Rabble Without A Cause, May 1: RSD releases

Sun Ra, Mal Waldron with Steve Lacy, and Yusef Lateef are some of the discoveries of Record Store Day 2024

It has been a good year for undiscovered live performances of some jazz greats — Sun Ra, Mal Waldron with Steve Lacy, and Yusef Lateef lead the pack, in my view. On this show, I will feature tracks from each release.

Sun Ra

Jazz Detective uncovered concert recordings from The Showcase in Chicago from 1976 to 1977. The 19-piece Arkestra on this album features many of the band’s notable soloists, including John Gilmore on tenor, Danny Davis on alto/flute, Danny Ray on baritone sax, and the current leader of the Arkestra, Marshall Allen, on alto sax and flute.

I will be playing the track “Rose Room”.

Mal Waldron with Steve Lacy

Mal Waldron and Steve Lacy performed in Antwerp in 1995, for a 70th birthday celebration for Mal. The album also features the bassist Reggie Workman and the drummer Andrew Cyrille.

“The Antwerp set was part of a week of concerts. I remember that before getting together on stage, I talked to Mal and Steve about the music we were going to play. Mal mentioned some things that he wanted to do with us, and we’d discuss it, we’d rehearse it and we did it. That’s as much as I can remember now, except that there was a lot of good music that came out of it.”

-Reggie Workman

I will be playing a track that is a medley of “Snake Out” and “Variations on a Theme by Cecil Taylor”.

Yusef Lateef Quartet

This recording of a 1972 concert in Avignon, France, features Yusef Lateef on soprano and tenor saxes and flute, with Kenny Barron on piano, Bob Cunningham on bass, and the late, great Albert “Tootie” Heath on drums. Tootie Heath passed away on April 3rd. Kenny Barron is still performing.

In honour of the passing of Albert “Tootie” Heath, I will play a duet of him playing the Indian flute, with Bob Cunningham — “Lowland Lullaby”. The show will end with a track composed by Kenny Barron called “The Untitled”.

You can listen live in Ottawa on 93.1 on your FM dial, or online, on Wednesday from 11 p.m. to midnight. Shortly after broadcast, the show will be available for on demand streaming.