Hybrid Jazz From Trish Hennessey - with Anthony Jefferson!

It's no coincidence that yours truly is typing this on the birthdate of Billy Eckstine in 1914.  That powerfully influential singer commanded the attention of a broad range of ears - we'd call his style "Old School" these days.  Those times produced singers who rounded out their phrasing, with every note delivered as if it was urgent.  And passionate.  Voila!  Anthony Jefferson :)

My guest (on Tuesday's show, 7/9/2013, is a throwback to that time.  Anthony is from New Orleans - so you know that the musically rich climate there infiltrated his soul early on.  And that education-by-osmosis included supportive parents who encouraged piano lessons.  But there's more to Anthony than that background...he wanted to make sure that he LEARNED the basics and beyond.  So, there were classes at the University of New Orleans, the Institute of Arts in California, and Berklee in Boston.

It was in Cali that Anthony awakened to the possibilities of Jazz.  Willie Jones III ("Downbeat" Drummer of the Year 2012) had told his Dad (member of The Flamingos!) that AJ should consider Jazz as a career.  Mentoring began and the flame grew higher in time.  The classical training mingled with the desire to convey the past in a voice that craved it.  This really IS who Anthony Jefferson is!

We're going to hear about a journey that included stops in the Bahamas, Turks, and Caicos - before settling down in the Dominican Republic.  We'll hear about The Jefferson Faculty, Anthony's group, that rocks the DR every time they play.  And we'll definitely focus on the NEW CD that has riveted this writer since I heard it - three tracks and you'll look up that word, rivet, too :-D

Happy Birthday to the late Billy Eckstine...Billy?  I hope you have your headphones on in Heaven!

Fans are welcome to call at 3 p.m!