Good morning.

Today we’re listening to Moondog. He was a blind jazz and classical composer who inspired generations of musicians with his stripped-down, soulful, and mystical compositions. He was doing a form of minimalism before it was called that. Philip Glass and Steve Reich, who were studying music at Julliard while Moondog was busking in midtown Manhattan, cited him as a greater influence than anyone they studied in school. Today, we’re first playing In Europe, a collection of the clsasical pieces Moondog wrote in Germany in the ‘80s and ‘90s. A New Sound of an Old Instrument is a set of solemn pieces for organ, an instrument which the liner notes claim “can do anything a jazz band can do, as good, if not better.” We’re also including the recently-released Introduction to Moondog for a broad survey of his work if you’re interested; just note that it contains some vocal tracks.

In Europe by Moondog (40m) Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube Music / Tidal

A New Sound of an Old Instrument by Moondog (40m) Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube Music / Tidal

An Introduction to Moondog by Moondog (50m, 🗣️ on some tracks) Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube Music / Tidal

We wish you a good start to your week.

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