One of my favorite radio programs is WNYC's On The Media - check out their website for lots of nifty archived stories, or to find out where you can listen or subscribe to the free podcast. Each week OTM takes an hour-long look at the stories making news, and the newspeople making those stories. Hosts Bob Garfield and Brooke Gladstone set a smart, sardonic yet thoughtful tone, and they do some great reporting and interviews themselves.Equally important to the show's tone and feel is the music which stitches together the segments, by bassist/composer Ben Allison. OTM uses excerpts from Allison's albums Riding the Nuclear Tiger and Buzz, but this past week a new Ben Allison album was released: Cowboy Justice. Allison keeps his ear to the ground as well as the groove, and the album's title is intended as a political statement. Glowing reviews have already appeared in the NY Times and on AllAboutJazz.com; the latter quotes Allison saying, “It is American music. It is world music ... It's a reminder of why America is a great idea. It's a reflection of this country the way I see it and of its place in the world, not of how it's been recast.”
I've only heard short samples, but I hope to hear the album in its entirety soon; maybe it will also give OTM some new material to use. Thanks to bassist blogger Dale Cruse for the link - and for a fantastic website covering all sorts of bassists.
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My pleasure. Perhaps our weblogs can help feed each other more now and in the future.
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