October 18, 2020
Nick Spitzer, host of weekly program American Routes on WWNO, is the most eclectic curator of music of the American musical landscape. His weekly two-hour program serves up helpings of blues, country, soul, Tejano, Cajun, zydeco, jazz and surprises in between.
Every so often, he surprises me with an out of left field choice. This week's out of the gate opening selection, "Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting," by Charles Mingus (Blues and Roots, Atlantic Records) is straight ahead jazz with a different feel.
I'm thinking how the heck does Charles Mingus's jazz composition fit in here...then recall the title of this week's program.
Nick is a master of identifying a theme and finding music and musicians to build a subtle playlist that holds it all together. Every week he knits a musical and cultural quilt. By the time he's done, you feel the warp and the weft of American music and the backgrounds and histories of men and women who made it.
His intro for this week's program he's titled 'Sounds of Solace'.
"We reflect on these difficult times with sounds of solace and uplift to see us through solitude and the unknown. From Blue Skies and the Milky White Way to down home and earthly struggles with Mavis Staples and Elvis, Bill Monroe, and Louis Armstrong."
What ensues is a tapestry of what Spitzer describes as "memory, hope, uplift, and contemplation" ...ballads, folk, blues, country western, rock 'n roll, jazz, and pop from artists with household names and a few you've never heard of but fit the bill perfectly.
http://www.americanroutes.org/archives/show/1190/Sounds-of-Solace
Spitzer unleashes a calming musical frontal attack on the pandemic. Each song is introduced with dates, record labels to set time and place, and he digs in.
No pedant, he's the drum major, twirling stories introducing each song with palpable energy and contained enthusiasm that reinforce why the song belongs in the today's theme, Songs of Solace.
American Routes began 90 minutes ago as I was listening to WUMB, Boston, on my desktop. I'm still in my chair, now in the midst of Bonnie Raitt's 1974 cover of John Prine's "Angel From Montgomery."
Songs of Solace is delivering the goods. Music is a balm, a solace, and Dr. Spitzer is making a virtual house call.
Comments