Here is episode 16 of Freemprove!
I’ll take this opportunity to talk about some of the tracks that hold special meaning for me. That said, everything played in this episode is nothing short of amazing, especially for us jazz lovers.
The Entertainer
To understand the genius of Roland Kirk, you have to hear his version of “The Entertainer”. Scott Joplin’s ragtime classic transformed into a gospel, soul-infused, sermon-like experience.
I know that in our current era, when you can feed almost any half-baked idea into artificial intelligence and ask it to reshape it in a certain style, an interpretation like this might seem to have less value. But when it comes to the listening test, music created live by living people, who pour their souls into it, still wins. It’s not enough to come up with a clever idea. What truly matters is the ability to perform it and to transmit, through the music, those invisible things that human beings are made of.
The influence of music on one teenager
When I was a teenager, I remember coming home one day from high school. I was mildly frustrated by some academic failure, a low grade I had received, or some other trivial thing of that sort. In that state, it was always a bit hard for me to be pleasant, to smile, and to chat with my parents, and I preferred to go into my room and shut myself away.
But from my father’s room I heard something so beautiful that it made me forget all the problems in my life. On the one hand, it was sophisticated and surprising, like the most intricate jazz, the kind that fascinated me back then and surrounded me with a sense of mystery. On the other hand, it was a song, with lyrics, full of emotion. Every word was clear and moving. The melody was unbelievably beautiful. It had an irresistible combination of something new and something familiar at the same time.
And then, suddenly, the sticky, captivating melody turned into a fast Latin jazz groove.
It was a song by Chick Corea called “My Everything.”
How I love this song! For me, it belongs on the same list as songs by The Beatles and Stevie Wonder. On Freemprove 16 I played a solo guitar version by another genius of our time, who is still with us, Pat Metheny.
Modern Creative
Cory Wong’s track “Ellie” belongs to a genre sometimes referred to as modern creative. You’ll hear a combination of a cinematic, larger than life sound, reflected in the orchestration. The harmonies are simple, they even echo pop songs in their simplicity, yet there is something unexpected about them. At the same time, the track is funky, featuring a brilliant bass solo. In short, it brings together the best of several musical worlds.
Freemprove 16 was broadcast on April 12, 2025. You can listen to it on my Mixcloud.
See the setlist below.
On the photo you can see Pat Metheny playing in the company of Donald Fagen from Steely Dan.
Rahsaan Roland Kirk - The Entertainer (Done in the Style of the Blues)
Harry Connick, Jr. - Begin The Beguine
Pat Metheny - You're Everything
Cory Wong - Ellie
Vijay Iyer - Ghostrumental
Catherine Russell - You've Got The Right Key But The Wrong Keyhole
Aaron Goldberg - Effendi
Michael Kahan - Trio - Ablution
Kenny Garrett - Bossa
Oscar Peterson - Alexander's Ragtime Band
Sarah Vaughan - Alexander's Ragtime Band
Keith Jarrett - Somewhere Over The Rainbow