KCOU JAZZ
Sept. 14, 2025
Ladies and gentlemen, doctors and captains are the subject of this honorific-focused evening of jazz programming. An honorific is a title or form of address corresponding to a person’s status or rank, as well as a way to address someone politely. Beginning with a deep dive into the corners of bop music and ending with open grooves and lyrical explorations, these titles elevate the abilities of each featured musician.
Songs Included
Miles Davis | Dr. Jekyll | Milestones (1958)
Like a mad professor’s empassioned lecture, Dr. Jekyll reaches across bop with fiery percussion and angular lines. Philly Joe Jones’ drumstick hits and subtle rolls resemble an academic’s strike of a chalkboard as Davis plays the role of the rampant genius, always shifting and moving ahead of the beat.
A breakthrough in in Davis’ hard-bop progression, Milestones stays true to its name. The opening track, Dr. Jekyll introduces Davis’ focus of the hour: mastering a rapid pace while maintaining technique and class. Clocking in at nearly six minutes and featuring a bass solo from Paul Chambers, Davis’ exercise in bop is regimented and principled: Everyone must solo.
The title most likely refers to the 1886 novella Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde, where a practitioner investigates the relationship between his friend and the murderous Mr. Hyde.
Lee Morgan | Mr. Kenyatta | Search For The New Land (1966)
Lee Morgan’s spirit on Mr. Kenyatta meets the mid-1960s in a conscientious, alert fashion. Following the commercial success of The Sidewinder in 1964, Lee Morgan reached deep into the pockets of hard bop orchestration to bring together Search For The New Land. Named after Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya’s first president elected in 1964 and an anti-colonialist leader, Mr. Kenyatta’s expressive and searching sound compounds on the album’s lyrical freedom. Conceived in a time of great political and ideological discourse in the American Civil Rights Movement, the homage to the African nationalist is on the pulse.
Morgan, a Philidelphia born trumpet player is joined on this track by the everpresent Herbie Hancock on keys, Grant Green on guitar, Wayne Shorter on saxophone, and Reggie Workman on bass. Mr. Kenyatta stands as an understated, yet powerful track from an ensemble of jazz giants.
McCoy Tyner | Have You Met Miss Jones | Reaching Fourth (1963)
The closing track on McCoy Tyner’s Reaching Fourth, Have You Met Miss Jones wraps the American standard into an enjoyable gift for listeners. A light listen, Tyner’s lifting piano pairs with Roy Haynes’ quick drums and Henry Grimes’ jolly bass. John Coltrane, a frequent collaborator with Tyner, used Miss Jones’ harmonic concept to engineer his landmark Giant Steps in 1960.
Paul Desmond | Mrs. Robinson | Bridge Over Troubled Water (1969)
A cover of Simon and Garfunkle’s soundtrack for The Graduate, Paul Desmond swings a bossa-infused veil on Mrs. Robinson. Joined by a mixed percussive pallete and Herbie Hancock on the Fender Rhodes, Desmond flows through melodic lines in a saturated stream.