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An interview with Prof. Brian Torff was featured on the Feb. 1 edition of Greasy Tracks which will included a wide range of music from the legendary Stax Records.

Click here to listen to an archive of the show, while a playlist is here.

Torff — a veteran bassist, composer and band leader, in addition to being music program director at Fairfield University — will preview a Feb. 9 presentation he’s making at the West Hartford Public Library: “Soul, Stax, And Civil Rights.”

The event, which is free and open to the public, focuses on the impact of soul music during the 1950s-70s, with Torff giving special attention to the legacy of Stax which was based in Memphis.

Torff visited Tennessee and Mississippi in 2018 and part of his presentation will include photos he took during the trip which provided him a better insight of Southern blues and soul, largely rooted in gospel music and how it all made its way to the recording studio.

During the aforementioned time period, Memphis was in its heyday as a recording mecca.

Sam Phillips, who founded Memphis Recording Service — later known as Sun Studio — in 1950, is the one who got the ball rolling and where the likes of Ike Turner, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Howlin’ Wolf, Little Milton, Johnny Cash, Bobby Bland and Roy Orbison all recorded.

In the ensuing years, Sun was followed by Stax, American Sound

Studio, Royal Studio and Ardent Studios. Many studios boasted top-notch house bands: Stax had the Mar-Keys and later, the renowned Booker T & the MGs; Royal had the Hi Rhythm Section; and American The Memphis Boys.

Torff brings a unique background to the classroom as a historian, but also as a working musician who effectively got his first paying gig at the urging of the legendary bassist Milt Hinton who connected him with singer Cleo Laine who had Torff back her on a U.S. tour. Torff made his professional debut at Carnegie Hall with Laine. He would later play with pianists Mary Lou Williams and Marian McPartland, did a brief stint with violin icon Stephane Grappelli and had the honor of being part of pianist Erroll Garner’s last group.

When noted pianist George Shearing opted to play in a trio or duo instead of his traditional quintet, Torff became a trusted go-to and would work with Shearing for nearly four years. Their third album together, An Evening with George Shearing & Mel Tormé, won a Grammy.

In addition to hosting their own PBS special from the Café Carlyle in New York City, the duo appeared on The Tonight Show and Merv Griffin Show as well as performing for President and Mrs. Ronald Reagan during Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands state visit in 1982 to mark 200 years of peaceful diplomacy between the two nations.

As a composer, Torff’s work has been performed by the Boston Pops, Los Angeles Philharmonic and Pittsburgh Symphony.

Torff currently leads New Duke, an eight-piece jazz-rock band that performs his compositions as well as updated arrangements of Duke Ellington’s music.

The Weight Band was featured on the Jan. 25 edition of Greasy Tracks.

Click here to listen to an archive of the show, while a playlist is here.

In addition to tracks from their studio album, World Gone Mad, there were interviews with guitarist Jim Weider and keyboardist Matt Zeiner as well as a selection of tracks from The Band.

The group appears at Infinity Hall in Hartford on Feb. 14.

Tracing its roots to some impromptu performances by former members of The Band — Weider and drummer Randy Ciarlante — joined by guitarist Jimmy Vivino and bassist Byron Isaacs along with Band founder Garth Hudson, The Weight Band was formed in 2013 with the goal of carrying on the tradition of the legendary group.

From its humble beginnings playing in Levon Helm’s barn, the group began to take its show on the road, playing dates across the country. Through some personnel changes over time — in addition to Weider and Zeiner — the group includes Brian Mitchell (keyboards/vocals), bassist Albert Rogers and drummer Michael Bram.

Weider spent 15 years in The Band, which called it quits in 2000 following the passing of bassist Rick Danko.

While The Weight Band’s concerts typically feature an in-depth selection of The Band’s catalog, the group’s debut studio album which came out in 2018 — minus a pair of interesting covers — is all original material, albeit in the style of The Band.

Throughout the program, there was music featuring Marty Grebb — a former member of The Weight Band — who passed away at the age of 74 on Jan. 1. Grebb, who did time with the Buckinghams and was a founding member of the Fabulous Rhinestones, was a longtime sideman for Bonnie Raitt and also worked with J.J. Cale, Leon Russell, Taj Mahal, Elton John, Roger McGuin and Roseann Cash to name but a few.

There was also an interview with Barry Sless, who plays guitar and pedal steel in the David Nelson Band. Sless discussed the Robert Hunter track “Movin’ Right Along,” which was recorded by the Nelson Band and released on Jan. 22.

An interview with veteran musician, producer and songwriter Al Kooper was featured on the Dec. 21 edition of Greasy Tracks where the legendary Super Session album will be featured.

Click here to listen to an archive of the show, while a playlist is here.

Super Session: Al Kooper (left) and Michael Bloomfield taking a break during recording for what would ultimately be “Super Session” in 1968. (Jim Marshall photo)

Kooper, best known as one of the founding members of The Blues Project and Blood, Sweat & Tears, was involved in landmark recording sessions with Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix. In addition to releasing a number of solo albums, his behind-the-scenes work as a producer and player with such artists as Lynyrd Skynyrd, Don Ellis, The Tubes, Nils Lofgren, Joe Ely, Shuggie Otis and Lenny White helped pave the way for critically acclaimed releases from each.

Recorded in 1968, Super Session was the first production for Kooper who had recently been signed to Columbia. It was initially supposed to be a collaboration between Kooper and Michael Bloomfield, a guitarist he’d met in 1965 during studio work for what would become Dylan’s famed Highway 61 Revisited.

Electric impact at Newport: The Paul Butterfield Blues Band at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, guitarist Michael Bloomfield (left), drummer Sam Lay, Butterfield and guitarist Elvin Bishop (right). Bloomfield would back Bob Dylan later that day. (Dr. John Rudoff photo)

Although invited to observe, not play on the recording session, Kooper, then 21, took his guitar with him, determined to be a participant. Recognizing Bloomfield’s ability and possibly intimidated, Kooper realized there was no way he could measure up to such talent, but eager to be part of the recording, he got behind the Hammond organ in the studio. Even though he had little or no experience as a keyboardist, Kooper’s improvised organ lines impressed Dylan so much that he directed the recording engineers to bring it up in the mix that would become “Like a Rolling Stone.”

Dylan goes electric: Michael Bloomfield (left), bassist Jerome Arnold and keyboardist Al Kooper backed Bob Dylan (center) at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival where Dylan shocked the folk world by playing an electric set. Bloomfield and Kooper sessioned on Dylan’s “Highway 61 Revisited” a month earlier. (Photo courtesy of newportfolk.com)

A month later, Dylan sent ripples through the folk world when he played an electric set at the Newport Folk Festival with Bloomfield, Kooper and several members of the Butterfield Blues Band backing him up.

Kooper and Bloomfield formed a friendship during the Highway 61 proceedings, but each would be involved with other groups – Kooper with The Blues Project and Bloomfield with the Butterfield Blues Band and Electric Flag – before linking up for what would become Super Session which was essentially planned by Kooper to be a jam session over a two-day period.

Kooper and Bloomfield — joined by bassist Harvey Brooks and drummer Eddie Hoh — would play a handful of pre-determined tracks along with potentially on-the-spot creations in the studio. Barry Goldberg, who along with Brooks, played with Bloomfield in the Electric Flag, played piano on two tracks.

During the first day of recording at Columbia’s studio in Hollywood, the group played came up with a handful of original tracks in what was largely a blues/jazz format, including the Kooper-Bloomfield penned instrumentals “Albert’s Shuffle,” “His Holy Modal Majesty” and “Really” along with an instrumental version of the Jerry Ragovoy/Mort Shuman nugget “Stop” and a soulful take of Curtis Mayfield’s “Man’s Temptation” with Kooper handling vocals.

Improvisational jamming: Guitarist Michael Bloomfield and bassist Harvey Brooks during recording for “Super Session.” The pair sessioned on Bob Dylan’s “Highway 61 Revisited” and would later play together in The Electric Flag. (Jim Marshall photo)

The longest selection on the side, “His Holy Modal Majesty,” topped nine minutes and while a tribute to John Coltrane, drew comparisons to the title track of Butterfield’s East-West which came out two years earlier.

As it turned out, Bloomfield, who suffered from insomnia, returned to San Francisco home and did not return for the second day in the studio forcing Kooper to dig into his phone book and make calls to Randy California (Spirit), Jerry Garcia (Grateful Dead), Steve Miller and Stephen Stills who was then with the soon-to-be-broken-up Buffalo Springfield.

Stills was the only one to return the call and his contributions would end up making the second side of the album which included a version of Dylan’s “It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry”; an extended version of Donovan’s Season of the Witch”;  a cover of Willie Cobbs’ “You Don’t Love Me” and “Harvey’s Tune” — an instrumental by Brooks.

Following the two-day session, Kooper returned to New York to mix the album and add some horns to a handful of tracks. It was released less than two months later and would eventually go to No. 12 on the Billboard 200 and gain gold status in sales. Total cost to make the album, $13,000.

Following the release of Super Session, Kooper and Bloomfield joined up for a three-night run at the Fillmore West in San Francisco that September. The recordings culled from these shows were released as The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper, and included a rare vocal by Bloomfield on a version of Albert King’s “Don’t Throw Your Love on Me So Strong.”

Bloomfield died in 1981 at the age of 37.

An interview with David Dann was featured on the Dec. 14 edition of Greasy Tracks where the author discussed Guitar King: Michael Bloomfield’s Life In The Blues (University of Texas Press).

The program included music from across Bloomfield’s career. Click here to listen to an archive of the show, while a playlist is here.

A native of Chicago, Bloomfield began playing guitar at the age of 12 and in his early teens started hanging out at blues clubs on Chicago’s south side. Before he was 20, he’d earned a reputation as a talented player, being adept on electric as well as acoustic guitar and piano.

Before joining the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in 1964, Bloomfield had shared the stage or recorded with the likes of “Little” Walter Jacobs, Chuck Berry, Big Joe Turner, James “Yank” Rachell and Sleepy John Estes to name but a few.

Bloomfield was Influenced by a wide range of guitarists — the aforementioned Berry and Williams along with Scotty Moore, B.B. King, Albert King, Freddie King and Otis Rush — but also Ray Charles.

Along with Elvin Bishop, the Butterfield band became a two-guitar line-up with Bloomfield’s entrance where he would garner rave reviews as he teamed with Bishop for a unique, dual-guitar approach that melded with Mark Naftalin on keys and Butterfield’s masterful harp playing to produce some creative originals and innovative versions of blues standards.

Back on stage: Michael Bloomfield performs in 1973 at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco (Jonathan Perry photo)

Bloomfield would only appear on three Butterfield studio albums. One of them, East-West in 1966, was regarded as a ground-breaking jazz-blues hybrid, especially the title track and a cover of Nat Adderly’s “Work Song.”

During his spell with Butterfield, Bloomfield would be part of the landmark recording sessions that would produce Bob Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited album in 1965. A month after those sessions, Bloomfield along with members of the Butterfield band and keyboardist Al Kooper would back Dylan at the Newport Folk Festival where Dylan “went electric.”

Burned out from road work with Butterfield, Bloomfield relocated to the San Francisco Bay area in 1967 where he formed The Electric Flag, his “American Music Band,” which augmented a horn section which was a novelty for blues-based bands at this time. Even before they’d settled on a name, the lineup recorded the soundtrack for the The Trip — a Jack Nicholson and Roger Corman collaboration — starring Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper.

The group made its live debut that year at the Monterey Pop Festival.

A lifelong insomniac, the oft-manic Bloomfield also wrestled with drug issues, including being a heroin user for much of his life. No matter how promising The Electric Flag was — the band had gained a reputation as an outstanding, albeit at times inconsistent live act – their one studio album with Bloomfield, A Long Time Coming, drew mixed reviews.

Electric impact at Newport: The Paul Butterfield Blues Band at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. Guitarist Michael Bloomfield (left), drummer Sam Lay, Butterfield and guitarist Elvin Bishop (right) would back Bob Dylan later that day. (Dr. John Rudoff photo)

Shortly after the release of their much-anticipated debut studio album, Bloomfield, disillusioned at being a band leader, abruptly quit the group which had been hampered by artistic differences, clashing egos/personalities and no shortage of drug problems among some of its members.

Eager to remove himself from the vicious cycle of recording and touring, Bloomfield literally became a homebody, preferring to distance himself from the music industry in favor of watching television, reading and listening to music in his house.

This would change in May 1968 when Kooper convinced Bloomfield to link up for what would become Super Session, essentially a project planned by Kooper to be a jam session over a two-day period at a Columbia Records studio in Hollywood.

Kooper and Bloomfield — joined by bassist Harvey Brooks and drummer Eddie Hoh — would play a handful of pre-determined tracks along with potentially on-the-spot creations in the studio. Barry Goldberg, who along with Brooks were in The Electric Flag, played piano on two tracks.

After successfully completing the first day’s session, Bloomfield, impacted by his chronic insomnia and a gnawing need for heroin, returned to San Francisco, abandoning the final session. A desperate Kooper would enlist Stephen Stills, then coming to the end of his time with Buffalo Springfield, to complete the recordings.

Super Session: Al Kooper (left) and Michael Bloomfield taking a break during recording for what would ultimately be Super Session in 1968. (Jim Marshall photo)

The album came out less than two months later and would eventually go to No. 12 on the Billboard 200 and gain gold status in sales.

The Dec. 21 edition of Greasy Tracks will feature an interview with Kooper who breaks down Super Session track by track.

Later that year, Kooper and Bloomfield joined up for a three-night run at the Fillmore West in San Francisco. The recordings culled from these shows were released as The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper, and included a rare vocal by Bloomfield on a version of Albert King’s “Don’t Throw Your Love on Me So Strong” and Ray Charles’ “Mary Ann.”

Throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s, Bloomfield would split time between doing session work and his own projects, including a number of film soundtracks, often working with vocalist Nick Gravenities.

Bloomfield died in 1981 at the age of 37.

Guitarist Norman Brown will be interviewed on the Dec. 13 edition of Java Jazz.

The program airs 6-9 a.m. Click here to listen live.

Brown appears at the with Lyman Center For The Performing Arts in New Haven on Dec. 14 where he will be doing a fittingly seasonally themed performance — Norman Brown’s Joyous Christmas — along with vocalist Bobby Caldwell and saxophonist Marion Meadows.

Brown, who won a Grammy Award for Just Chillin’ in 2003, released his 11th album, The Highest Act of Love (Shanachie), earlier this year.

A career retrospective of and interview with “Big” Al Anderson was featured on the Dec. 7 edition of Greasy Tracks.

Click here to listen to an archive of the show, while a playlist is here.

An Annual Rite: Jim Chapdelanie (left) and Big Al Anderson perform at Cave Nine in New Haven during a July 2019 appearance with The Floor Models. (Tom Kaszuba photo)‏

The Windsor native and former member of the renowned Wildweeds and NRBQ, plays Infinity Hall in Norfolk (Dec. 27) and Hartford (Dec. 28) with The Floor Models in what has become an annual tradition as the Nashville-based Anderson returns to his roots. Anderson’s ex-mates NRBQ play Infinity Norfolk on Dec. 31.

A founding member of The Wildweeds — who formed in 1966 and released a handful of singles, scoring a regional hit with the Anderson-penned “No Good To Cry” — Anderson joined NRBQ in 1971 and would remain with the band until 1993 in what was the most creative and successful period for “The Q”.

In his post-NRBQ days, Anderson moved to Nashville and blossomed as a songwriter, leaning heavily on country styles and supplying material for hundreds of artists.

While Anderson does annual Connecticut gigs with The Floor Models — featuring guitarist Jim Chapdelanie, drummer Lorne Entress and bassist Paul Kochanski — he also plays with Nashville-based The World Famous Headliners..

The annual WRTC fundraising marathon concluded Nov. 9.

Those who pledged should expect to receive a form in the mail with instructions on how and where to send their donation.

“Thank You” premiums are slated to be sent in December.

The staff and management of WRTC is grateful for the generosity of our dedicated listeners who have supported us year after year.

The bulk of our financial assistance has traditionally come from our listeners and, more than ever, we rely on their backing to keep us on the air doing what we do best.

As the non-commercial radio station of Trinity College, we offer a diverse schedule of nearly 70 programs. Aside from engineering services provided by the college, we’re an all-volunteer organization

We use listener donations to continually improve our ability to bring quality, community-based radio, 24-hours-a-day, 365 days a year to our listeners.

Donations, tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law, are always accepted, either by check — made out to “Trustees of Trinity College” — and mailed to WRTC Marathon, 300 Summit St., Hartford, CT 06106, or by credit card via the secure Trinity College website by clicking this link ==> Donate to WRTC where card information can be entered in the form. Select “Other” and then indicate “WRTC” for  donation. Donors also have an option to use PayPal® via this site.

For more information, or to make a pledge, contact the station at 860-297-2450.

An interview with vocalist Fee Waybill and the music of The Tubes was featured on the Nov. 30 edition of Greasy Tracks.

Click here to listen to an archive of the show, while a playlist is here.

The Tubes return to Infinity Hall in Hartford on Dec. 13 where they will be performing their 1981 chart-friendly release The Completion Backwards Principle in its entirety as well as a variety of tracks from throughout their career.

In addition to Waybill, three other original members of the band remain in the line-up, including guitarist Roger Steen, bassist Rick Anderson and drummer Prairie Prince.

The Nov. 20 edition of the Boris Rock Show featured an interview with The Feelies.

The New Jersey-based band formed in 1976 and although without a label, began to draw a following. In 1978, The Village Voice named them “The Best Unsigned Band In New York.” By 1980 they had signed with Stiff Records and released their debut, Crazy Rhythms.

While sales of the album were unimpressive, it was met with a critical thumb’s up. Then-lead vocalist Richard Reilly was compared to a Velvet Underground-era Lou Reed.

There was a turnover in the line-up shortly after their first album came out, leading to a six-year hiatus, but following a reformation and opening slot on a tour with REM. This would lead to REM guitarist Peter Buck producing their next album, The Good Earth which many consider a masterpiece.

In 1988 they would be on A&M where they released a pair of albums, Only Life (1988) and Time for a Witness (1991), but it was also the time the band by chance linked up with Reed. Backing their hero for an impromptu 20-minute performance at legendary Long Island rock radio station WLIR’s Christmas party, led to them opening during Reed’s tour to support the release of New York.

Following their 1991 release, the band again when dormant, but would play occasional gigs due to popular demand. Their cult following would allow them to record two albums for Bar None Records Here Before (2011) and In Between (2017).

The current line-up includes Glenn Mercer and Bill Million on guitars;
drummer Dave Weckerman; bassist Brenda Sauter; and percusiojnist
Stan Demeski.

An interview with Nathan Carter was featured on the Nov. 18 edition of Bantam Backroads as hosts Alex and Maura spotlighted music from across his career, including tracks from his just-released Irish Heartland (Sharpe Music).

Click here to listen to archives of the program.

Carter plays The Bushnell on Nov. 21 with Chloë Agnew supporting.

According to Carter, the 18-track Irish Heartland – his 10th studio release – is his first true folk project and includes guest appearances by The High Kings, Finbar Furey & Cherish the Ladies and the Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra.

While there’s no mistaking the influences of North American Country music on him, pigeonholing Carter’s unique style of music can be challenging, especially to U.S. audiences. Thus the genre Country and Irish – think of Irish musical styles colliding with Nashville – is the category where Carter has become one of the brightest stars, including five No. 1 releases on the Irish Album Charts.

A multi-instrumentalist — he is adept on accordion, guitar and piano – Carter won the All Ireland Title for Traditional Singing at the age of 10.

On his current tour, Carter fronts a six-piece band, including lead guitarist John Pettifer; the rhythm section of Gareth Lowry (drums) and Carl Harvey (bass); John Byrne on keyboards, saxophone, flute and whistles; Ciaran O’Malley on guitar and banjo and Niall Murphy on flute, mandolin and guitar.