Anthony Dean-Harris

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...

Somehow I managed to put together a show made up primarily of completely new music. A whole lot of stuff I got was painstakingly entered into the computers for your enjoyment. You're going to enjoy it, right? Otherwise, what kind of holiday spirit would you be in to have all new music and not enjoy it? Orrin Evans & Captain Black Big Band - Art of War People have been talking about this album for a little while now but I've yet to have the chance to listen to any of it. Usually when that happens, a song like that makes the 1 spot. Ambrose Akinmusire - Jaya I also need a little more time with Akinmusire's new one, When the Heart Emerges Glistening . There's been a lot of hype surrounding Akinmusire's Blue Note debut, hopefully you see why. Nels Cline - Dirty Baby Part IV (Shut This Gate) Cline has been on my mind lately. Wilco has been popping up on the iPod (I have an iPod, now, btw). The new Harriet Tubman has the same sort of avant garde feel as Cline...

It's the Herbie Hancock episode of The Line-Up. This is the episode that's a big deal but not as big a deal as the Joe Sample episode. That's just how it goes. Kurt Elling - Blue in Green I think my favorite thing about this song is the use of layering. When folks talk about Kurt Elling, they need to note that they're also talking about Lawrence Hobgood since the two are essentially attached at the hip. The arrangement Hobgood puts on this rendition (which is essentially an upgrade of Al Jarreau's cover of the same song that he did on his 1992 album, Heaven and Earth ) gives this a certain amount of depth that I never thought such a simple song could have. I really, really enjoy this. Jaspects - Chitlins & Chalupas What is Battle of Flowers anyway? San Antonio comes to some sort of celebratory halt in the middle of April for Fiesta and I don't know why. My family was never one for Fiesta so I never get caught up in it. I figure I'll throw the city a...