CiTR -- The Jazz Show

Alto saxophonist John Jenkins was a rather shadowy figure on the Jazz scene in New York in the 50's. John was born on Jan. 3,1931 in Chicago and today would be his 80th birthday...he died in 1993. Jenkins worked with Mingus for a very short time after arriving in New York in March 1957 then he freelanced. He recorded a number of dates in 1957 as a sideman and a couple as a leader...that's basicall...

This classic session had always been a Jazz Show tradition and once again this year, 2010, we present it. Little need be said about this date which took place on Christmas Eve in 1954 with Miles Davis in top form as the nominal leader. Milt Jackson is on vibes, Thelonious Monk in trenchant form on piano, Percy Heath on bass and Kenny Clarke on drums. The session is known as the "Bags' Groove Sessi...

This album was recorded by the great tenor saxophonist/arranger/composer Teddy Edwards (April 26,1924-April 23,2003) who was asked to put together a band of relative unknowns for a session for Lester Koenig's Contemporary Records. Koenig paid for the rehearsals and the band recorded over three dates in December of 1960 in L.A. Upon listening to the finished product, Edwards and Koenig shelved to d...

The album called "Jazz At Oberlin" was a turning point for Dave Brubeck who today (Dec. 6,2010) celebrates his 90th Birthday! When this record was issued by the small west coast independent,Fantasy and even Brubeck's most vituperative critics had to acknowledge the album's worth. It is just five tunes (all standards) from a concert that took place at the midwestern Oberlin College in Ohio on March...

Baritone saxophone master Leo Parker has been unfairly treated in the history books and left out as one of the pioneers of Modern Jazz and the first major baritone saxophonist of the modern era. Parker's life, like many musicians of his era was short and blighted by drug use and he experienced long periods of incarceration because of that. Tonight's Feature was to be his second album marking a "co...

Jimmy Knepper was born today in Los Angeles on Nov. 22,1927 and passed away in 2003. Knepper was one of the foremost Jazz trombonists and had an unmistakable style. He wrote and arranged as well and tonight's Feature has all of Jimmy's unique tunes. His most famous association was with Charles Mingus from 1957 to 1962 and he appeared on some of Mingus' most famous classic recordings. Their associa...

Legendary pianist Sonny Clark was a known entity on the Jazz scene for about 9 years. His life was snuffed out by drug addiction and he died in January 1963 at age 31. Originally from a small town near Pittsburg, Clark moved to Los Angeles for a few years and began recording in early 1953. In L.A. he joined clarinetist Buddy DeFranco and toured the US and Europe and became better known. Returning...

If there were two North American musicians who instinctively understood the subtle and lyrical rhythms of the Bossa Nova it was tenor saxophonist Stan Getz and arranger/composer Gary McFarland. The Bossa Nova (loosely translated "new beat") originated in Brazil and came to America through people like Dizzy Gillespie and guitarist Charlie Byrd who visited Brazil and brought back the concept of the...

Lou Donaldson on this day,November 1, 2010 is 84 years old and is one of the living masters of the alto saxophone and someone who has stylistic ties with Charlie Parker. Lou burst on to the New York scene in 1952 after a stint in the US Navy and was soon recording and working with Thelonious Monk, Milt Jackson, Art Blakey, Clifford Brown and others. From 1955 onward, he has led his own bands and e...

Today (October 25,2010), tenor saxophonist/composer/arranger turns 84. Tonight's Feature is an award winning album that has Jimmy playing his tenor saxophone and having his compositions played by a big band. "Little Man, Big Band" is the title and it's a great tribute to this living link to one of the most important periods in Jazz History. Jimmy Heath is the middle brother of the famous Philadelp...

Tonight is the birthday of one of the finest Jazz singers the world has ever seen except she doesn't get often mentioned when many people discuss Jazz singers. The names Ella, Billie, Sarah and sometimes Carmen are often mentioned but it seems that Anita O'Day is often omitted. Anita IS one of the greats and through her tempestuous life she managed to have many musical successes and was able throu...

An historic record date done for Atlantic Records on May 14 & 15, 1957 with the l957 edition of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers with Bill Hardman on trumpet, Johnny Griffin on tenor saxophone, James "Spanky" DeBrest on bass and Blakey on drums plus Thelonious Monk on piano. Blakey and Monk were good friends and frequent musical collaborators and Monk agreed to do the date on two conditions, one: that...

Pianist Walter Bishop Jr. was born in New York of West Indian parentage like many Jazz players (Sonny Rollins, Randy Weston,Arthur Taylor etc.) in 1927 and died in 1998. Bishop was the most swinging and hardest driving of the piano players who came out of the Bud Powell school of playing and there were many. Powell was to the piano what Charlie Parker was to the alto saxophone. Bishop was on the m...

The great trumpeter Freddie Hubbard died at age 70 in 2008 and he is sorely missed to this day. He is a musician who always gave his all every time he picked up his horn. Freddie could play with musicians who were stretching the Jazz language like Ornette Coleman, Eric Dolphy, John Coltrane, Andrew Hill and contribute to their concept and then turn around and play with Art Blakey, Cannonball Adder...

As part of The Jazz Show's tribute to Fall and the "back to work/school/grind" syndrome we present Part 2 of our educational and I hope, entertaining Jazz Feature explaining this unique American art form known as Jazz. Maestro Bernstein tells you with musical demonstrations by himself at the piano and guest artists like Duke Ellington, Coleman Hawkins, Buster Bailey, Louis Armstrong etc. what is a...

This is from a recording done in 1960 for Riverside Records and it is a capsule history of Jazz with recorded examples and snippets of recordings available to Riverside at the time. The narrator is one of the masters of the alto saxophone and great bandleader Julian "Cannnonball" Adderley. It is an enjoyable short history of this great American art form and is Part 1 of a two part Jazz Feature to...

Very little need be said about tonight's Jazz Feature except to say that is our way of celebrating Sonny Rollins 80th birthday. He was born in New York on September 7,1930 and is healthy and hale and still performing, recording and touring and of course, documenting his history in interviews and on the web. Mr. Rollins is a living history of Modern Jazz. Tonight's Feature was recorded and issued o...

The name Johnny Lytle may not be a household word but he was a very well respected player of the vibraphone. Like one of his mentors, Lionel Hampton, Lytle began his career as a drummer then switched to vibes. His two greatest influences were Lionel Hampton and Milt Jackson. Hampton called Johnny Lytle "the best vibist in the world today" and Milt Jackson said that Johnny had "the fastest hands in...

Tonight's Feature is very special as it is one of the few recordings that arranger/composer Gil Evans did under his own name. We all know that he became famous for his four recordings with Miles Davis: "Miles Ahead","Porgy and Bess","Sketches of Spain" and finally "Quiet Nights" but him recordings under his own name were few although he made that up during his later years. This was done in 1964 in...

This band of musicians are the cream of the crop of New York City's "straight-ahead" players. I hate to use that cliche phrase but to expand that a bit I would like to say that the musicians in this band reflect the deep and rich traditions of Jazz music while still remaining modern and relevant. The people involved in this great band called "One For All" have been playing together as a group for...

Tonight's feature is special in a way that any Miles Davis recording is special but it's special also because I was there in the audience as a young man on April 21, 1961 at The Blackhawk in San Francisco. Columbia recorded both Friday and Saturday nights (April 21 and 22) and did an exceptional job capturing the sound of this edition of Miles' quintet. Miles on trumpet and the great and usually (...

This major Jazz orchestra was the brainchild of one of the leading arrangers and trumpeters in Jazz music: Thad Jones and one of the finest big band drummers: Mel Lewis. It began as a rehearsal band but soon through the efforts of Thad and Mel scored a regular Monday might gig at New York's leading Jazz club, The Village Vanguard. The band soon became an institution and began a series of recording...

This wonderful recording is led by one of the most distinctive tenor saxophonists in Jazz, Clifford Jordan. Here he leads two quartets each playing original material composed by Jordan himself and the individual band members. The people involved in Quartet #1 are Jordan on tenor saxophone, Stanley Cowell on piano, Bill Lee (Spike Lee's dad) on bass and the great Billy Higgins on drums. One composi...

This is an important document in Jackie McLean's recorded legacy for Blue Note Records, a label he recorded for from 1959 to 1968. McLean, who was a member of the second generation Modern Jazz players who came after Charlie Parker/Dizzy Gillespie/Bud Powell etc., was rooted in the language of what was called "Bebop". McLean in the 60's was open to new influences and of course was listening to Colt...

Pianist/composer Bobby Timmons was responsible for a number of Jazz "hits" like "Moanin', "This Here" aka "Dish Hea", "Dat Dere" and of course he was a master of gospel/blues style piano. The other side of Timmons was his single note style which came from Bud Powell. Both these styles were woven into Timmons' concept. This album despite it's title: "The Soul Man" is more reflective of Timmons' Pow...