May 20, 2007 NC Jazz Collection and Thelonius

On my radio show tonight, Melva's Musings on Jazz, I featured the music of NC jazz musicians, both of the past and the present, with a special focus on Thelonius Monk, from Rocky Mount, NC. I was recently in Chicago and attended the Looptopia Festival, a dusk to dawn cultural festival spread across the Loop. I caught a gypsy jazz group at the Art Institute. Across the street at the home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, I picked up a new CD - Thelonius Monk Plays Duke Ellington.

My show can be heard every Sunday night on WCOM from 7:00 - 9:00 EST at 103.5 fm on the 100 Watts of Wonder station out of Carrboro, NC. You can hear my show anywhere in the world by jumping on the worldwideweb and going to www.communityradio.coop and clicking on the button in the upper right-hand corner. I promise it's easy and won't cause your computer to blow up.

This week's playlist -

• Nina Simone (b. Tryon, NC); Anthology CD; I Wish I Knew What It Would Feel Like to be Free
• Thelonius Monk (b. Rocky Mount, NC); Thelonius Monk Plays Duke Ellington CD; It Don't Mean a Thing, if it Don't Have that Swing
• Kevin Van Sant & Ben Palmer (both out of Durham, NC); Jazz Duo CD; Meditation
• Thelonius Monk & John Coltrane (b. Hamlet, NC); Thelonius Monk & John Coltrane CD; Off Minor
• Nina Simone; Anthology CD; Why? (The King of Love is Dead)
• Paulo Lopez (Chapel Hill, NC from Sao Paulo); Brazilian Soul CD; Tive Razao by Seu Jorge
• Thelonius Monk with John Coltrane; Riverside Recordings CD; Crepuscule with Nellie
• Frankie Alexander (Durham, NC); Made About the Words; Once I Loved
• Thelonius Monk; Thelonius Monk Plays Duke Ellington; Caravan
• Scott Warner (lived 10+ yrs. Chapel Hill, NC - jazz piano player and composer); Wild Man Blues CD; Pine Apple Rag
• Thelonius Monk Quartet with John Coltrane; At Carnegie Hall CD; Monk's Mood
• Thelonius Monk; Thelonius Himself CD; I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance with You
• Brian Horton (Durham, NC); Best of Brian Horton CD; Freddie D
• Jamuna (Pittsboro, NC singer); Innocence to Cry CD; Moscow Night
• Thelonius Monk; Thelonius Monk Plays Duke Ellington CD; Black and Tan Fantasy
• Sawyer-Goldberg (Durham-based, NC jazz group); Jazzadelia CD; Black Orpheus

I want to thank Nicholas Sullivan for joining me for the show and helping me to pick out songs. His mom, Linda, called in from Concord, NC; and a friend Fran called in from Ft. Lauderdale, FL to say 'hi' and share that she was enjoying the show. Congratulations to Nicholas for graduating from UNC-CH and I wish him well on his up-coming journey to Brazil! More to come.