Anthony Dean-Harris

I actually did three hours of programming tonight since Galen is no longer doing The Distance after The Line-Up. I'm sad to know he's gone and hope he does well but I figured someone should do something with the time slot, at least for tonight. I'll tell you one thing. It's harder to work with so many shorter songs. This is also the "So I didn't make it to Montreal" show. I'm a little down about it but I never got to program three hours of show before so I guess this is an alright consolation prize. Let me know if I did alright, alright? Vijay Iyer - Big Brother I really do like this song, plus Iyer is doing a free concert with Nextbop during the day at the Montreal Jazz Fest. Terence Blanchard & Bilal - Journey Blanchard is one of those people I don't pay enough attention to but should. Roy Hargrove Big Band - Roy Allen This really is my favorite track off of this album. It's just too smooth, especially for a big band. Herbie ...

While I'm mentally going over a few other posts for Nextbop and other things on the horizon, I figured I shouldn't let too much time pass without noting the last couple of things I've written for Nextbop. There was a great deal of controversy in the jazz blogosphere in teh last month and I ultimately addressed things with my post, " Insular and Diminishing or Liberal and Proliferating ." Who the hell do we think we are to equate disagreeing with newcomers with the possible loss of pedigree of a publication or the destruction of the genre (or at least its nomenclature)? Why do we so often get up in arms when a contradictory idea rears its head when our own fold is floundering for its own vitality? Why do so many of us require a wide breadth of knowledge on the history of jazz before truly accepting new musicians and commentators? I’m not suggesting we give equal credence to the opinions and talents of the glaringly ignorant, but I am saying it’s equally not as ...

I actually didn't write this in advance so this is going to be a bit of a challenge to do. I'm typing this in real time from my BlackBerry. Enjoy the show, y'all. Jason Moran - Gangsterism Over 10 Years This track is new and actually streaming over at NPR right now. Moran's Ten albums is releasing next week to positive reviews. I'm just sayin'. Quincy Jones & Bill Cosby - Hicky-Burr What better choice for Father's Day than America's dad? This is really the best I got. Gretchen Parlato - Doralice I dare you to say this song didn't pull you out of a funk. You could have been feeling great and Parlato made you feel even better. Chaka Khan & Freddie Hubbard - Them There Eyes I'll take any excuse I can to play some Chaka Khan. This one: The computer put it there. Vijay Iyer - Big Brother I will whistle songs from Vijay Iyer's Historicity randomly at work. It's an affliction I've become fond of having. Herbie Han...

I'm actually trying to do the show live this time. I don't know if you've noticed but the show is typically recorded since I can't find a way home at night by bus. Stanton Moore - Knocker The computer picked this one but I found it to be pretty funky so I decided to keep it. Medeski, Martin & Wood - Uninvisible Yet another one of those, "When's the last time I played ____" moments. Noticing a theme here? Eliane Elias - Oye Como Va The computer picked this and I really wasn't feeling playing a lot of vocal tracks this evening (there are three tonight), but it's "Oye Como Va." Try listening to anyone perform "Oye Como Va" and not get a little chipper. Lizz Wright - A Taste of Honey Once again, I'm playing Lizz Wright to prep the Alamo City for her performance at the Carver tomorrow. The Roots - Teen Town Owen Biddle does too  good of a job on this song. Seriously. It makes be sad it's less than a minute long...

It was rather difficult for me to put this show together this time. I sort of walked into the station like a zombie and was hard pressed to put things together, but once I heard the Nels Cline album, I knew exactly how to make all this work. This show gets a little out there but if you have grit, you get to enjoy a really great show. Let's get into it. Maria Neckam - Deeper It's become standard practice for me to ask Seb  for suggestions before putting together a show. He sent me this track to play. I don't play many vocalists but tonight's show is rather vocal heavy. I decided to put much of that singing up front. Gregory Porter - Black Nile This is actually a suggestion from JJ to continue with the vocalists. This was also the first time I put together a show with other people in the room listening. It was weird to have other people around instead of me sitting in a room by myself like a crazy man. Stefon Harris & Blackout - Minor March It should be pretty ...

Things have been a little out of sorts lately so I haven't had the chance to update you on other things I have written. This is now one of those times. When last we've spoken, I wrote my usual columns over at Nextbop . Today's post entitled "Jazz War, What is it Good For? (Absolutely Nothin')"  ( sing it again now!) was on the pointlessness of jazz commentary infighting and in doing so, I solidified Nextbop's stance to only talk about music that's awesome and not cause fights with sensitive folks... But as a guy who holds the reins on a site dedicated to promoting one of those viewpoints of jazz, it’s hard for me not to bash one ideology to promote my own, especially when such talk is in vogue. Still, I am a man of my word, so I refuse to keep fighting just to increase hit counts (and we really do like steadily increasing our website’s hit count). Besides, there are times when I feel like playing more traditional jazz music. I’m not against that wh...