The Perlich Post

Monday, February 9, 2026

Remembering innovative saxophonist/clarinetist Joe Maneri on his birthday

Raising a glass to microtonal saxophone master and educator Joe Maneri with a couple of stellar performances.

LINKS

The Cleopatra Record Listen to an interview with Joe Maneri from Oct 21, 1997 right here

Resonance releasing unissued live recordings by Joe Henderson, Yusef Lateef, Mal Waldron

Joe Henderson's Consonance 3LP set kicks off a series of Resonance releases from Joe Segal's Jazz Showcase club archives.

Here's the scoop...

UNISSUED JOE HENDERSON LIVE at JOE SEGAL'S JAZZ SHOWCASE in 1978! This is a major announcement for Resonance. Producer and Resonance co-president, Zev Feldman, began going through the massive tape archives of the legendary jazz impresario of Chicago, Joe Segal, back in 2011. Now, 15 years later, Resonance Records is launching a series of releases from Joe Segal's Jazz Showcase for Record Store Day (April 18, 2026) starting with Joe Henderson "Consonance: Live at the Jazz Showcase."

This is the first-ever release of saxophone titan Joe Henderson and his quartet featuring pianist Joanne Brackeen, bassist Steve Rodby and drummer Danny Spencer captured live at Joe Segal's Jazz Showcase in Chicago, IL in February of 1978. The limited-edition 180-gram 3-LP (and 2-CD, out April 24th) set was mastered from the original tapes by engineer and Resonance founder George Klabin and Resonance general counsel and co-producer of this album, John Koenig, with lacquers cut by Matthew Lutthans at The Mastering Lab in Salina, KS, and pressed at Quebec's boutique audiophile pressing plant Le Vinylist.

This is part of Resonance's debut launch of releases from Joe Segal's Jazz Showcase, marking the beginning of what will hopefully be a long line of incredible releases from the club's archives. The deluxe package includes newly curated liner notes by John Koenig, plus interviews with Joanne Brackeen, Steve Rodby, Danny Spencer, Joe Segal's son Wayne Segal and more. The striking cover photo was taken by Raymond Ross (CTSIMAGES), with design by Burton Yount.

JOE HENDERSON - CONSONANCE: LIVE AT THE JAZZ SHOWCASE

A1 - Mr. P. C. (24:00)

B1 - Inner Urge (26:46)

C1 - Invitation (22:15)

C2 - Relaxin' at Camarillo (7:41)

D1 - Recorda Me (23:33)

E1 - 'Round Midnight (16:10)

E2 - Good Morning Heartache (9:30)

F1 - Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise (23:39)

F2 - Isotope (6:37)

Resonance’s First Release from Joe Segal’s Extensive Archives Captures a Master at Full Stretch
Limited-Edition 180 gram 3-LP package with liner notes by John Koenig, reflections by musicians on the album: Joanne Brackeen, Steve Rodby, Danny Spencer, plus Jazz Showcase owner Joe Segal’s son Wayne Segal
Available Exclusively for Record Store Day on April 18, 2026
2000 vinyl copies

Some nights don’t just fade away after the last note has dissipated. They linger in the marrow, waiting for the right moment to be heard again. Consonance: Live at the Jazz Showcase is one of those nights. Recorded in February of 1978 at Joe Segal’s storied Jazz Showcase in Chicago, this newly unearthed performance captures saxophone titan Joe Henderson in bracing communion with a quartet that knew how to listen as hard as it played. Nearly five decades later, the music arrives as a revelation. It feels alive, active, and fiercely contemporary.

This limited-edition, 180-gram 3-LP set marks Resonance’s first-ever release from the Jazz Showcase archives, inaugurating a new chapter in producer Zev Feldman’s archival mission.

“Joe's archives comprise one of the greatest libraries of previously unissued jazz recordings in existence and we're very lucky that these documents were made and preserved,” says Feldman, who first discovered the treasure trove of recordings when he was introduced to Segal in 2011. The vinyl will be available for Record Store Day, April 18, 2026 with a 2-CD set to follow on April 24, what would have been Joe Segal’s 100th birthday.

Mastered from the original tapes by George Klabin and John Koenig, with lacquers cut by Matthew Lutthans at The Mastering Lab in Salina, Kansas, and pressed at Quebec’s boutique audiophile plant Le Vinylist, Consonance brings Henderson’s sound into the room with startling presence.

By 1978, Henderson had long since secured his place in the pantheon of jazz royalty. But categorizing him by era misses the point. His greatness wasn’t static, and he had the rare ability to be of his time without being trapped by it, to absorb the currents around him and redirect them through a singular voice. On Consonance, Henderson stands at a crossroads — post-bop wisdom in one hand, a restless future in the other — testing the strength of melody and rhythm in real time.

The quartet is essential to that alchemy. Pianist Joanne Brackeen brings a crystalline intelligence to the music, her lines darting and doubling back with a logic that’s as emotional as it is analytical. Bassist Steve Rodby — years before his work with Pat Metheny would bring him wider acclaim — anchors the band with a deep, elastic pulse. Drummer Danny Spencer rounds out the group with propulsion and nuance, never crowding the space Henderson leaves open, but never letting it cool either. Together, they form a unit that thrives on risk, the kind of ensemble that understands the weight of the music.

Joe Segal’s Jazz Showcase, the setting for this encounter, was no mere backdrop. It was a proving ground and a listening room where seriousness was a prerequisite and flash alone wouldn’t save you. Segal, a tireless advocate for the music, built a sanctuary for artists to stretch out and work through ideas in front of an audience that knew how to hold silence. The room’s intimacy sharpened the exchange between band and crowd, a feedback loop of concentration and release that’s palpable on tape.

Consonance is the sound of Henderson responding to that environment — probing, pressing, then laying back just enough to let the music breathe. His tenor carries that unmistakable mix of muscle and mercy: a burnished tone that can cut through steel, then soften into a whisper without losing authority. He phrases like someone telling the truth slowly, not leaving room for interruption. There’s urgency here, but also patience, and confidence that will give you everything.

The deluxe package deepens that story with newly curated liner notes by co-producer John Koenig, alongside interviews with Brackeen, Rodby, Spencer, and Wayne Segal, son of Joe Segal. Their reflections sketch a fuller portrait of the night and the ecosystem that made it possible: the trust between musicians, the discipline of the room, and the sense that something important could happen if everyone stayed present long enough.

For Brackeen, the date stands as a testament to Henderson’s generosity as a bandleader; his willingness to invite ideas rather than dictate them. Rodby recalls the elasticity of the set, how the music seemed to lengthen and contract in response to the moment. Spencer speaks to the balance required to drive the band without overwhelming it. And Wayne Segal situates the performance within his father’s lifelong commitment to creating space for artists to be fully themselves. These voices don’t annotate the music so much as echo it, extending the conversation across time.

Consonance feels especially vital now as it reframes Henderson as both a monument and collaborator. It reminds us that Henderson’s brilliance wasn’t just in his compositions or his résumé, but in his capacity to meet musicians where they were, and then push them somewhere new.

The sound quality honours the performance as well. Klabin and Koenig’s mastering preserves the dynamic range and tonal depth of the original tapes, while Lutthans’ lacquers translate that fidelity into a vinyl experience that rewards close listening. Le Vinylist’s pressing completes the chain with quiet surfaces and weighty presence, the kind that invites you to drop the needle and stay awhile.

As Resonance’s first release from the Jazz Showcase archives, Consonance sets a high bar and signals a future rich with possibility. These recordings are dispatched from rooms where the music was still being figured out, night by night. And to hear Henderson in that context is to understand jazz as a living practice that resists closure even as it accumulates history.

In the end, Consonance: Live at the Jazz Showcase isn’t about nostalgia. It’s about the kind of continuity that resonates long after the last note fades. Through his work, Henderson asked questions with rigor and grace, and on this Chicago night in 1978, he found answers that still ring true. For listeners willing to meet the music on its own terms, the reward is profound: a front-row seat to a master at work, listening forward.

Yusef Lateef – Alight Upon The Lake: Live at The Jazz Showcase

A1 - The Untitled (28:04)

B1- Mutually Exclusive (14:20)

B2 - Eboness (13:02)

C1- Inside Atlantis (19:40)

C2 - I Remember Webster (8:18)

D1- Dunia (10:21)

D2 - Opus 1 & 2 (17:09)

E1 - Golden Goddess (13:44)

E2 - Straighten Up & Fly Right (13:37)

F1- Yusef's Mood (24:00)

Limited-Edition 180 gram 3-LP package with liner notes by Lateef biographer Herb Boyd plus an interview with Bennie Maupin
Available Exclusively for Record Store Day on April 18, 2026
1800 vinyl copies

Alight Upon the Lake: Live at the Jazz Showcase is a previously unissued recording of woodwind multi-instrumentalist icon Yusef Lateef featuring pianist Kenny Barron, bassist Bob Cunningham and drummer Albert "Tootie" Heath captured live at Joe Segal's Jazz Showcase in Chicago, IL in June of 1975. The limited-edition 180g, 3-LP set was mastered from the original tapes by engineer Matthew Lutthans at The Mastering Lab in Salina, KS, and pressed at Quebec's boutique audiophile pressing plant Le Vinylist. The deluxe package includes newly curated liner notes by Lateef biographer Herb Boyd, plus interviews with woodwind master and Lateef mentee, Bennie Maupin, Joe Segal's son Wayne Segal and more.

Sunday, February 8, 2026

Remembering blues great Eddie "Guitar" Burns on his birthday

Raising a glass to guitar and harmonica ace Eddie Burns with a few overlooked gems cut for J-V-B, Harvey and DeLuxe.

LINKS

The Country Blues The Eddie Burns Story

Paul Burch discusses his novel Meridian Rising based on the life of Jimmie Rodgers

Paul Burch recently sat down to discuss his new novel Meridian Rising with Peter Guralnick.

Nashville singer/songwriter Paul Burch recently wrote a historical novel, Meridian Rising, based on his research into the life of legendary country music wellspring Jimmie Rodgers, who inspired Robert Johnson, Mississippi Sheiks, Hank Williams, Howlin' Wolf, Ernest Tubb, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard and Bob Dylan.

Although Rodgers died of tuberculosis at the age of 35 on May 26, 1933, he remains to this day, the only artist ever voted into the country, blues, songwriters and rock 'n' roll halls of fame. The crafty Burch skillfully weaves together known fact and plausible fiction – blurring the line between myth and reality – to convincingly bring the reader into Rodgers' dangerous world of the travelling musician during the depression era. If you're not careful, you just might get lost in it.

“What if all the stories about Jimmie Rodgers were true and someone could make you believe them? The result—from days at Coney Island to Rodgers asking Delta blues king Charley Patton to preach his funeral–is ‘Meridian Rising,’ a book of wonders.” — Greil Marcus, “Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock ‘n’ Roll Music”

If I was expecting anything from this mad, mad book, it was a straightforward rendering of Jimmie Rodgers' short, familiar life—not an action-packed noir, complete with gangsters and gun battles, a traveling nurse with a satchel of narcotics, the thoughtful voices of sadly forgotten bluesmen, beautiful automobiles, an indictment of the recording industry, lost, grieving children, and a meditation on family. All in 247 pages. The result is a crazy-in-the-best way, long-overdue corrective: it saves Jimmie Rodgers from his own legend. --Tony Early, author of Jim the Boy

We'll never know what it was really like inside Jimmie Rodgers's rambling mind, but now that I've read Paul Burch's take on it in Meridian Rising,, I can't hobo my way back to reality. See ya 'round the watertank. – Robert Gordon, author of Respect Yourself: Stax Records and the Soul Explosion

Jimmie Rodgers comes a-yodelin' out of Paul Burch's novel as if he were with us today. This is a tour de force of musical imagination. - Roy Blount Jr, author of Save Room for Pie

Paul Burch has made up the truth of Jimmie Rodgers's life better than any mere "facts" could ever convey—even though you'd have to be in possession of a million biographical facts to pull off this kind of vernacular Huck Finn sleight-of-hand prose magic. I suspect the sleight-of-hand has something to do with the fact that Burch is a musician himself. He played his tune in the key of rollicky, mixed in with all the sadness. From start to end, I didn't hear a false note on the page. From start to end, this felt like such an authentic American story, in sore need of a new telling -- Paul Hendrickson, National Book Award finalist and winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award

Grab a copy of Paul Burch's novel Meridian Rising from University Of Georgia Press right here. Listen to a music companion to the book via Spotify right here. Check out Paul Burch's chat with Peter Guralnick followed by a couple of tunes from Paul Burch's 2016 song-cycle Meridian Rising (Plowboy Records).