Wednesday MidDay Medley
Produced and Hosted by Mark Manning
90.1 FM KKFI – Kansas City Community Radio
TEN to NOON Wednesdays – Streaming at KKFI.org

Wednesday, August 10, 2022

Guest Producer & Special Guest: Necia Gamby

Mark welcomes Necia Gamby who joins us as our Special Guest and Guest Producer. Necia Gamby has been called “the Oracle of 39th Street” by Kansas City musician Calvin Arsenia. Necia served on the board of directors of the Volker Neighborhood Association and was vice president of the board of the MidCoast Radio Project. Necia is a massage practitioner in private practice and owner of Heartland Massage and Bodywork Center. She has been in practice 40 years. She uses Swedish (classical) massage technique. Over the years she has studied and practiced Hatha Yoga and is currently studying TaiChi. She founded and directed the Heartland School of Massage from 1988-1996. She has studied and incorporated Shiatsu, trigger point technique, lomi-lomi and a host of other philosophies and techniques into her massage style. Necia was an instructor for Johnson County Community College’s Certified Massage Program for 6 years. She taught Basic Swedish technique and Business Practices. Necia is the daughter of Sandra Brown a Kansas City Jazz pianist, and the mother Jamal Gamby a graphic artist and MC Joe Good for the acclaimed KC based hiphop duo SoundsGood with Miles Bonny. More information at: http://www.heartlandmassges.com

1. “Main Title Instrumental – It’s Showtime Folks”
   from: Orig. Motion Picture Soundtrack All That Jazz / Casablanca / December 20, 1979
   [WMM’s Adopted Theme Song]

2. Dianne Reeves – “In Your Eyes”
   from: Bridges / Blue Note Records / January 1, 1999
   [“In Your Eyes” is a song by English rock musician Peter Gabriel from his fifth solo album So (1986). Dianne Reeves was born in Detroit, Michigan, on October 23, 1956 into a musical family. Her father sang, her mother played trumpet, her uncle is bassist Charles Burrell, and her cousin is George Duke. Her father died when she was two years old, and she was raised in Denver, Colorado, by her mother, Vada Swanson, and maternal family. She was raised Catholic and attended Cure D’Ars Catholic School in Denver for much of her early schooling. // In 1971 she started singing and playing piano.[4] She was a member of her high-school band, and while performing at a convention in Chicago was noticed by trumpeter Clark Terry, who invited her to sing with him. “He had these amazing all-star bands, but I had no idea who they all were! The thing I loved about it was the way they interacted with each other – the kind of intimate exchange that I wasn’t part of. For a young singer, it was fertile soil.” She studied classical voice at the University of Colorado. // Reeves moved to Los Angeles, where she sang and recorded with Stanley Turrentine, Lenny White, and Billy Childs. She recorded with the band Caldera,[8] then founded the band Night Flight with Billy Childs, with whom she would collaborate again in the 1990s. She moved to New York City and from 1983 to 1986 toured with Harry Belafonte. // She signed with Blue Note in 1987 and that year her eponymous album, featuring Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard, and Tony Williams, was nominated for a Grammy Award. She went on to win five Grammy Awards. // Music critic Scott Yanow has said of her: “A logical successor to Dinah Washington and Carmen McRae, Reeves is a superior interpreter of lyrics and a skilled scat singer.” Her sound has been compared to that of Patti Austin, Vanessa Rubin, Anita Baker, and Regina Bell. // Reeves performed at the closing ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. In 2005, she appeared in the film Good Night, And Good Luck singing 1950s standards (including “How High the Moon”, “I’ve Got My Eyes on You”, “Too Close for Comfort”, “Straighten Up and Fly Right” and “One for My Baby”). In 2006 the soundtrack won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album.]

3. Herbie Hancock – “Maiden Voyage (Remastered)”
   from: Maiden Voyage / Blue Note – Capitol / May 1, 1965
   [Maiden Voyage is the fifth album led by jazz musician Herbie Hancock, and was recorded by Rudy Van Gelder on March 17, 1965, for Blue Note Records. It was issued as BLP 4195 and BST 84195. Featuring Hancock with tenor saxophonist George Coleman, trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Tony Williams, it is a concept album aimed at creating an oceanic atmosphere. As such, many of the track titles refer to marine biology or the sea, and the musicians develop the concept through their use of space. The album was presented with the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999. // Davis quintet. // According to Bob Blumenthal’s 1999 liner notes: “Blue Note logs indicate that an attempt had been made to record ‘Maiden Voyage’, ‘Little One’, and ‘Dolphin Dance’ six days earlier, with Hubbard on cornet and Stu Martin in place of Williams. Those performances were rejected at the time and have been lost in the ensuing years.” A different version of “Little One” was recorded by Miles Davis and his quintet (by then including Wayne Shorter instead of Coleman) for the album E.S.P., also released in 1965. // Hancock cites Count Basie’s “Shiny Stockings” as the main source of inspiration for “Dolphin Dance”. // The Penguin Guide to Jazz designated the album as part of its Core Collection with a four star rating, calling it “a colossal achievement from a man still just 24 years old”. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic describes the album as “arguably his finest record of the ’60s, reachingMaiden Voyage”, “The Eye of the Hurricane” and “Dolphin Dance” have become jazz standards and are featured in Hal Leonard’s New Real Book vol. 2. While being interviewed for KCET in 2011, Hancock said he considered “Maiden Voyage” to be his favorite of all of the compositions he had written. During an interview on KTLA in 2020, the composer told Frank Buckley that he originally wrote the tune for a television commercial. Hancock was the pianist on another version of “Maiden Voyage” for Bobby Hutcherson’s album Happenings which was recorded in February 1966. Hancock rerecorded “Maiden Voyage” and “Dolphin Dance” on his 1974 album Dedication and updated the title track on his 1988 album Perfect Machine. “Dolphin Dance” was rerecorded in 1981 for the Herbie Hancock Trio album. Hancock has released live concert versions of “Maiden Voyage” on CoreaHancock (1979) and An Evening With Herbie Hancock & Chick Corea: In Concert (1980) (both with Chick Corea). Hancock recorded “Maiden Voyage” and “Eye of the Hurricane” with the VSOP Quintet on VSOP: Tempest in the Colosseum (1977). ]

4. Joni Mitchell – “Both Sides Now”
   from: Both Sides Now / Reprise / February 8 , 2000
   [Both Sides Now is a concept album by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell that was released in 2000. It is her 17th studio album. The album won two Grammy Awards in 2001 for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album and Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) for the song “Both Sides Now” and a Juno Award for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year. // The album traces the progress of the modern relationship through Mitchell’s orchestral renditions of classic jazz songs. Two of her own songs are included: “A Case of You” (1971) and “Both Sides Now” (1969). The orchestra was arranged and conducted by Vince Mendoza. // In the liner notes, co-producer Larry Klein describes the album as “a programmatic suite documenting a relationship from initial flirtation through optimistic consummation, metamorphosing into disillusionment, ironic despair, and finally resolving in the philosophical overview of acceptance and the probability of the cycle repeating itself”. // A limited run of copies was released on February 8, 2000, in chocolate box packaging for Valentine’s Day with several lithographs of Mitchell paintings. A jewel case edition was released on March 20, 2000.// On tour, Mitchell performed the songs in the same sequence as the album, but she opened with the overture “Nuages”, the first movement from Nocturnes, an orchestral suite composed by Claude Debussy. “Nuages” is the French word for “clouds”. Although the music sets a romantic mood, the use of this piece can be seen as a pun since Clouds is the name of the album on which the song “Both Sides Now” made its appearance. // “Both Sides, Now” is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. First recorded by Judy Collins, it appeared on the US singles chart during the fall of 1968. The next year it was included on Mitchell’s album Clouds (which was named after a lyric from the song), and became one of her best-known songs. It has since been recorded by dozens of artists, including Dion in 1968, Herbie Hancock in 2007, and Mitchell herself who re-recorded the song with an orchestral arrangement on her 2000 album Both Sides Now. // In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked “Both Sides, Now” at number 170 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs. // River: The Joni Letters is the forty-fifth studio album by American jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, released on September 25, 2007, by Verve. It is a tribute album featuring cover songs of music written by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. // The album peaked at number five on the US Billboard 200, enjoying a huge post-Grammy winning sales boost. Upon its release, River: The Joni Letters received generally positive reviews from critics and earned several accolades, including Grammy Awards for Album of the Year and Best Contemporary Jazz Album at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards. Hancock’s quintet for the album are saxophonist Wayne Shorter, guitarist Lionel Loueke, bassist Dave Holland and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta. // On January 28, 2022, Mitchell demanded that Spotify remove her songs from its streaming service in solidarity with her long-time friend and fellow polio survivor Neil Young, who removed his tracks from the streaming platform in protest against COVID-19 misinformation on the popular Spotify-hosted podcast The Joe Rogan Experience. She wrote on her website: “Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives. I stand in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue.” British National Health Service doctor and author Rachel Clarke tweeted: “Both Neil Young & Joni Mitchell … know painfully well how much harm, suffering & avoidable death anti-vaxxers can cause.” // On April 1, 2022 Mitchell was honored as the 2022 MusiCares Person of the Year by the Recording Academy. Mitchell was present at the Awards show accepting the award personally. // On July 24, 2022, Joni Mitchell appeared unannounced as a special guest at the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island, as part of a set billed as ‘Brandi Carlile and Friends’. It was Mitchell’s first public performance in 20 years. Supported by a group of well-wisher musicians, she participated in a 13-song set of her own material and covers (including one as accompaniment only, playing electric guitar). Mitchell had been missing live music and had been hosting monthly music sessions, known as ‘Joni Jams’, at her home in Laurel Canyon, which were organised with the help of singer-songwriter Carlile. Musicians who turned up to play had included Elton John, Paul McCartney, Bonnie Raitt, Harry Styles, Chaka Khan, Marcus Mumford and Herbie Hancock. The music sessions were assisting her recovery, and Mitchell had regained enthusiasm for singing her songs and playing guitar and had begun to feel that she would like to perform in public again. She was invited to join Carlile and others, unannounced, in a low-key appearance at the Newport Festival, where she had first played in 1969, for a live performance of a ‘Joni Jam’. Mitchell was given an ecstatic reception, and she said afterwards, “I was delighted and honored. It gave me the bug for it.” Songs performed included “Carey”, “Come in from the Cold”, “A Case of You”, “Big Yellow Taxi”, “Both Sides Now” and “The Circle Game”.]

10:28 – Underwriting

10:30 – Interview/Story – Necia Gamby

Necia Gamby has been called “the Oracle of 39th Street” by Kansas City musician Calvin Arsenia. Necia served on the board of directors of the Volker Neighborhood Association and was vice president of the board of the MidCoast Radio Project. Necia is a massage practitioner in private practice and owner of Heartland Massage and Bodywork Center. She has been in practice 40 years. She uses Swedish (classical) massage technique. Over the years she has studied and practiced Hatha Yoga and is currently studying TaiChi. She founded and directed the Heartland School of Massage from 1988-1996. She has studied and incorporated Shiatsu, trigger point technique, lomi-lomi and a host of other philosophies and techniques into her massage style. Necia was an instructor for Johnson County Community College’s Certified Massage Program for 6 years. She taught Basic Swedish technique and Business Practices. More info at: http://www.heartlandmassges.com

11:37

5. Oleta Adams & Brenda Russell – “We Will Find A Way”
   from: Corrina, Corrina (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) / RCA/ 1994
   [Oleta Adams (born May 4, 1953) is an American singer and pianist. She found limited success during the early 1980s, before gaining fame via her contributions to Tears for Fears’s international chart-topping album The Seeds of Love (1989). Her albums Circle of One (1991) and Evolution (1993) were top 10 hits in the UK; the former yielded a Grammy-nominated cover of Brenda Russell’s “Get Here”, which was a top 5 hit in both the UK and the US. Adams has been nominated for four total Grammy Awards, as well as two Soul Train Music Awards. // Adams was born the daughter of a preacher and was raised listening to gospel music. In her youth, her family moved to Yakima, Washington, which is sometimes shown as her place of birth. She got her musical start in the church. // Before gaining her opportunity to perform, Adams faced a great deal of rejection. In the 1970s, she moved to Los Angeles, California, where she recorded a demo tape. However, many music executives were exclusively interested in disco music rather than Adams’ preferred style. // With the advice of her singing coach, Lee Farrell, Adams moved to Kansas City, Missouri, where she did a variety of local gigs. She started her career in the early 1980s with two self-financed albums, which had limited success. // Oleta Adams sang the National Anthem prior to Game Two of the 1984 American League Championship Series. // In 1985, Adams was discovered by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith, founders of the English band Tears for Fears, while she was performing in the Peppercorn Duck Club at the Hyatt Hotel in Kansas City, while they were on a US tour. Soon after, Adams stopped performing in hotels and had started to look for alternative employment. In 1987, Orzabal and Smith contacted her to invite her to join their band as a singer and pianist on their next album, The Seeds of Love. A year later she participated in two sessions while she toured the Nordic countries. // In 1989, the album was released and the single “Woman in Chains”, sung as a duet by Adams and Orzabal and with Phil Collins on drums, became her first hit. Adams embarked on a world tour with Tears For Fears in 1990, performing by herself as the supporting artist at the start of each show, and remaining onstage throughout the Tears For Fears set where she would provide piano and vocals. //Following her work with Tears For Fears, Adams was offered a recording contract by their label, Fontana Records, and restarted her solo career in 1990. After meeting a number of producers, she worked with Orzabal, who co-produced her new album, Circle of One. The album received acclaim, and eventually peaked at No. 1 in the UK Albums Chart in 1991, after she scored her biggest hit to date with a Grammy nominated cover of Brenda Russell’s “Get Here”. The song reached the UK and US top 5 and became popular during the 1991 Gulf War conflict, as families of deployed troops in the region embraced the tune as a theme song. 1991 also saw Adams sign to independent music publisher Fairwood Music, and contribute to the Elton John/Bernie Taupin tribute album Two Rooms, on which appeared her version of John’s 1974 hit “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me”. Adams’ version became another top 40 hit in the UK. // Her next album, Evolution (1993), was also a commercial success, making the UK top 10. It also featured her self-penned adult contemporary single “Window of Hope”. Her 1995 release, Moving On, saw Adams move more in the direction of R&B, and she also reunited with Roland Orzabal for the duet “Me and My Big Ideas”, on the Tears For Fears album, Raoul and the Kings of Spain, the same year. Two years later, she released the Christian themed album Come Walk with Me, where she received a nomination for a Grammy Award for “Holy Is the Lamb” in 1997. // In 1998, she toured as a guest vocalist on Phil Collins’s Big Band Jazz Tour.// In 2001, Adams released her sixth album, All the Love, a return to an R&B/Adult contemporary sound. The album was re-released in 2004 in Germany with a different title I Can’t Live a Day without You.// In 2004, Adams reunited with Tears for Fears once again as she made a surprise guest appearance onstage at their Kansas City concert, performing “Woman in Chains”. // On October 3, 2006, Adams released her first Christmas album, entitled Christmas Time with Oleta. // On April 21, 2009, Adams released her eighth album entitled Let’s Stay Here. // On February 10, 2017, Adams released her ninth album, her first album in eight years, entitled Third Set. // In 1994, Adams married drummer John Cushon at a United Methodist church in Kansas City, where they both taught Sunday School. They met in 1980 while working on a demo tape for Adams. Adams stated that she never had a passion to get married but on January 17, 1994 she and Cushon were involved in the Los Angeles earthquake. Adams referred to this as a sign from God that she was ready to get married. // Website http://www.oletaadams.com]
6. SoundsGood – “Best Song Ever (featuring iD)”
   from: Goodbye / Innate Sounds / March 1, 2012
   [The 3rd SoundsGood and final album. A collection of tracks that finalize the SoundsGood sound. Vocals – Joe Good, Beats – Miles Bonny vocals – I.D. (Isaac Dahl)]

10:46 – Interview/Story – Necia Gamby

Necia Gamby has been called “the Oracle of 39th Street” by Kansas City musician Calvin Arsenia. Necia served on the board of directors of the Volker Neighborhood Association and was vice president of the board of the MidCoast Radio Project. Necia is a massage practitioner in private practice and owner of Heartland Massage and Bodywork Center. She has been in practice 40 years. She uses Swedish (classical) massage technique. Over the years she has studied and practiced Hatha Yoga and is currently studying TaiChi. She founded and directed the Heartland School of Massage from 1988-1996. She has studied and incorporated Shiatsu, trigger point technique, lomi-lomi and a host of other philosophies and techniques into her massage style. Necia was an instructor for Johnson County Community College’s Certified Massage Program for 6 years. She taught Basic Swedish technique and Business Practices. Necia is the daughter of Sandra Brown a Kansas City Jazz pianist, and the mother Jamal Gamby a graphic artist and MC Joe Good for the acclaimed KC based hiphop duo SoundsGood with Miles Bonny. More info at: http://www.heartlandmassges.com

Necia Gamby, thanks for being us on Wednesday MidDay Medley

10:54

7. Tuck & Patti – “Cantador (Like A Lover)”
   from: Love Warriors / Windham Hill / May 1, 1989
   [Tuck & Patti are an American jazz duo consisting of guitarist William Charles “Tuck” Andress (born Oct. 28, 1952 in Tulsa, Oklahoma) and singer Patricia “Patti” Cathcart Andress (born October 4, 1949, in San Francisco). / Guitarist Tuck Andress met singer Patti Cathcart at an audition in San Francisco in 1978. Before this, Andress studied classical music at Stanford and was a session musician with The Gap Band. Cathcart was also classically trained and was a member of The Brides of Funkenstein. // Andress and Cathcart married in 1983. After moving to Cathcart’s hometown of San Francisco, they worked in a rock and roll cover band. They declined offers of recording contracts so they could polish their sound. In 1987, they signed with Windham Hill Jazz, a subsidiary of Windham Hill for whom they recorded their breakout album, Tears of Joy, which received airplay on jazz and pop radio stations around the U.S. They recorded several more albums for Windham Hill Jazz, then signed with Epic in 1995. They followed this with more albums for Windham Hill and 33rd Street. They started the label T&P Records, which licenses their albums for worldwide distribution. In addition to performing they teach private lessons and vocal and guitar workshops. // In The Jazz Book, the authors write that Andress uses “unusual percussive and tapping techniques to create rhythmically unbelievable effects”. He plays a 1953 Gibson L-5 guitar, which he bought because it was the model played by Wes Montgomery. // His niece is singer-songwriter Annie Clark, also known as St. Vincent. As a teenager, Clark was a roadie for Tuck and Patti and was later a tour manager for them.]

10:59 – Station ID

8. Aydin Esen – “Love’s Haunts”
   from: Anadolu / Columbia / 1992
   [Aydın Esen (born 1962) is a Turkish jazz musician who plays keyboards and electronics. // The son of a trumpeter, Esen began music lessons at the age of five in Turkey and attended a music conservatory, continuing for 13 years. His background was in classical music although he also enjoyed playing drums. At the age of ten, he began sneaking out of school to play with other musicians and as a teenager he led several groups in a variety of styles. Esen first came to the United States when he was awarded a four-year scholarship to Berklee College of Music where he reportedly completed all of his classes within one year. After studying at the New England Conservatory of Music and Juilliard, he had opportunities to play with Gary Burton, Eddie Gomez, Pat Metheny and Emily Remler. // in 1989, he won the 1st prize at the Martial Solal Piano Competition in Paris. // He has worked with Dave Liebman and Wolfgang Muthspiel. // His composition “scape-X” (commissioned by Big Basel Festival) was premiered by the Ensemble Phoenix Basel with him as a soloist at the Big Basel Festival in January 2020.]

11:09 Interview/Story – Necia Gamby

Necia Gamby has been called “the Oracle of 39th Street” by Kansas City musician Calvin Arsenia. Necia served on the board of directors of the Volker Neighborhood Association and was vice president of the board of the MidCoast Radio Project. Necia is a massage practitioner in private practice and owner of Heartland Massage and Bodywork Center. She has been in practice 40 years. She uses Swedish (classical) massage technique. Over the years she has studied and practiced Hatha Yoga and is currently studying TaiChi. She founded and directed the Heartland School of Massage from 1988-1996. She has studied and incorporated Shiatsu, trigger point technique, lomi-lomi and a host of other philosophies and techniques into her massage style. Necia was an instructor for Johnson County Community College’s Certified Massage Program for 6 years. She taught Basic Swedish technique and Business Practices. Necia is the daughter of Sandra Brown a Kansas City Jazz pianist, and the mother Jamal Gamby a graphic artist and MC Joe Good for the acclaimed KC based hiphop duo SoundsGood with Miles Bonny. More info at: http://www.heartlandmassges.com

Necia Gamby, thanks for being us on Wednesday MidDay Medley

11:16

9. John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman – “Lush Life”
   from: John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman / Impulse! Records / July/August 1963
   [John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman is a studio album by John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman which was released by Impulse! Records in July or August 1963. It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2013. // Although it is often reported that Coltrane and Hartman had known each other since their days playing with Dizzy Gillespie’s band in the late 1940s, their time in the band never overlapped. Coltrane might have heard Hartman sing at a 1950 Apollo Theater performance at which they shared the stage. Hartman is the only vocalist with whom the saxophonist would record as a leader. Initially when producer Bob Thiele approached Hartman with Coltrane’s request that the two record together Hartman was hesitant as he did not consider himself a jazz singer and did not think he and Coltrane would complement one another musically. However, Thiele encouraged Hartman to go see Coltrane perform at Birdland in New York City to see if something could be worked out. Hartman did so, and after the club closed he, Coltrane and Coltrane’s pianist, McCoy Tyner, went over some songs together. On March 7, 1963, Coltrane and Hartman had decided on 10 songs for the record album, but en route to the studio they heard Nat King Cole on the radio performing “Lush Life”, and Hartman immediately decided that song had to be included in their album. // The recording was made on March 7, 1963, at the Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Hartman later said that each song was done in only one take, except for “You Are Too Beautiful”, which required two takes because Elvin Jones dropped one of his drumsticks during the first take. In 2005, the raw tapes were reviewed by jazz archivist Barry Kernfeld, who documented there were actually complete alternate takes for all six songs that he considered “absolutely riveting.” Until clear ownership of these tapes is established between the Coltrane family and Universal Music, there are no plans for their release. // The album was announced on July 6, 1963, on Billboard and released toward the end of the month on Impulse!, produced by Thiele. It has become a classic ballad jazz album, and the renditions of “Lush Life”, “My One and Only Love”, and “They Say It’s Wonderful” are considered definitive. Scott Yanow’s five-star review for AllMusic describes the album as “essential for all jazz collections”. // Kurt Elling’s 2009 album Dedicated to You: Kurt Elling Sings the Music of Coltrane and Hartman was recorded in tribute to John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman. // Lush Life” is a jazz standard that was written by Billy Strayhorn from 1933 to 1936. It was performed publicly for the first time by Strayhorn and vocalist Kay Davis with the Duke Ellington Orchestra at Carnegie Hall on November 13, 1948. // The lyric describes the author’s weariness of the night life after a failed romance, wasting time with “jazz and cocktails” at “come-what-may places” and in the company of girls with “sad and sullen gray faces/with distingué traces”. Strayhorn was a teenager when he wrote most of the song, which was to become his signature composition (along with “Take the ‘A’ Train”). // The song was written in the key of D-flat major. The melody is over relatively complex chord changes, compared with many jazz standards, with chromatic movement and modulations that evoke a dreamlike state and the dissolute spirit characteristic of the “lush life.” // Nat King Cole performed “Lush Life” in 1949, while trumpeter Harry James recorded it four times. In the 1950s, it was performed by jazz vocalists Ella Fitzgerald, Carmen McRae, and Sarah Vaughan. John Coltrane recorded it twice. The first was a 14-minute version in recorded in 1958 as the title track of an album for Prestige. The other was on John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman, with vocalist Johnny Hartman, recorded in 1963. Kurt Elling recorded a version for his album Dedicated to You: Kurt Elling Sings the Music of Coltrane and Hartman. // Linda Ronstadt’s version won the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocal(s) (1986). // Other musicians who have recorded the song include Joey Alexander, Chet Baker, Andy Bey, Anthony Braxton, Donna Summer, McCoy Tyner, Ernie Watts, Bob Welch, and Nancy Wilson.]

9. Joe Sample & Lalah Hathaway – When Your Life Was Low”  
   from: The Song Lives On / GRP / April 20, 1999
   [The Song Lives On is the collaboration album by former Jazz Crusaders member Joe Sample and R&B singer Lalah Hathaway. The album was released on April 20, 1999. // In 1998, Lalah Hathaway and Joe Sample began working on their collaborative album. Hathaway sang most of the lead vocals on such songs as “When Your Life Was Low” and the cover song “Fever”, while Sample supplied the instruments like piano. // The jazz influenced album contained mostly slow piano ballads with an extra addition of drums and horns. The songs of album are a little similar to Hathaway previous album A Moment. The track “So They Say” from her previous album, had an influence on the album, which were showcased in the song “When Your Life Was Low”. Lalah Hathaway and Joe Sample also covered the song “Fever”, which was slightly altered by adding more of the instrument known as the piano. The Song Lives On also contains a cover of The Crusaders’ hit “Street Life”. // The album was bolstered by the single “When Your Life Was Low”. After the release of the lead single, the album was released on April 20, 1999. The album debut at No. 196 on the Billboard 200, No. 53 on the Top R&B Albums chart, and No. 2 on the Top Contemporary Jazz Album chart. The second single was the covered song “Fever”. // The album received a favorable review from Allmusic stating, “The daughter of the popular late R&B singer Donny, husky voiced Lalah Hathaway is the perfect foil for Joe Sample’s compelling notion that The Song Lives On. Finding a happy medium between the graceful straight-ahead jazz trio vibe of his Invitation album and the plucky pop energy of Spellbound, Sample provides Hathaway on seven of the 11 tunes with a showcase for her sultry approach.” // Jonathan Widran further went on to say, “On a cover of his Crusaders hit “Street Life,” Hathaway turns the title into a mantra and Sample echoes her sentiments with sharp, percussive reiterations of the song’s main melody. Then Hathaway stops and Michael Thompson steps in with some edgy electric guitar lines. Other song choices range from reverent takes on standards like “Fever” and “For All We Know” to g Lives On went on to become one of Lalah Hathaway and Joe Sample’s most successful album to chavocal versions of older, well-known Sample instrumental hits; for example, with Norman Gimbel’s cheery lyrics, Hathaway turns the once moody “All God’s Children” into a life-affirming love song.” // The Sonrt. In response to the album’s success, Hathaway and Sample were honored with Billboard/BET On Jazz Award for “Mainstream Jazz Album”.]

11:27 – Underwriting

11:29 – Interview/Story – Necia Gamby

Necia Gamby has been called “the Oracle of 39th Street” by Kansas City musician Calvin Arsenia. Necia served on the board of directors of the Volker Neighborhood Association and was vice president of the board of the MidCoast Radio Project. Necia is a massage practitioner in private practice and owner of Heartland Massage and Bodywork Center. She has been in practice 40 years. She uses Swedish (classical) massage technique. Over the years she has studied and practiced Hatha Yoga and is currently studying TaiChi. She founded and directed the Heartland School of Massage from 1988-1996. She has studied and incorporated Shiatsu, trigger point technique, lomi-lomi and a host of other philosophies and techniques into her massage style. Necia was an instructor for Johnson County Community College’s Certified Massage Program for 6 years. She taught Basic Swedish technique and Business Practices. Necia is the daughter of Sandra Brown a Kansas City Jazz pianist, and the mother Jamal Gamby a graphic artist and MC Joe Good for the acclaimed KC based hiphop duo SoundsGood with Miles Bonny. More info at: http://www.heartlandmassges.com

Necia Gamby, thanks for being us on Wednesday MidDay Medley

11:37

11. SoundsGood – “Ms. Brown”
    from: Money & Pacin / Innate Sounds / 2004
    [SoundsGood sound. Vocals – Joe Good, Beats – Miles Bonny Review: SoundsGood, “Money/Pacin” By Richard Gintowt: If you haven’t yet figured out why so many locals seem hell-bent on convincing you that there IS a hip-hop scene in Lawrence and it KICKS ASS, you may want to give a listen to SoundsGood’s new maxi-single for “Money.” / The 10-song disc features two songs from the duo’s upcoming album – “Money” and “Pacin’,” including instrumental and acapella versions – as well as four songs that won’t make it to the album. Though it shouldn’t be considered the litmus test of SoundsGood’s abilities (the full-length is due later this year), it offers a taste of why MC Joe Good and producer Miles Bonny are two of the most accomplished musicians – yes, MUSICIANS – in town. / Not surprisingly, “Money” is the highlight. The track pairs Joe Good with KC-based singer Asa, who makes Pharrell sound like Biz Markie with his velvety three-part harmonies. A sublime, catchy base line supports Good’s boast that “you knowin’ that it’s nice and you want a slice.” /”Pacin'” takes a trip on the darker side with jazzy horn samples and hand claps rubbing elbows with a Beastie Boys-esque flute loop. Joe Good lyrically wedgies clueless MCs with lines like “I’m sick of hip-hop / New booties trying to school me off the tip-top.” While Joe Good isn’t typically one to get caught in the “rappers-rapping-about-rappers” game, he proves himself a feisty bull in the ring.// The disc’s four bonus tracks exhibit no drop-off in quality. “Marvin'” brings Asa back for a world-struggle ballad that could very well be an outtake from “Superfly” with its bongo drums and soulful chorus: “Children dying / Mothers cryin’ / All they want is a better life / This ain’t living / It’s genocide / All we want is / A better life.” // “Listen” finds Joe Good searching deep inside of himself as he doles out support for mistreated women. Bonny strays from his hip-hop sensibilities as he crafts a murky Moby-like soundscape peppered with a sample of a woman singing: “Use your ears … he was up to no good.” // If there’s one thing that this maxi-single hints at, it’s that Joe Good isn’t holding back anything lyrically. If this kind of intensity carries over to SoundsGood’s full-length, expect great things..]

-51. Sandra Brown & Pardox – “Track #5″
     from: Rehearsal Tape / Unreleased / Early 1990s
     [Paradox was an all-female jazz combo with Sandra Brown on vocals and piano with a drummer, trumpet player, bassist and more. On this rehearsal tape you can hear small children talking t the beginning and at the end of the track. So many moms had to take their kids to band practice.

11:47 — Interview/Story – Necia Gamby

Necia Gamby has been called “the Oracle of 39th Street” by Kansas City musician Calvin Arsenia. Necia served on the board of directors of the Volker Neighborhood Association and was vice president of the board of the MidCoast Radio Project. Necia is a massage practitioner in private practice and owner of Heartland Massage and Bodywork Center. She has been in practice 40 years. She uses Swedish (classical) massage technique. Over the years she has studied and practiced Hatha Yoga and is currently studying TaiChi. She founded and directed the Heartland School of Massage from 1988-1996. She has studied and incorporated Shiatsu, trigger point technique, lomi-lomi and a host of other philosophies and techniques into her massage style. Necia was an instructor for Johnson County Community College’s Certified Massage Program for 6 years. She taught Basic Swedish technique and Business Practices. Necia is the daughter of Sandra Brown a Kansas City Jazz pianist, and the mother Jamal Gamby a graphic artist and MC Joe Good for the acclaimed KC based hiphop duo SoundsGood with Miles Bonny. More info at: http://www.heartlandmassges.com

Necia Gamby, thanks for being us on Wednesday MidDay Medley

11:54

13. Bob James ad Earl Klugh – “Miniature”
    from: Cool / Warner Records / August 11, 1992
    [Robert McElhiney James (born December 25, 1939) is an American jazz keyboardist, arranger, and record producer. He founded the band Fourplay and wrote “Angela”, the theme song for the TV show Taxi. Music from his first seven albums has often been sampled and has contributed to the formation of hip hop. Among his most well known recordings are “Nautilus”, “Westchester Lady”, “Tappan Zee”, and his version of “Take Me to The Mardi Gras”.// James was born on Christmas Day of 1939 in Marshall, Missouri, United States. He started playing the piano at age four.[1] His first piano teacher, Sister Mary Elizabeth, who taught at Mercy Academy, discovered that he had perfect pitch. At age seven, James began to study with R. T. Dufford, a teacher at Missouri Valley College. At age 15, James continued his studies with Franklin Launer, a teacher at Christian College in Columbia, Missouri, with more music instruction during high school from Harold Lickey, conductor of the Marshall High School Band and Orchestra. Apart from the piano. During the summer of 1955, at Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri, James played for dancing and occasional jam sessions with the Bob Falkenhainer Quartet on the Governor McClurg Excursion Boat in the evenings. He recalls that “during the day we had free time and I became a proficient water skier that summer!” At age 16, a solo engagement followed in the summer when James traveled with good friend Ben Swinger to Colorado and ended up with a job in the piano bar at the Steads Ranch resort in Estes Park. // While in college at Michigan, James played free jazz with musicians in Ann Arbor and Detroit. In 1962, his band entered the Notre Dame Collegiate Jazz Festival, where the judges included Henry Mancini and Quincy Jones. The trio entered the competition not expecting to win but wanting to provide some avant-garde music in a contest field that was primarily straight ahead music.[5] To the trio’s surprise, they won the competition. Not long after, Jones signed James to an album deal with Mercury Records. Mercury released James’s first album, Bold Conceptions (1963), a free jazz exploration that was produced by Quincy Jones and that differed from the smooth jazz for which he would later become known. // In New York City, James worked as an arranger and was hired as piano accompanist for jazz singer Sarah Vaughan. He reunited with Quincy Jones when Jones asked him to do some arranging for studio sessions. Creed Taylor, producer and founder of CTI Records, was at the sessions and hired James to work for CTI as a producer, arranger, and studio musician. In the 1970s, James worked on albums by Gabor Szabo, Milt Jackson, Stanley Turrentine, Grover Washington, Jr., and Maynard Ferguson.[// After three solo albums, James founded his own record label, Tappan Zee. Immediately thereafter, he cut a disco version of the Theme to Star Trek: The Motion Picture a 45 of which was included with the soundtrack LP and recorded the album Touchdown (Tappan Zee, 1978). Among the songs on the album was “Angela”, the theme song for the TV show Taxi. James provided all the music for Taxi and collected some of its music, including “Angela”, on The Genie: Themes & Variations from the TV Series Taxi (1983). When he toured in 1979, he was supported by a marketing campaign that included posters of him at the wheel of a New York yellow cab. The performances were documented on the album All Around the Town (Tappan Zee, 1980), with a cover of James at the wheel of a taxi. // ames turned from smooth jazz to classical music to record Rameau (1984), his interpretations of Baroque-period composer Jean-Philippe Rameau. In later albums, he interpreted the work of two more Baroque composers, J. S. Bach and Domenico Scarlatti. // A year after Rameau, he collaborated with David Sanborn on Double Vision (Warner Bros, 1986). The album won a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance. His collaboration with Earl Klugh, One on One, won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance in 1980 and has sold over one million copies. Another collaboration with Klugh, Cool, (Warner Bros., 1992) was nominated for a Grammy, as was Joined at the Hip (Warner Bros., 1996) with Kirk Whalum, recorded Flesh and Bone in 1995 and another solo album, Joyride (Warner Bros., 1999). Joined at the Hip will be reissued with a 2019 Remaster on evosound.]

14. Noel Coward – “The Party’s Over Now”
    from: Noel Coward in New York / drg / 2003 [orig. 1957]

Next week on Wednesday, August 17 – WMM presents More New and MidCoastal Releases! AND we welcome: Kelley Hunt and the Songcraft Series, Members of the band Lazy Projector, and Arquesta Del SolSoul!

Our Script/Playlist is a “cut and paste” of information.
Sources for notes: artist’s websites, bios, wikipedia.org

Find our playlists for the past 10 years at: http://www.WednesdayMidDayMedley.org

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Show #954