CiTR -- The Jazz Show

Tonight's Jazz Feature is an important album by pianist/composer Thelonious Monk called "Monk's Music". It is a series of older Monk compositions with one new piece played by a larger group than Monk usually recorded with at that time. It was done in one evening on June 26,1957. Monk selected the band and it included Ray Copeland on trumpet, Gigi Gryce on alto saxophone, John Coltrane and Coleman...

Tonight's Jazz Feature is pianist/composer Sharon Minemoto who has been a long standing star on the Vancouver Jazz scene. This is her latest album just released on the Cellar Live label. It's called "Dark Nights, Bright Stars" and it features her long standing group of her favorite musicians. Jon Bentley on tenor and soprano saxophones, Darren Radke on bass, and Bernie Arai on drums. These musicia...

Tonight's Jazz Feature is a very fine recording from the mid-fifties that typifies New York modern Jazz of the time. The people involved are the leader, legendary pianist/composer Elmo Hope who in many ways is as important to the development of piano as Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell although he didn't get the same notoriety. For the fist 3 tunes the group is a quintet with tenor saxophone great F...

Tonight's Jazz Feature celebrates the 97th Birthday Anniversary of John William Coltrane. Coltrane needless to say was one of the most iconic and influential saxophonists in contemporary Jazz and despite his short life which ended at age 40, he accomplished so much and left and enormous legacy. Tonight's Jazz Feature is the first official recording of Coltrane's "Classic Quartet" called "Coltrane"...

Tonight's Jazz Feature is Part 2 of a regular annual tradition on The Jazz Show and highlights September's "back to school, back to work tradition". Basically a little enjoyable and fun music education with Maestro Bernstein explaining "What is Jazz". This is an easy and sometimes humorous explanation of what Jazz is and what Jazz isn't in terms that one doesn't need a music education to understan...

Tonight's Jazz Feature has become an annual tradition on The Jazz Show celebrating September and "back to work" and most importantly "back to school". Tonight the venerable voice of the alto saxophone, a composer and bandleader, Julian "Cannonball" Adderley narrates a brief history of Jazz. It was recorded in 1960 and ends there however Cannonball traces Jazz history through recordings available t...

Our Jazz Feature takes you back to tan important center of Jazz action in New York in the mid-50`s. The Cafe Bohemia located in Greenwich Village. The band is the first group that master trumpeter Kenny Dorham put together. he called it ``The Jazz Prophets``. Kenny Dorham is one of the finest and original of the early Modern Jazz trumpeters. He came to maturity in the early 1950`s and was a charte...

The music of Thelonious Monk is tonight's Jazz Feature subject and a fine album from June of 1959 that spotlights the Monk working quartet with tenor saxophonist Charlie Rouse, bassist Sam Jones and the always swinging Arthur Taylor on drums. However there is a worthy addition to the Quartet which gives us the album title. That addition is cornetist Thad Jones who adds much musical spice to Monk's...

Tonight's Jazz Feature is one of those once in a while get-togethers by a group of musicians who don't normally play together gel into and iconic and wonderful recording date. Pianist John Lewis who was the musical director of the Modern Jazz Quartet was contracted to do a recording session and he chose some musicians who he had just heard and put them together in the studio and magically the cohe...

Tonight on the program`s Jazz Feature is the music of Charles Mingus. It`s an important album in the Mingus recorded legacy and it was his initial album for the Impulse label. It was called ``The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady`` Mingus considered this one of his finest documents. It is a suite of music played by an 11 piece ensemble with some incredible solos by all involved like alto saxophonist...

Tonight's Jazz Feature focuses on one of the pioneers of Modern Jazz: Earl Rudolph Powell: known as Bud Powell. Powell brought the modern style of Jazz piano to the fore and he is as much of a musical genius as Charlie Parker. Powell became the all pervasive influence on Jazz piano that continues to this day. Tonight's Jazz Feature is his final record for Blue Note Records a label that captured so...

Tonight`s Jazz Feature can be deemed a classic. It was the second album under Sonny Rollins` name since his return to the Jazz scene in late 1955 as a new member of the legendary band, the Max Roach/Clifford Brown Quintet. It was decided by Rollins and Prestige Records owner that Sonny could record with the Max Roach/Clifford Brown group with musical choices by Rollins and with Rollins` name on th...

Tonight is a concert presentation of the "Second Great Gerry Mulligan Quartet" before a rapt and enthusiastic French audience in Paris in June 1954. The first edition of the Mulligan pianoless Quartet had trumpeter Chet Baker on the front line with baritone saxophonist Mulligan and was one of the most popular and talked about combos of it's time. Due to a variety of circumstances the Baker & M...

Tonight`s Jazz Feature is a kind of meeting between east and west. The leader is the great tenor saxophonist Harold Land and he is paired with trumpeter Joe Gordon who had moved to Los Angeles from Boston and guitarist Wes Montgomery who was living for a time in San Francisco. Those three made up the western contingent. The eastern group consists of Barry Harris on piano, Sam Jones on bass and Lou...

Tonight an iconic recording and a classic. Tenor saxophone master John Coltrane and his seminal recording "Giant Steps". Coltrane performs here with a hand picked quartet with the magnificent Tommy Flanagan on piano who with his light touch and lyricism provides a perfect foil for Coltrane's intensity. Coltrane's favorite bassist is here...Mr. P.C. aka Paul Chambers and drum great Arthur Taylor wh...

Tonight's Jazz Feature is a tribute to our great nation by one of the greatest musicians that this country has produced. July 1 was Canada's 156th Birthday and as we celebrate that milestone on tThe Jazz Show as The Jazz Feature, the music and the compositions by Mr. Peterson will reflect his love and pride for the country of his birth which took place in Montreal on August 15, 1925 and died at hi...

Tonight's Jazz Feature is by a fine pianist/composer who literally played with everyone of importance from Charles Mingus, Max Roach, John Coltrane to Billie Holiday and many more. Mal was the "house pianist" for Prestige Records in the mid and late 50's and recorded prolifically as a sideman and leader. Tonight's album is arguably his finest as a leader up to the time yet it is unfairly overlooke...

Tonight's Jazz Feature honors one of the most productive and influential musicians in Canadian Jazz and that is Phillip Rista Nimmons, who was born in Kamloops B.C. June 3,1923 and he just celebrated his 100th Birthday. He is alive and well and healthy. Tonight's Jazz Feature spotlights Phil Nimmons' JUNO Award winning "Atlantic Suite". A suite in 5 movements featuring his great band "Nimmons 'n'...

Sonny Rollins needs no introduction here but this incredible album that is tonight's Jazz Feature is often overlooked in favor of some others yet it represents an early milestone in Sonny's life and career. He had recovered from his drug addiction and a healthy Sonny joined the famous Max Roach/Clifford Brown Quintet which was one of the finest Jazz groups at that time in the mid 50's. This was hi...

Tonight's Jazz Feature is an unearthed recording, one of the many by pianist composer Andrew Hill. In an interview with Mr. Hill with Blue Note Records archivist, Michael Cuscuna, Andrew mentioned the many unreleased sessions he recorded for Blue Note naming all the personnel. Hill said some were good and some were just okay. All were eventually released except for one which he said he was very ha...

The Jazz Episles were a very short lived Jazz group from South Africa. They were inspired by Art Blakey`s Jazz Messengers and like the early Messengers, they were a co-operative band. The band was the brainchild of pianist Dollar Brand, who after his conversion to Islam became Abdullah Ibrahim. The others in the band were Kippi Moeketsi on alto saxophone (sometimes called the Charlie Parker of Sou...

Tonight's Jazz Feature is one of the many that alto saxophonist Jackie McLean did for Blue Note Records during his early years with the label from 1959 to 1967. Jackie reached musical maturity during his Blue Note years and his playing progressed by leaps and bounds. This album seems unjustly neglected and deserves a hearing as the music is superb. It marks the recorded debut of trumpeter/composer...

Tonight's Jazz Feature is a unique one of a kind recording by the great tenor saxophonist Stan Getz. He said when interviewed near his passing that "Focus" was his favorite album. It it essentially Stan Getz improvising over 7 compositions that could stand on their own by Eddie Sauter. They tried many approaches at rehearsals and came up with this simple formula, Stan would use his skills as a mas...

Tonight's Jazz Feature is a fine album which harkens back to Don Cherry's early days leading a band called "The Jazz Messiahs" which existed in 1956/57 but sadly never recorded. This album done in August of 1988 is kind of a recreation of the Messiah's music and sound. It is much more traditional than many of Cherry's recordings. The band is Don Cherry on trumpet, James Clay on tenor saxophone, Ch...

Tonight`s Jazz Feature honors the Birthday Anniversary of John Arnold ``Johnny`` Griffin 111 who was born on April 24,1928 in Chicago and died from a heart attack at his home on Mauprevoir, France on July 28,2008. He played his last gig on July 21, 2008 at age 80, so he was playing right up to the end. This album was considered one of his finest under his name at the time and was recorded in New Y...