Out of all the music I heard at XRIJF, I was moved by the music and emotion of Christian McBride's band the most!  

Did anyone see the coverage of Dave Brubeck's death this past Sunday on CBS Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood? The late Ed Bradley must have left his mark on CBS News, as he was a huge champion for jazz music and its history. Refreshing to say the least.


          9:00 - 10:30 AM ET

 

I am very saddened by the news that Dave Brubeck passed away today. God bless him, as he lived 1 day shy of living 92 full years on this earth! Over the years, he has had a love affair with Rochester, New York. I'll never forget when I interviewed him several years ago after his performance at the Rochester International Jazz Festival. He talked about how he felt when he made it on the cover of Time magazine before Duke Ellington did. I remember him saying during my interview with him, "It made me sad. He should have been first. He was my mentor." What a self-less human being he was. Thanks for ALL the years of your great music. Rochester will miss you Mr. Brubeck! RIP Maestro

I'll be airing a special 2 hour tribute to Dave Brubeck and his music on Artistry in Jazz, starting at 6 pm on Saturday, December 8th, streaming at Jazz901.org and broadcasting on Jazz 90.1 FM - WGMC.

I'm totally enjoying having my program, Artistry in Jazz with Tom Pethic, back on the air again. I believe it's been close to 4 years since I've had the freedom to bring you this speciality jazz show. The last time AIJ airred, I was at Legends 990AM. Just to refresh your memory and mine, that's when I was paying $540 per week for a 3 hour show. I had to sell my own advertising. I had a sales team, but they were pretty much worthless. I'm glad I was folically challenged at the time (you know, hairless). I ended up losing $5,400 on this venture. If I had it to do over again, I most likely wouldn't have! However, there was a big void in my life. The void was not having a radio show. As you may recall, a particular station manager fired me for missing a meeting, three days shy of me being there 21 years. He informed me via e-mail. Isn't that a nice professional touch. This young buck was 8 years old when I did my first show at WGMC (October 18, 1982). However, you can't keep a good man down, cause I'M BACK!!! On a more upbeat note, I want to hip you to a special segment on AIJ (some weeks I play two different segments) called Reflections Of A Standard. This is a special where I play usually 3 to 5, sometimes 6 different renditions of a particular jazz standard, back-to-back. The various arrangements that are out there, make this segment an audience favorite. Because of time constraints, which most radio stations have, sometimes I have to interrupt the segment because of a scheduled break. I think you all know the deal! I also have a segment called The Early Worm Gets the Bird, where I feauture the music of alto king Charlie Parker. Basically, I give you The Bird for 15 minutes or so. (Please don't take this personally!) Long story, short, I hope you'll tune in every Saturday from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM.

Do any of you remember the Jazz Mobile? It was sponsored by The National Endowment For The Arts and it rolled into town (usually outside The Memorial Art Gallery) every year. I heard people such as Etta Jones with Houston Person, and another artist that comes to mind was trombonist Slide Hampton. Sadly, because of the reality of today's negative economic climate, Jazz Mobile does not visit cities as it once did. I added to my home page the latest Jazz Mobile concert in New York.

Have you noticed that, as of late, there's been a large influx of very talented female jazz musicians on the scene? i.e. altoist Grace Kelly, pianist Champian Fulton, vocalist Nikki Yanovsky, etc... It's a pretty cool situation, as the jazz world, for along time, has been comprised of mainly men playing on their respective instruments. But now, the ladies have arrived on the scene in a very big way! Champian Fulton is a great example of this! She swings harder than a lot of male jazz musicians do on piano! Sorry guys. Just telling the truth. I say to Champian Fulton, "You Go Girl!" She blows me away. In particular, her rendition of My Heart Stood Still is a perfect example of her love of Bud Powell!