A long way from the block

Anthony Thomas
  • 4.8 (39)
  • Education
  • Updated Weekly

Stories of how passion and craft take us to different corners of the world.@alongwayfromtheblock@dialoguesofjazz

  1. 2h ago

    Ep. 138-Leave it for the Children-my conversation with Samuel Lamontagne

    https://gofund.me/2f6042ff7  Leave It for the Children: A Visual History of the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra (with Darol Olu Kae, 2026) Leave it for the Children: A Visual History of the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra blends new and archival images and ephemera to highlight the ongoing legacy of the renowned community jazz organization. Dr. Samuel Lamontagne is a writer, scholar, and professor at the University of California, Riverside. His work explores Black music as a form of knowledge production and a central site of Black intellectual, cultural, and political life. Grounded in sustained engagement with musicians, archives, and community-based cultural institutions, his research and collaborative projects center histories of freedom, resistance, and imagination in the African diaspora. His recent projects include Leave It for the Children (Angel City Press, 2026), co-edited with Darol Olu Kae, which explores the sixty-five years of the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra, the community-based ensemble founded in Los Angeles by Horace Tapscott. He is also co-director, with H. Samy Alim and Tabia Shawel, of In the Hour of Chaos, a documentary covering Chuck D’s teaching at UCLA, developed alongside a companion volume published by the University of California Press (2026). Together, they co-established the UCLA Hip Hop Initiative, a platform for research, pedagogy, and public programming. Beyond the university, his work extends into radio, archival production, and music communities. He is a radio producer and DJ with DUBLAB and has been involved in independent music networks in Los Angeles and beyond through collaborations with Preferences Records and The Village Records. His projects include co-producing the reissue of Wala Wala Bok? (1996), the debut album of the pioneering Senegalese hip hop group Pee Froiss, and the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra’s 60-Years compilation. His work has been featured in outlets including the Los Angeles Times and NPR’s The World, as well as international media such as RFI and EFE. His research and projects have been presented at institutions including the Hammer Museum, the California African American Museum, the Grammy Museum, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (LACE), and the Musée national des arts asiatiques – Guimet in Paris.

  2. Oct 10

    Ep. 137-I knocked on the door of the Orishas-my conversation with Ade Egun Crispin Robinson

    https://gofund.me/6d4221cea Ade Egun Crispin Robinson, known as Spry, is a musician and a babalawo from London. Of mixed Jamaican and English heritage, he has a lifetime’s immersion in the music, culture and history of the Black Atlantic. His musical journey has moved through Jah Shaka sound system, the UK acid-jazz scene, contemporary London jazz, West African Mande music and the Afro-Cuban Orisha tradition. He was an original member of the band Galliano in the 1990s, and currently plays with the Mande jazz collective Balimaya Project. His first professional recordings were with Soul II Soul in the late 80s and over the years he has played and recorded with Roni Size, Omar, Brian Eno, Mulatu Astatke, Slum Village, Dwele, Roy Ayers, Jerry Dammers Spatial AKA Sun Ra Orchestra, Steam Down, Dave Okumu, Shabaka, Anthony Joseph, Moses Boyd, Nao and many others. A major part of Spry’s life has been his relationship with Orisha and Ifa. He is an omo Aña, omo Obatala, and babalawo, with initiations in Cuba in 2004, 2010, and 2012, and has spent many years playing sacred batá in ceremonies across the Orisha Atlantic, from Havana and New York to Lagos, Paris and London.

  3. Sep 27

    Ep. 136-A Carnival of Resistance-my conversation with Wayne Campbell and Wayne Crichlow

    https://gofund.me/6d4221cea Wayne Crichlow (aka chasingthelight_67) is a London-based documentary and street photographer, and the Founder of Chasing The Light Media Ltd, a creative media platform encompassing photography, film, podcasting and long-form visual storytelling. Born in East London, his work examines social justice, protest movements, storytelling, and everyday life within Black British and urban communities. He is the son of Caribbean migrants who arrived in the United Kingdom during the post-war period, part of a generation whose movement reshaped British society and forms part of the wider African and Caribbean diaspora.  Wayne Campbell is a London based photographer, my work has allowed me to capture many emotional and spectacular moments, often in amazing locations whilst meeting some incredible people. In 2020 my view of photography went on an explosive journey, I discovered Visual Activism and gave birth to 'A Celebration of Demonstration' This idea came from the understanding that art can be used to express our emotions and our empathy. This journey began with a collection of images I captured in London, after the televised, brutal murder of George Floyd. At this time, we were also being told to stay indoors, to protect the NHS and to help stop the spread of the Coronavirus. I felt that I was living in the middle of two pandemics, coronavirus and racism. Fast forward to 2022, and my first photography book 'A Celebration of Demonstration' is in production, this work feeds my soul and burns bright my creativity. By 2024 my second self-published photography books '0710 Year One' is released. Visual Activism is a language, which I will continue to use to tell stories and to share voices. ​ A Celebration of Demonstration is located at: Unit 22a Market Row, Brixton Village SW9 8LF

  4. Sep 23

    Coltrane 100 re-release - Ep. 66-John Coltrane—a tribute to the man and the music

    In this episode, I discuss legendary saxophonist John Coltrane with talented historians, writers, and, of course, musicians. One of those musicians, Charles McPherson, knew Coltrane personally. Coltrane's signature album A Love Supreme and his groundbreaking song "Giant Steps" are singled out for attention, and we talk about his classic quartet with Elvin Jones, McCoy Tyner, and Jimmy Garrison, as well as some of his other great bandmates, including Eric Dolphy, Pharoah Sanders, Rashied Ali, and Alice Coltrane. Coltrane's spirituality, its influence on his sound, and his passion and dedication to the horn permeate the interviews.  Recommended listening: A Love Supreme                                              Blue Train Africa Brass                                                       Impressions Giant Steps                                                        Meditations Kulu Se Mama                                                  Black Pearls Transition                                                            Live at Birdland Duke Ellington and John Coltrane     Interstellar Space Ballads                                                                  Coltrane's Sound Out of This World                                          My Favorite Things

  5. Sep 7

    Ep. 135-TEAR THE CITY DOWN-my conversation with Andre Hardy

    https://www.gofundme.com/u/d5009c4a-fdcd-4494-bc4b-b19377260e17 TEAR THE CITY DOWN is a classic noir—a find-the-girl mystery, a father-daughter story, a buddy story—but Hardy subverts the genre with a front-face Black world that has jazz running through its bones. Exploring race, identity, power and agency, this is a series launch not to be missed. The odds of being drafted into the NFL are roughly 1.6%. The odds of landing a debut novel with a Big Five publisher aren't much better. Andre Hardy has done both—and he's applied for a Guinness World Record to prove it. A former running back for the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks, Hardy went on to earn an MFA from Antioch University and secure a two-book deal with Grand Central Publishing. His debut novel, TEAR THE CITY DOWN, publishes September 1, 2026. Andre Hardy has written across multiple genres, including creative nonfiction, essays and short stories, screenwriting, and long-form narrative. Andre’s essays, interviews, and critical analysis have been published in L.A. Tribe Magazine, Lunch Ticket, Antioch University’s cutting-edge literary and visual arts journal, and The Los Angeles Review of Books. His short story, “Negro in a Hot Tub,” is featured in Made in L.A.: An Anthology of Stories Rooted in the City of Angels, written by Los Angeles-based writers. Andre was the fourth pick of the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1984 National Football League draft. He is a member of the NFL Retired Players Association and the NFL Legends Community, and he earned his MFA through the NFL Players Trust tuition reimbursement program. Andre was born and raised in San Diego and recently moved to Charlotte, NC with his beautiful wife, renowned Buddhist meditation teacher JoAnna Hardy.

  6. Sep 1

    Ep. 134-Keeper of the Rhythm-my conversation with Corcoran Holt

    https://gofund.me/9ee7bcb33 Son of D.C. Voice of the Bass Corcoran Holt—bassist, composer, arranger, and educator—is a son of Washington, D.C. who began playing djembe and West African percussion at the age of four with the Wose Dance Company under Baba Aidoo Holmes and Mahiri Fadjimba Keita. At ten, he took up the upright bass with the D.C. Youth Orchestra Program, discovering a family connection to the instrument through his great-grandfather, a bassist who reportedly gave lessons to a young John Coltrane. While studying classical bass at DCYOP, Holt attended the Duke Ellington School of the Arts (1996–2000), working under Carolyn Kellock, Davey Yarborough, the late Keter Betts, and Steve Novasel, and soon began performing widely on the D.C. jazz scene. In this episode we discuss his 2026 sophomore album, Freedom of Art, a deeply personal and expansive statement that explores themes of lineage, fatherhood, identity, community, and spiritual growth. Featuring an all-star ensemble, the project blends original compositions with intimate interludes that incorporate the voices of family, mentors, and lived experience. The album has received critical acclaim, including a 4-star review in DownBeat, and continues to resonate with audiences for its honesty, depth, and musical integrity. https://corcoranholt.com

  7. Aug 8

    Ep. 133-Views from the Real World-my conversation with Sean Jones

    Jones is an internationally recognised educator, currently holding the Richard and Elizabeth Case Chair of Jazz at John Hopkins University's Peabody Conservatory and is Artistic Director of Carnegie Hall's NYO Jazz ensemble. Previously, Jones was Chair of the Brass Department at Berkeley College of Music and served as President of the Jazz Educators Network.  Jones was lead trumpet for Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and the SF JAZZ Collective, and is now with the Baltimore Jazz Collective. He is featured on three GRAMMY Award-nominated albums by Dianne Reeves, Nancy Wilson, and Gerald Wilson. In this episode we discussed his journey as an artist, his church upbringing and how spiritually and eastern philosophy has shaped his life.

  8. Jul 11

    Ep. 132-Journalism to action-my conversation with Chenjerai Kumanyika

    Chenjerai Kumanyika is an assistant professor of journalism at NYU’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute and an award-winning narrative audio creator whose work sits at the intersection of journalism, public history, and organizing. Kumanyika is the creator, executive producer, and host of Empire City: The Untold Origin Story of the NYPD, a chart-topping series featured in The New York Times. He co-created and co-hosted the Peabody Award–winning podcast Uncivil and collaborated on Scene on Radio’s landmark series Seeing White. Across these projects, he blends archival research, field reporting, and character-driven storytelling to examine race and power, the political economy of media, and the histories shaping public safety today. Beyond the studio, he builds impact campaigns that connect journalism to action — partnering with community organizations, labor groups, and educators to develop live events, teach-ins, and curriculum that move audiences from listening to engagement. He serves on the National Council of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), organizing around academic freedom and the future of higher education, and sits on the boards of Street Poets, Resolve, Hammer & Hope, and The Moth. In the classroom, he teaches interdisciplinary critical thinking about power and mentors emerging journalists through rigorous, ethics-forward training in reporting, interviewing, and sound design. His current work expands this model through Unruly Subjects, a new project that pairs timely conversations with crafted documentary segments, music, and scene-based reporting. Across mediums, Kumanyika’s goal is consistent: tell unforgettable stories that clarify how power works and help listeners imagine, and organize for, something better.

See All (140)

Trailer

4.8
out of 5
39 Ratings

About

Stories of how passion and craft take us to different corners of the world.@alongwayfromtheblock@dialoguesofjazz

Information

  • Creator
    Anthony Thomas
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    140
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 A long way from the block
  • Show Website
    A long way from the block

You Might Also Like