Radio Craves

Chef Eric Greenspan Spins Sly, Mingus, and Manu Chao on KCRW

Greenspan
Greenspan Photo: The Foundry on Melrose

Another chef has turned selector for KCRW’s Guest DJ Project, which means we get another chance to scrutinize the musical tastes of our kitchen wizards. Now stepping up to the wax is The Foundry on Melrose chef-owner Eric Greenspan, who picked five songs to spin with no embarrassing forays into contemporary Top 40 pop.

Like a Harmony in my Head redux, Greenspan goes eclectic, bringing the punk and the funk through some mid-period Bad Religion and the soul classic Stand! by Sly and The Family Stone. Nodding to his native L.A. with The Changeling by The Doors, the toque who started a live jazz series at his Melrose joint finishes off with the scarily prescient Haitian Fight Song by Mingus. But it’s French-Spanish anarchist punk-turned South-Central American gitano Manu Chao who resonates most with Greenspan, who picks Merry Blues from the former Mano Negra singer’s body of work. Hearing Chao’s tunes “symbolized a big turning point in my career for learning how to be creative and how to think outside the box.” Greenspan’s Guest DJ Project can be found here online.

Earlier: Alice Waters Puts a Little Sugar in Your bowl

Chef Eric Greenspan Spins Sly, Mingus, and Manu Chao on KCRW