Serenade to a Cuckoo with Jerry Gordon

08/12/2025

https://youtu.be/xOjbrl8ZJM0?si=gwyRf6s7zZY4QTy_

R.I.P. Sheila Jordan. She was an instructor at Jazz in July UMass at the 30th Anniversary edition of the Jazz camp founded by Dr. Fred Tillis, Max Roach, and...

08/12/2025

https://www.npr.org/2025/08/11/847306270/sheila-jordan-obituary

She recorded a magical debut album on Blue Note and was later named a Jazz Master by the National Endowment of the Arts.

08/12/2025

James Cotton and Steve Miller play Jimmy Reed! https://www.facebook.com/jerrystophat/videos/1172478621589995

08/07/2025

Wut? 8.8.25 the Rock & Pop music of L.A. Part III in Jerry's Room, 2-3 PM! Iron Butterfly, Captain Beefheart, Steppenwolf, and lots of exciting and annoying music 1968-1969. WPRB 103.3 FM, streaming live at WPRB.com

08/07/2025

8.8.25 A tribute to the late Eddie Palmieri and plenty of great new jazz releases. noon-3 PM, WPRB 103.3, streaming live at WPRB.com

08/07/2025

Friday 8.8.25 Cuckoo will sub for Sonny Boy Williamson III from 10 AM to Noon, a 2 hour blues show featuring "The Songs of Jimmy Reed and their Rock 'N Roll Covers"! Stones, Grateful Dead, Bryan Ferry, et al. Cuckoo will follow from Noon-3 PM.

08/07/2025

Eddie Palmieri, the virtuoso keyboardist and visionary bandleader, has died at the age of 88.

08/04/2025

In the summer of 1958, a young photographer named Art Kane had an idea: gather as many jazz legends as possible on a Harlem stoop and take a photo.
He didn’t have a studio. He didn’t have much time. Just a vision—and a brownstone on 126th Street.
That morning, 57 musicians showed up. Count Basie sat on the curb as neighborhood kids surrounded him. Thelonious Monk adjusted his tie. Dizzy Gillespie cracked jokes. For once, the greats weren’t on stage—they were just together.
It became one of the most iconic photos in music history.
“A Great Day in Harlem.”
But time, like jazz, moves in improvisation. Forty years later, in 1996, the photo was recreated. Same place. Same spirit. But this time… far fewer faces.
Most had passed on—leaving behind notes, albums, echoes.
The side-by-side images tell a quiet truth:
People fade. Buildings remain.
But love, community, and art—those things echo.
In 50 years, most of us won’t be here.
But today, we are.
So while we have the chance:
Let’s laugh. Let’s forgive.
Let’s gather while we still can.
Because one day, it will be just a photo.
And hopefully, a beautiful one.

~Unusual Tales

08/04/2025

Cuckoo will host The Sonic Bloom, substituting for Esoterica. 3 hours of punk and New Wave! Tuesday 8.5.25 from 5-8 PM! WPRB 103.3 Princeton, streaming live at WPRB.com

08/03/2025

On Tuesday 8.5.25 I will be substituting for the Sonic Bloom, none other than the incredible Esoterica from 5-8 PM. There will be plenty of Punk and New Wave Pop. WPRB 103.3 FM, streaming live at WPRB.com

07/31/2025

Summer edition of Serenade to a Cuckoo. Plenty of new jazz releases! Friday 8.1.25, noon-3 PM, WPRB 103.3 Princeton, streaming live at WPRB.com

07/31/2025

Some new formal summerwear from my cousins in NJ--Jerry the G--and his wonderful and creative wife, Jamie. Thank you so much, guys! I love them!