funk. roots. truth.

funk. roots. truth.

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March 2025

March Newsletter
It's Carnival Time!
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Jon McBride
1

December 2024

Auld Lang Syne
When I was four or five, my older brother got a new radio, and I was handed down his General Electric clock radio.
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Jon McBride
2
Christmas Traditions
Two of my earliest and strongest musical memories are tied to Christmas: Odetta’s Christmas Spirituals album playing in my house and going to see the…
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Jon McBride
Sugar Rum Cherry
When a friend suggested I check out Substack as a place to share and enjoy longer-form content, I shuddered at the thought of another social media…
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Jon McBride

November 2024

October 2024

The "Leblanc System" Saxophone
A couple of weeks later, when I finally opened the other alto and tenor cases, I was in for another history lesson. They were both G. Leblanc Paris…
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Jon McBride
The First Drumset
The evolution of these bands towards the early jazz ensemble with front-line horns and backline rhythm section is closely tied to the development of the…
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Jon McBride
Jazz On The River
“The cultural history of Mississippi and Ohio excursion boats reveals that these large, antiquated, heavily symbolic vessels stimulated enchanting…
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Jon McBride
2
The Fabulous Sidney Bechet
Many older musicians in the black Creole community disliked the emerging style, deeming it low-class, and referred to it as playing “ratty.” But Sidney…
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Jon McBride
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