CiTR -- The Jazz Show

Tonight's Jazz Feature is a pivotal album by Sonny Rollins called "Worktime". Sonny had just emerged from a year of renewal and rehab and was clean an healthy and just hired as the tenor saxophonist in the famous Max Roach/Clifford Brown Quintet replacing Harold Land, the original saxophonist who had left. This was Sonny's first recording under his own name since his rehab and he is at maximum str...

Tonight's Jazz Feature is an iconic album by master drummer Roy Haynes with a hand picked quartet of amazing musicians. The album was issued on Impulse Records and recorded in May of 1962 and usually always makes the list of 100 best Jazz albums. The group that Roy picked was unique beginning with Roland (aka Rahsaan) Kirk on all of his horns: tenor saxophone, manzello, stritch, and flutes, pianis...

This album called "The Griffith Park Collection" is an all-star date nominally led by drum master Lenny White. The others involved are Freddie Hubbard on trumpet and flugelhorn, Joe Henderson on tenor saxophone, Chick Corea on piano, Stanley Clarke on acoustic bass. They had completed an album in Los Angeles with the great singer Chaka Kahn and producer Bruce Lundvall got the bright idea to record...

Tonight"s Jazz Feature is a tribute to the great arranger/composer/producer and music icon Quincy Delight Jones or simply "Q". Quincy passed away peacefully at his home in Los Angeles at age 91 on November 3, 2024. He was born in Chicago on March 14,1933. Quincy's incredible history is easily accessed on the internet. So we turn to the Jazz feature album and it's a big band recording of Quincy's d...

Tonight's Jazz Feature is someone you might not have heard of but will be a more than pleasant surprise. Wilton "Bogey" Gaynair was born in Kingston, Jamaica on January 11,1927 and passed away in Cologne, Germany on February 13,1995 at age 68. He sadly made very few recordings under his own name but was really a major voice on the tenor saxophone with a big warm sound and solid inventiveness. Toni...

Tonight's Jazz Feature spotlights a great tenor saxophonist from Chicago: Eddie Harris. Harris celebrated on Oct 20, a Birthday Anniversary. Harris was born on Oct 20, 1934 and died of heart failure at 62 on Nov. 5, 1996. Harris was a pioneer of electronic attachments to his horn and was also a master of various styles of music: eg. funk, R & B, soul and of course Jazz. Harris was also a fine...

Tonight's Jazz feature pays tribute to the Birthday Anniversaries of both drum master Art Blakey, born on Oct.11,1919 and piano genius Thelonious Monk, born on Oct 10,1917. This recording was a one off done for Atlantic Records on May 14 &15, 1957. Blakey and Monk were close friends and it was decided to do this recording together. Monk had two demands: one was that the tunes be mainly his and...

Tonight's Jazz Feature is an atypical recording by multi-instrumentalist/composer Jimmy Giuffre. He had been mostly associated with "West Coast Jazz" or "Cool Jazz", a style prominent in the 1950's that combined tight arrangements with Jazz solos. Giuffre in 1958 had gigged with his "folk Jazz" trio in New York and while there he was impressed with the harder, more emotionally outgoing Jazz of The...

Tonight's Jazz Feature is a tribute to tenor saxophonist/composer/bandleader Benny Golson. Benny was one of the real shining lights on the Jazz of the 50's, 60's,70's and right up to the present. He passed away peacefully at age 95 at his home in New York. He was born in Philadelphia on January 25, 1929 and dies on September 21, 2024. Benny grew up in the Jazz rich atmosphere of Philadelphia and a...

Tonight's Jazz Feature is again a double header. First off is a regular feature for this time of year that is both educational and very entertaining and brings us into the "back to school" idea that is celebrated in the month of September. It is Maestro Leonard Bernstein's "What is Jazz". Bernstein through a whole variety of musical examples explains what Jazz is and what it isn't in a clear non t...

The First Jazz Feature tonight is "An Introduction to Jazz" narrated by Julian "Cannonball" Adderley. It is a tradition on The Jazz Show every year paying tribute to this time of year..."back to school, back to work" etc. with this educational and entertaining overview of the history of Jazz. Although it was recorded in 1960 it has significance and relevance to today's Jazz of 2024. The second Jaz...

Tonight's Jazz Feature celebrates one of the great still living masters of music and the tenor saxophone: Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins.. Harlem born and of West Indian heritage on September 7, 1930, Sonny celebrates his 94th Birthday.! Although he doesn't perform anymore, he still enjoys quality of life. Tonight's Jazz Feature album is a classic known as "Worktime and it was recorded for Presti...

Tonight's Jazz feature spotlights the perennially underrated trumpeter Kenny Dorham. His Birthday Anniversary was August 30, 1924 in Fairfield, Texas and he died of kidney disease in New York on December 5,1972 at age 48. Dorham now his the recognition and the honors that eluded him in his lifetime like many music and artistic masters. Tonight's Jazz Feature is by a short lived group that Kenny Do...

Tonight's Jazz Feature is an album done in early 1968 which demonstrates the Miles was about to make some changes in his music. It was basically his "Second Great Quintet" with some new twists. The band as most already know was Davis with Wayne Shorter on tenor saxophone, Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter on bass and the incredible Tony Williams on drums. The first tune called "Stuff" by Miles i...

Tonight's Jazz Feature details can be read on last weeks posting on August 12, 2024.

Tonight's Jazz Feature is one of Charles Mingus' masterpieces that was recorded , as were many other iconic Jazz recordings in 1959. It is overlooked sometimes as it was Mingus' second album from that year. He really scored with "Mingus Ah Um" his first for Columbia. Not only did it lift Mingus from the "underground" category but got massive critical acclaim and was Mingus' best selling record. Hi...

Tonight's Jazz Feature is an iconic album by pianist/composer Horace Silver entitled "The Tokyo Blues". It is a series of new compositions by Silver commemorating his first trip to Japan as a bandleader. His long standing quintet here has Richard "Blue" Mitchell on trumpet, Junior Cook on tenor saxophone, Gene Taylor on bass and a very worthy substitute for an ailing Roy Brooks (Horace's regular d...

Tonight's Jazz Feature is by one of the most well known musicians in the world: pianist/composer/leader: Herbie Hancock. This wonderful album was done in the mid-60's when Herbie was a member of Miles Davis' Quintet. Hancock had signed with Blue Note Records and made many appearances as a sideman and had already recorded 3 albums under his name. He is perhaps best known for his 5th album "Maiden V...

Tonight's Jazz Feature is by a fine pianist who always seemed to have a bit of an undeserved low profile. His name is Jack Wilson and he was born in Chicago on August 3, 1936 and passed away at age 71 on October 5, 2007. He was a favorite of some great singers like Nancy Wilson and Dinah Washington and was sought after for his musicality and fine touch. Wilson performed in Chicago with all the gre...

Tonight's Jazz Feature is a belated Birthday tribute to a sadly neglected Jazz giant and innovator. St. Elmo Sy;vester Hope was born in New York on June 27,1923 and died in that city at age 43 on May 19,1967 from a bout with pneumonia. Elmo grew up with his close friends Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell but somehow the honors that were given to Monk and Powell eluded Elmo Hope. His unique piano styl...

Tonight's Jazz Feature is a tribute through music to Canada Day, today July 1,2024. The great Canadian born pianist/composer and Jazz Master Oscar Emmanual Peterson was born in Montreal on August 15,1925 and passed away at his home in Mississauga, Ontario on December 23,2007 after a long career and receiving just about every honor Canada could bestow on this artist. The Jazz Show is proud to prese...

Tonight's Jazz Feature spotlights the late and deeply missed vibraphonist/marimbaist Bobby Hutcherson. This group was led by Hutcherson after the breakup of the ground breaking Bobby Hutcherson/ Harold Land Quintet. Bobby continued his innovative ways and formed this band of mainly San Francisco based players. Their sound was more airy and floating and lighter but no less compelling. Bobby brought...

Tonight's Jazz Feature is unique even in the varied discography of Charles Mingus. First of all Mingus plays only piano here and chants, sings and delivers verbal encouragement to the soloists. Also the band is built around the amazing talents of Roland Kirk (aka Rahsaan Roland Kirk) who plays his tenor saxophone, manzello (a type of soprano saxophone), his stritch (an elongated alto saxophone), f...

Tonight's Jazz Feature is an important album recorded in one of the golden years of Jazz: 1959 but rarely mentioned. This album marked the first issued album under a new Blue Note contract by alto saxophone giant, Jackie McLean. Jackie was starting a new phase in career and this album marks the first step and it's a big step. Jackie emerges here from his early influences namely Charlie Parker and...

Tonight's Jazz Feature is the recording debut of drummer Louis Hayes. It was recorded in April of 1960 for the Vee-Jay Records a short lived label owned by African-Americans that produced a number of essential albums. This date was Louis' first under his name and he was only 23. Hayes was born in Detroit on May 31,1937 and just celebrated his 87th Birthday. He is well and still plays engagements....