That Eric Alper! - November 29, 2011

Jazz will endure just as long people hear it through their feet instead of their brains. - John Philip Sousa

On this day in 1966, Trumpeter Lee Morgan records The Rajah, with Hank Mobley, Cedar Walton, Paul Chambers and Billy Higgins, but it wasn’t released until 1984.

Composer/pianist Billy Strayhorn was born on this day in 1915. Best known for his successful collaboration with bandleader and composer Duke Ellington lasting nearly three decades, his compositions include "Chelsea Bridge", "Take the "A" Train" and "Lush Life". As Ellington described him, "Billy Strayhorn was my right arm, my left arm, all the eyes in the back of my head, my brain waves in his head, and his in mine.”

Indie retail sales jumped 13% over Thanksgiving; that's according to preliminary stats shared by StreetPulse, which tracks US-based indie music retailers. A large part of that is due to Record Store Day, pumping physical stores with goodies like Nirvana 10-inch singles, a vinyl box set reissue of L.A. Woman, and Pink Floyd 7-inches.  These are the real, physical thing, and a great way to feed the surging appetite for vinyl while generating critical foot traffic.

It's everywhere in the air right now — at the supermarket, the pharmacy, in elevators, and in streets of cities across the country — not good cheer, but that endless loop of holiday music. Here’s a look at the Art and Business behind Holiday Songs: http://bit.ly/rQYcmX

The Kennedy Center in Washington has chosen 36-year-old pianist Jason Moran as its artistic adviser for jazz, a post long held by acclaimed musician Billy Taylor until he died last year at 89. http://bit.ly/stVwyH

The 10 most creative television show intros: http://bit.ly/tIttUK

Bad reviews for good movies . There's just no pleasing some, It's hard to make everyone happy. Even if you're a talented filmmaker and you've made a movie that everyone is pretty much in love with, you're still not guaranteed an easy ride. Here are 30 examples of critics who've hated movies that everyone else loved: http://bit.ly/soaDJP

10 skits that prove ‘The Muppet Show’ was for adults more than kids: http://bit.ly/s6lDOC

Young male news anchor asks Betty White out on a date during a live interview: http://bit.ly/ujvMw3