Bill Carter and Presbybop Music

Here are three more tunes to celebrate the 25^th anniversary of Faith in a New Key, the first recording by the Presbybop Quartet.

Music: “Dawn Shall Break Again,” “A Canticle of Love,” and Amazing Grace,” all composed or arranged by Bill Carter and released on Faith in a New Key, Bill Carter and the Presbybop Quartet. Music used by permission from Presbybop Music (BMI)

Theme music: "All Thumbs" from Faith in a New Key, Bill Carter and the Presbybop Quartet
Music used by permission from Presbybop Music (BMI)
Announcer: Chris Norton
(c) Presbybop Music

On the 25th anniversary of its release, Bill and Jeff have a conversation about Faith in a New Key, the first recording of the Presbybop Quartet. Bill dishes on the background of the album. Where did it originate? Who were the players? How was the project financed? What was it like to record the music?  Along the way, they serve up a generous helping of jazz.

Music: "Presbybop," "Route 206," "Walking in Somebody Else's Footsteps," and "A Bridge Between", all composed by Bill Carter and released on Faith in a New Key, Bill Carter and the Presbybop Quartet. Music used by permission from Presbybop Music (BMI)

Theme music: "All Thumbs" from Faith in a New Key, Bill Carter and the Presbybop Quartet
Music used by permission from Presbybop Music (BMI)
Announcer: Chris Norton
(c) Presbybop Music

As we begin Season 2, Jeff Kellam asks Bill Carter to speak about his work in syncopating Christian worship services. Bill has been at it for forty years, ever since he was a student pastor in New Jersey. Along the way, the co-hosts offer some musical samples as they explore a long and ongoing journey of welcoming jazz in the sanctuary.

Discover the "Swing a New Song to the Lord" jazz hymnal at www.presbybop.com.

You can find the film "Jazz Belongs in Church" at https://presbybop.com/jazz-belongs-in-church-dvd

Music: "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee," "Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah," and "Down By the Riverside,"  (c) Bill Carter and the Presbybop Quartet. Unreleased material.

Theme music: "All Thumbs" from Faith in a New Key, Bill Carter and the Presbybop Quartet
Music used by permission from Presbybop Music (BMI)
Announcer: Chris Norton
(c) Presbybop Music

We conclude Season 1 of the Spirit of Jazz with a conversation with Donny McCaslin. Twice nominated for a Grammy for "Best Improvised Solo," Donny speaks about three musicians with whom he has performed and recorded: trumpeter Dave Douglas, composer Maria Schneider, and music icon David Bowie. Along the way he talks about the healing power of jazz in his own life. "Improvising has been my lifeline," he says.

Find out more about Donny at his website: https://www.donnymccaslin.com/

Check out his new album, "I Want More," available here on Edition Records.

Music: "Christmas Carol in G Minor," Bill Carter and the Presbybop Quartet with guest soloist Donny McCaslin, recorded at St. Peter's Lutheran Church, NYC

"Body Blow," Donny McCaslin, from "I Want More". Available  above and used by permission.

Theme music: "All Thumbs" from Faith in a New Key, Bill Carter and the Presbybop Quartet
Music used by permission from Presbybop Music (BMI)
Announcer: Chris Norton
(c) Presbybop Music

Bagpipes, a bullfrog, an untuned diva, a fumbling virtuoso, an unfortunate drummer, bad road food, and a bebopper in a turban: jazz has the capacity to see life's idiocyncrasies and laugh about them. There is a lightness of spirit at the heart of improvised music. And the practicioners love to joke and laugh. In this episode, we explore the comedy of good jazz.

Want to hear more jazz comedy? We recommend Jazz Anecdotes by the bassist Bill Crow.

Featured music:
“Rumpelstiltskin" from Interior Window
Music used by permission from Presbybop Music (BMI)

Theme music: "All Thumbs" from Faith in a New Key, Bill Carter and the Presbybop Quartet
Music used by permission from Presbybop Music (BMI)
Announcer: Chris Norton
(c) Presbybop Music

Meet our friend Deanna Witkowski. Known for her adventurous, engaging music that heals the soul, Witkowski moves with remarkable ease between Brazilian, jazz, classical, and sacred music. Witkowski’s performances combine virtuosity and heart, telling stories that reveal her innate curiosity of the human condition.

Her first book, Mary Lou Williams: Music For The Soul (Liturgical Press), published in September 2021, is the winner of the 2022 ASCAP Foundation Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Award and the 2022 Jazz Journalists Association Award for Biography of the Year.

Her seventh recording, Force of Nature (MCG Jazz), released in January 2022, reached number five on the JazzWeek nationwide radio chart and remained in the top 10 most played albums on jazz radio for more than 10 weeks. A frequent winner of composition competitions for her concert and sacred choral pieces, Witkowski has received funding for new work from the New York State Council on the Arts (for her Afro-Brazilian project, the Nossa Senhora Suite) and the Choral Arts Initiative PREMIERE Project Festival.

We thank Deanna for permission to include clips of two of her original tunes:
“Wide Open Window” from Wide Open Window. © Tilapia Tunes, used by permission. “Force of Nature” from Force of Nature. © Tilapia Tunes, used by permission.

Theme music: "All Thumbs" from Faith in a New Key, Bill Carter and the Presbybop Quartet
Music used by permission from Presbybop Music (BMI)
Announcer: Chris Norton
(c) Presbybop Music

Episode 19 - You Call This a Living?                                                                     (May 5, 2023)

What does it take to make a living as a jazz musician? Where do you work – and how do you line it up? Jeff Stockham, the extraordinary trumpeter and French horn player, tells it straight. With honesty and good humor, he tells our co-hosts about the joys and strugglers of jazz employment. And all of us catch a glimpse of his perseverance as he offers his art to improve the lives of others. 

Featured music:
“I've Heard the News" from Stand on Your Head
"Kit and Kaboodle" from Stand on Your Head

Theme music: "All Thumbs" from Faith in a New Key, Bill Carter and the Presbybop Quartet
Music used by permission from Presbybop Music (BMI)
Announcer: Chris Norton
(c) Presbybop Music

Here is our report from the First International Tour of Southeastern Virginia, a brief tour by the Presbybop Quintet. The band was accompanied by its entourage, namely Jeff Kellam. We chat it up with band members and old acquaintances. Stories are told, passions are revealed, and road food is endured. The emerging theme is friendship – what musicians refer to as “The Hang” (as in “hanging out”). The music was great, because The Hang was happening. 

Featured music: “Rumpelstiltskin” from Interior Window

Music used by permission from Presbybop Music (BMI)

Theme music: "All Thumbs" from Faith in a New Key, Bill Carter and the Presbybop Quartet
Music used by permission from Presbybop Music (BMI)
Announcer: Chris Norton
(c) Presbybop Music

What does jazz have to do with Jerusalem? Especially the Jerusalem that Jesus entered for the last week of his life? That's the topic explored in this episode. Our co-hosts discuss the moods and senstitivities for a week of struggle and pain. They share live clips from the Presbybop Quartet as the band interpreted the passion of Jesus in a Good Friday jazz vespers at a large church near Philadelphia. They also offer a musical depiction of a Bible story in collaboration with Dennis Dewey, renowned biblical storyteller.

Featured music: "The Last Word" (live version) from Psalms without Words, "Who's on Trial?" from John According to Jazz, "O Sacred Head Now Wounded" (unreleased), and "Arimathea" (unreleased).  Music used by permission from Presbybop Music (BMI)

Theme music: "All Thumbs" from Faith in a New Key, Bill Carter and the Presbybop Quartet
Music used by permission from Presbybop Music (BMI)
Announcer: Chris Norton
(c) Presbybop Music

This bonus episode is a conversation about the different kinds of jazz. Bill and Jeff discuss how a tradition continues to live: evolving through creative imagination, influenced by its historical and cultural circumstances. 

Featured music: “This or That” and “Everybody Dance” from Psalms without Words

Music used by permission from Presbybop Music (BMI)

Theme music: "All Thumbs" from Faith in a New Key, Bill Carter and the Presbybop Quartet
Music used by permission from Presbybop Music (BMI)
Announcer: Chris Norton
(c) Presbybop Music