Click here for the complete KZSU playlist for Friday, March 12, 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. A few notes:
* Ornette Coleman — “Song X” — Sound Grammar (Sound Grammar, 2006) ….. In celebration of Ornette’s 80th birthday earlier this week. A fast-and-crazy song (most of the album is in that vein) that includes a drum solo and a violin solo.
* Biréli Lagrène — “Lullaby of Birdland” — Gipsy Trio (Dreyfuss, 2009) ….. I do like spinning the gypsy jazz once in a while. And OMG, does he ever shred on the acoustic guitar solo here. Insane.
* Eri Yamamoto — “I Was Born” — In Each Day, Something Good (AUM Fidelity, 2009) ….. Yamamoto’s piano playing has a gossamer touch that’s sometimes difficult to integrate into my show. Hers is a piano style that wins you over slowly, rather than clubbing you over the head a la Cecil Taylor. But she’s got some avant-garde cred, having played with William Parker both as a side musician and as a leader. This is one of the more brisk, upbeat tracks on her new album.