cool jazz

Cicely Mitchell is the co-owner of Missy Lane’s Assembly Room, Downtown Durham’s newest venue dedicated to jazz and other Black American Music (BAM). Cicely spoke with Six Count during the venue’s opening weekend on January 14, 2024. She shares reactions from the inaugural evening headlined by vocalist Lois Deloatch, her vision for the space as a hub for art and community, and what guests can expect. 

Miss Lane’s plans to put on three seasons of live programming per year, with each announced at least sixty days in advance. The venue also offers club memberships to receive early access to tickets, preferred seating, members-only events, and a “personalized hospitality concierge.”

The venue has partnered with Weldon Mills Distillery, Little Waves Coffee Roasters and Ninth Street Bakery, Duke Arts, and C7 Yoga. Missy Lane’s will serve as a coffee house and meeting space by day, serving java from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. 

On Fridays and Saturdays, Missy Lane’s will host Office Hours from 11:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. with a house DJ, Professor X. The DJ will play jazz, Afro beats, improv, and more, and the event will feature a percussion jam session.

Missy Lane’s is located on 310 E Main St, Suite 100. Free parking is available on weekends in a lot adjacent to the building, or in nearby decks.

Music credits

This episode features live recordings from Missy Lane’s opening night on January 13, 2024. That evening’s performances featured Lois Deloatch Gomes on vocals, Ernest Turner on piano, Butler Knowles on bass, and Donovan Cheatham on drums. 

This season features the songs “Forged in Rhythm” and “Callous & Kind” by Keenan McKenzie & The Riffers (2017), used by Six Count with permission from the artist. 

Support the show

If you’d like to support Six Count, you can make a gift on DonorBox or Venmo @thexarawilde. Follow Six Count on Instagram at @sixcountpodcast and Xara Wilde on Facebook and Instagram @thexarawilde.

How to listen

You can find Six Count on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other listening app. The series also airs on taintradio.org, an online jazz radio station based in North Carolina, on Sundays at 6:00 p.m. and Fridays at 8:00 p.m. EST.

If you love jazz and live in the Triangle, you know Al Strong. The two-time Grammy-nominated trumpet player, composer, recording artist, mentor, and educator spoke with Six Count at Duke University’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute on October 4, 2023. 

Al is the co-founder of the Art of Cool Project, a nonprofit that hosts a jazz education summer camp and the Art of Cool Music Festival. 

The Washington, D.C. native is a graduate of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, the only public high school in the Capitol that provides dual curriculum in college-preparatory academics and pre-professional arts training.

Al holds a bachelor’s degree in jazz studies from North Carolina Central University, where he leads the program’s trumpet studio, and a master’s in jazz performance and pedagogy from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois. 

The musician has performed internationally at the Montreal Jazz Festival in Canada, the North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands, and the Peru Jazz Festival in Lima, among others. His shows have headlined the Blue Note Jazz Festival and Winter Fest in New York City, as well as D.C.’s Blues Alley Jazz Festival.

Al’s career has included performances and recordings with Aretha Franklin, the Count Basie Orchestra, and the Hamiltones. He has also served as music director for the rapper Rakim, and performed with former rapper Eric Roberson (also known as Erro) and hip hop duo the Foreign Exchange.

Al and Six Count host and producer Xara Wilde were invited to speak at a class about jazz in the Triangle. The course’s instructor, Peter Burke, manages the local jazz blog Locavore Jazz. Thank you, Peter, for the opportunity! 

Music credits

This episode features a live recording of Al Strong performing with the Rebecca Kleinmann Latin Jazz Quintet at Beyu Caffee on January 7, 2023. The performers that evening included Rebecca Kleinmann on flutes and vocals, Stephen Anderson on keys, Andy Kleindienst on bass, Gastón Reggio on drums, and Brevan Hampden on congas and other percussion. 

This season features the songs “Forged in Rhythm” and “Callous & Kind” by Keenan McKenzie & The Riffers (2017), used by Six Count with permission from the artist. 

Support the show

If you’d like to support Six Count for GivingTuesday, you can make a gift on DonorBox or Venmo @thexarawilde. Follow Six Count on Instagram at @sixcountpodcast and Xara Wilde on Facebook and Instagram @thexarawilde.

How to listen

You can find Six Count on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other listening app. The series also airs on taintradio.org, an online jazz radio station based in North Carolina, on Sundays at 6:00 p.m. and Fridays at 8:00 p.m. EST. 

Brad Linde is a tenor and soprano saxophonist based in Washington, D.C., where he’s known as “the capital city’s contemporary cool king” (Giovanni Russonello, Capitalbop).

The North Carolina native regularly performs at the Sharp Nine Gallery, the Cave, and other venues in the Triangle. 

Brad spoke with host Xara Wilde and guest co-host Peter Burke of Locavore Jazz in Carrboro a few hours before his performance at the Cave in Chapel Hill. The quartette (featuring Danny Grewen on trombone, Casey Toll on bass, and TJ Maiani on drums) paid tribute to Eli “Lucky” Thompson (1924–2005), a tenor and soprano saxophonist known for incorporating swing and bebop elements into his music. 

The interview also took place during the 46th Carolina Jazz Festival and 17th North Carolina Regional Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Festival (February 16–18, 2023) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Brad had just returned from the Elon Jazz Festival with Georgetown Day School, where he’s the director of jazz and creative music. 

Brad is the founder of the Bohemian Caverns Jazz Orchestra, a 17-piece big band. He studied music at Elon University and UNC–Chapel Hill for his bachelor’s, and he earned a Master of Music from the University of Maryland, College Park. 

(Episode photo by Joe Crocetta)

Music credits

This episode features the songs “Just One Of Those Things,” by the Brad Linde Ensemble with Lee Konitz (BRADLEE, 2021), and “Ball Poppin,’” by Brad Linde’s Team Players (Just the Tip: Swinging Songs by Team Players, 2022). 

This season features the songs “Forged in Rhythm” and “Callous & Kind” byKeenan McKenzie & The Riffers (2017), used by Six Count with permission from the artist. 

How to listen

You can find Six Count on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other listening app! 

Support the show

If you’d like to support Six Count, you can make a gift on DonorBox or Venmo @thexarawilde. Follow Six Count on Instagram at @sixcountpodcast and Xara Wilde on Facebook and Instagram @thexarawilde.

Cue the "Odd Couple" theme.  This episode, the bastards take a listener's request to heart and discuss two musicians of wildly differing tempers - Art Blakey and Warne Marsh.  Art was never into cool jazz, Warne was never a messenger, but you just know, if they had to share an apartment for some unlikely reason or other, wackiness would ensue.  Towards the end the podcast degenerates into discussing favorite James Bond themes, so be warned.  Art Blakey - LIVE AT CAFÉ BOHEMIA, VOL 1; LIKE SOMEONE IN LOVE; Warne Marsh – WARNE MARSH, APOGEE.