Thursday morning highlights:
KMHD (Portland, OR)
- Something's Gotta Give-Joyce Collins Trio (I've heard many artists play and sing this tune in just about every tempo imaginable. Bing Crosby, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Ella Fitzgerald sang three of the strongest renditions. Until today, however, I'd never heard "Something's Gotta Give" played as a self-assured stroll on the piano; the unusually slow tempo works better than I would have imagined.)
- Skylark-Toots Thielemans (This is an appropriately lighthearted harmonica-led rendition of this standard.)
KMMS (Bozeman, MT)
- Keep Going-Guster (Lyrically, this May release is a good reminder not to give up hope.)
- People-Susan Tedeschi (Tedeschi's vocals are always consistently emotive, and her ringing guitar playing gives her blues-rock tracks appropriate gravity. Lyrically, this is another effective reminder not to give up hope. Also recommended: "Talking About," which spits fire and rhythmically brings to mind the Robert Cray Band's "Smoking Gun.")
KPHT (Laytonville, CA)
- Living From Day To Day-Jimmie Lunceford & His Orchestra (This fiddling style from the '30s could have worked as the intro theme for "A Prairie Home Companion" or "Live From Here.")
WCBN (Ann Arbor, MI)
- Three Is A Magic Number-Bob Dorough (This is one of the catchiest "Multiplication Rock" tunes from the "Schoolhouse Rock" series. Counting by threes doesn't sound this funky ordinarily.)
- Variations In Rock-Sven Wunder (An infectious '70s-influenced instrumental jazz-rock jam from 2022; a fully committed flute player and rhythm section sustain a strong rhythm.)
- Francis Poulenc: Pastourelle (Jacqueline Schweitzer, piano) (Poulenc ended this piece rather abruptly, but I like the transitions from confidence to sorrow to confidence and the deft touch with which Schweitzer plays them.)
