2026.03.16 William Hooker and Ahmed Abdullah on Old and New Dreams - 2 of 3

2026.03.16 William Hooker and Ahmed Abdullah on Old and New Dreams - 2 of 3

Author: Small Media Large May 3, 2026 Duration: 1:08:25
Throw away the map.  Now, how are you going to find your way to your destination?  You will probably find many more answers than you may have thought you'd find when you were looking at that folded-up piece of paper.     The band Old and New Dreams didn't have to follow chord changes, disregarded time signatures, but their music was full of story-songs, each with a beginning, a middle, and an end.  It's four members-- saxophonist Dewey Redman, trumpeter Don Cherry, bassist Charlie Haden, and drummer Ed Blackwell-- each sang his song in full voice.  And when you heard them together, you never wondered if or when you would arrive.  You just hoped the journey wouldn't end too soon, even if you knew that it would.    Sonic navigator/drummer William Hooker has chosen Old and New Dreams for this week's episode of Mitch Goldman's Deep Focus, and Ahmed Abdullah as his surprise guest.  Will Mitch find live, unreleased recordings of the band in the WKCR archives?  The day will come when his spotless record is going to get besmirched.  Oh, let's just hope it's not this week!  I guess there's only one way to find out.   Tune in this Monday (3/16) from 6pm to 9pm NYC time on WKCR 89.9FM, WKCR-HD or wkcr.org.     Or join us when it goes up on the Deep Focus podcast on your favorite podcasting app or at https://mitchgoldman.podbean.com/.  It will join over 400 promo-free episodes.  Subscribe right now to get notifications when new episodes are posted.  It's ad-free, all free, sponsor-free, totally non-commercial.  We won't even ask for your contact info.   Find out more about Deep Focus at https://mitchgoldman.com/about-deep-focus/ or join us onInstagram @deep_focus_podcast.     Photo credit: no known publishing information.   #WKCR #DeepFocus #WilliamHooker #OldandNewDreams #DeweyRedman #DonCherry #CharlieHaden #EdBlackwell #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast #JazzInterview #MitchGoldman #AhmedAbdullah

Mitch Goldman, from Small Media Large, sits down with a different working musician each week for Deep Focus. The premise is beautifully simple yet endlessly revealing: together, they dive into rare archival recordings-bootlegs, demo tapes, lost studio sessions-of an artist the guest deeply admires. This isn't a standard interview format. Instead, you're listening in on a shared, intimate listening session between two knowledgeable fans. The conversation flows from technical dissection of a guitar tone to personal stories about how a particular live bootleg soundtracked a pivotal life moment. You'll hear the crackle of a vintage tape as Mitch and his guest pause, rewind, and marvel at a forgotten vocal take or an experimental arrangement that never made the official album. This podcast lives in the spaces between the famous tracks, uncovering the raw, unpolished moments that often reveal an artist's true process and passion. It’s for anyone who believes the magic isn't just in the finished product, but in the journey of how it got there. Each episode of Deep Focus feels like being invited into a private club where the sole entry fee is a genuine love for music's hidden corners.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Deep Focus
Podcast Episodes
2025.09.29 Vernon Reid on James Blood Ulmer - 1 of 3 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:07:37
What is the great lesson of a James Blood Ulmer for fellow guitarist/composer/bandleader Vernon Reid? Find out this Monday (9/29) when Vernon Reid and host Mitch Goldman plunge into the WKCR archives in search of rare, l…
2025.09.01 Ben Tyree on Spectrum Road - 3 of 3 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:11
Who came up with the idea that the middle of the road is the right place to be? Regular listeners to Mitch Goldman's Deep Focus know that it's those shadowy corners, those Edge Cities, where new things start to happen. A…
2025.09.01 Ben Tyree on Spectrum road - 2 of 3 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:29
Who came up with the idea that the middle of the road is the right place to be? Regular listeners to Mitch Goldman's Deep Focus know that it's those shadowy corners, those Edge Cities, where new things start to happen. A…
2025.09.01 Ben Tyree on Spectrum road -  1 of 3 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:31
Who came up with the idea that the middle of the road is the right place to be? Regular listeners to Mitch Goldman's Deep Focus know that it's those shadowy corners, those Edge Cities, where new things start to happen. A…
2025.08.18 Bob Dee on Jef Lee Johnson - 3 of 3 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:12
How is it possible that you have never heard guitarist Jef Lee Johnson? He was as incendiary and as nakedly original as any soloist you have ever heard (absolutely any!). But his greater distinction might have been his s…
2025.08.18 Bob Dee on Jef Lee Johnson - 2 of 3 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:39
How is it possible that you have never heard guitarist Jef Lee Johnson? He was as incendiary and as nakedly original as any soloist you have ever heard (absolutely any!). But his greater distinction might have been his s…
2025.08.18 Bob Dee on Jef Lee Johnson - 1 of 3 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:25
How is it possible that you have never heard guitarist Jef Lee Johnson? He was as incendiary and as nakedly original as any soloist you have ever heard (absolutely any!). But his greater distinction might have been his s…
2015.08.03 Eric Person on Ornette Coleman - 3 of 3 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:51
Ornette Coleman, one of our brightest lights, died in June of 2015. Here is a Deep Focus from August of that year, with Eric Person as my guest, remembering Ornette. This show features a beautiful live recording from 197…
2015.08.03 Eric Person on Ornette Coleman - 2 of 3 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:16:02
Ornette Coleman, one of our brightest lights, died in June of 2015. Here is a Deep Focus from August of that year, with Eric Person as my guest, remembering Ornette. This show features a beautiful live recording from 197…
2015.08.03 Eric Person on Ornette Coleman - 1 of 3 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:18:34
Ornette Coleman, one of our brightest lights, died in June of 2015. Here is a Deep Focus from August of that year with Eric Person as my guest, remembering Ornette. This show features a beautiful live recording from 1978…