innovator and choreographer, he has been an unofficial "Ambassador of Lindy Hop," spreading its popularity through three continents while touring with Whitey's Lindy Hoppers in the '30s and '40s, and again teaching, choreographing, and performing in the current Lindy Hop revival since the 1980s.

Frankie Manning started dancing in his early teens at a Sunday afternoon dance at the Alhambra and Rennaissance Ballrooms. Manning "graduated" to the Savoy Ballroom, which was known for its great dancers and bands. Manning, competitive as well as gifted, became a star in the informal jams in the "Kat's Korner" of the Savoy. Manning gave physical expression to the beat, the feel, and the excitement of the swing sound played by the great big bands. He is responsible for many innovations of Lindy Hop step and styles. In a famous competition, Manning astonished the crowd of 2000 with the first Lindy aerial step ever done.  read more »