A Mighty Oak Has Fallen: Remembering Al Hamme

Today we remember Al Hamme, celebrate his life, and lament his passing. A mentor to co-host Bill Carter, he was a co-founder of Bill’s Presbybop Quartet. Co-host Jeff Kellam also enjoyed a great friendship with Al, stretching back almost sixty years. For over thirty years, he has been a strong advocate of jazz as an expression of the spiritual life.

A virtuoso woodwind artist, Al was an extraordinary teacher. His performing resume reads like a Who’s Who in the jazz world. So does the listing of the musicians that he taught and influenced. We celebrate his good life and we draw on the resources of jazz as a way of saying goodbye – and thank you. 

 Music: "Rosie’s Stomp” from Stand On Your Head, “Ebo’s Waltz” from Interior Window, and “Heartsick” from Psalms Without Words, all composed by Bill Carter and recorded by Bill Carter and the Presbybop Quartet. Music © Presbybop Music (BMI) and used by permission.

Theme music: "All Thumbs" from Faith in a New Key, Bill Carter and the Presbybop Quartet
Music used by permission from Presbybop Music (BMI)
Announcer: Chris Norton
(c) Presbybop Music