Anthony Dean-Harris

At long last, it's the Nextbop Best Albums of 2011 episode of The Line-Up. There's not a whole lot more I could say that I haven't said already about these selections. Once again, thanks to the whole Nextbop staff for having such great taste (especially my partner-in-crime, Seb, who I somehow forgot to mention in my closing but want to make sure I try to articulate a mere fraction of the love and appreciation I have for him and all he's done for this site and bringing me on to make something I consider pretty cool) and explaining that taste in your own distinct voices that I love to pick over. Everyone involved in jazz-- musician, critic, and fan alike-- has had what I think is a rather monumental 2011. I feel a lot of great promise for 2012. Ari Hoenig - Higher to Hayastan Radiohead - Bloom Yaron Herman - Heart Shaped Box Vijay Iyer feat. Prasanna and Nitin Mitta - Duality Jonti - Hornets Nest Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey - Grandfather's Gun Ambrose Akinmusir

This Christmas Eve Eve, I still haven't been feeling Christmas-y, but I have been feeling list-y. This week's show pulls straight from my personal Best Jazz Albums of 2011 list . Next week's show pulls from Nextbop's full staff Best Jazz Albums of 2011 list. Also, considering this is essentially the radio version of a list I already wrote, please don't be alarmed that I don't have a write-up for each track this week (and likely next week when I do the full Nextbop staff version for next week's Line-Up as well). Ben Williams - Moontrane   Toro y Moi - Intro/Chi-Chi Pilc Moutin Hoenig - Nardis Vijay Iyer feat. Prasanna and Nitin Mitta - Tribal Wisdom Radiohead - Bloom Ben Allison - Some Day We'll All Be Free Somi - Changing Inspiration Jonti - Pássaros Tigran Hamasyan - What the Waves Brought Booker T. Jones - Harlem House Gretchen Parlato - Circling Teebs -  LSP feat. Austin Peralta Thundercat - Fleer Ultra

This week's show has some highlights; for example, I have no words to articulate the amount of glee I feel about this week's soul set. I'm particularly happy playing new music that I just got. There are times when I put together a show and want to keep the mp3 file archived for the sake of awesomeness later. This feels like it's going to be one of those shows. Le Bouef Brothers - Fire Dancing Dreams I don't know how it came to me to play this at the top of the hour. The rest of the show seemed to come together with so much coolness and energy that I went against type, usually playing a tamer track to ease the show in, and went with something a little more out there while still palatable. This fit the bill. Nujabes - Arurian Dance BADBADNOTGOOD - Rotten Decay I know I have a tendency of playing just about everything this group releases, but I couldn't pass this track up just because they've finally made the momentous benchmark of releasing an original

This show felt sort of weird. I'd put a couple tracks together and wander off until a new idea came to me. I didn't have anything prepared in advance, everything just sort of came together in its own time. Even the few computer selections had their own special part in this week's Line-Up. Austin Peralta - Ode to Love The computer picked this one but I knew I'd have to include it because it's around that time to start mulling over what are the best albums of the year. Peralta's Endless Planets  is one of those releases that's getting a little of that mulling. Toro Y Moi - Intro/Chi-Chi Shane Endsley and the Music Band - Big I wanted to play some Endsley this week. I didn't have a special reason, it just felt like it was time. This is actually one of one two folks I knew I wanted to play this week in advance, that's how much I knew it was time. Fabian Almazan Trio - The Vicarious Life I mean it when I say that I really like Almazan's Person

Now that I've had the chance to process new music that has come in, I'm glad that I'm able to play some new stuff. Takuya Kuroda - Skyrocket I'm impressed with how much Kuroda has progressed from last year's Bitter and High  to this year's Edge . He's learned to add some swing and it really helps his work. MF DOOM - Arrow Root Gerald Clayton - Snake Bite Congrats to Clayton for his Grammy nomination for Bond: The Paris Sessions . It's quite well deserved. Miguel Zenón - Tiemblas I've wanted to play this on the show for a while but I just haven't had the chance to get this track into the system. Now I have and I'm really glad I'm able to play this now Grammy nominated track. Francisco Mela & Cuban Safari - Yadan Mela feat. Esperanza Spalding Everything about Mela's Tree of Life is just grabbing, isn't it? Washed Out - Feel It All Around Stanley Cowell - Travelin' Man Every now and then, I take some inspiration

I don't really have a lot to say this week. My words must be on holiday along with the rest of me. Madlib - Distant Land I don't really know why I picked this song to start off the show. I just did. It's always a great choice to pull from Shades of Blue . Teebs - L.S.P. feat. Austin Peralta Avishai Cohen - Handsonit The computer picked this one, honestly. Rudresh Mahanthappa - Playing With Stones I wanted to play a track from Mahanthappa's latest album, Samdhi , but I couldn't find what I was looking for. Maybe next week. Esbjörn Svensson Trio - In My Garage This was also a computer selection. I really don't want to seem like I phoned this week in, though. You should have seen the stuff I had to throw out. Jonti - Twirligig Geri Allen and Timeline - Four by Five While I was reading through  Angelika Beener's piece on Geri Allen , I realized I liked her live album with Timeline last year but didn't pay enough attention to it. I m

I felt like I was on a roll the past few weeks. I had fully formed ideas before putting shows together. They were great and melded together and I was feeling confident with my decisions. This week, the streak has ended. I'm not saying the songs are weaker, not at all. I just know I didn't come  with the fire. The fire just sort of happened . Takuya Kuroda - S.T.E.P. Kory suggested I give Kuroda's new album, Edge , a listen. Since I didn't have any ideas on what to play this week, I'd do even one better and start off the show with a selection from it. Four Tet - As Serious As Your Life Eric Harland - Voyayer Nextbop is right now in analysis period for the best albums of 2011. Harland's Voyager: Live By Night  is one of the albums that I put on my list for staff contention. Stanton Moore - Magnolia Triangle I was actually going to play something else in this slot but I ran across this in the library after trying to figure out new stuff for mic breaks. I ma

Why is this day relevant? Y'know, other than the whole Veterans' Day thing. I don't understand why folks are making such a big deal out of the alignment of numbers. I mean, yeah, it looks sort of cool written out but it's still nothing all that important. Anyway, I have been looking forward to this show this week just based on the excitement I felt at some of the new music I got this week. I've been loving Teebs' Collections 01  from Brainfeeder and Jonti's Twirligig  from Stones Throw . Just having that as a framework for new stuff from Portico and BADBADNOTGOOD have propelled me through this week to the moment I put together this show. I hope you're as pleased listening to it as I was making it, though I'm not even sure if you can be as pleased listening to it as I was just thinking about making it. ERIMAJ - For You (For Who?) I was trying really hard to find a song for the top of the hour. Normally, I play something a little more subdued to

Yet another great show filled with stuff that's played throughout my week and filtered into an hour for the masses. Oh, and I didn't say it on the air but check out Jonti. My last two mic breaks are his tunes and I've been engrossed with his new album on the Stones Throw label, Twirligig . Give this week's show a listen to understand what I'm talking about. Though there's a lot of other great music this week, too. Jean Michel Pilc/Francois Moutin/ Ari Hoenig - Nardis I haven't had the chance to delve into this trio's new album, Threedom , but they're on my list. I'm hearing good buzz around the station about it. Darcy James Argue 's Secret Society - Obsidian Flow I haven't played any DJA in a while and I have yet to play DJA and Josh Nelson together in a set, which seems odd since they're both composers around the same thing thematically. Josh Nelson - Atma-Krandana Discoveries  really is a great album. That's all I've

A cold front has blown into San Antonio, so it's a bit chilly. That's nice, right? October actually feels sort of like October. That's Texas weather for you. But you're not here to talk about the weather, you're here for a really cool radio show. Rachelle Ferrell - Why You Wanna Mess It All Up? Rachelle's coming to San Antonio to the Carver Community Cultural Center on November 12th . I'll be there, how about you? dela - Can It B So Simple? BADBADNOTGOOD - Electric Relaxation I've been wanting to play these guys on the show more often than I have but I just haven't found the right slot for them other than a music beds. Oh, and have you seen their recent jam session videos with Tyler, the Creator? I think I finally get  OFWGKTA. I was trying really hard to for a while. Don Cherry - Brown Rice The computer filled my hour with a lot of stuff that didn't fit this week. This was the only track it picked that did. If fact, it fits really  wel

This week's Line-Up is filled with energy, even if half the songs aren't necessarily filled with a lot of instruments. These were some of the most interesting new tracks that I've heard this week... and one the computer picked. Tigran Hamasyan - What the Waves Brought I knew I would be playing the Brad Mehldau & Kevin Hays and Chick Corea & Stefano Bollani tracks this week so I figured some more solo piano would compliment things. Also, it came up in my commute. Múm - Awake on a Train Brad Mehldau & Kevin Hays - Generatrix Modern Music is a good album. It straddles the ground between a classical concert and a jazz performance so it may not really be for everyone. Still, some of the choicer tracks are definitely great picks for the radio. This is  one of those choicer tracks. I'm looking forward to playing others. Chick Corea & Stefano Bollani - Jitterbug Waltz This may possibly be the best version of "Jitterbug Waltz" that I have ever

Another week, another Line-Up. This week there may not be a whole lot of very new music since I'm still coming off of the pledge drive but since I'm back at the station, I'll soon be consuming new music once more. It's weird not taking in a bunch of new stuff for a two week stretch. I may be a bit spoiled. In the meantime, this show is still a good 'un. Patrick Cornelius - Shiver Song I've got a few default responses to song selections: commute and computer. This is a commute selection. RjD2 - Ghostwriter Wallace Roney - Quadrant This is a computer selection. Peter Erskine, Nguyên Lê, and Michel Benita - ZigZag This also is a computer selection. Radiohead - Kid A Le Boeuf Brothers - Fire Dancing Dreams I said it earlier and I'll say it again-- In Praise of Shadows  is a pretty cool album. This track caps off the album and it does so quite strongly. Marco Benevento - Fearless I'm glad there's a studio version of this song. The live versio

It's the last day of the KRTU fall pledge drive and it's action packed. Join in on all the fun by becoming a member of the station . In the meantime, dig the cool music this week. Menahan Street Band - Everyday A Dream Curiously enough, the computer picked this song. Clearly, I wasn't going to throw out any Menahan Street Band. Andrew Cyrille & Mor Thiam - Water Water Water Vijay Iyer feat. Prasanna & Nitin Mitta - Duality I've been feeling playing a selection from Tirtha  for a little while. This seemed like a good time to do so. Gerald Clayton - Snake Bite This one came up in my commute. Apple Juice Kid - Bitches Ben Williams - Moontrane The computer picked this one, too. I think it's learning me now. Dafnis Prieto - Emergency Call I know I played this track a couple weeks ago but it came up in my commute the other day and I knew I wanted to play it again. It re-wowed me. J&D - Coffee in the Morning Nujabes - Counting Stars This came up

It's pledge drive time again-- the time when I hang out at the radio station a little more than usual and pounce every time I hear a phone ring. It's one of my favorite times of the year and you can be a part of it, too, by heading over to KRTU.org  and pledging a donation to the station. Becoming a member is pretty rad, to which I can attest. This week's show involves me saying that a lot, it also has some pretty good music. Taylor Eigsti - Daylight This popped up on the commute. Also, I didn't get to go to the Austin City Limits Festival a couple weeks ago and heard Coldplay did a great job. This is in reference to that. Nujabes - Tsurugi No Mai Josh Nelson - Dirigibles As I said last week, I really like Nelson's Discoveries  and I hope this track leads you to the same conclusions I'm holding about this album. Brad Mehldau - The Falcon Will Fly Again I added Highway Rider  back onto my phone recently because I felt I needed to revisit it. Maybe I was r

If it isn't already clear, I'm particularly excited about Jazz'SAlive. I always am. It's a tradition for my family to go every year and even though I'm now in a position where I'm seeing how the sausages and laws are made, so to speak, I still don't love this event any less. This show isn't really connected to this weekend at all with the exception of my enthusiasm but that's always there, isn't it? Dafnis Prieto - Emergency Call I love that the MacArthur Foundation always picks a jazz musician to receive one of their grants each year. We as fans should support musicians even if we aren't an anonymous group of eccentric curators of brilliance with large purse strings, but it's good to know the MacArthur grant is out there. Congrats to Dafnis Prieto for getting this honor. It'll be cool to see what he does with it. The Remix Project - A Tribe Called Quest-Electric Relaxation Brad Mehldau - When It Rains Work has been particularl

Combined with the gray (but still pleasant) morning in San Antonio and the passing of my good friend and publisher, Kathy Clay-Little , this week's Line-Up is a bit softer and a little more chill. I hope you don't mind this change up this week. Ambrose Akinmusire - Jaya The computer picked this here but I figured I don't play Akinmusire often enough anyway. Pazes - Untitled Chris Dingman - Jet Lag I haven't been playing Dingman as often as I'd like, either. Besides, this track came up in my commute this week and I asked myself why I never played this track on the air in the first place. JAMES Farm - Unravel The computer picked a JAMES Farm track for the show but I had to switch things up to fit with the somber mood I'm going for this week. MF DOOM - Saffron Tigran Hamasyan - A Fable Now that I re-obtained A Fable , this album is going to get some steady play for a while. Brad Mehldau - Things Behind the Sun On the bus ride to the station today, Nick

I didn't note it on the air but this week marks my 2 year anniversary of The Line-Up. We've come a long way and I'm proud of this show, what it has spread to the masses and how it has really been a lynchpin for Nextbop. Now, in the tradition of spreading dopeness... Kyle Eastwood - Marciac For some reason, Kyle Eastwood really came correct for his latest album, Songs from the Chateau . The energy has really flared up. I dig it. Ben Allison - We've Only Just Begun It was another one of those "hey, I haven't played [blank] in a while" moments. Terri Lyne Carrington - Crayola I was sort of shocked to hear this on Carrington's The Mosaic Project  instead of Esperanza Spalding using this song for one of her own albums. It's just as good live as it is in the studio. It's a blast of fresh air. Adam Cruz - The Gadfly Milestone  is a great album, period. Rarely do I hear anything from Sunnyside Records that doesn't knock me off my feet. Sun

It's the first episode of the show with the new theme song, Christian Scott 's cover of Thom Yorke's "The Eraser". I'm sort of excited about that. Other than that, it's an altogether great show even without the new glossy cover. Chris Dingman - Indian Hill I hadn't played any Dingman in a while but it seemed appropriate since it seems he's getting a whole bunch of great attention now that his album is out. Cloning Americana - On the Rise Kory got ahold of this album recently and has spoken quite highly of this group. I like what I heard and much like anything else on this show, I yoinked the idea and played it here. Francisco Mela & Cuban Safari - Toma Del Poder I first got this album last week and it was one of the biggest surprises of that week. This is definitely worth copping. D'Angelo - Spanish Joint I love this song; don't you? Kenneth Whalum III - If We Try The track that comes after this one by LFQ reminded me a lot

This week has been challenging and that has keyed into tonight's show. Someone stole my iPod at work this week which means it won't be as easy coming up with what has stood out to me in a given week to pick for the show, but it's not like pouring over the music I get to decide what hits your ears has been a breeze. Add to the fact that the computer didn't feel like tabulating the time right until I was halfway done putting the show together and lets just say the nuisance continued. It's a labor of love and I make my way through no matter what. No need to get down about it, I just lean on Jesus, peace, and the music. Jason Moran - RFK in the Land of Apartheid I was watching the PBS documentary, RFK in the Land of Apartheid , the other night, largely because the score was by Moran. This is also my favorite track from Ten , as I've said quite often, so to the 1 spot this goes this week. Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey - Grandfather's Gun Nextbop is still streami

It still took me an inordinate amount of time to put this show together. I'll get it together, though. Also, I give this current theme song a couple more weeks so get your input to me as soon as you can. Johannes Wallmann Brasstet - The Sweet Minute I kept three computer selections for this week's show. I put the first two at the top of the hour. Roxy Coss - Lately Since the computer picked this track, I don't have all that much to say. Kenneth Whalum III - It Was Written (feat. Common) I had two or three tracks from KWIII before he gave me his album this past weekend. After finally hearing the whole album, I realize he picked the tracks he sent me for a reason. The whole album fits together really well but "It Was Written" stands on its own very well. Shane Endsley and the Music Band - Big When I got the track for this, I had some... problems with it. Hopefully this plays alright. Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey - Black Wall Street From August 23 until it'

Steadily figuring it out but the show remains quite good. Quite good indeed. Stefon Harris, Dávid Sanchez, and Christian Scott - Brown Belle Blues Funnily enough, the computer picked this track, I just chose to move it to the 1 spot. Gretchen Parlato - Still feat. Alan Hampton 1) I haven't played Gretchen Parlato in a little while. 2) Isn't just just a feel good song? Herbie Hancock - Edith and the Kingpin feat. Tina Turner I really haven't played anything from River: The Joni Letters in a while. Rachelle Ferrell - Autumn Leaves Now that I think about it, I'm not quite sure if this fits in with the vibe of the show, but I'm a sucker for Rachelle Ferrell. Even when she's singing straight ahead, she's always out there. I must see her at the Carver in November Lionel Loueke - Karibu Folks everywhere keep talking about Lionel Loueke. He's really been an "it" guitarist for the jazz insiders. The Stanley Clarke Band - Labyrinth (feat.

I think I'm getting the hang of this new computer system. Yes, the music levels are a little high but I think my coordination is getting better. Either way, there's a pretty good show this week. Gerald Clayton - Snake Bite I figured I hadn't played any Gerald Clayton in a little while. Gerry Gibbs Sextet feat. Ravi Coltrane - After the Dawn I want to ease you into the Flying Lotus & Infinity experience. It'll start more straight ahead jazz and then spin out. Austin Peralta - Capricornus 1) Still spinning out. 2) I hadn't played any Peralta in a while, unless you count all the straight up Thundercat tracks that have been online for a while from his impending album on which Peralta backs. Flying Lotus - Mmmhhmmm feat. Thundercat The genuine article Miguel Atwood-Fergusson - Hoc 'N Pucky Atwood-Fergusson is like garlic powder. Garlic powder makes practically anything better. I'm questioning that simile but I'm still putting it out there. Bec

Putting this show together was a headache like you wouldn't believe. The radio station switched to a new user interface that's faster and sleeker than the old system but also needs a lot of accommodations to fit our non-commercial, jazz needs. I just had to put together an hour, so it's hard to picture the strife the radio staff had to go through this week and all the headaches yet to come. Still, I was able to put together a solid hour of music for you. Roy Hargrove Big Band - Roy Allen A few tracks from Hargrove's Emergence are in rotation on my iPod right now which led me to the usual question, "When's the last time I played _____?" Darcy James Argue's Secret Society - Redeye Same thing here but I know I had to have played this more recently than Hargrove because Sebastien Noelle is a beast . Terri Lyne Carrington - Unconditional Love Hands down, this is my favorite cut from The Mosaic Project . Carrington is very tight all throughout this t

I hadn't a clue what I was going to talk about or play today. Not only did I have a Line-Up to put together but I was also featured on KRTU's Jazz Break at Noon to talk about Nextbop and jazz today. Oddly enough, this all worked out. I feel good about the interview and I feel really good about this playlist. Madlib - Funky Blue Note When I don't have any idea what to play, I can never go wrong with a track from Shades of Blue . Vijay Iyer with Prasanna & Nitin Mitta - Duality I haven't played anything from Tirtha in a while. It's time to plug up that gap. Jaco Pastorius - Punk Jazz Earlier this week, Gilles Peterson pontificated that Thundercat's new album may be the most anticipated bass album since Jaco Pastorius' Jaco . I didn't pick a track from that album but I still wanted to put a Pastorius track next to a Bruner track and let you decide. Thundercat - For Love I Come Every time I listen to Thundercat lately, I realize I don'

I don't really have much special to say for this week's show. I had a pretty good birthday and a shoutout in the LA Times so I'm feeling pretty good. This week's show should reflect that. Peter Erskine - Pong I was just looking through the library and ran across this song. This is a good random selection. Kneebody - Teddy Ruxpin I had hopes I could get up to Austin and check out their show this week but my ride fell through. I'm a little disappointed but I can only get all Zen-like and say I am where I should be and leave things at that. Still, this is what I was missing. Ben Allison - Some Day We'll All Be Free It's my birthday so I'm playing one of my favorite songs of the year. I owe it to myself. ERIMAJ - Conflict of a Man Ever since Jamire & Co. dropped this song last week, it's been stuck in my head. Now it should be stuck in yours. Harriet Tubman - Night Master/Ascension This group really starts to grow on you the more you'

Much of the music I've gotten this week were live recordings so much of the music on this week's Line-Up will reflect that. Not much to say, really. Terri Lyne Carrington - Unconditional Love I've yet to sit down and listen to this album in a sitting but generally when tracks come up randomly in shuffle, I've been impressed. Booker T. Jones - The Vamp I keep coming back to this album. The Road From Memphis really is my favorite album of the year so far. David Weiss & Point of Departure - I Have A Dream Snuck In and Snuck Out are albums recorded as the first and second sets of a night at New York City's Jazz Standard. That had to have been a hot night in NYC. Kneebody - You Have One Unheard Message This was a last minute add to the show. I had an older Kneebody track in this slot but I just got some new material from the band. This is all in anticipation of their upcoming show in Austin next week . I'm pretty psyched about it. Eric Harland - Voya

I spent all week putting the playlist for this Line-Up together. I meticulously entered track by track into an Evernote, taking a whole week to cobble together a good show. I figured I was completely wrapped by Thursday only to find I had a little more time to fill and fill it I did. That's how much effort I give to all this. It takes a whole week to put a show together. Anthony Wilson - Transition Campo Belo is a pleasant album, in a good way. Usually when I say an album is "pleasant", I mean that it's nice to play but not particularly evocative. I may play a pleasant album only once and forget it soon after. Wilson's latest album does not fit this bill in the least. I've been thoroughly enjoying it ever since I got it last week. Russell Gunn - Blue In Green This is the only track that I didn't have already figured out earlier in the week. I figured I'd play Gunn after looking at some old playlists and realizing I hadn't played any of his wo

So what if you can't be in New York City or Montreal for the really great jazz festivals going on this weekend. I'll bring the festival to you. Ben Williams - Moontrane Just another friendly reminder that State of Art is still up for streaming over at Nextbop until its release date this coming Tuesday. Gerald Clayton - If I Were A Bell This man is everywhere lately, isn't he? First, He hit up Atlanta and now he's playing Undead? Insane. Dave King Trucking Company - Payphones I had seen that Dave King's new band was playing the Undead Jazz Festival but the moment I got to the station today, my music director was sure to put this album, Good Old Light , in front of me to make sure I could put it in front of you. Tarbaby - Jena 6 Hank Shteamer wrote quite glowingly about Tarbaby's appearance at the Undead Jazz Fest, which made me think maybe I, too, should give The End of Fear another listen. Maybe we all should. Ari Hoenig - Anthropology I neede

As much as I wasn't feeling the groove of putting last week's show together, I felt almost the opposite of picking this week's Line-Up. I had no pre-prepared Post-it Note of selections, I just had a soul set in mind and a few folks I knew I wanted to get back to playing. I feel it worked out pretty well. JAMES Farm - Unravel Some people get out of rotation in my show for a few weeks for the sake of variety, that way, I can ask "Hey, when's the last time I played some _____?" That's what happened here. Ben Allison - Some Day We'll All Be Free I haven't put together a ranked list of the best albums of the year so far (I'll be lazy and won't make a list until November or so) but Allison's Action-Refraction is certainly in consideration. Portico Quartet- Clipper Portico is one of those groups that needs time to breathe. I've been getting into them again lately. Some music rejoins us in their proper seasons. Gretchen Parlato - C

I'm honestly going to try to keep this thing updated with works I've published on a weekly basis, especially since I have now added a second semi-regular avenue for my voice, SunDryed Affairs . I should hopefully be chiming in here weekly to post what new words I have scattered about the internet. Last week's Nextbop column hearkens back to the same classicist/modernist jazz argument that sparks up from time to time. I'm going to put this out plainly. I am tired of having this argument. I know that by mentioning it here, I'm part of the problem by even acknowledging it. But I also know that we can't move forward if we have all this infighting holding us back. When an angry old man starts spouting off at the mouth, we need to follow the late Sidney Lumet's example in Twelve Angry Men and start turning away en masse. There will be times like these when we can let talk like this still hold us down, but we need to move forward and make strides to embrace dif

It was a grind putting this week's Line-Up together but all's well that ends well, eh? I'm not even sure if it's a great episode. I've got doubts. I don't like the combinations. But these shows work out well anyway. Corea, Clark & White - Captain Marvel I like that this group is still getting together and making good work. I'll never shy away from playing stuff like this, no matter how old they get. That just means they're growing even more chops. Madlib - Stormy Whenever I'm stuck putting a playlist together, I know I can never go wrong with Madlib, especially with Shades of Blue . Gerald Clayton - Snake Bite I revisit this album a lot lately, don't I? Well, it's good. Béla Fleck and the Flecktones - Life in Eleven I am most impressed with this album and its amalgamation of styles. Rocket Science is a quality album. Jeff Lederer - Snake in the Blackberry Patch One of the advantages of being at a radio station is that there a

It's times like these when I'm playing music new and old that many folks probably haven't heard before or probably not for a while that I feel like I'm a good DJ. This is a good DJ show. Grand Pianoramax - Infidel Shout out to Leo Tardin who is celebrating his birthday today. Or is that last week? Man, Facebook is confusing. JD Allen Trio - Mr. Steepy This is a new one and deserves play. Ben Williams - Moontrane Williams' debut album is pretty nice. I'm looking forward to playing more of it soon. Stefon Harris , David Sanchez, & Christan Scott - Ñengueleru We've been waiting for this album and we've finally gotten our hands on a (scratched, unfortunately) copy. Still, due to some weird happenstance with the record label and things of that ilk, I'm just playing the free track that's already available. You may have heard about it. Rachelle Ferrell - Why You Wanna Mess It All Up? For me to have had a show this long and to have not

I know that I haven't been altogether diligent here with noting past published works but I wanted to post once more about a project that I have been working on with Kyla Marshell entitled SunDryed Affairs . We have at long last launched and we're very happy to be up and running. This online magazine will feature different voices of color and we're still very much open to submissions. Feel free to submit essays, inquiries, and other assorted pieces to anthonydeanharris@sundryedaffairs.com. We'll be glad to welcome you into our collective. In the meantime, head to SunDryed Affairs and get an eyeful of our different pieces. We shall constantly endeavor to be an interesting read for you every week.

As is typical fashion for me, I celebrate the major birthdays (at least the ones to me) of jazz musicians that I feel would fit into the scheme of The Line-Up. Joe Sample technically doesn't fit, but I do it anyway. Miles Davis definitely fits so here a Miles Davis episode resides. St. Germain - Sure Thing When it comes to songs that sample Miles Davis, I'm going to run to this song pretty quickly. I mean, it's great on its own accord, but once you take the sample into account, that's the end of the game. Apple Juice Kid - DubApple I actually had another track from Miles Remixed here but the show was running long so I switched it out with this track. Still, this is a stand up album that's worth copping if you don't have it yet. Kurt Elling - Blue In Green When JD, the station's operations manager, was looking over this playlist, he shook his head at this selection. I still stand by Kurt Elling, but we've been over this time and again. Miles Davi

There isn't one overall theme or idea this week, just little sets that seem to fit together to me for the most part. Also, I made it a point 1) that my music beds on my mic breaks actually work this week and 2) that all my music beds for my mic breaks are MF DOOM beats. The Roots - Teen Town There are tracks that I have added to the system specifically because I need really short selections to fill in time. I love Owen Biddle, I swear I do (that's part of the reason why I play Booker T. Jones later in the show, The Roots deserve their due props), but this song is here specifically because it's 50 seconds long. Besides, isn't it cool when the show starts at such breakneck speed? Gretchen Parlato - Still (feat. Alan Hampton) I honestly can't stay away from The Lost and Found for too long stretches of time. On the ride up to the station before putting this show together, the idea to play this song suddenly dawned on me; immediately after that, my iPod chose to pl

At first, I had no ideas for this week's show. I had maybe one or two ideas for tracks but nothing fully formed. Eventually, I put a show together entirely and then went through my Google Reader as I'm apt to do throughout my day. That's when I found out today is Stevie Wonder's birthday. So I scrapped a good half of the show to put together a rather respectable Stevie Wonder soul set that one would expect from The Line-Up. That's the ramshackle goodness you come here for every week, right? Jason Lindner - Big Pump I wanted to play some Jason Lindner since I hadn't in a little while. I saw a video float around so that drove me to play some this week. I figured I'd look at who's featured on the album and it blew my mind. Me'Shell NdegéOcello? Kurt Rosenwinkel? Anat and Avishai Cohen? This album was insane already, then I read who was on it. I didn't know I could love Now Vs. Now any more than I already did. Gerald Clayton - If I Were a Bell

I don't think I have anything special to say about this show in its entirety except that I'm pretty happy with it. The songs, and my subsequent commentary on them, should speak for themselves. Christian Scott - Isadora It seemed befitting to start the show off giving congratulations to the fresh engagement of Nextbop's good friend, Christian Scott, to his beloved Isadora Mendez. We wish them all the best. Gerald Clayton - Snake Bite All this week, Gerald Clayton's new album, Bond: The Paris Sessions is streaming at Nextbop. Needless to say, we're quite happy to share this album with you. I figured giving you a taste of this would lead you to the rest of the goodness. Jason Moran - RFK in the Land of Apartheid By now, you know how it goes... A song comes up on my commute, I fall for it all over again, it makes it into that week's Line-Up. Second verse, same as the first. Becca Stevens Band - Weightless Last week, I played a couple of Stevens' c

Once again, I have a week of really great new music. It's times like these that I feel like a legitimate DJ, although one would think after a year and a half of doing this and the good responses I get, that feeling would have sunk in by now. So goes my cycle of perpetual doubt. Anyway... music... Ambrose Akinmusire - The Walls of Lechuguilla Once again, I'm playing Akinmusire in the 1 spot. Also, pronouncing "Akinmusire" is much simpler than pronouncing "Lechuguilla". You have no idea how much practice I had to do with that. Becca Stevens Band - There is a Light That Never Goes Out I honestly don't know enough about The Smiths, but I know I like this cover. That and I thought Zooey Deschannel was cute when she sang this in the elevator in 500 Days of Summer . That's enough for me to play this song this evening. Plus, Becca Stevens' Weightless is an awesome album. James Farm - Polliwog Joshua Redman , Aaron Parks , Matt Penman, Eric Harlan