On this episode, Jeff and Bill have a conversation with Chris Norton, senior vice president of WVIA-FM and a longtime friend of Presbybop Music. They discuss the current scene in jazz radio and the unique resource that radio has always been for creative music. Chris introduces us to Chiaroscuro jazz label, now owned by WVIA, and available online as a media stream. All three of them pay homage to George Graham, the legendary radio host and engineer at WVIA.

Featured links:

To listen to WVIA-FM: https://www.wvia.org/ 

To connect with Chiaroscuro or listen online: https://chiaroscurojazz.org/

To learn more about George Graham: https://georgegraham.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

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

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

We explore a little-known jazz story: Vince Guaraldi composed and performed a mass! We talk with Derrick Bang, his biographer, about the creation of this music. It was presented at Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, in May 1965. It’s an extraordinary story and we’re glad to tell it. 

Want to hear the mass? The highlights were recorded by Fantasy Records, and you can obtain that recording by clicking here. (The MP3 files are more readily available than the CD or LP.) 

To learn more about Derrick’s connection to Vince Guaraldi, visit his page at  http://fivecentsplease.org/dpb/guaraldi.html 

Want to learn more about our 50th anniversary celebration at Grace Cathedral in 2015? Derrick has a lengthy series of accounts listed below: 

• http://impressionsofvince.blogspot.com/2015/06/mass-appeal-chapter-2.html 
• http://impressionsofvince.blogspot.com/2015/07/mass-appeal-chapter-3.html 
• http://impressionsofvince.blogspot.com/2015/08/mass-appeal-chapter-4.html 
• http://impressionsofvince.blogspot.com/2015/08/an-afternoon-of-grace.html 
• http://impressionsofvince.blogspot.com/2015/08/mass-appeal-chapter-5.html
• html http://impressionsofvince.blogspot.com/2015/09/east-coast-grace.html 

And we suggest subscribing to his blog of All Things Guaraldi at http://impressionsofvince.blogspot.com/ 

You can get your own copy of Vince Guaraldi at the Piano by clicking here on Amazon or clicking here for the publisher’s page. We have additional material of our conversation with Derrick which we will release as a bonus podcast in the future. 

Featured music: 

“Blues in F,” performed by Bill Carter with the Jim Martinez Trio at the 50th anniversary of the Guaraldi Mass, Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, accompanied by the Jim Martinez trio. Music is unreleased. © Presbybop Music. 

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 

 “The only time we heard jazz on television when I was a kid,” says trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, “was when A Charlie Brown Christmas came to town” Our guest for the next two episodes is Derrick Bang, music critic and author of Vince Guaraldi at the Piano. As Guaraldi’s biographer, he has a unique perspective on how the pianist’s music became an integral part of the animated Charlie Brown specials. 

You can get your own copy of Vince Guaraldi at the Piano by clicking here on Amazon or clicking here for the publisher’s page. 

Featured music: 

• “Jamming on Three Chords,” an unreleased live recording, Bill Carter and the Presbybop Christmas Eve Band. Music used by permission from Presbybop Music (BMI) 
• “O Tannenbaum,” public domain, arranged by Bill Carter and the Presbybop Christmas Eve Band. Unreleased live recording. 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

In this special episode, we offer musical highlights from the annual Jazz Christmas Eve event at First Presbyterian Church, Clarks Summit, PA. Our Presbybop Elves include Mike Carbone on saxophone, Tony Marino on bass, Marko Marcinko on drums, and Bill Carter on piano. 

Want to enjoy the video of the event? Go to https://youtu.be/xLqiV51k5t4

Featured music: 

• Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming, from Jazz Noel, Bill Carter and the Presbybop Christmas Eve Band 
• Angels We Have Heard on High, recorded live on Christmas Eve 
• We Wish You a Merry Christmas, recorded live on Christmas Eve 

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

Jazz is embodied music. Ideas take flesh! This is a grand spiritual theme, of course, and lies at the heart of Christmas story. But what does incarnation sound like? That’s what this episode is all about. And we have the music to prove it. 

Here’s the free verse poem that Bill composed: 

When Word 

takes flesh 

it is a fragile 

Incarnation. 

Power becomes subject to weakness, 

Freedom is chained by time, 

Fools compromise Wisdom, 

Death crouches behind the Door. 

Still we discern a Way 

Through the dark, 

giving, 

embracing, 

loving 

risking all. 

And joy finds us. 

Featured music: 

• Away in a Manger, from Jazz Noel, Bill Carter and the Presbybop Christmas Eve Band 
• What Child is This, from Fragile Incarnation, Bill Carter and the Presbybop Quartet 
• Sussex Carol, from Fragile Incarnation, Bill Carter and the Presbybop Quartet 

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 can jazz suggest to us about hope? Good question for all times of year, but especially for the season of Advent. We explore the question with two ancient chants as our soundtrack. Along the way, we chew on two poignant quotations:   

“It is in the torment of the insufficiency of everything attainable in this life that we realize that all symphonies remain unfinished.”  - Karl Rahner 

“Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore we must be saved by love. No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as it is from our standpoint. Therefore we must be saved by the final form of love which is forgiveness.” - Reinhold Niebuhr, The Irony of American History 

Featured music: 

• “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” from Jazz Noel, Bill Carter and the Presbybop Christmas Eve Band 
• “Creator of the Stars of Night” from Fragile Incarnation, Bill Carter and the Presbybop Quartet 
• “Shadows Into Light” from The Dancing Calvinist, Bill Carter and the Presbybop Quintet 

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

Today we welcome Jamie Howison to The Spirit of Jazz. He is a priest of the Anglican Church of Canada, a jazz lover, and a kindred soul. He lives and works in Winnipeg. 

We discovered Jamie through one of his books, God’s Mind in That Music: Theological Explorations through the Music of John Coltrane. It’s an extraordinary book, published on Cascade Books. You can find it by clicking here. 

Check out his website at www.jamiehowison.ca 

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

Here is another conversation about creativity. Do new melodies - and ideas - comes as a message from Headquarters? This is a mystery, of course, but we continue to chase it. We listen to a jazz performance of an old melody from Ireland. And we hear how Dave Brubeck turned down a commission to compose for a papal mass - and then dreamed up the piece while he slept. You can click here and listen to him tell the story. 

Bill also recounts a story from Herbie Hancock about a wrong chord, transformed by ingenuity. Here is the link to hear Herbie tell the story.  

Featured music: “Be Thou My Vision” from Faith in a New Key, Bill Carter and the Presbybop Quartet 

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 heard someone grumble, “We’ve never heard jazz in church before.” It reminds us of an insulting letter from a noted preacher, disparaging jazz as inferior music. Both assume there’s a hard line between “sacred” and “secular” that must never be crossed. But jazz steps over those divisions. 

Bach dedicated his musical manuscripts to God, even if they had no lyrics. Dave Brubeck reminds us how Bach, his favorite musician, adapted drinking songs because the congregation knew them. The Holy can find us anywhere, on bar stool or church pew. Some musicians affirm they’ve been found, and the best evidence may be the Christmas story, when the Holy is found on earth. So we offer a burning version of a jazz Christmas carol. It will melt the icicles of the coldest heart! 

Featured music: “Joy to the World” from Jazz Noel, The Presbybop Christmas Eve Band 

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

Jazz unfolds like a conversation! It’s a dialogue with a tune, with other musicians, with the imagination. The music values relationships, teamwork, collaboration, and mutual participation. We explore the reality of the “Muse” - inspiration personified - and revealed in the necessary ingredient of playfulness. And yes, there’s something mysterious at work. So let’s chase after it. 

Featured music: “I Lost My Keys in Kennedy Airport,” unreleased live recording 

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 musical episode, we offer two complete performances of jazz tunes that have a bit of mystery. 

“Dawn Shall Break Again” was the centerpiece of our Faith in a New Key album. “The Gate is Narrow, the Road is Hard” is a live performance from Binghamton University. It’s never been released, but a studio version does appear on our Stand On Your Head recording. 

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