LIC Radio

Chuck Mangione 1940-2025         And while everyone was busy mourning for Ozzy, it turned out that the great jazz/crossover artist, Chuck Mangione, passed away the same day. I didn’t find out until the next day, and I have to say that it hit me harder than Ozzy, whose passing was upsetting, but also sadly expected. In spite of his age, Chuck’s came a bit more out of left field. Given the fact that his music also wallpapered my early childhood, I felt a little more wistful. If that wasn’t enough, Tom Lehrer had the temerity to pass away a few days later. The fact that he was 97 is a lame excuse. But really, Lehrer was a huge influence on my humor and worldview. Between him, Mad Magazine, and Monty Python, you really have… Well, someone you don’t want to get stuck talking to at a party. I tried to give both Tom and Chuck a loving send-off. Aside from that, we have some good classic rock, some solid alt-jazz/funk, and some obscure prog thrown into the mix (I almost for...

Photo by Bob Gruen, 2010 So the news dropped, ten minutes AFTER we were scheduled to go on air, that the Prince of Darkness, the legendary Ozzy Osbourne passed away from complications of Parkinson’s disease. It was shock, though not surprising, if that makes sense. I had no time to put together a proper tribute. So that will have to wait. In any event, back with me again we have Brett, who, a couple of weeks back, had challenged me to quite the heady debate on whether or not Tom Waits’ vocal delivery and persona (mostly in his mid-to-late 70s work) would be acceptable today, or be considered appropriation or “vocal blackface” (my term). He asserted that the jazz hipster character that he had created, with a voice that, as time went on, clearly resembled a cross between Louis Armstrong and Howlin’ Wolf. He argued that such direct imitation of notable black artists would simply not fly today. My position was that his persona was more evocative of an era, and a hazily nostalgic one that n...

No bulldogs were injured in the making of this show Technical difficulties? What technical difficulties? Everything went off without a hitch, just listen to it! This show has everything: blues, soul, bossa nova, power pop, new wave, prog, alternative. What’s not to love? Also, today was National I Love Horses Day and National Pet Fire Safety Day. Additionality it was National Gummi Worm Day and National Tapioca Pudding Day National I Love Horses Day. None of these effected the content of this show.   Click here to check it out: LIC Radio 7/15/2025     Larry Coryell, Airto Moreira, and Flora Purim “Lua Flora” (Jose Neto, Flora Purim) Blue Danube Jazz Summit, Hollabrunn, AT, 7/15/87 Studio version released on The Sun Is Out by Flora Purim & Airto (Crossover, 1989)     Arctic Monkeys “The View from the Afternoon” (Alex Turner, Jamie Cook, Andy Nicholson, Matt Helders) Oxygen Festival, Punchestown Racecourse, County Kildare, IE, 7/8/06 Studio version released ...

We owe Louis Jordan an apology Brett comes back for more. We got off to a late start today, though. Definitely lacking in the conceptual continuity department, and an abrupt ending. Brett had a couple of Beatles deep cuts, and was surprised when I asked him his rationale for picking tunes they had not written. That lead to some impromptu insights. Personally, I would say that hearing Beck backed by the Flaming Lips was worth the price of admission. As for the early cut-off, well, I had to cut it short to make it to LIC Bar for Jeopardy. So you see where my priorities lie. I had intended to do an extended tribute to Louis Jordan, and that got scuttled. I’ll need to get to that some time in the next couple of weeks.   Click here to check it out: LIC Radio 7/8/2025     Robben Ford “Oasis” (Robben Ford) Wiener Stadthalle, Vienna, AT, 7/8/97 Studio version released on Tiger Walk   (Blue Thumb, 1997)     The Beatles “Boys” (Luther Dixon, Wes Farrell) Pop Go the B...

F--k this guy I’m 99 percent certain that I crammed more songs in today than in any previous show. It’s odd because this morning I was scrambling to put enough stuff in but then the floodgates opened. It was a stroke of good luck that we had the death of Jimmy Swaggart to inspire some fun picks for the top of the show. The last segment focused entirely on the blues, paying tribute to singer/harp player James Cotton, and composer/producer Willie Dixon. Frankly, I could have spent another hour on Willie Dixon, both with recording he arranged and produced, and the myriad of covers of his songs by rock artists. His influence cannot be overstated.   Click here to check it out: LIC Radio 7/1/2025     John McLaughlin Trio “Thelonius Melodius” (John McLaughlin) Jazz à Vienne, Vienne, FR, 7/1/95 Studio version released on The Promise   (Verve, 1995)   John McLaughlin – guitar Joey DeFrancesco – organ Dennis Chambers – drums     Frank Zappa “Lonesome Cowboy Bur...