Cahl's Jukebox, 3-30-07

I won't be able to attend this year's Indianapolis Jazz Festival after all because I'll be in Georgia helping my parents celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. I'll miss a great festival, but that's OK. Today's mix features songs by artists who'll be at the festival.

1) Al Green: "One Woman"
2) James Hunter: "No Smoke Without Fire"
3) Sherrie Maricle and the Diva Jazz Orchestra: "Trail Mix"
4) McCoy Tyner: "Blues on the Corner"
5) Buseli-Wallarab Jazz Orchestra: "Jovian Comets"
6) Regina Carter: "Sentimental Journey"
7) Chick Corea: "Oblivian"
8) Bela Fleck: "Flight of the Cosmic Hippo"
9) Monk Legacy Septet: "Pannonica"
10) Yerba Buena: "No No No"

Al Green to Appear at Indy Jazz Fest

Al Green will be the featured performer at the Indianapolis Jazz festival June 15-17. Reportedly, Chick Corea, McCoy Tyner and Regina Carter will be appearing at the festival, too.

The full lineup will be revealed tonight. I'm stoked.

Cahl's Jukebox, 3-29-07

The daily mix:

1) Lonnie Mack: “Baby, What’s Wrong”
2) Dick Dale: “California Sun”
3) Link Wray: “The Black Widow”
4) The Allman Brothers: “One Way Out”
5) Neil Young: “Farmer John”
6) Eels: “Souljacker, Part 1”
7) Roky Erickson: “Crazy Crazy Mama”
8) Elvis Presley: “Rip It Up”
9) Johnny Burnette: “Rockabilly Boogie”
10) True Believers: “Nobody’s Home”

Lonnie Mack: 'The Wham of that Memphis Man!'

I was thrilled when I learned a few weeks ago that Lonnie Mack’s “The Wham of That Memphis Man!” had been reissued on CD late last year. The album, first released in 1964, includes a bit of almost every kind of music I love.

“Wham!” — an instrumental track that opens the album — sounds almost like Dick Dale decided to make a blues record. Mack plays biting blues meshed with surf rock licks.

On ballads such as “Where There’s a Will” and “I’ll Keep You Happy,” Mack sounds a bit like a combination of Roy Orbison and Elvis Presley with a hint of Little Richard. And I should have included Mack’s instrumental rendition of Chuck Berry’s “Memphis” on my list of best cover songs a couple of years ago.

You’ll find blues-based rock, straight blues and even a hint of garage rock. And on all of them Mack shows why he was one of the top young guitar slingers to emerge in the ‘60s.

Cahl's Jukebox, 3-28-07

The daily mix:

1) John Hiatt: "Feelin' Again"
2) James McMurtry: "Melinda"
3) Paul Westerberg: "$100 Groom"
4) The Walkabouts: "Satisfied Mind"
5) The Handsome Family: "Claire Said"
6) Boss Martians: "I Am Your Radio"
7) Dan Sartain: "Lonely Hearts"
8) Mary Weiss: "Stop and Think It Over"
9) Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint: "Broken Promise Land"
10) Patti Smith: "Jubilee"

Keep the Internet Accessible

First the government's Copyright Royalty Board endangered the future of music on the radio when it approved higher royalty rates for Internet radio stations. Then telephone and cable companies started looking to charge higher fees for fast access to some Intenet sites.

Now musicians such as R.E.M., John Doe and Bob Mould have joined an effort called "Rock the Net" to ensure the Internet is accessible to everyone. The musicians, who are part of a group called The Future of Music Coalition, think a new fee structure for some Web sites could harm musicians who use the Internet to get exposure for their music.

The group's right. But I think the changes would hurt everyone. The Internet is accessible to almost everyone now. In the future will poor folks be locked out? I hope not. Contact your representatives in Congress and tell them you think the Internet should be accessible to everyone.

Cahl's Jukebox, 3-27-07

It's reggae day:

1) Bob Marley: "Roots, Rock, Reggae"
2) Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley: "We're Gonna Make It"
3) Black Uhuru: "What is Life"
4) Derrick Harriott: "Some Guys Have All the Luck"
5) Jimmy Cliff: "You Can Get It If You Really Want"
6) Rupie Edwards: "Ire Feeling"
7) Inner Circle: "All Night Till Daylight"
8) Edi Fitzroy: "Hotel California"
9) Jacob Miller: "Keep on Knocking"
10) Dennis Brown: "Revolution"

Stephen Marley: 'Mind Control'

Twenty-seven years ago, Purdue’s student government pulled off one of the greatest stunts in college history when it announced the winner of its Great Ganja Giveaway, a trip to Jamaica, at halftime of a football game. University officials had no idea what ganja was.

My friends and I went home and celebrated while listening to Bob Marley’s “Rastaman Vibration.” In my mind, it’s the greatest reggae album ever recorded because Marley combined potent political messages with great grooves and the most enigmatic voice reggae’s ever known.

Tonight as I listen to “Mind Control,” the first solo album by Stephen Marley, the king of reggae’s eldest son, I’m astounded by how similar their voices are. I’m not surprised that ganja is a prevalent theme on the album.

The album’s centerpiece, “Iron Bars,” is an autobiographical tune about the time Tallahassee, Fla., police officers jailed Stephen and one of his brothers for possession of marijuana. The music isn’t straight out of the Bob Marley songbook — Stephen’s tune is a sort of reggae funk — but the lyrics certainly could have been. And I’m sure the elder Marley would have approved of the title track’s lyrics, which suggest that politicians use corruption and deceit to control their constituents.

I don’t know what Bob Marley would have thought about the hip-hop and slow, sexy R&B grooves on the album, but I like most of the tunes. I like the straight-up reggae on “Chase Dem” even more; I just wish there were more tunes on the album like it.

Stephen Marley is his father’s musical heir, but he’s not a clone. That will probably disappoint a lot of folks my age who buy “Mind Control” expecting to hear “Rastaman Vibrations 2007.”

But people who grew up listening to the Fugees and Erykah Badu will love “Mind Control.” It might even turn some youngsters into reggae fans. And, if we’re lucky, it might inspire a new generation of college pranksters.

Cahl's Jukebox, 3-26-07

Monday morning jazz:

1) Buck Clayton All-stars: “Moonglow”
2) Greg Osby: “Milton on Ebony”
3) Jimmy Heath: “The Time and the Place”
4) Nat Adderley: “The Popeye”
5) Paul Desmond and Gerry Mulligan: “Battle Hymn of the Republican”
6) Oliver Lake: “Aztec”
7) Sun Ra: “Call for Demons”
8) Ruby Braff: “Cornet Chop Suey”
9) Rene Thomas Quintet: “Milestones”
10) Jim Hall: “The Answer is Yes”

Paging Joe Henry

I’m begging Joe Henry to go to Wrestlemania 23 and woo Aretha Franklin, who’ll be singing “America the Beautiful” at the event.

I’ve been waiting a long time for an Aretha album that focuses on her strengths. Henry, who’s helped revitalize the careers of soul greats such as Bettye Lavette and Solomon Burke understands old-school soul. Aretha needs a producer who’ll drop the synthesizers and drum machines out the window and bring in some horn players from Memphis. If he did, it’d be magic.

Cahl's Jukebox, 3-25-07

The daily mix:

1) Amalia Rodrigues: “Barco Negro”
2) Paco de Lucia: “El Dengue”
3) Richard Galliano: “Teulada”
4) David Sanchez: Cuban Fantasy”
4) Alex Cuba: “Bailalo Ahora”
5) Duke Ellington: “Tina”
6) Jimmy Sabater: “Quintessence”
7) Sammy Figueroa: “Mirage”
8) Dizzy Gillespie: “Cubana Be”
9) Charlie Shavers: “In A Little Spanish Town”
10) Spanish Harlem Orchestra: “Pa Gozar

Garnet Mimms: 'Cry Baby/Warm and Soulful'

Lately, I’ve been listening to Garnet Mimms whenever I have trouble sleeping. Almost every track on “Cry Baby/Warm and Soulful,” a 26-song collection of the great soul singer’s best work, seems to have a dream-like quality that’s soothing, even when he’s telling us how many shades of blue his heart has turned.

Take “Until You Were Gone,” for example. Aretha Franklin’s version has always been one of my favorite songs recorded by the queen of soul. Mimms matched the ethereal quality of Franklin’s voice. And “Wanting You” is one of the sweetest bedtime lullabies I can imagine.

Mimms sang uptempo soul burners, too. Songs such as “Thinkin’” and “As Long as I Have You” probably sent a lot of teenagers to the dance floor in the‘’60s.

You can also hear a lot of country music influences on many of Mimm’s songs. In that respect, he reminds me a lot of Bettye Swann and Solomon Burke. Northern soul aficionados have revered Mimms for years. You should, too. You’ll sleep better at night knowing you have an album by one of the all-time greats of soul in your collection.

Cahl's Jukebox, 3-24-07

The daily mix:

1) Elvis Presley: "Got a Lot of Livin' to Do"
2) Dave Edmunds: "Almost Saturday Night"
3) Carlene Carter: "Wastin' Time with You"
4) Buddy Miller: "Somewhere Trouble Don't Go"
5) Ray Wylie Hubbard: "Live and Die Rock and Roll"
6) Roy Orbison: "You Got It"
7) Jon Langford & the Sadies: "American Pageant"
8) Slobberbone: "I'll Be Damned"
9) Wilco: "Why Would You Wanna Live"
10) Crazy Horse: "Gone Dead Train"

Kurt Elling at Purdue

The audience at Purdue loved Kurt Elling tonight. I never really connected with his singing. But I thought his band was as good a supporting cast as I’ve heard in a while. I’d love to hear pianist Laurence Hobgood, bassist Robert Amster and drummer Willie Jones III perform as a jazz trio.

Cahl's Jukebox, 3-23-07

Friday morning jazz:

1) Serge Chaloff: "A Salute to Tiny"
2) Jaki Byard: "Boogie Woogie In and Out"
3) Duke Ellington: "Me and You"
4) Dave Pell Octet: "Mike's Peak"
5) Joe Lovano: "Stella By Starlight"
6) Joe Newman: "Just Squeeze Me"
7) Mort Weiss: "Love Letters"
8) Jimmy Ponder: "They Can't Take That Away from Me"
9) Sonny Criss: "Black Coffee"
10) Michael Brecker: "By George"

Son Plans Movie About Soul Singer's Life

Eric Luther, the son of the late soul singer Luther Ingram, wrote to tell me that he has a movie script and a soundtrack about his father’s music. I hope he gets the movie made; it might win Ingram a new generation of fans.

Cahl's Jukebox, 3-21-07

The daily mix:

1) George Shearing and Dakota Staton: "Oh! Look at Me Now"
2) Buddy and Ella Johnson: "Hittin' on Me"
3) Dinah Washington: "A Bad Case of the Blues"
4) Sam Cooke: Mean Old World"
5) Jerry Butler: "I Stop By Heaven"
6) Mighty Sam McClain: "Keep on Movin'"
7) Otis Clay: "Must I Keep on Waiting"
8) Jimmy Robins: "I Made It Over"
9) Katie Webster: "Those Lonely, Lonely Nights"
10) Al Smith: "Come on Pretty Baby"

Luther Ingram Dies

Listen to both Bobby “Blue” Bland’s and Luther Ingram’s versions of “If Loving You is Wrong (I Don’t Want to Be Right)” and you’d swear they were brothers. Ingram, one of finest singers on the Stax label, died Monday in Belleville, Ill.

It’s a shame that Ingram won’t be able to be a part of Stax Records’ reemergence as a force in the music industry. But you can still check out Ingram’s music. You’ll dig it.

Cahl's Jukebox, 3-20-07

Today's mix:

1) Bo Diddley: "Back Home"
2) Louis Jordan: "Big Bess"
3) Johnny "Guitar" Watson: "Love Me Baby"
4) Billy Preston:"It Doesn't Matter"
5) Donny Hathaway: "The Slums"
6) Stevie Wonder: "My Baby's Gone"
7) The Jackson 5: "The Love You Save"
8) The Tams: "Silly Little Girl"
9) The Five Stairsteps: "Danger! She's a Stranger"
10) Garnet Mimms: "My Baby"

Bo Diddley on NPR

NPR interviewed Bo Diddley for today's "Morning Edition" show. Your day isn't rockin' until you listen to him.

Cahl's Jukebox, 3-17-07

The dail mix:

1) The Hold Steady: "Banging Camp"
2) Marah: "Fat Boy"
3) Bruce Springsteen: "Adam Raised a Cain"
4) Dipsomaniacs: "Tina's Good at Everything"
5) Detroit Cobras: "Just Can't Please You"
6) The Pixies: "Letter to Memphis"
7) Chris Mars: "Stuck in Rewind"
8) Jerry Harrison: "Rev It Up"
9) The Rays: "Daddy Cool"
10) The Dovells: "Do the Continental"

The Hold Steady's Concert in Indianapolis

I never really identified with the lyrics of “Steve Nicks” on The Hold Steady’s “Separation Sunday” album. It’s hard to relate when you’re well into middle age and Craig Finn sings “lord to be 17 forever” or even “lord to be 33 forever.”

But after seeing The Hold Steady in Indianapolis Friday night I get it. The band played with the kind of exuberant energy that made me remember seeing The Kinks when I was a teenager. And when the band started chugging beer, whiskey and wine — spraying sweat as they bopped around the stage — I couldn’t help but recall the groups I adored in the ‘80s, namely Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, The Replacements and The Ramones, especially The Ramones.

Finn’s stream of consciousness lyrics are as goofy and as true as anything The Ramones ever sang. And find me a group of guys who love being on stage more than the members of the Hold Steady and I’ll show you the ghosts of Joey, Johnny and Dee Dee Ramone.

Finn used his self-deprecating humor to explain his songs and to establish a rapport with the audience, which he seemed to genuinely like. (How many rock stars would wish happy birthday to an audience member?)

The audience responded in kind, perhaps too much at times — a young woman in front of us seemed especially taken by the lyrics of “You Can Make Him Like You.” She spent the rest of the concert making out with her boyfriend.

That was annoying, but I had to laugh about the little trollop when Finn started singing “Your Little Hoodrat Friend,” which is even better live than it is on CD. Besides, she was just being young and stupid … and isn’t that what The Hold Steady’s music is all about?

I felt pretty young and stupid myself as I listened to the band perform “Swish,” “Southtown Girls,” “Charlemagne In Sweatpants,” “Chips Ahoy” and “Party Pit.” For a moment, I thought I was 17 again. Then I remembered I was the old guy wearing earplugs.

Cahl's Jukebox, 3-16-07

Today's mix:

1) Dow Jones & the Industrials: "Let's Go Steady"
2) The Dead Milkmen: "Punk Rock Girl"
3) The Ramones: "Mama's Boy"
4) Aquabats: "Nerd Alert"
5) Liz Phair: "Turning Japanese"
6) James Chance: "Contort Yourself"
7) X: "Devil Doll"
8) The Gizmos: "Jumpin' on the Bandwagon"
9) Husker Du: "Books About UFOs"
10) Atom and his Package: "I'm Downright Amazed at What I Can Destroy with Just a Hammer"

Don Cheadle to Make Miles Davis Biopic

I’m not a big fan of film biopics about musicians. In the name of a good story, directors simplify the protagonist’s characteristics. As a result, the movies often seem skewed and one-dimensional.

Even so, I’ll probably head to the theater when Don Cheadle’s biopic about Miles Davis comes out. Cheadle will direct the film and star as Davis.

I think Cheadle’s one of the best actors of his generation and I think Davis was one of the most enigmatic and complex musicians in history. I just hope the film doesn’t turn him into a comic book character.

Cahl's Jukebox, 3-14-07

The daily mix:

1) Neil Young: "The Needle and the Damage Done"
2) Bob Dylan: "Spanish Harlem Incident"
3) Joni Mitchell: "Free Man in Paris"
4) Laura Cantrell: "And Still"
5) Amy Correia: "Life is Beautiful"
6) Dave Alvin: "11 Months, 29 Days"
7) Steve Young: "We've Been Together on This Earth Before"
8) Emmylou Harris: "Two More Bottles of Wine"
9) Buck Owens: "You Left Her Lonely Too Long"
10) Ray Price: "Touch My Heart"

Neil Young, 'Live at Massey Hall'

My friend Cindy’s coming tomorrow to hang for a few days and to go to a Hold Steady concert in Indianapolis on Friday. I think it’ll be a great show.

I’m sure we’ll also listen to “Van Morrison Live at Austin City Limits” and Neil Young’s
“Live at Massey Hall,” an album that features an acoustic solo set Young performed at a Toronto show in 1971.

Van Morrison’s show at ACL in September is the best show Cindy and I’ve ever seen together. A close second, I think, was Young’s show we saw at Purdue in the ‘70s. I used to have a bootleg tape of Young’s concert, but I loaned it to a friend who subsequently died of cancer and I couldn’t bring myself to ask his widow for the tape back.

Young rocked that night; he even dedicated a song to one of my high school friends he’d met at Denny’s the night before. My friend, strangely enough, had never heard of Young. The mother of another friend had never heard of Young, either, when he accompanied Joni Mitchell to Purdue a few years earlier. But my friend’s mother, who owned the hotel where Young was staying, saw his guitar and asked if he’d sing her a song. He serenaded her with “I Am a Child.” Young also went with one of my other friends to a Purdue football game; he offered to buy hotdogs for everyone around him.

The point is that Young rarely acts like a rock star; he likes everyday folks. That was apparent when I saw him at Purdue and it’s obvious if you listen to “Live at Massey Hall.” Young chats at length with the audience members before almost every song, making jokes and explaining his songs. It’s almost as if he’d been in their living rooms.

The songs sound that way, too. “Old Man,” “Cowgirls in the Sand” and “I Am a Child” are warm and tender. And “Ohio” sounds even sadder when Young performs it by himself than it did when he sang it with Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.

I’m excited that “Journey Through the Past” and “Love in Mind” are included on the disc because I haven’t heard them since a flood in my basement destroyed my vinyl copy of “Time Fades Away,” which has been out of print for years. And I’d never heard “Bad Fog of Loneliness” before; Young said he wrote it to perform on “The Johnny Cash Show.”

I wasn’t at Young’s Massey Hall show, but the album makes me feel as if I was. Cindy and I are going to have a lot of memories to relive.

Cahl's Jukebox, 3-13-07

The daily mix:

1) Graham Parker: “You’ve Got to Be Kidding”
2) Airport 5: “Stifled Man Casino”
3) David Bowie: “It’s Hard to Be a Saint in the City”
4) The Jam: “Billy Hunt”
5) The Clash: “Life is Wild”
6) The Hold Steady: You can Make Him Like You”
7) Troubled Hubble: “Get Lost”
8) The Shins: “Australia”
9) The Foxymorons: “Pistol By Your Side”
10) Ian McLagan and the Bump Band: “Debris”

Graham Parker: 'Don't Tell Columbus'

I’ve been bored by snarky comments about indie music bad boy Pete Doherty for a long time. Most music writers do little more than repeat the same tired clichés about Doherty and his girlfriend, supermodel Kate Moss. If they were smart, the young journalists would play “England’s Latest Clown,” Graham Parker’s new song about Doherty, nonstop for the next few weeks.

Parker skewers Doherty with a wit so wicked that the Libertines/Babyshambles singer just might start to behave. Doherty might also want to study the song because it’s the best new tune I’ve heard all year.

“Don’t Tell Columbus,” Parker’s latest album, has a lot of great tunes. There aren’t any flat-out rockers, but Parker sings with the same kind of passion he displayed on his classic early albums such as “Howlin’ Wind” and “Squeezing Out Sparks.” Moreover, the angry young rocker has turned into a contemplative middle-aged troubadour who actually seems tender and vulnerable at times. (Check out “The Other Side of the Reservoir” on iTunes or emusic.)

I just hope Kate Moss doesn’t dump poor Mr. Doherty so she can date Mr. Parker when she hears the elder rocker sing “He’s got a little habit man, and that can never hurt. And front teeth like a rabbit and blood stains on his shirt.”

Then again, who could blame her?

Cahl's Jukebox, 3-12-07

Monday night jazz:

1) Bill Frisell: "Moon River"
2) Jim Hall: "The Answer is Yes"
3) Pat Martino: "We'll Be Together Again"
4) Jimmy Bruno: "Love is Here to Stay"
5) Wes Montgomery: "Lolita"
6) Sonny Stitt: "Topsy"
7) Cecil Bridgewater: "Sophisticated Lady"
8) Christian McBride: "Too Close for Comfort"
9) Horace Parlan: "My Mother's Eyes"
10) Stan Kenton: "Lover"

Jazz Blog Special: Art Taylor, 'Taylor's Wailers'

“Taylor’s Wailers,” Art Taylor’s 1957 debut as a leader, opens with a bluesy introduction by pianist Ray Bryant on “Batland.” Taylor and bassist Wendell Marshall follow with a jaunty stroll that leads straight down a path toward a gathering of some of the finest musicians of the era: Donald Byrd, trumpet, Jackie McLean, alto saxophone; and Charlie Rouse, tenor saxophone. They were having a blowing session.

Taylor drives “Cubano Chant,” a tune written by Bryant, with a peppery Latin beat. And Bryant engages Byrd, McLean and Rouse in a sort of hard bop call and response.

The unusual combinations of notes on “Off Minor” and “Well, You Needn’t,” both written by Thelonious Monk, probably surprised a lot of listeners who weren’t yet familiar with Monk’s work. Bryant shows his versatility as a pianist and Rouse illustrates why he would become one of Monk’s most important sidekicks.

The album also includes an excellent rendition of Jimmy Heath’s “C.T.A.,” which features Taylor with John Coltrane, Red Garland and Paul Chambers.

I love listening to jazz giants during their formative years. “Taylor’s Wailers” shows why Taylor’s sidemen on this album would all become jazz royalty.

(Jazz Blog Special is a regular feature that examines older jazz albums worth checking out.)

Cahl's Jukebox, 3-11-07

The daily mix:

1) Wilco: "Say You Miss Me"
2) Ryan Adams: "Sylvia Plath"
3) Steve Earle and Reckless Kelly: "Paradise"
4) Ass Ponys: "Kung Fu Reference"
5) Delbert McClinton: "Kiss Her Once for Me"
6) Jerry Jeff Walker: "Gettin' By"
7) Junior Walker: "My Wife Thinks You're Dead"
8) Ray Price: "The Road of No Return"
9) Johnny Burnette: "You're Undecided"
10) Glen Glenn: "Mean Woman Blues"

Wilco Stream

Wilco's new album, "Sky Blue Sky," is tender and pretty, almost like a Pernice Brothers record. I've been listening to a free stream of "Sky Blue Sky" on Wilco's Web site today. Wilco will be streaming the album all day.

Cahl's Jukebox, 3-10-07

The daily mix:

1) Billy Lee Riley: "Wouldn't You Know"
2) Jerry Lee Lewis: "Down the Line"
3) Watermelon Slim: "Baby Please Don't Go"
4) Taj Mahal: "Candy Man"
5) Bobby "Blue" Bland: "Sunday Morning Blues"
6) Ann Peebles: "When the Candle Burns Low"
7) Eddie Floyd:"Don't Tell Your Mama"
8) Koko Taylor: "I Got What It Takes"
9) Willie "Big Eyes" Smith: "I Don't Trust You Man"
10) Hubert Sumlin: "Come Back Little Girl"

Dream Lineup in Memphis

My calendar in May is full, but I'm going to try to free some time to attend the Beale Street Music Festival in Memphis.

The lineup includes Jerry Lee Lewis, Billy Lee Riley, Hubert Sumlin, Taj Mahal, Eddie Floyd, Koko Taylor, David "Honeyboy" Edwards, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Anne Pebbles, Watermelon Slim, the Counting Crows, the North Mississippi All Stars, Wilie "Big Eyes" Smith and a lot of other great folks. That's a lineup of dreams in my house.

Cahl's Jukebox, 3-9-07

Friday night soul:

1) William Bell: "Eloise"
2) Bettye Swann: "You're Up to Your Same Old Tricks"
3) Freddie North: "She's All I Got"
4) Howard Tate: "Strugglin'"
5) Laura Lee: "Dirty Man"
6) O.V. Wright: "Don't Let My Baby Ride"
7) Jerry Butler: "Need to Belong"
8) Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions: "So in Love"
9) Tabby Thomas: "One Day"
10) Marvin Gaye: "I Want You"

A Shot of Soul

I’d wondered for a long time whatever happened to soul singer Bill Withers. Then a couple of weeks ago I heard a nice NPR interview with him. Withers had a bad experience with a music executive and stopped recording, but he seems secure with who he is today and that makes me happy because his music means a lot to me.

Bettye Lavette, another great soul singer, never really got her chance in the ‘60s and she seemed bitter about it whenI saw her in Chicago a few months ago. Luckily, she’s still recording and performing and has started to find an audience.

I’m heartened by the recent success old-guard soul singers like Lavette, Candi Staton, Irma Thomas and Solomon Burke have had. I hope the record industry is paying attention.

There are a lot of other soul and blues greats who deserve a comeback — Bettye Swann comes to mind. That’s why I’m so excited that Stax is getting back into the record business. The folks at Stax recorded some of the greatest music America’s ever produced. So I’ll be waiting for new titles by Mable John, William Bell and their pals. America needs a big shot of soul.

Cahl's Jukebox, 3-8-07

Thursday night jazz:

1) Duke Ellington and Coleman Hawkins: "The Jeep is Jumpin'"
2) Cootie Williams: "Lil' Darling"
3) Willis Jackson and Jack McDuff: "Dancing on the Ceiling"
4) Freddie Roach: "It Ain't Necessarily So"
5) Wayne Shorter: "Dance Cadaverous"
6) Charles Mingus: "Things Ain't What They Used to Be"
7) Benny Carter: "Blue Star"
8) Johnny Griffin: "Hush-a-Bye"
9) Johnny Coles: "Heavy Legs"
10) Roy Hargrove: "O My Seh Yeh"

Jazz Blog Special: 'A Celebration of Duke'

Screwy as it sounds, I fell in love with Duke Ellington because of a tribute album. I’d heard Ellington’s music, of course, but I’d never really listened to it until I bought “A Celebration of Duke” in 1980.

Clark Terry’s take on “Come Sunday” and Sarah Vaughan’s interpretation of “I Ain’t Got Nothing But the Blues” were about the bluesiest performances I’d ever heard and I’ve been a big blues fan since I was a kid. As a result, I started listening to Ellington’s music with fresh ears and became an addict.

The album also sent me looking for every album I could find by Terry, Vaughan and Zoot Sims after I heard “A Celebration of Duke.” I still think those three turned in some of their finest performances when they recorded their tunes for the album. But now, 27 years later, I’m mesmerized by Joe Pass’ performances; he played on eight of the album’s 10 tracks. It’s Pass, I think, who adds the texture to the cuts that keeps them from sounding like knockoffs of Ellington’s recordings.

These days, “Caravan,” which Pass performed with vibraphonist Milt Jackson, bassist Ray Brown and drummer Mickey Roker, is my favorite tune on the album. Pass and Jackson sound almost like they’re fraternal twins; the timbre of their notes is obviously different, but just barely.

Hundreds of artists have recorded “Caravan” since Ellington first recorded it, but I can’t think of anyone who’s done so as well as Pass, Jackson, Brown and Roker. The same can be said of the rest of the album, too. You’re probably tired of reinterpretations of jazz standards — I am, too. But do yourself a favor and make an exception for “A Celebration of Duke.” It’s a perfect tribute to a genius.

(Jazz Blog Special is a regular feature that examines older jazz albums worth checking out.)

Cahl's Jukebox, 3-7-07

The daily mix:

1) Esther Phillips: "Black-eyed Blues"
2) Lightnin' Slim: "Cool Down Baby"
3) Clint Miller: "Bertha Lou"
4) Tommy Blake and the Rhythm Rebels: "Flat Foot Sam"
5) Dion: "I'm in the Mood for You"
6) Dave Edmunds: "From Small Things, Big Things Come"
7) Ian Hunter: "American Spy"
8) Lou Reed: "White Prism"
9) Randy Newman: "Kingfish"
10) The Sadies: "A Good Day Flying"

Rock Hall of Fame Sells Out

I lost all respect for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame a long time ago because it refuses to consider rockabilly pioneer Wanda Jackson for induction.

But its new list of the top 200 definitive albums is even more perplexing. I don’t have a problem with the inclusion of the usual suspects such as The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Michael Jackson, Led Zeppelin and U2 even though I might not agree with some of those choices. (I think The Jackson 5’s “ABC” is a far better album than “Thriller,” for example, but reasonable music fans can disagree.)

I don’t mind Norah Jones, either, but do folks really think her debut is the 27th best album ever released? And Eminem, Outkast, Guns ‘n’ Roses and 50 Cent all have better albums than Otis Redding,, Bob Marley and Miles Davis? James Brown didn’t even make the frickin’ list. But Kenny G did, thank God.

The hall also crowns Enya, Will Smith, George Michael Sade, Beyonce, Boyz II Men, Avril Lavigne, Shania Twain and Whitney Houston.

It sounds to me like the list was prepared by a bunch of record executives who have a lot of back stock on crappy albums that aren’t moving. In fact, if you look around you’ll find that Amazon, Wal-mart Target and a lot of other music sellers are “participating retailers.”

Why patronize a museum that doesn’t even value the works of its own hall of fame inductees? I know I won’t.

Cahl's Jukebox, 3-6-07

Tuesday night blues:

1) Alberta Adams: "We Ain't Makin' Honey"
2) Katie Webster: "It's Mighty Hard"
3) Luther Allison: "Going Down"
4) Raful Neal: "Down and Out"
5) Otis Taylor: "Feels Like Lightning"
6) Michelle Willson: "I'm Just Your Fool"
7) Koko Taylor: "Don't Mess with the Messer"
8) Sam Myers: "I Got the Blues"
9) Son Seals: "Don't Pick Me for Your Fool"
10) U.P. Wilson: "Still with You"

A Small Disappointment

I thought Otis Taylor's "Below the Fold" was the best album released in 2005. His new album, "Definition of a Circle," has some great songs, but parts of it make for tough listening.

You're missing something special if you don't have any of Taylor's albums, which feature elaborately textured blues that include elements of folk and country. But I'd start with "Below the Fold," "White African" or "Double V" before you buy the new one.

Cahl's Jukebox, 3-5-07

The daily mix:

1) John Mellencamp: "Ghost Towns Along the Highway"
2) Dave Alvin: "Rich Man's Town"
3) Steve Earle: "Six Days on the Road"
4) Crazy Horse: "Nobody"
5) Ian McLagan and the Bump Band: "Glad and Sorry"
6) Leonard Cohen: "Ain't No Cure for Love"
7) Paul Westerberg: "Wild and Lethal"
8) Roy Orbison: "Land of 1,000 Dances"
9) The Pretty Things: "Buzz the Jerk"
10) The Express: "Wastin' My Time"

John Mellencamp, 'Freedom's Road'

John Mellencamp was a Hoosier in Boilerland when he opened for The Kinks at Purdue in 1980. He seemed profane and perhaps a bit immature. Then again, so was I.

I started buying his albums anyway because he was so spirited. And over the years I’ve become a fan. He likes his rock straight up, just like me, and not many rockers write better hooks. He’s funny, too — “French Shoes,” one of my favorite songs, is a hoot. But mostly I admire Mellencamp because he always says what he thinks.

Some reviewers have trashed the lyrics on Mellencamp’s new album, “Freedom’s Road.” They say he’s no Woody Guthrie. Maybe not, but there’s poetry in the simpleness of Mellencamp’s lyrics that call for tolerance, peace and hope. And you can bet those are messages Guthrie would have embraced.

Joan Baez does, too. She performs a duet with Mellencamp on “Jim Crow,” a haunting indictment of modern racism. It’s a beautiful ballad that’s as good as anything Mellencamp’s ever recorded.

On “Heaven is a Lonely Place,” one of the album’s best rockers, Mellencamp howls about a country that neglects its poor and persecutes its gays while embracing war. That’s nothing, though, compared to “Rodeo Clown,” a hidden track that starts a couple minutes after “Heaven is a Lonely Place" ends. On it, Mellencamp sings: “Well there’s blood on the hands of the rich politicians. Red is the color of the sand and the sea. Blood on the hands of an arrogant nation who start all the bleeding over their policies.”

You can skewer him all you want for letting one of his songs be used in a car commercial, but he doesn’t sound much like a sellout to me. In fact, he sounds like a man who’s grown up a lot in the last 27 years.

Sonically, “Freedom’s Road” is one of Mellencamp’s best albums. Lyrically, it’s his most mature. It’s the kind of record even a Boiler can embrace.

Cahl's Jukebox, 3-2-07

Friday night jazz:

1) George Wallington: "But George"
2) Curtis Counce: "Time After Time"
3) Jerry Gonzalez: "When I Fall in Love"
4) Red Rodney: "Red Arrow"
5) James Clay: "Come Rain or Come Shine"
6) Herbie Harper: "6/4 Mambo"
7) Carmell Jones: "Effusion"
8) Charlie Rouse: "When Sonny Gets Blue"
9) Russell Gunn: "Twice Around"
10) Sonny Rollins: "Skylark"

Sonny Rollins' Podcasts are a Model for Journalists

I spent the evening discussing the future of journalism with about 60 college students. In particular, we talked a lot about new technology.

When I got home, I caught up with the latest podcast Sonny Rollins has posted on his Web site; he's posting one on the 23rd day of every month this year. I'm going to download the podcast and use it in future seminars because I think Rollins' discussions about music, which are interspersed with performances, are a perfect model for journalists. The podcasts are informative, entertaining and surprising.

I find myself waiting eagerly for the next feature. How many newspaper readers can say that these days?

Cahl's Jukebox, 3-1-07

Thursday night jazz:

1) Bill Evans: "How My Heart Sings"
2) Von Freeman: "Never Fear Jazz is Here"
3) The Three Sounds: "Drown in My own Tears"
4) Kenny Burrell: "Boo-Lu"
5) Carla Bley: "Song Sung Long"
6) Charles Tolliver: "Spanning"
7) James Spaulding: "Lenora"
8) James Carter: "1944 Stomp"
9) Thad Jones: "If I Love Again"
10) Roy Eldridge and Flip Phillips: "How High the Moon"

Rockabilly Star Donnie Brooks Dies

My first encounter with rockabilly hall of famer Donnie Brooks, who died this week of congestive heart failure, came in the mid-'60s when I watched every beach movie I could find; Brooks appeared in three.

Still, I didn't really know who he was until I got on a rockabilly kick in the '70s and starting exploring the music of every musician who sounded even remotely like Roy Orbison. Brooks came the closest. The sappy production and backing vocals on his biggest hit, "Mission Bell," make the tune sound dated, but I still find it charming. Brooks' vocals are flawless.

These days I find myself listening to Brooks, right along with The Beatles and The Beach Boys, when I want to think about my childhood. And tonight, just for old time's sake, I just might stay up past my bedtime and watch a beach movie.

Cahl's Jukebox, 2-28-07

Today’s mix:

1) The Bottle Rockets: “Pretty Little Angie”
2) Francis Dunnery: “Homegrown”
3) Joseph Arthur: “Too Much to Hide”
4) Boss Martians: “I Am Your Radio”
5) Rockpile: “Teacher Teacher”
6) Tin Machine: “Prisoner of Love”
7) Superchunk: “Freaks in Charge”
8) Steve Wynn and the Miracle 3: “State Trooper”
9) The Soft Boys: “Only the Stones Remain”
10) Swag: “When She Awoke”

Jazz Blog Special: Buddy Tate & Harry 'Sweets' Edison, 'After Dark'

If I were making a list of favorite chill albums, tenor saxophonist Buddy Tate and trumpeter Harry “Sweets” Edison’s “After Dark” would rank near the top. Some might argue that the two jazz veterans might have peaked earlier in their careers. Maybe. But I don’t think either ever played more sweetly.

“After Dark” is filled with standards I have on scores of other albums — “Blue Moon,” “I’ve Got the World on String,” “Stars Fell on Indiana” — but I pull this CD out a lot because it’s so tender and relaxing. Tate and Edison sound almost like they’re dancing … on clouds.

(Jazz Blog Special is a regular feature that exmines older jazz albums worth checking out.)