Note: Each month, KPLU invites a teen guest DJ to play his or her favorite pieces on the air. The program is part of KPLU's School of Jazz.
Lane Wilkinson from Glacier Peak High School is the Student DJ for the month of May. Lane's hour aired from 8 to 9 p.m. on May 5.
To get to know him better we asked Sam to answer a few questions about jazz:
Which instrument do you play and why?
Tenor sax — The main reason I chose the tenor sax is my uncle had played the saxophone when he was in high school and it always seemed an interesting instrument to play. Also I loved hearing the saxophone solos from Pink Floyd songs.
What's your all-time favorite jazz piece and why?
My all time favorite would have to be "The Chicken" by Jaco Pastorious. The upbeat feel it has and the gospel-like beginning is just amazing! I first played this song Sophomore year in High School and I loved playing it! The sax/trumpet/trombone trio was so much fun to play!
Who's your jazz hero and why?
I would probably have to say Mike Mines. He was my middle school band director but he was the one that got me interested in jazz in the first place.If he hadn't started me in seventh grade I wouldn't have been where I am today in the jazz community.
What is jazz, exactly? How would you explain it?
To me, jazz is dancing music! An art form that makes the melody from a song mean something to you. It's also an insight to get to know someone in they way they solo, how they sound and their style of rhythm. There is a lot of different styles of jazz out there and some I really like and others I don't. To me, when it is just people on stage trying to make cool noises on their instrument, I don't really feel that that fits the true meaning of jazz.
Lane's Playlist:
- “THE CHICKEN” JacoPastorius (Anthology: Warner Bros Years)
- “SEEKER” HIROMI (Alive)
- “THE PHAT PACK” GORDIN GOODWIN’S BIG PHAT BAND (The Phat Pack)
- “BODY AND SOUL” DOC SEVERINSEN/TONIGHT SHOW BAND (Once More…With Feeling)
- “IT DON’T MEAN A THING…” MATTHEW MORRISON (Where It All Began)
- “HIDE AND SEEK” Joshua Redman (Freedom In the Groove)
- “BASICALLY BLUES” US AIRFORCE AIRMEN OF NOTE (Airmen of Note)
- “IT ONLY TOOK A KISS” Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (Rattle Them Bones)
- “ROCKIN’ IN RHYTHM” DUKE ELLINGTON (How Do You Duke? {live in Europe})
