The Phil Schaap Interview

The culture of jazz is clearly built around the music but the culture only exists because of enlightened cats who were reared in the presence of greatness. Artistic greatness and in a humanitarian sense as well.

My guest is one of the cats I speak off. He took advantage of his early childhood connections and used his native gifts to help explain transcendent music.

Music that was played By Bird and Wade Legge John Coltrane and  my guests babysitter Papa Jo Jones.

It's was an accessible community of artistic purists like Jaki Byard who could play a tune in all twelve keys and make his students do that on the piano until they fell apart.

My guest has been a bridge to a new age. Conveying messages as a radio host and coming of age during the advent of free form radio, individual sound seekers and being surrounded by the original masters like Dizzy and Louie and The Duke.

There's two types of music - good and bad and my guest has pontificated and promoted jazz. But what does that term really mean? Has a slang term become so intellectualized that it no longer swings?

My guest has channelled that swing feel throughout his career as an impresario. Could have been the Basie band with John Heard or watching the real time fusing of Afro Bop with Machito and Latin music with Tito. The music survives today in part because of contributions of my guest who plays Charlie Parker records every morning on Columbia's WKCR @ Columbia University.

Phil Schaap welcome to the JFS