2024 NEA Jazz Master Terence Blanchard has a career spanning three decades in both jazz and film scoring. We revisit our 2019 episode on Blanchard’s work with Spike Lee, his E-Collective band, and more.

The Brazilian Hour (Originally aired 02/12/2014). Born in Schenectady, New York, in 1927, Richard Hadlock spent his younger years in suburban Connecticut and his teenage years in Rio de Janeiro – his father was President of RCA-Brazil, 1940-1957 – giving birth to his love of the Portuguese language and the history of Brazilian music. In this edition Richard shares rare recordings from his years in Brazil.

Celebrate Jazz Appreciation Month with KCSM. Our theme, "Passing the Torch," honors jazz's tradition and its influence on generations of musicians. Whether you're a jazz enthusiast or new to the genre, there's something for everyone. Join KCSM at the KCSM studio in the lower level of the CSM Library (Building 9) for a day of music, culture, and celebration with light refreshments. Open to the Public!

Comedy writer Mike Reiss has enjoyed a long career making people laugh, from his early years with National Lampoon, Johnny Carson and The Gary Shandling Show, to his continuing work with the animated series, The Simpsons.Mike was one of the original writers for The Simpsons, a show he still contributes to 35 years on between writing children’s stories, traveling with his excursion-loving wife Denise and publishing his most recent book, What Am I Doing Here? A Simpsons’ Writer Visits the World’s Hellholes So You Don’t Have To.”Mike Reiss is one of those deliciously cranky people who love to rail against various notions while keeping you laughing and somehow delighted throughout. Mike and I met in Panama on the elegant Silver Shadow cruise ship where he was lecturing on The Simpsons and I was flown in to play a concert. Knowing the many connections The Simpsons has with jazz, I asked Mike if he’s a jazz fan to which he enthusiastically responded, “I hate jazz.” Naturally, I had to have him on my show.

Reproductive Justice: The Ongoing Struggle for Bodily Autonomy. Today we share excerpts from “She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry,” a documentary filled with stories that still resonate today as women face new challenges around reproductive rights and sexual violence. The documentary tells the stories of the activists of the Women’s Liberation Movement that gained traction in the late 1960s and led to social and policy changes that set women on a path towards equality and reproductive justice. It also addresses the intersections of race and gender and the experiences of the Black women who were integral to this movement. The film is about activists, those who inspire, organize, and revolutionize the world by changing the standards and broadening what we think is possible.

Quincy Troupe, author Miles and Me. In part two of this series, Troupe shares his candid account of his friendship with Miles Davis, revealing a portrait of a great musician in his unique relationship with Davis as a writer and friend.

Details Coming Soon.

This week we look at one of the greatest Doo Wop groups, The Cleftones, through an archival interview with the late Herbie Cox. Cox was a founding member of this unique sounding vocal group from Queens, NY. Started in 1955, The Cleftones enjoyed two national top 10 R&B records with “Little Girl Of Mine” in 1956 and “Heart & Soul” in 1961 and were one of the few vocal groups to score hits in two decades. Matt The Cat was fortunate enough to have interviewed Herb Cox and this week he shares that wonderful interview, packed with Herbie’s remembrances of the early days of The Cleftones from the first records to the first package tours. This sprawling interview is littered with The Cleftones’ greatest sides jumpin’ out of the ol’ Rockola.

Jazz Night profiles drummer, composer, educator, and 2022 NEA Jazz Master Billy Hart. Hear stories from his upbringing, words from his mentees, and music from Hart’s 80th birthday concert at Dizzy’s Club.

Bassist Charlie Haden (Originally aired 05/05/2013). In this edition Richard Hadlock surveys the career of Charlie Haden who he considered one of the great stand-up bassists in Jazz. Highlights include Charlie Haden with Ornette Coleman, Denny Zeitlin, Pee Wee Russell & Red Allen, Don Cherry, Keith Jarrett, and The Liberation Orchestra.

Stage, film and television actor, Bruce McGill, first came to fame as the motorcycle-riding, bad boy character, D-Day, in National Lampoon’s Animal House. McGill’s rugged looks led to more tough guy roles, but also to a wide range of everything from Shakespeare to voice acting on Family Guy, to long runs on MacGyver, Shades of Blue and Rizzoli and Isles.Bruce McGill is an accomplished musician and golfer as well, and has used these skills to enhance or influence his take on multiple characters through the years, most notably, playing golf great, Walter Hagen in the film The Legend of Badger Vance. Bruce and I met on Crystal Symphony on a Hollywood-themed cruise, where I was there to play a concert and Bruce to lecture about his long film career. One thing led to another and this fascinating conversation was recorded.

Who’s Afraid of DEI? “There was not a moment that I came into the workplace and thought that I would belong or be treated properly or equally.” Ruchika Tulshyan, a workplace inclusion expert, paraphrases an interview with Ijeoma Oluo, a thought leader on race in America, for Tulshyan’s book, Inclusion on Purpose. In the conversation featured in this episode, these two women talk about Ruchika’s misassumptions about race and gender in the workplace in her first book, and the intersection of race and gender as it differently and more severely impacts women of color. They discuss the immigrant experience, the subtle and overt ways immigrants and non-Black people of color are encouraged to hold up white supremacy and propagate anti-Blackness, and how we work to dismantle these and build workplaces where women of color feel safe, respected, and supported.