Blues & Beyond #301: Music of the late Omar Shariff, new music from Joe Louis Walker & Jack DeJohnette

In this hour of The Blues & Beyond, music from the late blues pianist Omar Shariff, who started out known as Dave Alexander. After leaving his hometown of Marshall, Texas, bitter about racism there, moving to California with no intentions of ever returning, he eventually did move back to Marshall in the last years of his life, to his surprise as much as anyone else's. He played there regularly in his last years, helping the city call attention to its place in the history of boogie woogie. In great pain from terminal illness, Shariff took his own life on january 8, 2012. We also have new blues from Joe Louis Walker, a high-energy album called "Hellfire." Plus the latest from a musician who has always defied simple categorization, pianist, drummer, and composer Jack DeJohnette, with Esperanza Spalding, Jason Moran, and other great players. Plus, we'll hear a piece from the trio of Chick Corea, Eddie Gomez, and the late Paul Motian, recorded in May 2011 in concert, from an album on which they pay tribute to their mutual mentor, Bill Evans.

promo included: promo301

In this hour of The Blues & Beyond, music from the late blues pianist Omar Shariff, who started out known as Dave Alexander. After leaving his hometown of Marshall, Texas, bitter about racism there, moving to California with no intentions of ever returning, he eventually did move back to Marshall in the last years of his life, to his surprise as much as anyone else's. He played there regularly in his last years, helping the city call attention to its place in the history of boogie woogie. In great pain from terminal illness, Shariff took his own life on january 8, 2012. We also have new blues from Joe Louis Walker, a high-energy album called "Hellfire." Plus the latest from a musician who has always defied simple categorization, pianist, drummer, and composer Jack DeJohnette, with Esperanza Spalding, Jason Moran, and other great players. Plus, we'll hear a piece from the trio of Chick Corea, Eddie Gomez, and the late Paul Motian, recorded in May 2011 in concert, from an album on which they pay tribute to their mutual mentor, Bill Evans.

promo included: promo301