Welcome back and don't despair- jazz is always in the air. Especially right here, right now!
Kenny Wessel is living jazz history. He worked with legendary sax player Ornette Coleman for 12 years and toured the world as a member of Coleman's Prime Time ensemble. He's played with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and with the London Philharmonia. He's a featured soloist on Donald Fagen's solo album, Morph the Cat, and has played with jazz visionaries on all ends of the spectrum, including John Abercrombie, David Liebman, Arthur and Red Prysock and vocalist Johnny Hartmann. He's a master improviser and composer and has played on many, many recordings, including his most recent release, In the Briar Patch.

Ok, enough of the bio! Go to https://kenwessel.com for all the mind blowing credits and discography,

Kenny also teaches jazz guitar and has become a member of our extended family as Milo's teacher at CCNY. What a cool, real, compassionate cat! We sat down with him over zoom last August and got to know him a little better- his growing up and discovering guitar, his early teeth cutting as a performer, fortune and curiosity taking him where it would, living under the radar and SHOP TALK! Gigs, first meetings, Jerry Garcia, the power of the Hammond organ- the longer we talked, the more colors emerged. He's a musician's musician living in his natural habitat, New York City, living and loving his life, one note at a time, sometimes (it seems) a hundred at a time.

Growing Up Naked theme composed, arranged and performed by Isaac Dell

Music:

Bemsha Swing from the album Thunk! by Stephen Gauci, featuring Stephen Gauci/tenor Sax, Kenny Wessel/guitar, Michael Bisio/bass, Jeremy Carlstedt/drums

In Due Course from the album Unstrung, composed and performed by Kenny Wessel/guitar with Lisa Parrott/alto, bari and soprano saxophones, Asam Kolker/tenor saxophone, Matt Pavolka/ acoustic bass, Russ Meissner/drums

And again, check out more Kenny at https://kenwessel.com

check us out on Instagram at growingupnaked.

For a full list of Ornette Coleman's recordings-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ornette_Coleman_discography

And check out Ornette playing with The Dead from a 1993 Oakland Coliseum show here- https://relisten.net/grateful-dead/1993/02/23/space?source=2798208

Who do you want to have your back? LARRY SCHAEFER!

Larry is one of our most beloved family members. He's kind, funny, generous, a mentor to many and one of the smartest people we know. And he's regular people. A champion of the bullied and a walking one and only. Where do you start with this guy??? Well, you sit him down in a chair and put a microphone in front of him and turn the heat up, how else? This episode has been years in the making and fortune finally smiled on us one cloudy day in February! Now, just "roll down your window and let the wind blow back your hair"...BOOM!

Growing Up Naked theme song composed, arranged and performed by Isaac Dell

Music:

Ethics Are Easy from Soulless Blood Sucking Lawyers, A Brief Musical, created by Toni Halleen

Thunder Road, written and performed by Bruce Springsteen (vocals, guitar harmonica), Garry Tallent (bass), Max Weinberg (drums), Roy Bittan (piano, glockenspiel, backing vocals), Mike Appel (backing vocals), Steve Van Zandt (backing vocals), Clarence Clemons (saxophone)

City of Immigrants written and performed by Steve Earle (bouzouki, vocals), Allison Moorer (background vocals and Forro in the Dark: Mauro Refosco (zabumba), Davi Viera (timba, triangle), Jorge Continentino (bamboo flute), Smokey Hormel (baritone guitar)

Check out pictures relating to this episode on our Instagram page-growingupnaked

Welcome back!

As we all know, the world is going to shit.

When we started to record this episode, we had no idea it would turn into this. What might have become a stark, raving commentary on our times instead turned into a movie/SAG acting award love fest.

I guess we'll be saving the doom for later...

ENJOY!

Growing Up Naked theme composed, arranged and performed by Isaac Dell.

RED runs till March 1st, 2026. More info at www.gremlintheatre.org

Check out pictures relating to this episode on our Instagram page-growingupnaked