WCLK | The Jazz of The City

The Local Take August 15: Andrew Young Talks About His Friend John Lewis

By Kiplyn Primus • 10 hours ago

Saturday morning at eight on WCLK's The Local Take, I'll talk with Ambassador Andrew Young about his friend Georgia 5th District Congressional Representative the Honorable John Lewis. To live in Atlanta is to walk in the footsteps of the giants who collectively pushed our country kicking and screaming towards the ideals that began this experiment in democracy. You can regularly run into these living legends at the businesses on Cascade.

How Live Music Is Coping, And What The Near Future Will Bring

By John Paul Titlow • 17 hours ago

Colin Pate was toiling away at his North Philadelphia recording studio in late June when he received an unbelievable text message: "Secret show at Johnny Brenda's tonight, 6:30."

The Local Take Talks Moms Clean Air Force with Heather Toney

By Kiplyn Primus • Aug 12, 2020

This past Saturday morning at eight on WCLK's The Local Take we featured a conversation I had earlier in the Spring with Heather Toney, National Field Director of Moms Clean Air Force. Ms. Toney was interested in presenting their research document on the disproportionate way that air pollution impacts our community and heightened concern.

Black Power Scholar Illustrates How MLK And Malcolm X Influenced Each Other

By Terry Gross • Aug 12, 2020

Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X are frequently seen as opposing forces in the struggle for civil rights and against white supremacy; King is often portrayed as a nonviolent insider, while Malcolm X is characterized as a by-any-means-necessary political renegade. But author and Black Power scholar Peniel Joseph says the truth is more nuanced.

"I've always been fascinated by Malcolm X and Dr. King ... and dissatisfied in how they're usually portrayed — both in books and in popular culture," Joseph says.

Gulf Coast Summer Fest Jazz Edition Labor Day Weekend Is Cancelled

With the rising number of COVOD-19 cases in Florida, the promoter of the Gulf Coast Summer Fest Jazz Edition, originally scheduled for Labor Day weekend in Pensacola, has decided to cancel this year’s festival and is now planning for the 2021 event. All tickets purchased for 2020 will be refunded from where purchased and the 2021 lineup will remain the same as the 2020 published lineup. More information is available at 850-393-3028 or https://www.gulfcoastsummerfestjazzedition.com/

Larry Willis: I Fall In Love Too Easily

By David C. Linton • Aug 10, 2020

Larry Willis, who worked across genres since the 1960’s, passed in October 2019. But he left a great body of work in the full length release I Fall In Love Too Easily on Highnote. Ironically, his final recording takes place at Rudy Van Gelder’s recording studio where he began his career. The studio is named after the famous sound engineer credited with creating the legendary Blue Note sound.

Micah Thomas Is A Jazz Pianist With A Lot Of Runway

By Nate Chinen • Aug 10, 2020

Pianist Micah Thomas is having the jazz equivalent of a standout rookie season. Just within the last several weeks, he finished his graduate studies at Juilliard and released a terrifically assured debut album called Tide.

It introduces an artist of superb technical facility, along with something even more striking — a deep understanding of the sprawling lineage of modern jazz piano and a youthful determination not to get caught retracing anybody's steps.

Black Activist Burnout: 'You Can't Do This Work If You're Running On Empty'

By Christianna Silva • Aug 10, 2020

Editor's note: NPR will be continuing this conversation about Being Black in America online and on air.

When Imani Brown, a 38-year-old from San Francisco, hit the streets to protest the recent police violence against Black Americans, she felt inspired and energized. Her parents fought for racial justice before her, so her participation felt like a part of her inheritance.

Watch Trailer for 'Judas and the Black Messiah' (VIDEO)

By Ray Cornelius • Aug 8, 2020

Watch the riveting new trailer for the upcoming Warner Bros. Picture Judas and the Black Messiah featuring Oscar nominee Daniel Kaluuya and LaKeith Stanfield.

Chairman Fred Hampton was 21 years old when he was assassinated by the FBI, who coerced a petty criminal named William O’Neal to help them silence him and the Black Panther Party. But they could not kill Fred Hampton’s legacy and, 50 years later, his words still echo…louder than ever.

I am a revolutionary!

'Yusuf Hawkins: Storm Over Brooklyn' premieres 8/12 at 9 p.m. EST on HBO (VIDEO)

By Ray Cornelius • Aug 8, 2020

Directed by Muta’ Ali Muhammad (Life’s Essentials with Ruby Dee) the film Yusuf Hawkins: Storm Over Brooklyn tells the story of Yusuf Hawkins, a black teenager who was murdered in 1989 by a group of young white men in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. Yusuf Hawkins’ death and the official response to it sparked outrage in New York, unleashing a torrent of racial tension and spurring tireless civil rights activism that exposed deep racial prejudices and inequities which continue to plague the country today.

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Larry Willis: I Fall In Love Too Easily

Larry Willis, who worked across genres since the 1960’s, passed in October 2019. But he left a great body of work in the full length release I Fall In Love Too Easily on Highnote. Ironically, his final recording takes place at Rudy Van Gelder’s recording studio where he began his career. The studio is named after the famous sound engineer credited with creating the legendary Blue Note sound. This Modern Jazz release features the former Blood Sweat & Tears and Hugh Masekela pianist...