Deep Focus

2025.10.27 Brian Charette on Larry Young - 1 of 3

If you want to change the game, first you need to master the game.  Coming up in Newark in the fifties was the exact right place and time for Larry Young to learn the idiom of the Hammond B-3 organ, and he learned his lessons well.  His early records embody the soul-jazz organ trio sound made popular by Jimmy Smith.  

But as the sound of the sixties emerged, Larry Young (also known by his Muslim name, Khalid Yasin Abdul Aziz) was reaching for something more.  His journey, including hours of conversation and jam sessions with spiritual avatar John Coltrane, brought about an expanded consciousness that revealed itself in his music.  Larry Young pulled an unmistakably boisterous explosion of sound through the B-3.  He showed new horizons that fellow organists have been pursuing for more than half a century. 

 

Brian Charette is one of them.  He is not only an endlessly inventive multi-instrumentalist and bandleader, but also one of our best students of the music's history.  He joins host Mitch Goldman on this week's Deep Focus.

 

Did the WKCR archives provide recordings of Larry Young and John Coltrane's private sessions?  Unfortunately, none are known to exist.  Do we have rare recordings of Larry Young and Jimi Hendrix pushing each other in new directions?  

 

Find out Monday (10/27) from 6p to 9p NYC time on WKCR 89.9FM, WKCR-HD, or wkcr.org.  

Or join us when it goes up on the Deep Focus podcast on your favorite podcasting app or at https://mitchgoldman.podbean.com/.  Subscribe right now to get notifications when new episodes are posted.  Just like WKCR, it's ad-free, all free, totally non-commercial.  We won't even ask for your contact info.  

Learn more about Deep Focus at https://mitchgoldman.com/about-deep-focus/ or join us on
Instagram @deep_focus_podcast.  

Photo credit: Photo by Francis Wolff. Shot in Paris. Michael Cuscuna unearthed this photo, amongst others, for Resonance’s “Larry Young In Paris” in 2016.

#WKCR #DeepFocus #LarryYoung #BrianCharette #JimiHendrix #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast #JazzInterview #MitchGoldman 

2025.09.29 Vernon Reid on James Blood Ulmer - 3 of 3

What is the great lesson of a James Blood Ulmer for fellow guitarist/composer/bandleader Vernon Reid?  Find out this Monday (9/29) when Vernon Reid and host Mitch Goldman plunge into the WKCR archives in search of rare, live recordings.  Some of them might even feature Vernon's early spirit guide and Blood's fellow Prime Timer, Ronald Shannon Jackson.  

 

Now, for those of you who can't stand the suspense of waiting for Monday, here's one possible answer to that question: there is no "A" James Blood Ulmer.  There is only "THE" James Blood Ulmer.  He is and always will be in a class of exactly one. 

 

Deep Focus airs Mondays from 6p to 9p NYC time on WKCR 89.9FM, WKCR-HD, or wkcr.org.  

Or join us when it goes up on the Deep Focus podcast on your favorite podcasting app or at https://mitchgoldman.podbean.com/.  Subscribe right now to get notifications when new episodes are posted.  Just like WKCR, it's ad-free, all free, totally non-commercial.  We won't even ask for your contact info.  

Learn more about Deep Focus at https://mitchgoldman.com/about-deep-focus/ or join us on
Instagram @deep_focus_podcast.  

Photo credit: no publishing information available.

#WKCR #DeepFocus #JamesBloodUlmer #VernonReid #OrnetteColeman #NoWave #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast #JazzInterview #MitchGoldman #RonaldShannonJackson #JamaaladeenTacuma #LivingColour

2025.09.29 Vernon Reid on James Blood Ulmer - 2 of 3

What is the great lesson of a James Blood Ulmer for fellow guitarist/composer/bandleader Vernon Reid?  Find out this Monday (9/29) when Vernon Reid and host Mitch Goldman plunge into the WKCR archives in search of rare, live recordings.  Some of them might even feature Vernon's early spirit guide and Blood's fellow Prime Timer, Ronald Shannon Jackson.  

 

Now, for those of you who can't stand the suspense of waiting for Monday, here's one possible answer to that question: there is no "A" James Blood Ulmer.  There is only "THE" James Blood Ulmer.  He is and always will be in a class of exactly one. 

 

Deep Focus airs Mondays from 6p to 9p NYC time on WKCR 89.9FM, WKCR-HD, or wkcr.org.  

Or join us when it goes up on the Deep Focus podcast on your favorite podcasting app or at https://mitchgoldman.podbean.com/.  Subscribe right now to get notifications when new episodes are posted.  Just like WKCR, it's ad-free, all free, totally non-commercial.  We won't even ask for your contact info.  

Learn more about Deep Focus at https://mitchgoldman.com/about-deep-focus/ or join us on
Instagram @deep_focus_podcast.  

Photo credit: no publishing information available.

#WKCR #DeepFocus #JamesBloodUlmer #VernonReid #OrnetteColeman #NoWave #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast #JazzInterview #MitchGoldman 

2025.09.29 Vernon Reid on James Blood Ulmer - 1 of 3

What is the great lesson of a James Blood Ulmer for fellow guitarist/composer/bandleader Vernon Reid?  Find out this Monday (9/29) when Vernon Reid and host Mitch Goldman plunge into the WKCR archives in search of rare, live recordings.  Some of them might even feature Vernon's early spirit guide and Blood's fellow Prime Timer, Ronald Shannon Jackson.  

 

Now, for those of you who can't stand the suspense of waiting for Monday, here's one possible answer to that question: there is no "A" James Blood Ulmer.  There is only "THE" James Blood Ulmer.  He is and always will be in a class of exactly one. 

 

Deep Focus airs Mondays from 6p to 9p NYC time on WKCR 89.9FM, WKCR-HD, or wkcr.org.  

Or join us when it goes up on the Deep Focus podcast on your favorite podcasting app or at https://mitchgoldman.podbean.com/.  Subscribe right now to get notifications when new episodes are posted.  Just like WKCR, it's ad-free, all free, totally non-commercial.  We won't even ask for your contact info.  

Learn more about Deep Focus at https://mitchgoldman.com/about-deep-focus/ or join us on
Instagram @deep_focus_podcast.  

Photo credit: no publishing information available.

#WKCR #DeepFocus #JamesBloodUlmer #VernonReid #OrnetteColeman #NoWave #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast #JazzInterview #MitchGoldman 

2025.09.01 Ben Tyree on Spectrum Road - 3 of 3

Who came up with the idea that the middle of the road is the right place to be?  Regular listeners to Mitch Goldman's Deep Focus know that it's those shadowy corners, those Edge Cities, where new things start to happen. And who embodied this idea more than drummer Tony Williams' late sixties supergroup, Lifetime?  

 

Lifetime inspired another supergroup in 2008 when guitarist Vernon Reid and bassist Jack Bruce (himself a member of Lifetime) formed Spectrum Road with drummer Cindy Blackman and keyboard conjurer John Medeski.  Did these 4 masters of many musical disciplines present faithful recreations of Lifetime's original recordings?  Or did their live shows start where Lifetime ended, and end up in the highest towers of their own Edge City?  

 

Mitch's guest, guitarist Ben Tyree, knows the answer.  Ben has shared stages with and drawn inspiration from at least 2 of these 4 innovators.  He credits John Medeski with inspiring his life-changing move to New York City.  

 

And will the WKCR archives yield live, unreleased recordings that will bear him out?  We don't know ourselves, and the suspense is just killing us!

 

Find out Monday (9/1) when Mitch Goldman and Ben Tyree plunge into the vast WKCR archive.  Deep Focus airs Mondays from 6p to 9p NYC time on WKCR 89.9FM, WKCR-HD, or wkcr.org.  

Or join us when it goes up on the Deep Focus podcast on your favorite podcasting app or at https://mitchgoldman.podbean.com/.  Subscribe right now to get notifications when new episodes are posted.  It's ad-free, all free, totally non-commercial.  We won't even ask for your contact info.  

Learn more about Deep Focus at https://mitchgoldman.com/about-deep-focus/ or join us on
Instagram @deep_focus_podcast.  

Photo credit: no publishing information available.

#WKCR #DeepFocus #TonyWilliamsLifetime #SpectrumRoad #JohnMedeski #VernonReid #CindyBlackman #CindyBlackmanSantana #JackBruce #/BenTyree #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast #JazzInterview #MitchGoldman #TonyWilliams #JazzRockFusion

2025.09.01 Ben Tyree on Spectrum road - 2 of 3

Who came up with the idea that the middle of the road is the right place to be?  Regular listeners to Mitch Goldman's Deep Focus know that it's those shadowy corners, those Edge Cities, where new things start to happen. And who embodied this idea more than drummer Tony Williams' late sixties supergroup, Lifetime?  

 

Lifetime inspired another supergroup in 2008 when guitarist Vernon Reid and bassist Jack Bruce (himself a member of Lifetime) formed Spectrum Road with drummer Cindy Blackman and keyboard conjurer John Medeski.  Did these 4 masters of many musical disciplines present faithful recreations of Lifetime's original recordings?  Or did their live shows start where Lifetime ended, and end up in the highest towers of their own Edge City?  

 

Mitch's guest, guitarist Ben Tyree, knows the answer.  Ben has shared stages with and drawn inspiration from at least 2 of these 4 innovators.  He credits John Medeski with inspiring his life-changing move to New York City.  

 

And will the WKCR archives yield live, unreleased recordings that will bear him out?  We don't know ourselves, and the suspense is just killing us!

 

Find out Monday (9/1) when Mitch Goldman and Ben Tyree plunge into the vast WKCR archive.  Deep Focus airs Mondays from 6p to 9p NYC time on WKCR 89.9FM, WKCR-HD, or wkcr.org.  

Or join us when it goes up on the Deep Focus podcast on your favorite podcasting app or at https://mitchgoldman.podbean.com/.  Subscribe right now to get notifications when new episodes are posted.  It's ad-free, all free, totally non-commercial.  We won't even ask for your contact info.  

Learn more about Deep Focus at https://mitchgoldman.com/about-deep-focus/ or join us on
Instagram @deep_focus_podcast.  

Photo credit: no publishing information available.

#WKCR #DeepFocus #TonyWilliamsLifetime #SpectrumRoad #JohnMedeski #VernonReid #CindyBlackman #CindyBlackmanSantana #JackBruce #/BenTyree #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast #JazzInterview #MitchGoldman #TonyWilliams #JazzRockFusion

2025.09.01 Ben Tyree on Spectrum road - 1 of 3

Who came up with the idea that the middle of the road is the right place to be?  Regular listeners to Mitch Goldman's Deep Focus know that it's those shadowy corners, those Edge Cities, where new things start to happen. And who embodied this idea more than drummer Tony Williams' late sixties supergroup, Lifetime?  

 

Lifetime inspired another supergroup in 2008 when guitarist Vernon Reid and bassist Jack Bruce (himself a member of Lifetime) formed Spectrum Road with drummer Cindy Blackman and keyboard conjurer John Medeski.  Did these 4 masters of many musical disciplines present faithful recreations of Lifetime's original recordings?  Or did their live shows start where Lifetime ended, and end up in the highest towers of their own Edge City?  

 

Mitch's guest, guitarist Ben Tyree, knows the answer.  Ben has shared stages with and drawn inspiration from at least 2 of these 4 innovators.  He credits John Medeski with inspiring his life-changing move to New York City.  

 

And will the WKCR archives yield live, unreleased recordings that will bear him out?  We don't know ourselves, and the suspense is just killing us!

 

Find out Monday (9/1) when Mitch Goldman and Ben Tyree plunge into the vast WKCR archive.  Deep Focus airs Mondays from 6p to 9p NYC time on WKCR 89.9FM, WKCR-HD, or wkcr.org.  

Or join us when it goes up on the Deep Focus podcast on your favorite podcasting app or at https://mitchgoldman.podbean.com/.  Subscribe right now to get notifications when new episodes are posted.  It's ad-free, all free, totally non-commercial.  We won't even ask for your contact info.  

Learn more about Deep Focus at https://mitchgoldman.com/about-deep-focus/ or join us on
Instagram @deep_focus_podcast.  

Photo credit: no publishing information available.

#WKCR #DeepFocus #TonyWilliamsLifetime #SpectrumRoad #JohnMedeski #VernonReid #CindyBlackman #CindyBlackmanSantana #JackBruce #/BenTyree #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast #JazzInterview #MitchGoldman #TonyWilliams #JazzRockFusion

2025.08.18 Bob Dee on Jef Lee Johnson - 3 of 3

How is it possible that you have never heard guitarist Jef Lee Johnson?  He was as incendiary and as nakedly original as any soloist you have ever heard (absolutely any!).  But his greater distinction might have been his songwriting.  You don’t learn to write songs that are that revealing, that insightful, that cleverly put-together, and that hilariously funny, just by working at it.  First, you have to have the wisdom, and Jef had it pouring out of him.  It seemed as if he couldn’t make it stop if he wanted to.  

Jef toured and recorded for decades, but, for whatever reason, he never broke through the way many of us thought he should have. One person who got to witness the artistry up close was fellow guitarist Bob Dee.  The two shared the front line in Ronald Shannon Jackson’s Decoding Society, and Bob has never forgotten a moment of what he saw and heard.  Bob joins host Mitch Goldman for a Deep Focus that continues the WKCR Lost Masters tradition.

Join us Monday (8/18) when Mitch Goldman and Bob Dee unearth live, unreleased recordings.  Deep Focus airs Mondays from 6p to 9p NYC time on WKCR 89.9FM, WKCR-HD or wkcr.org.  

Or join us when it goes up on the Deep Focus podcast on your favorite podcasting app or at https://mitchgoldman.podbean.com/.  Subscribe right now to get notifications when new episodes are posted.  It's ad-free, all free, totally non-commercial.  We won't even ask for your contact info.  

Find out more about Deep Focus at https://mitchgoldman.com/about-deep-focus/ or join us on
Instagram @deep_focus_podcast.  

Photo credit: no publishing information available.

#WKCR #DeepFocus #JefLeeJohnson #/BobDee #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast #JazzInterview #MitchGoldman 

2025.08.18 Bob Dee on Jef Lee Johnson - 2 of 3

How is it possible that you have never heard guitarist Jef Lee Johnson?  He was as incendiary and as nakedly original as any soloist you have ever heard (absolutely any!).  But his greater distinction might have been his songwriting.  You don’t learn to write songs that are that revealing, that insightful, that cleverly put-together, and that hilariously funny, just by working at it.  First, you have to have the wisdom, and Jef had it pouring out of him.  It seemed as if he couldn’t make it stop if he wanted to.  

Jef toured and recorded for decades, but, for whatever reason, he never broke through the way many of us thought he should have. One person who got to witness the artistry up close was fellow guitarist Bob Dee.  The two shared the front line in Ronald Shannon Jackson’s Decoding Society, and Bob has never forgotten a moment of what he saw and heard.  Bob joins host Mitch Goldman for a Deep Focus that continues the WKCR Lost Masters tradition.

Join us Monday (8/18) when Mitch Goldman and Bob Dee unearth live, unreleased recordings.  Deep Focus airs Mondays from 6p to 9p NYC time on WKCR 89.9FM, WKCR-HD or wkcr.org.  

Or join us when it goes up on the Deep Focus podcast on your favorite podcasting app or at https://mitchgoldman.podbean.com/.  Subscribe right now to get notifications when new episodes are posted.  It's ad-free, all free, totally non-commercial.  We won't even ask for your contact info.  

Find out more about Deep Focus at https://mitchgoldman.com/about-deep-focus/ or join us on
Instagram @deep_focus_podcast.  

Photo credit: no publishing information available.

#WKCR #DeepFocus #JefLeeJohnson #/BobDee #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast #JazzInterview #MitchGoldman 

2025.08.18 Bob Dee on Jef Lee Johnson - 1 of 3

How is it possible that you have never heard guitarist Jef Lee Johnson?  He was as incendiary and as nakedly original as any soloist you have ever heard (absolutely any!).  But his greater distinction might have been his songwriting.  You don’t learn to write songs that are that revealing, that insightful, that cleverly put-together, and that hilariously funny, just by working at it.  First, you have to have the wisdom, and Jef had it pouring out of him.  It seemed as if he couldn’t make it stop if he wanted to.  
Jef toured and recorded for decades, but, for whatever reason, he never broke through the way many of us thought he should have. One person who got to witness the artistry up close was fellow guitarist Bob Dee.  The two shared the front line in Ronald Shannon Jackson’s Decoding Society, and Bob has never forgotten a moment of what he saw and heard.  Bob joins host Mitch Goldman for a Deep Focus that continues the WKCR Lost Masters tradition.

Join us Monday (8/18) when Mitch Goldman and Bob Dee unearth live, unreleased recordings.  Deep Focus airs Mondays from 6p to 9p NYC time on WKCR 89.9FM, WKCR-HD or wkcr.org.  

Or join us when it goes up on the Deep Focus podcast on your favorite podcasting app or at https://mitchgoldman.podbean.com/.  Subscribe right now to get notifications when new episodes are posted.  It's ad-free, all free, totally non-commercial.  We won't even ask for your contact info.  

Find out more about Deep Focus at https://mitchgoldman.com/about-deep-focus/ or join us on
Instagram @deep_focus_podcast.  

Photo credit: no publishing information available.

#WKCR #DeepFocus #JefLeeJohnson #/BobDee #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast #JazzInterview #MitchGoldman