Skip to Main Content

In A Mellow Tone
Wednesday July 6th, 2022 with Natalie McGrath
The Tortured Artists of Jazz

Tune in to this week's session of In A Mellow Tone to hear our newest host Natalie McGrath take a deep dive into the history and music of jazz's most tortured artists. What is a tortured artist? Essentially, it is a person who is constantly tormented by their art, their surroundings, or themself. The concept of a tortured artist or tortured genius is quite profound in the genre of jazz with several exceptional musicians having histories of dealing with substance abuse, mental illness, domestic abuse, and even fatal addictions that were bound up in their artistic struggles. Many people believe that some artists with the most tortured minds produced the best art, or let their bad habits stimulate their creativity. For some musicians, their demons got the best of them and led to their demise, while a small portion of others allowed their hardships to fuel their drive to become better virtuoso artists. Many talented jazz musicians either had their careers sidetracked or prematurely ended due to their addiction to drugs and/or alcohol. This show features Charlie Parker, Billie Holiday, and Lester Young in the first half, followed by John Coltrane, Jaco Pastorius, and Amy Winehouse in the second half.
Billie's Bounce
Charlie Parker - The Complete Savoy & Dial Master Takes - Savoy Jazz
Donna Lee
Charlie Parker - The Complete Savoy & Dial Master Takes - Savoy Jazz
Lover Man
Charlie Parker - The Complete Savoy & Dial Master Takes - Savoy Jazz
Relaxin' at Camarillo
Charlie Parker - The Complete Savoy & Dial Master Takes - Savoy Jazz
All of Me
Billie Holiday and Her Orchestra and Eddie Heywood and His Orchestra - The Essential Billie Holiday - Metro Doubles
I’ll Be Seeing you
Billie Holiday - The Complete Commodore Recordings - Commodore Records
Strange Fruit
Billie Holiday - The Complete Commodore Recordings - Commodore Records
Fine and Mellow
Billie Holiday - Lady in Satin (The Centennial Edition) - Columbia Records
If the Moon Turns Green
Billie Holiday - Recital - Verve Records
Body and Soul
Billie Holiday and Her Orchestra - Body and Soul - Verve Records
Lester Leaps in
Count Basie and the Kansas City Seven (with Lester Young) - Single - Vocalion
Dickie’s Dream
Count Basie and the Kansas City Seven (with Lester Young) - Single - Vocalion
There Will Never Be Another You
Lester Young - Just You, Just Me
Roseland Shuffle 2
The Count Basie Orchestra (feat. Lester Young) - The Savory Collection, Vol. 2 - Jumpin' at the Woodside: The Count Basie Orchestra (feat. Lester Young)
Giant Steps
John Coltrane - Giant Steps - Atlantic Records
Naima
John Coltrane - Giant Steps - Atlantic Records
Blue Train
John Coltrane - Blue Train - Blue Note Records
A Love Supreme, Pt 1: Acknowledgement
John Coltrane - A Love Supreme - Impulse! Records
Teen Town
Weather Report (with Jaco Pastorius) - Heavy Weather - Columbia Records
Birdland
Weather Report (with Jaco Pastorius) - Heavy Weather - Columbia Records
Donna Lee
Jaco Pastorius - Jaco Pastorius - Epic Records
Continuum
Jaco Pastorius - Jaco Pastorius - Epic Records
Portrait of tracy
Jaco Pastorius - Jaco Pastorius - Epic Records
Wake Up Alone
Amy Winehouse - Back to Black - Island Records
Body and Soul
Amy Winehouse and Tony Bennett - Lioness: Hidden Treasures - Lioness Records
Interactive CKCU