Why does free jazz/Chabad soprano saxophonist Daniel Zamir draw materials from an old Israeli song glorifying a watchman from the 1930s? Why is today’s Israeli jazz a natural, organic expression of early Zionist settlement? Why is Jeff calling a 21-year old drummer a genius? The answer to these and many more questions in Song of The Week.

‘Tears of Rage’ is Dylan’s “King Lear”, a brutally painful description of a daughter’s love denied. The Basement Tapes, recorded in 1967 as he convalesced from his motorpsycho accident, lay underground for decades. But their impact on the way we perceive the world is greater than any other pop music, including “Sgt Pepper”.

It’s been pouring here, so we’re visiting the whole soggy genre of Crying In The Rain songs. Guess which one we like best?

Twelve years ago this week my sister Madelaine passed away, long before there was a Sibling’s Day. James Taylor wrote the moving song ‘Enough To Be On Your Way’ as a lamentation for his late brother, Alex. My love for my sister is bigger than any pop song. But in the real world, what comes through the car radio is the soundtrack of our lives.

Desert Island music. Ice also burns.

Nilsson, Part II–the many gems he made in the short time before he embarked on self-destruction.
“I’m sure he influenced the Beatles as much as the Beatles influenced him.”–Al Kooper

Nilsson’s first album is virtually unknown, but John Lennon listened to it for 36 hours straight. Try listening only this song just once – a bass, a cello, and one magical, gravity-defying voice. You can’t do that.

Pete Christlieb (Steely Dan/Tonight Show ) teams up with the legendary Warne Marsh, 1978. Listen to two tenor saxophonists set the studio on fire.