In A Mellow Tone
Wednesday July 16th, 2025 with Heavy Ben
Vinyl Sides 10 - Cal Tjader, Toni Esposito, Jef Gilson, Chico Freeman, Dominique Fils-Aimé, Bola Sete
Playing full album sides live in the CKCU studio.
On today's program, music from the 1950s to 2025 from Brazil, Canada, France, Italy, and the USA by artists born in July.
(to embiggen the show icon, right-click and choose "Open image in new tab")
| Cal Tjader was born on this day in 1925 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. Tjader died in 1982 at the age of 56 in Manila, Philippines. He has been dubbed "the most successful non-Latino Latin musician". |
| Los Bandidos Cal Tjader - Along Comes Cal - Verve - 1967 |
| Similau Cal Tjader - Along Comes Cal - Verve - 1967 |
| Green Peppers Cal Tjader - Along Comes Cal - Verve - 1967 |
| Samba Do Suenho Cal Tjader - Along Comes Cal - Verve - 1967 |
| Let's wish a happy 75th birthday to percussionist Toni Esposito, born July 15 1950 in Naples, Italy. He has performed with the likes of Don Cherry, Gato Barbieri, Eumir Deodato, Gilberto Gil, and Brian Auger, whose birthday we will mark this coming Friday on Chance Meeting.
Rosso Napoletano comprises the entire A-side of Esposito's 1974 debut LP. The tune was co-written by Paul Buckmaster (electric piano, synthesizer) arranger, composer with numerous acts including David Bowie, Miles Davis, Shawn Phillips, Leonard Cohen, Elton John, and Grateful Dead. |
| Rosso Napoletano Toni Esposito - Toni Esposito - Numero Uno - 1974 |
| Jef Gilson was born July 25, 1926 in France, and died in 2012. In his 83 years, he produced some of the most interesting blends of jazz with music from non-Western cultures. He lived in the ex-French colony of Madagascar in the late 1960s and early 1970s. His absorption of Malagasy culture and the strength of his personality would eventually result in the release of 3 exceptional albums of Malagasy jazz, as well as a string of Malagasy concerts, events and radio shows performed across France.
The Archives double vinyl contains early experiments in Oriental and Ethnic Jazz with Lloyd Miller, unissued alternate takes of Gilson’s classic repertoire, long-lost live performances from 1960s European jazz festivals, rehearsals and jam sessions that developed into a lifelong creative obsession. |
| Bis Indicatif Jef Gilson - The Archives - Jazzman - (2013, rec. 1950s - 1970s) |
| Chant Inca (Alt. 1) Jef Gilson - The Archives - Jazzman - (2013, rec. 1950s - 1970s) |
| Equateur Jef Gilson - The Archives - Jazzman - (2013, rec. 1950s - 1970s) |
| Lamento Jef Gilson - The Archives - Jazzman - (2013, rec. 1950s - 1970s) |
| Choro In Blue Jef Gilson - The Archives - Jazzman - (2013, rec. 1950s - 1970s) |
| A happy 76th birthday (tomorrow) to Chico Freeman!
This set from 1977, recorded in concert in New York City, combines free and modal jazz with a superfine lineup of Cecil McBee (bass), Steve McCall (drums), Tito Sampa (percussion), Muhal Richard Abrams (piano), and composer Chico Freeman on tenor saxophone, flute, and bass clarinet. Chico's uncle George Freeman (1927-20925) was a guitarist, known for his 1970s soul-jazz recordings with Groove Holmes and Gene Ammons. |
| Merger Chico Freeman - Chico - India Navigation - 1977 |
| Here is a set from Dominique Fils-Aimé recorded at the 2024 Montreal Jazz Festival, as she reimagines her discography in this live album.
Three of her albums have been listed for the Polaris Music Prize and she has twice won the Juno Award for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year: Stay Tuned! (2020) and Our Roots Run Deep (2024). The Montreal native, of Haitian descent, marked a birthday last week on July 10. |
| Introduction Dominique Fils-Aimé - Live At The Montreal International Jazz Festival - Ensoul Records - 2025 
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| My Mind At Ease Dominique Fils-Aimé - Live At The Montreal International Jazz Festival - Ensoul Records - 2025
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| Birds / While We Wait Dominique Fils-Aimé - Live At The Montreal International Jazz Festival - Ensoul Records - 2025
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| Mind Made Up Dominique Fils-Aimé - Live At The Montreal International Jazz Festival - Ensoul Records - 2025
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| Grow Mama Grow Dominique Fils-Aimé - Live At The Montreal International Jazz Festival - Ensoul Records - 2025
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| Closing the program, as we began - with a legendary purveyor of Latin Jazz, born on this day: Bola Sete. Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil as Djalma de Andrade, Sete died in 1987, aged 63.
His nickname means "Seven Ball". In snooker, the seven ball is the only black ball on the table (like the eight ball in pool). Bola got this nickname when he was the only black member of a small jazz group. Dizzy Gillespie was introduced to Sete by Lalo Schifrin (who played with him in Argentina), netting Bola his first big break in New York City. This performance at the Monterey Jazz Festival features fellow Brazilians Sebastião Neto on bass and Paulinho on drums. They perform two Luis Bonfa compositions and one by Antonio Carlos Jobim. Bola Sete's collaborations with Vince Guaraldi are outstanding and recommended for further listening. |
| Manha De Carnaval Bola Sete - Bola Sete At The Monterey Jazz Festival - Verve - 1967 |
| A Felicidade Bola Sete - Bola Sete At The Monterey Jazz Festival - Verve - 1967 |
| Samba De Orfeu Bola Sete - Bola Sete At The Monterey Jazz Festival - Verve - 1967 |
| Soul Samba Bola Sete - Bola Sete At The Monterey Jazz Festival - Verve - 1967 |
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Helloooooooooo!!!!!
9:20 PM, July 16th, 2025