November 26, 2006 Jazzy Joe Visits the Show
My son, Joe, was in town for the holidays from the Big Apple and came to my radio show to help me pick out some new songs. Melva's Musings on Jazz comes to you from Carrboro, NC on WCOM, 103.5 fm on the dial. We are low power, which means to get a good reception anywhere in the world, your best option is to go to the internet broadcast at www.communityradio.coop. My show features the best of NC's jazz musicians of the present and our past. Often I have jazz musicians on my show playing live music. I like to brag on North Carolina and say we have born and bred more great jazz musicians than any other state.

Please join me every Sunday night from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. EST.

Playlist

• Nina Simone (b. Tryon, NC); Anthology CD; I Wish I Knew How it Would Feel to be Free
• Ray Charles/Gladys Knight; Genius Loves Company CD; Heaven Help Us All
• Billie Holiday; The Essential CD; One for My Baby
• Neville Brothers; Treacherous CD; Waiting at the Station
• Frankie Alexander (b. Concord, NC; lives Durham, NC) jazz singer and Scott Warner (taught at UNC-Chapel Hill for ten years) jazz piano player, composer, teacher; Feeling LIke Someone in Love
• Dizzy Gillespie (h.s. in Laurinburg, NC); Dizzier & Dizzier CD; You Stole My Wife, You Horsethief
• Arturo Sandoval; Modern Jazz (Beatles music) CD; Blackbird
• Bus Brown (lived Durham, NC for 10 yrs.) jazz singer, song writer, teacher; Story Teller album; Did You Thank Allah
• Brother Yusuf Salim (lives Durham, NC) jazz piano player, singer, composer; Yusuf Sings Yusuf CD; Hymn to Us All
• Max Roach (b. New Land, NC); 3/4 Time CD; Little Folks
• Susan Reeves (Raleigh-based singer); Susan Reeves CD; You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To
• Mary Lou Williams (lived and died in Durham, NC); My Mama Pinned a Rose on Me CD; The Blues (with Cynthia Tyson vocalist; Durham blues singer)
• Neville Brothers; Treacherous CD; Hercules
• Robert Griffin (Carrboro, NC) piano player, composer, teacher; NC: A State of Music CD; Killing Me Softly
• Lola Youngman and the Dave Youngman Quartet (Greensboro, NC); This Can't Be Love CD; Peel Me a Grape
• Al Green & Lyle Lovett; Rhythm/Country & Blues CD; Funny How Time Slips Away
• Mahlon Hoard (Pittsboro, NC) saxaphonist & Tyson Rogers on piano; The Land Outside CD; Falling Arch
• Sawyer-Goldberg (Durham-based jazz group) Jazzadelia CD; But Beautiful
• Gabriel Pelli (violinist Carrboro-area) & Katharine Whalen (Durham-based singer); Europa Jazz CD; I Cover the Waterfront
• Jamuna (Pittsboro-based singer); The Innocence to Cry CD; Moscow Night
• Thelonius Monk (b. Rocky Mount, NC) & John Coltrane (b. Hamlet, NC); Thelonius Monk with John Coltrane CD; Epistrophy
• Richard Tazewell (NC); Stairway to the Stars CD; You Go to My Head
• Billy Taylor (b. Greenville, NC); Taylor Made at the Kennedy Center; I Wish I Knew How it Felt to be Free

I start and end my show with the same song with a special emphasis on a great NC composer and two terrific NC performers. I begin my show with Nina Simone (Tryon, NC) singing the Billy Taylor song, I Wish I Knew How It Felt To Be Free, and end with Billy Taylor (Greenville, NC) playing his own song.

November 19 - Susan X2 Birthday Show and Remembrances of Dizzy

Melva's Musings on Jazz radio show is heard each Sunday night from 7:00 - 9:00 EST on WCOM (103.5 FM) out of Carrboro, NC. The show features the unique sounds of NC jazz musicians of the present and the past. Often the shows feature NC jazz musicians playing live in the WCOM studio. You can call into the show by dialing 919 929-9601. You can listen to the show by going to our web-broadcast at the WCOM website at www.communityradio.coop. Click on the button in the upper righthand corner and you will be connected.

This weekend we celebrated the 50th birthday of Susan McDaniel and the 60th of Susan Neulist. Joining me in the studio for a follow-up birthday cheer, singing and dancing, were Richard and Susan Neulist, Susan's brother Allen and wife Maryland from Ithaca, NY and Bob and Patty (Richard's cousin) from Bath, Maine.

Playlist

• Nina Simone (b. Tryon, NC); Anthology CD; I Wish I Knew How It Felt To Be Free
• Dizzy Gillespie (h.s. in Laurinburg, NC) & Marian McParland; Piano Jazz CD; Con Alma & On the Alamo
• Dizzy Gillespie; Dizzy Gillespie Story CD; Boppin' The Blues & A Night in Tunisia
• Scott Warner (was Chapel Hill based jazz piano performer, teacher, composer; WildMan Blues CD; Pine Apple Rag
• Susan Reeves (Raleigh-based singer) with John Brown on bass & Dennis Brown on piano & Thomas Taylor on drums; Susan Reeves CD; The Nearness of You
• Frankie Alexander (Durham-based jazz singer) & Scott Warner on piano; Vocals CD; Feeling Like Someone in Love
• Jamuna (Chatham-based singer); The Innocence to Cry CD; Moscow Night
• Adia Ledbetter (Durham-based singer) & Freeman Ledbetter on bass & Yusuf Salim on piano; Will Terrell on drums; and Raymond Codrington on trumpet; First Take CD; You Don't Know What Love Is
• Mary Lou Williams (Durham/Duke University); My Mama Pinned a Rose on Me; Blues for Peter
• Al Neese (Greensboro-base bebop trumpet player); The Omen Seeker CD; Blue & Silver
• Yusuf Salim (Durham-based piano player, singer, composer; Yusuf Sings Yusuf; A Hymn for Us All
• The Beatles; The Beatles CD 2; Birthday
  
• Elvis Presley; Platinum - A Life of Music CD; Blue Moon
  
• The Neville Brothers; Treacherous CD; Cha Dooky-Do & Waiting at the Station
  
• Professor Longhair; Rum and Coke CD; Gone So Long
• Miles Davis; Porgy & Bess CD; Summertime & Bess, Oh Where's My Bess
  
• Max Roach (b. New Land, NC); 3/4 Time CD; I'll Take Romance
  
• Gabe Evens (Durham-based piano player & composer) Quartet; Mobius CD; Elle
• Charlie Parker & Max Roach; Charlie Parker CD; I Remember You
• Joao Gilberto & Grady Tate (b. Durham, drummer, singer); Amoroso/Brasil CD; Besame Mucho
• Billy Taylor (b. Greenville) piano player, composer, teacher; Taylor Made at the Kennedy Center; I Wish I Knew How it Felt to be Free
  

November 12th Show - Melva's Musings on Jazz
Join me each Sunday night at www.communityradio.com from 7:00 - 9:00 EST or in the local Chapel Hil/Carrboro area at 103.5 fm; or give me a call at 919 929-9601. My show features the unique sounds of NC jazz from those of the past to those of the present.

Play List

• Nina Simone (b. Tryon, NC); Anthology CD; I Wish I knew How it Would Feel to be Free
  
• Neville Brothers; Treacherous CD; Cha Dooky-Do
• Mary Lou Williams/Cynthia Tyson (Durham-singer); My Mama Pinned a Rose on Me CD; The Blues
• Al Neese (Greensboro, NC); The Omen Seeker CD; Wood Heat
• Adia Ledbetter (Durham-singer); First Take CD; You Don't Know What Love Is
• Mietek Glinkowski/Alex Gorodezky (Raleigh-based musicians); Tango Cafe CD; Inverno Porteno
• Tony Galiani/Greg Brink (Carrboro-based); Jazz CD; You and the Night & the Music
• Gabriel Pelli (Carrboro-based); Europa Jazz; Black Orpheus
• Joao Gilberto/Grady Tate (b. Durham, drummer); Amoroso/Brasil CD; S'Wonderful
• Frankie Alexander (Durham-based singer)/Scott Warner (was Chapel Hill-based piano player, composer, educator, now in Bay Area); Jazz Vocals CD; Feeling Like Someone in Love
• Brian Horton (Durham-based sax player, teacher at NC Central Univ.); The Best of Brian Horton CD; Freddy 'D
• Jamuna (Chatham-based singer); The Innocence to Cry CD; Moscow Night
• Max Roach (b. New Land, NC); 3/4 Time CD; Blues Waltz
• Michael D. Jones (Chapel Hill-based piano player); It Makes You Wonder CD; Stella by Starlight
• John Coltrane (b. Hamlet, NC); Lush Life CD; I Hear a Rhapsody
• Kevin Van Sant (Durham-based guitar player) Mahlon Hoard (Chatham-based Sax player); on a whim CD; Stars Fell on Alabama
• Dizzy Gillespie (Laurinburg, NC h.s. educated); Things to Come CD; Things to Come
• Sawyer - Goldberg (Durham-based jazz group); Jazzadelia CD; Softly as in a Morning Sunrise
• Brother Yusuf Salim (Durham-based piano player, singer, composer); Yusuf Sings Yusuf; A Hymn For Us All
• Ray Charles & Johnny Mathis; Genius Loves Company CD; Over the Rainbow
  
• Robert Griffin (Carrboro-based piano player); North Carolina - A State of Music CD; Killing Me Softly
  
• Charlie Parker (with Dizzy Gillespie & Max Roach); Ken Burns Jazz CD; Ko-Ko
• Dave Youngman Quartet (NC Jazz Group); Usual Suspects CD; Song for My Father
  
• Billy Taylor (b. Greenville, NC); Taylor Made at the Kennedy Center CD; I Wish I Knew How It Felt to Be Free
  

November 5, 2006 Melva's Musings and Much, Much More
As always, I invited friends to come join me in the studio - so thanks Susan, Richard, Joanne, and Bruce for coming by. And they came equipped with CD's and requested songs. So we moved a bit from my usual NC jazz music format and included the Beatles, Jimmy Cliff, Elvis and music from the CD - The Black Soul of Peru. My brother, John Fager, who is quite the NYC jazz fan, called me on the phone ( at WCOM 919 929-9601) to let me know he was listening and enjoying the show. And then Rocco called from Bath, NC to say 'hi'. I invite friends and jazz fans to stop by the studio in downtown Carrboro, or call in to send greetings and requests, or join me for my show, Melva's Musings on Jazz, on the web at www.communityradio.coop. And if you stop by, bring a jazz CD in hand with a special song you would like me to play - after all this is community radio.

I've been reading a lot of books about Dizzy Gillespie and much is written about his relationship with Charlie Parker. So I started my show off with Charlie Parker playing with other musicians who have NC roots.

There was a beautiful full moon tonight - which inspired the playing of Blue Moon!

November 5, 2006 Playlist

• Nina Simone (from Tryon, NC); I Wish I Knew How it Would Feel to be Free; Anthology CD
• Charlie Parker with Max Roach on drums (from New Land, NC); I Remember You; Charlie Parker CD
• Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie (lived in Laurinburg, NC); KoKo; Charlie and Dizzy at Carnegie Hall CD
• Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie & Max Roach; Anthropology; Ken Burns Jazz CD
• Frankie Alexander (from Concord, NC & now Durham, NC) and Scott Warner on piano (lived in Chapel Hill for over 10 years); Like Someone in Love. Frankie has a new CD coming out soon!
• Gabe Evens (Durham-based piano player, performer, teacher, and composer); Teach Me Tonight; Connection CD
• Beatles; I Am the Walrus; Magical Mystery Tour CD
• Jimmy Cliff; You Can Get It If You Really Want It; In Concert - the Best of Jimmy Cliff
• Black Soul of Peru CD (last song)
• Elvis Presley; Blue Moon; A Touch of Platinum CD
• Professor Longhair; Gone So Long; Rum and Coke CD
• Joao Gilberto with Grady Tate on drums (Grady is from Durham, NC); Besame Mucho; Amoroso/Brasil CD
• Kevin Van Sant (Durham, NC guitarist) & Mahlon Hoard (Pittsboro NC sax player); Blue Monk; On a Whim
• Ray Charles with Van Morrison; Crazy Love; Genius Loves Company CD
• Al Neese (Greensboro, NC trumpet player) Quintet; Wood Heat; Omen Seeker CD
• Bus Brown (jazz singer, teacher and composer; lived in Durham, NC for over 20 years); Did You Thank Allah?; Story Teller vinyl
• Yusuf Salim (jazz piano player, singer and song writer; lives in Durham, NC); A Hymm For Us All; Yusuf Sings Yusuf CD
• Sawyer - Goldberg (Durham-based jazz group); Black Orpheus; Jazzadelia CD
• Mietek Glinkowski (Raleigh-based violinist) & Alexander Gorodezky (Raleigh-based guitarist); Libertango; Tango Cafe
• Dizzy Gillespie (h.s. in Laurinberg, NC); Things to Come; Things to Come CD
• Mary Lou Williams on piano (lived and died in Durham, NC) and singer Cynthia Tyson (a Durham-based singer); The Blues; My Mama Pinned a Rose on Me CD
• Adia Ledbetter (Durham jazz singer); Route 66; First Take CD
• Max Roach (drummer from New Land, NC); I'll Take Romance; 3/4 Time CD
• Billy Taylor (Greenville, NC piano player, composer, performer, teacher); I Wish I Knew How it Would Feel to be Free; Taylor Made at the Kennedy Center CD

Please join me at www.communityradio.coop on WCOM for Melva's Musings on Jazz, every Sunday night from 7:00-9:00; community-powered lp radio but hp on the web!

October 29, 2006 Groovin' High with Dizzy Gillespie and Friends
Tonight I celebrated the music and life of Dizzy Gillespie, who went to high school in Laurinburg, NC. I had two special guests in the studio with me - Suzie Wilde, a children's book reviewer; and T.J. Anderson, a leading 'classical' composer who pulls on jazz and other music genres. I was celebrating, albeit a little late, the birthday of Dizzy (October 21st). You can listen to my show, Melva's Musings on Jazz, on the internet by linking to me Sunday nights from 7:00-9:00 on www.communityradio.coop, and then click on the button in the upper righthand corner.

Suzie read a wonderful new children's book, Dizzy; while I interspersed the story with pieces of Dizzy's music (see play list below). This is a wonderful way for children to learn about both the lives of musicians and their music at the same time, creating a powerful and memorable synergy. Afterwards I interviewed T.J. Anderson about Dizzy. T.J. was head of the Music Department at Tufts and spent time in the clubs of NYC when the greats where exploring the new world and sounds of Bebop - such as Dizzy, Charlie Parker and Thelonius Monk. T.J. told wonderful stories retelling memories and fun times with Dizzy, while also describing the new Bebop sounds that Dizzy, and others, was birthing. T.J. is a walking, talking jazz history book told from personal experiences. I will have him come back to share his music.

October 29, 2006 Playlist

• A Night in Tunisia; Dizzy; The Dizzy Gillespie Story 1939-1950 CD
• Salt Peanuts; Dizzy; The Dizzy Gillespie Story 1939-1950 CD
• Blue Rhythm Fantasy; Dizzy; The Dizzy Gillespie Story 1939-1950 CD
• Dizzy Atmosphere; Dizzy; The Dizzy Gillespie Story 1939-1950 CD
• Ko Ko; Charlie Parker & Dizzy; Ken Burns Jazz Series CD
  
• You Stole My Wife You Horse Thief You; Dizzy; The Dizzy Gillespie Story 1939-1950 CD
• I'm Be Boppin' Too; Dizzy; The Dizzy Gillespie Story 1939-1950 CD
• Round Midnight; Dizzy and Marian McPartland; Piano Jazz with Dizzy CD
• Opp-Bop-Sh'bam; Dizzy; The Dizzy Gillespie Story 1939-1950 CD
• BeBop; Dizzy; The Dizzy Gillespie Story 1039-1950 CD
• A Night in Tunisia; Dizzy & Marian McPartland; Piano Jazz with Dizzy CD
• Manteca (Funky Lowlives Remix); Verve Remixed 2
• More to Come; Dizzy; The Dizzy Gillespie Story 1939-1950 CD
• When I Grow Too Old to Dream; Dizzy; The Dizzy Gillespie Story 1939-1950 CD
• Cherokee; Dizzy; The Dizzy Gillespie Story 1939-1950 CD

Happy Birthday, Dizzy - and thanks to Suzie Wilde and T.J. Anderson for making it such a special evening!

October 15, 2006 NC Jazz via Poland, the Ukraine, and Mississippi
On my radio show, Melva's Musings on Jazz, on WCOM (103.5 fm - every Sunday night from 7:00-9:00) and available on the internet, I had guests on my show playing their music live in the studio - what a thrill. They played the most beautiful music from all over the world. My guests were Mietek Glinkowski (m_glinkowski@hotmail.com), originally from Poland and now living in Raleigh; Alexander Gorodezky, originally from the Ukraine and now also from Raleigh; and Julian from MS and PA and now living in the Triangle area of North Carolina. Mietek played both the 5-string vitar (an electric instrument which combines features of a violin and a guitar) and an electric violin. Alexander played the guitar and Julian played the flute and the alto saxophone.

Playlist for the October 15, 2006 Show

• Free playing of different sounds of the Vitar - Mietek solo
• Giant Steps by John Coltrane (Hamlet, NC) - Mietek solo
• Oblivion by Astor Piazzola - Mietek on electric violin and Alex on electric guitar
• Invierno Portegno (Winter) by Astor Piazzola - Mietek and Alex
• Billie's Bounce by Charlie Parker - Mietek on the Vitar and Julian on flute
• Autumn Leaves byJoseph Cosma/Johnny Mercer - Mietek on Vitar and Julian on flute
• In a Sentimental Mood by Duke Ellington - Mietek on violin, Alex on guitar, & Julian on alto sax
• Fulano de Tal byDino Saluzzi - Mietek on electric violin, Alex on guitar, and Julian on flute
• Verano Portegno (Summer) byAstor Piazzola - Mietek on violin and Alex on guitar

I look forward to having Mietek, Alex, and Julian back on my show!