APRIL IS JAZZ APPRECIATION MONTH!

This April, we not only celebrate all things Jazz... but we celebrate specifically the centennial of not one but two Icons of Jazz Culture, Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Miles and Coltrane was a combination that just couldn't miss.. I mean they went together like peanut butter and jelly or tickle on a belly, like cheese on grits and like The Beatles had hits. All Young Jazz Lovers know their collective story and history and of course the music, the music, the music... yet never tire of indulging in the magic of their artistry one more once!

This episode of Jazzism (a katzpheno mix) is ALL TRANE... with a bit of Miles on the side. Face it, you cannot have one without the other. I also give a few worthy artists their due as they present the music of John Coltrane in their own unique way. So for you die hard Coltrane fans...this one's for you.

Enjoy,

Brian "Katzpheno" Phoenix

featuring:

John Coltrane - Giant Steps (1960)

Kurt Elling - Resolution - A Love Supreme pt. 2 (2003)

Gary Bartz - Your Lady (2012)

Conrad Hervig & Brian Lynch - Lonnie's Lament (2003)

John Coltrane - Equinox (1964)

Art Farmer - Naima (1983)

Giant Step NYC - Impressions (1994)

Jack DeJohnette featuring Ravi Coltrane & Matthew Garrison - Alabama (2016)

John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman - Autumn Serenade (1963)

John Blake & Grover Washington, Jr. - Moments Notice (1992)

John Coltrane - Blue Train (1957)

Pharoah Sanders - Central Park West (1981)

Back again with the good news from on high...

The Country Preacher has spread the gospel, a gospel of liberation, and gospel of power, econmoic power, red, black and green... know what I mean! He preached a gospel born of exclusion demanding a seat at the table not for just him and his but for all regardless of gender, race or creed. Shouting let freedom ring!!

The Rev. Jesse Louis Jackson transcended this earthly plane on February 17th 2026 and when he was a young freedom fighter in Chicago - planning, organizing and fighting for a better day, he inspired a young Jazz pianist named Josef Zawinul (who happened to be in a quintet led by the great Cannonball Adderley) to compose a song in his honor. He named the tune "Country Preacher".

Josef Zawinul was an Austrian immigrant who came to NYC with his parents and fell in love with Jazz Culture. He got his start playing soulful jazz with Cannonball Adderley in the 1960's and later went on to become one of the greatest electronic keyboardist of the 20th century. He was instrumental in developing Jazz Fusion alongside saxophonist Wayne Shorter with the creation of the group Weather Report in the early 1970's. You can't get more Jazz than that.... Jazz is about different sounds and cultures, conversations if you will, learning how to work together to create something new and spontaneous and beautiful with chords and melody.

On this episode I touch on the legacy of Jesse Jackson and of course bring all "You Young Jazz Lovers" a whole lot of good, good Jazz music. So... exercise your freedom to enjoy this most democratic of all art forms... Jazz Music Born in America, Enjoyed Worldwide.

Enjoy,

Brian "Katzpheno" Phoenix

featuring:

Eddie Harris - Listen Here (1968)

Marcus Miller - Cee Tee Eye (2012)

Next Collective - Thank You (2013)

Benito Gonzalez - Father (2021)

Bonnie Raitt - Everybody's Crying Mercy (2019)

The Cannonball Adderley Quintet - Country Preacher (1969)

Tony Williams - Ancient Eyes (1987)

The Jaleel Shaw Quintet - Fourth Floor (1999)

The Rongetz Foundation featuring Marvin Parks - The Braggart (2012)

Harvey Mason - Montara (2014)

Adonis Rose & The N.O. Invaders - Mellow Moods (2007)

Welcome to the final episode of Jazzism (a katzpheno mix) for 2025.

On this episode we celebrate life, the beauty, the struggle, and the joy of it all. Though a year is full of change we reflect on those aspects of change in our lives that were positive. We focus now on those aspects of change that helped us to grow, that gave us deeper knowledge of ourselves and the world around us, that taught us to share with one another, and to love each other more.

"What the world needs now is love sweet love, that's the only thing that there's just too little of." Burt Bacharach and Hal David penned those insightful lyrics and put it to beautiful music with an unforgettable melody sixty years ago, and it's just as true now as it was then. In my mind it's so obviously true the world needs more love. The killings and the wars and the bombings and the starvation has to stop. Love can do it.

Have a Happy, Jazzy New Year! - Brian "Katzpheno" Phoenix

featuring:

Syndee Winters - Alive (2025)

James Farm - 1981 (2012)

The Anthony Smith Vibraphone Quatet - Highway One (2013)

Stanley Turrentine - Impressions (1971)

Kurt Rosenwinkel - Homage A' Mitch (2012)

M.E.B. - Mellow Kisses (2023)

The Stephen Scott Trio - Renaissance, part 4: With The Least Bit Of Hope (1994)

The Cookers - Time And Time Again (2014)

Branford Marsalis featuring Kurt Elling - Long As you're Living (2016)

Hiromi - Life Goes On (2014)

Nina Simone - Feeling Good (1965)

Nicholas Payton featuring Tim Warfield - After You've Gone (1995)