JazzTimes Spins & Riffs

Lee previews Kendrick Scott Oracle’s new album “Conviction.” Rene and Lee talk about jazz and spoken word, and about drummers as leaders. Rene and Lee riff on stereotypes associated with various jazz instrumentalists. And they listen to a cut from “Money Jungle” from Terri Lyne Carrington, Christian McBride and Gerald Clayton. Episode sponsored by Motema Music.

Lee spins Marian McPartland for Rene and they talk about her biography and legacy. Rene and Lee riff on playing with or meeting your idols. Rene confesses her unrequited love for Bonnie Raitt.

In debut episode, Lee spins cuts from Eliane Elias/Marc Johnson album Swept Away on ECM and makes Rene cry. Rene riffs on “guilty pleasures” and confesses to a secret love for bluegrass and klezmer music. Rene convinces Lee that he has a thing for New Age music. Episode sponsored by Insight Cuba.

Lee & Rene spin new albums from vocal jazz innovators Bobby McFerrin and Cecile McLorin Salvant, two singers at very different stages of their career. Lee admits to not liking the McFerrin at first because it didn't conform to his expecations of what gospel music should sound like. Which leads to Rene's riff on how expectations or pre-conceived notions can wreak havoc with an artist's creativity. This episode sponsored by the Newport Jazz Festival.

Drummer and bandleader Matt Wilson sits in with JT publisher Lee Mergner to spin cuts from his new album looking back on his life with his wife Felicia who died of cancer two years ago. The album, Beginning of a Memory, features a band he calls Big Happy Family, comprised by the musicians from all his groups over the last 20 years. Matt talked about the importance of family and how jazz musicians have become his extended family throughout his struggle to deal with his wife’s death. This episode sponsored by Berks Jazz Festival.