Talking Jazz – Ben Sidran

In the mid-1980’s I was in high school in Lafayette ,LA. I was starting to discover jazz and gobbling up whatever info I could find. A big part of my process of discovery at that time was an NPR show called Sidran on Record. It was an hour long radio program of Ben Sidran interviewing jazz musicians, and playing music. Those interviews are now collected as Talking Jazz, a 24 CD set.

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The musical selections are missing, and I miss them, but the interviews are great. Carla Bley, Jackie McLean, Archie Shepp, Mel Lewis, Sonny Rollins, Arthur Blythe, Don Cherry, and loads more. The interviews are relaxed; like two musicians talking, which is what they essentially are. The box set is a little expensive, but well worth it.