I have frequently mentioned my favorite podcast, In The Groove: Jazz and Beyond, put together by Ken Laster at WHUS at the University of Connecticut. I finally got around to sending him an e-mail to alert him to this fact. To my delight, last Saturday's show included a very generous plug for South Dakota Politics and for yours truly. Ken said some kind things about my political commentary and SDP Jazz Note. I am very grateful for this. I think I will send my Mom the recording.
Ken did note that his politics and mine were not something we have in common. I had no reason to be surprised. I recall a small comment about the last election that suggested as much, and WHUS calls itself Radio for the People. That doesn't mean that I take the station's Soviet style logo very seriously. I am sure that Ken B. and Ken L. agree on more than we disagree, even if the disagreements would be more prominent.
You can download In The Groove from the website linked above. Any basic music player software will let you listen to it. Or you can do as I do and subscribe via iTunes and listen to it on your iPod. Last weekend's podcast, on which I get mentioned, is dedicated to the Hammond B-3 Organ. It's smokin' music is probably more fun for listeners than the brief mention of my name on radio, except for me, my wife, and my mother.
In The Groove shows are mostly organized around some jazz instrument or some jazz style, and have titles like Saxy, or Hard Bop. If you download all the podcasts available, you will get many hours of a wide range of jazz music. There is an emphasis on Bop and Hard Bop, which is what I like best, but you will get a lot of jazz fusion and contemporary players as well. If you like jazz or are even curious, I strongly recommend that you sample his show.
I am always worried that the music industry will try to shut this kind of operation down. That would be a tragic mistake. I have purchased dozens of cds after listening to In The Groove. This podcast is the kind of thing that will bring new listeners to jazz, and bring the older ones like me back into the music section in Barnes and Noble. Jazz is one of American culture's greatest achievements. It has sunk its roots into Europe and Japan and a lot of other places. SDP Jazz Note is a small bit of promotion on the part of Jason and myself. Ken Laster is doing a lot more.
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