Mike Giallongo

In his landmark book How To Listen To Jazz, famed music historian, Ted Gioia, posed the question: “What could be more mysterious than a work of music?”  He goes on to say “When aliens arrive from a distant galaxy…” they might say “Captain, we are unable to decipher the messages hidden in these…bursts of sound, and the earthlings refuse to give us the code!”  I’d simply add this.  Jazz is likely the most mysterious of all the forms of music, and to me it’s the most exotic and beautiful too.  Forget about the aliens–many humans (including me) have a difficult time following some jazz—especially the most complex and improvisational output from people like Miles Davis and John Coltrane…  On my new show, Pop Up Jazz with Mike Giallongo, I’ll be exploring the works of these two jazz greats as well as the groundbreaking musicians and vocalists who preceded them in the development of this wonderful artform, and those who have either followed in their footsteps and even taken new paths.  I’ll be blending in some jazz-fusion and jazz-influenced recordings from at least the blues, rock and funk worlds too.  I’ll also be sharing some interesting background color on the music, the artists, the studios and the record companies that bring us these incredible sounds.  I hope you’ll join me on this crazy musical joy ride!  You can reach me with comments and requests at mikeg@womr.org, and of course please listen in on each Pop Up Jazz show when you see it on the broadcast schedule.