The Folk Brothers for June 1, 2022: Folks Against Gun Violence

Prior to the 2018 midterm elections, Marc Erelli penned a song about America's problem with guns. With help from Lori McKenna, Roseanne Cash, Sheryl Crow, Josh Ritter and Anais Mitchell, Erelli released "By Degrees," with all proceeds benefitting Gabby Giffords' gun violence prevention organization. This morning, we dedicated two sets of music to this issue, with tracks also from Josh O'Keefe, Cheryl Wheeler, Steve Earle and Warren Zevon.

Jazz After Dark, May 31, 2022

Tonight on Jazz After Dark:

From the 1940s, we’ll hear Earl "Fatha" Hines and Johnny Hodges, The Nat King Cole Trio, Ike Quebec Quintet, Peggy Lee, and Charlie Parker and His Quintet.

From the 1960s we’ll hear Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, Charlie Byrd and Stan Getz, Pete Fountain, Oscar Peterson, Paul Desmond, Herbie Mann and Joao Gilberto with Antonio Carlos Jobim, Eddie Jefferson, and Ella Fitzgerald and the Jimmy Jones Trio with Duke Ellington and his Orchestra, and then we’ll take it out with Stanley Jordan.

Davisville, May 30, 2022: The weather is changing, so mind the plants

So here we are in Davis, starting another summer during a drought while also adjusting to larger changes in the weather. Don Shor (pictured) sees the impact of these changes from several angles, as the owner of the Redwood Barn Nursery in Davis, and as a certified nursery professional, landscape contractor, and lifelong gardener on his land near Dixon.

Local gardeners get the benefit of his advice on the weekly Davis Garden Show, which he co-hosts with Lois Richter on KDRT, and in his garden column in the Davis Enterprise. Today we extend the conversation to talk about how plants mediate heat, changes in what people are buying in Davis, why Davis is a good city for his business, and smart ways to use less water to get trees and plants through this drought.

Big Joe Daddy in the studio, on Listening Lyrics, May 27, 2022

Joey Wisgirda (Big Joe Daddy) has been playing trumpet since the age of 9. He has studied jazz theory and composition with jazz legend John Tchicai, and performed throughout California with a diverse range of players that includes Joe Craven and Rick Montgomery (David Grisman Quintet), Fully Fullwood (Peter Tosh), reggae superstar Alton Ellis, Hamsa Lila, and John Tchicai. He has opened for such acts as John Scofield,  Galactic, Charlie Hunter, Bassnectar, Kraddy, and Tipper.

For the past decade, Joey has extended his musical efforts into the computer realm, using  soft- and hardware synths, and tying it all together with a Morrison Digital Trumpet (MDT) to morph from jazz and funk to breakbeats and dub. His live performances on Ableton and the MDT are cutting edge.

Jazz After Dark, May 24, 2022

From the 1930s and '40s, we’ll hear Lester Young & The Kansas City Six, Louis Armstrong, The RCA All-Stars: Tommy Dorsey, Bunny Berigan, Fats Waller, Dick McDonough, and "Georgia" Wettling. Then Doris Day, Red Garland, and Dinah Washington, followed by a bossa nova set with Nara Leão, Charlie Rouse, and Ella Fitzgerald. From the 1970s, we’ll hear Gerry Mulligan and Earl Hines, and then take it out with Waverly Seven.

The Folk Brothers for May 18, 2022: Alice DiMicele comes to Davis

Southern Oregon-based singer-songwriter and environmentalist Alice DiMicele has a new album -- Every Seed We Plant -- and she will bring the songs to the N Street Commons Cohousing Complex this Saturday, May 21, at 6 p.m. This morning, we played Alice's song about her home state: New Jersey.

Davisville, May 16, 2022: The lost town of Monticello

Have you heard about Monticello, the small town west of Winters? In the 1950s it was destroyed and flooded to make room for Lake Berryessa, the reservoir created by Monticello Dam. This vanished town is the subject of the current exhibit at the Winters Museum. Today’s guests talk about why Monticello existed and how it emptied, and share stories about people who lived there.

Our guests are Woody Fridae, president of the Historical Society of Winters and a former mayor of Winters, and Carol Fitzpatrick, whose family lived in Monticello. She tells an interesting story about meeting a man in his 80s who, decades earlier, had been visiting Monticello at what turned out to be a critically important moment for her family.