Bill Carter and 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

Here’s part two of our conversation with Matt Wilson, the creative drummer. He believes jazz should challenge the audience, not merely playing what’s “nice.” Whether it’s leading the audience on a spontaneous march out of the concert hall or nudging the listeners to go deeper into the music, he always leads the way. And he’s a lot of fun to talk with. 

Check out Matt’s website at https://www.mattwilsonjazz.com/ 

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

Matt Wilson is an extraordinary musician. We talk about his sense of humor, his willingness to take risks, and the importance of vulnerability. The conversation hummed along quickly – and we’ve split it into two episodes. 

Check out Matt’s website at https://www.mattwilsonjazz.com/

Featured music: “Ice Cold” from Jazz for the Earth. Bill Carter and the Presbybop Sextet. David Liebman, guest soloist

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

Our cohosts talk about how they developed a taste in jazz. Bill Carter tells how he met and befriended Dave Brubeck. (Imagine the legendary musician in a white bathrobe!) Jeff Kellam recounts his love of big band music and how it opened the jazz world to him. 

How did you discover jazz? Have a story to share? Send it to us at podcast@presbybop.com.   

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

In this episode we explore the blues. How does the blues get into the bloodstream of jazz? What does this suggest about human life and the spiritual life? How might the blues express our suffering? Or pray our hope? 

• Here’s where you can view the chart that Mary Lou Williams used to describe the lineage of jazz: https://jazzwomenarchives.wordpress.com/2019/01/21/mary-lou-williams/ 
• Here’s the YouTube clip where Damien Sneed demonstrates Gospel music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SepVdCiM2ek 

Featured music: 

“Down Goes Babylon” from Dancing Day, Bill Carter and the Presbybop Quartet 
Music used by permission from Presbybop Music (BMI) 

“Out of the Depths” from Psalms Without Words, Bill Carter and the Presbybop Quartet 
Music used by permission from Presbybop Music (BMI) 

“Coventry Carol” from Fragile Incarnation, 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