Category: Uncategorized

The May 31 edition of Greasy Tracks will feature a five-and-a-half-hour spotlight on Jesse Ed Davis, including an interview with author Douglas Miller who discusses his recently published, Washita Love Child: The Rise of Indigenous Rock Star Jesse Ed Davis (Liveright).

The program, which caps a month-long celebration of 30 years of Greasy Tracks at WRTC, airs noon-5:30 p.m. ET and streams here. 

In addition to going deep into Davis’ extensive catalog, there will be interviews with those who knew and worked with the gifted, yet enigmatic guitarist, including Jim Keltner, Gary Mallaber, Ben Sidran, John Simon and Jim Waggaman.

We’ll also be doing a number of tracks from the recently released, Tomorrow May Not Be Your Day: The Unissued ATCO Recordings 1970-1971 (Real Gone Music) — 17 unissued recordings from the ¡Jesse Davis! and Ululu sessions. Copies of the CD will be given away during the show.

Davis was a highly influential Native American guitarist known for his exceptional versatility and soulful playing. Born in 1944 in Norman, Okla., he was of Kiowa, Comanche and Muscogee heritage.

He rose to prominence in the late 1960s and 1970s as a sought-after session musician, contributing to albums by legendary artists such as Taj Mahal, George Harrison, John Lennon, Bob Dylan and Jackson Browne. His guitar work was marked by expressive phrasing and a deep blues sensibility, blending rock, blues, and country with fluid ease.

Davis first gained attention as a member of Mahal’s band, contributing standout guitar solos on Mahal’s self-titled debut and The Natch’l Blues. His distinctive style, emotional depth and technical skill earned him a respected place among rock’s elite. Despite his professional success, Davis struggled with substance abuse, which ultimately affected his career.

Later in life, collaborating with John Trudell, he became involved in efforts to support Native American rights and music, helping to inspire a new generation of Indigenous musicians.

Davis died in 1988 at the age of 43, but his legacy endures through the timeless recordings he left behind and his influence on countless guitarists who followed.

The May 25 edition of Strictly Roots will celebrate the music of “Junior” Byles who passed away May 15 at the age of 76.

The program airs 6-8 p.m. and streams here.

Born Kenneth Thaddeus William Byles, Jr., in Kingston, the singer began his career in 1967 as a member of the Versatiles, a vocal trio he formed with Louie Davis and Dudley Earl. They released a number of singles for Nu Beat, Crab and Amalgamated Records, amongst other labels.

Byles left the group in 1969 following the release of their most popular single, “Lu-Lu Bell,” opting to focus on going solo, but also working with Lee “Scratch” Perry.

Byles and Perry would collaborate on numerous singles between 1968 and 1974, including “Curly Locks” and “Beat Down Babylon.”

Russia’s long history is rich with tsars and tsarinas, world-renowned philosophers and writers, revolutions and discoveries as well as a rich culture repleat with amazing music.

Learn all about it on the May 23 edition of Friday Class with Prof. Lay who will be joined by Dr. Carol Any, professor language and culture studies at Trinity College.

The program airs 6-9 a.m. and streams here.

Dr. Any is the author of Boris Eikhenbaum: Voices of a Russian Formalist and The Soviet Writers’ Union and Its Leaders: Identity and Authority under Stalin (Stanford University Press), which won the University of Southern California Book Prize in Literary and Cultural Studies.

Learn more about the Russia you don’t hear about in the news and enjoy the music.

An interview with the namesake of The Ed Palermo Big Band aired May 10 as part of a series of special features this month to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Greasy Tracks.

Here’s the archive, while a playlist is here.

We tracked through Prog vs. Fusion: A War of the Ages, the just-released album by The Ed Palermo Big Band which focuses on the challenging subject of material by Miles Davis, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Yes, King Crimson, Frank Zappa and others.

The band plays a record-release show at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York on May 19.

Palermo, the saxophonist and arranger, leads the New York City-based 18-piece ensemble renowned for its inventive jazz interpretations of jazz and rock classics, often leaning heavily on Zappa’s catalog, but never afraid to tackle an array of artists ranging from British Invasion bands to Todd Rundgren.

Greasy Tracks debuted on May 6, 1995, and has traditionally focused on a mix of soul — think Memphis — blues, rock, jazz and funk music.

Program content is intentionally devoid of hits and “sing-along-feel-good-music” as the host strives to challenge himself and the listeners when it comes to selections and focus. Long-form features are the norm and an average of 30-50 musicians, authors and recording industry veterans are interviewed each year..

The April 27 edition of Strictly Roots celebrated the music of roots reggae vocalist Max Romeo who passed away on April 11 at the age of 80. Here’s the archive.

Romeo’s career began in the late 1960s as part of a vocal group called The Emotions. Despite being banned from being played on the air due to its sexual lyrics, his first major solo single “Wet Dream” in 1968 was wildly popular and made the Top 10 on the UK charts.

His career flourished in the 1970s, highlighted by work with Lee “Scratch” Perry on such songs as “War Ina Babylon,” “Three Blind Mice” and “Chase the Devil.”

Also included on the program will be music not played during recent tributes for Cocoa Tea and Ken Parker.

Much of the sounds of the April 19 edition of Greasy Tracks came from Memphis with a deep dive into Family (Alligator), the brand-new release from Southern Avenue.

Here’s the archive, while a playlist is here.

There’s an interview with vocalist Tierinii Jackson who discusses how the new album was put together and recorded at the legendary Royal Studios.

The band was formed in 2015 by guitarist Ori Naftaly who had begun working with Jackson and her sister, drummer Tikyra Jackson, after calling time on his previous group, The Ori Naftaly Band.

Merging the blues-influenced playing of Naftaly, the gospel background of the sisters and, by default of being based in Memphis, the inescapable soul and roots rock meets hill country music, there’s no surprise the band boasts an infectious sound.

They released two albums on Stax, their self-titled debut in 2017 and Keep On two years later. In 2021, they moved to BMG subsidiary Renew Records where they put out the Steve Berlin-produced Be The Love You Want. Featuring a bigger, horn-driven sound as Memphis veterans Art Edmaiston (sax), Marc Franklin (trumpet) and Kirk Smothers (sax) were part of the sessions. A third Jackson sister, Ava, also appeared on a track.

Fast forward through being off the road during Covid and the task of writing their new album, the band signed to Alligator. Working with producer John Burk and engineer Boo Mitchell, they cut the album at Royal Studios with Ava now a member of the band, adding vocals, violin and percussion.

The April 12 edition of The Soul Express featured the entire Buddy Miles Live.

Here’s the archive.

The Soul Express usually airs the first Saturday of the month with Dean Farrell.

The 1971 double album was the first live release from Miles and marked a particularly busy period for the drummer/bandleader who had done time with the Electric Flag and Jimi Hendrix’s Band of Gypsys.

It followed the critically acclaimed Them Changes a year earlier which reached No. 8 on the Billboard jazz chart, No. 14 R&B and No. 35 on the Billboard 200.

Miles’ We Got To Live Together, which also came out in 1970, and Message To The People (1971), didn’t garner as much attention, but were solid efforts and a number of tracks from each was included on the live album.

The live offering was the sixth and final release on Mercury as he moved to Columbia the following year, putting out Carlos Santana & Buddy Miles! Live!

The remainder of The Soul Express included tracks from William Bell, James Brown, Don Covay, Aretha Franklin, Funkadelic, Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell, Latimore, the Moments, the Olympics, Freda Payne, Ann Peebles, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, the Spinners, the Staple Singers, the Supremes, the Temptations, Johnnie Taylor, Rufus Thomas, Ike & Tina Turner, Jackie Wilson and Stevie Wonder — among others.

The April 5 edition of Greasy Tracks featured an interview with and career overview of Jon Pousette-Dart.

Here’s the archive, while a playlist is here.

Pousette-Dart and noted guitarist/producer Jim Chapdalaine play the Sounding Board in West Hartford on April 26. They also play April 19 at the Narrows Center for the Arts in Fall River, Mass.; and July 18 at the Iron Horse in Northampton, Mass.

Best known as the leader and a founding member of the Pousette-Dart Band, a folk-rock group that emerged in the 1970s and released a handful of well-received major-label albums, Pousette-Dart was in the thick of it as the rock music industry grew exponentially that decade.

As a live outfit, the band shared bills with the likes of Yes, Peter Frampton and Gary Wright when they were at the height of their popularity, but myriad industry changes led to the group officially calling time in 1981.

Over the years, there would be sporadic reunions, but for the most part, Pousette-Dart focused on his solo career. He’s released a number of albums and continues to put out singles.

Despite first meeting in Cambridge, Mass., in the 1970s — Chapdalaine worked at Pousette-Dart’s favorite record shop — Pousette-Dart and Chapdalaine wouldn’t start working together for many decades. For the past 25 years they’ve primarily played as an acoustic duo or occasionally in an electric lineup.

The April 11 edition of Friday Class will feature in-studio guest Dr. David Sterling Brown who will discuss American Globe Center’s fascinating proposed project to make a theatre campus in Connecticut featuring the world’s only timber-frame recreation of the famed 1614 Globe Theatre in London a reality.

The program airs 6-9 a.m. and streams here.

Dr. Brown, an associate professor of English at Trinity College, is part of the Stratford, Conn.-based AGC’s working group as a development associate and scholar-in-residence.

The original Globe was built in 1599 by the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, a company of actors for which William Shakespeare wrote some of his most famous plays. The theatre was destroyed by fire in 1613, but rebuilt in 1614 on the same site. The biggest difference between the two venues was that the original had a thatched roof with one gable while the latter was tiled with two gables. It closed in 1642 and was demolished three years later.

The obvious location for the proposed new build, replicating the 1614 Globe, was in Stratford on the site that was home to the famed 1,500-seat American Shakespeare Festival Theatre which closed in 1989 and was burned to the ground in 2019 by a trio of teen arsonists. Town officials deemed AGC’s visionary project too large as they were opting for a smaller performance arts center that would seat only 350.

At this point, the non-profit group is considering several Connecticut municipalities for their 1,000-seat AGC Playhouse, combined with a 900-seat, plus standing groundlings, timber-frame 1614 Globe Theatre, including Hartford.

They have targeted April 23, 2028, as the opening date — the anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth. Discussions with multiple cities are on-going.

The facility will incorporate a modern performing arts and education center with a state-of-the-art mainstage and blackbox, along with gathering areas, gardens and green space.

AGC believes this will be a premier tourism hub, “a one-of-a-kind destination” blending entertainment, culture and history — making Connecticut “Shakespeare Central.”

They say it will also provide lasting impact when it comes to culture as well as state and local economies.

Citing school programming, workshops and touring performances which will bridge funding gaps in arts education, AGC includes the value of a projected $131 million annual economic boost via tourism, hospitality and associated wages that will fuel the state’s economy. A $1 per ticket surcharge would annually generate $300,000-$500,000 to the municipality that lands them.

The March 22 edition of Greasy Tracks featured the music of Freddie King and an interview with guitarist Popa Chubby who is poised to release a tribute album to the legendary bluesman.

Here’s the archive, while a playlist is here.

Nicknamed “The Texas Cannonball,” King was a pioneering guitarist and singer, known for his fiery playing style and soulful voice. Blending Texas and Chicago blues to create a powerful, electrifying sound that influenced countless musicians — especially a number of British players in the 1960s who would one day be household names.

“Hide Away” (1960) and “The Stumble” (1962), co-written by King and long-time collaborator Sonny Thompson, proved to be vital. During their respective time with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Eric Clapton, Peter Green and Mick Taylor tackled King-Thompson tracks with aplomb.

The aforementioned songs also caught the attention of New York-based Chubby when he was beginning his career as a teen. His I Love Freddie King (Gulf Coast Records) comes out March 28.

“To say I was dreaming about doing this record for 30 years would be an understatement,” Chubby wrote in the album’s liner notes. “I remember being 18, playing guitar for a year or two, and an older cat in the neighborhood telling me I had to check out Freddie King. I immediately listened to ‘Hideaway,’ and ‘Have You Ever Loved a Woman’ and my mind was changed forever.

“Years later, I signed with Sony Records and covered ‘Palace Of The King’ and ‘Same Old Blues’ from the Getting Ready… album.”

Getting Ready… (1971) was King’s debut on Shelter Records which was co-owned by Leon Russell and Denny Cordell. Co-produced by Russell and Don Nix, the sessions paired King with some of the top Tulsa musicians who had played with Russell for years. The album also featured the Nix-penned track, “Going Down” which King stylistically made his own, further influencing even more players. Jeff Beck and Stevie Ray Vaughan were clearly paying attention, even if Vaughan was more heavily influenced by Albert King.

There are plenty of guest appearances on Chubby’s tribute effort with Joe Bonamassa, Mike Zito, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Eric Gales and Albert Castiglia sitting in. Tracks covered include the expected King-Thompson jewels as well as numerous tracks King himself covered and were long associated with him.

Regarded as one of the “Three Kings” in the blues world along with Albert King and B.B. King, Freddie King recorded numerous albums, but was really known for his live performances and hard-living life on the road — often doing 300 or more one-nighters a year. He died at the age of 42 in 1976.

Chubby has a number of dates looming in the tri-state area: March 29 at The Falcon in Marlboro, N.Y.; April 2 at Darryl’s House Club in Pawling, NY; April 18 at The Iron Horse in Northampton, Mass.; and following a European run, June 29 at Small Batch Cellars in North Haven.