Show #164: Music to Be Cool, Stay Cool
With Palm Springs the same temperature as Saudi Arabia or Rajasthan, here are eleven songs to help keep your cool. We begin with a cool blues by Charlie Parker called…what…
By Tom Schnabel • • 1 min read<!-- missing image http://blogs.kcrw.com/rhythmplanet/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/blog-spacer.jpg -->With Palm Springs the same temperature as Saudi Arabia or Rajasthan, here are eleven songs to help keep your cool.
We begin with a cool blues by Charlie Parker called…what else, “Cool Blues.” Then the great singer/humorist Oscar Brown, Jr. tries to stay cool as calamity hems him in. We follow it with a stoner song by Rasputin’s Stash from the 1970’s, “Mr. Cool.” Albert Collins helps bring the temperature even lower with “Iceman” after that.
The sound of the vibraphone has always struck me as a cool sound, so we get a classic side from the great Milt Jackson, a signature song called “The Cylinder.” We imbibe two cold drinks with Ray Charles and June Christy, and bathe in the cool waters of the Amazon with Uatki, keeping watch for piranhas. Marty Robbins continues in this vein with “Cool Water”.
We conclude the cool set with two jazz classics from the Miles Davis-Gil Evans 1949 classic Birth of the Cool, followed by a cut from Gil Evans‘s great album Out of the Cool.
Together this musical tapestry will hopefully help you beat the heat. So pour a tall cool one and chill.
Rhythm Planet Playlist for 6/24/16:
Grant Green / “Cool Blues” / Born To Be Blue / Blue Note
Oscar Brown Jr. / “But I Was Cool” / Kicks! The Best of Oscar Brown, Jr. / Ace
Rasputin’s Stash / “Mr. Cool” / Rasputin’s Stash / itunes
Milt Jackson / “The Cylinder” / The Ballad Artistry of Milt Jackson / Atlantic Records
Ray Charles / “One Mint Julep” / Genius + Soul = Jazz / Rhino Records
June Christy / “Something Cool” / Something Cool / Capitol Records
Uakti / “Negro River” / Aguas da Amazonia / Point Music
Marty Robbins / “Cool Water” / Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs / Columbia/Legacy
Miles Davis / “Boplicity” / Complete Birth of the Cool / Capitol Records
Gil Evans / “Stratusphunk” / Out of the Cool / Impulse