Jeanne Lee Ran Blake

"Third stream" may have been the bandied term, but this unjustly ignored 1962 duet set, the debut for pianist Blake and singer Lee, who worked up their act while studying at Bard College, plays blissfully free of the lumbering lugubriousness and Big Mac-thick philosophizing that mar so much of that music.

Jeanne Lee (1939-2000) was an African-American vocalist, poet, composer, improvisor, activist and educator. In her 40 year career she performed with Archie Shep, Marion Brown, Gunter Hampel, Frank Lowe, William Parker, Andrew Cyrille, Anthony Braxton, Ran Blake, Billy Bang, Cecil Taylor, John Cage, Rashsaan Roland Kirk, Pauline Oliveros, Reggie Workman, and many others.

“Klara presents 100 Years of Jazz” is a box with ten CDs, compiled by the Flemish radio station Klara, which is also known to many for the Klara Top 100, composed of great pieces of classical music. In addition to the ten CDs, each in its own cardboard sleeve in a cardboard box, you will also find an accompanying booklet including a foreword by Joris Preckler and Chantal Pattyn, both affiliated with (Radio) Klara, my favorite station at work.

Acclaimed Pianist Randy Ingram and Virtuosic Vocalist Aubrey Johnson Team Up to Produce Play Favorites, a Duo Album Greater Than The Sum of Its Parts, due out November 4, 2022 via Sunnyside Records.