CiTR -- The Jazz Show

This album recorded in August of 1959 marked a turning point in the recording career of one of the greatest Modern Jazz tenor saxophonists: Johnny Griffin. Up to this time Griffin's recordings had been casual quartet or "blowing dates" with loosely put together arrangements. This date is different and was also greeted warmly by the critics. What makes this date special is the arrangements and the...

One of Jazz music's greatest drummers was Joseph Rudolph Jones who was better known as "Philly Joe" Jones to distinguish him from the older drummer who was associated with Count Basie: Jo (Jonathan) Jones. One of Philly Joe's last major projects was organizing a 10 piece band to play and revive the music of one of the most important composers in Jazz: Tadd Dameron. The band was called "Dameronia"...

Trumpeter Joe Gordon was a great player who like many others didn't get the recognition that he deserved. His recorded documentation is short with a number of important sideman performances with Dizzy Gillespie, Wes Montgomery, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker et al. He only made two albums under his name: one in 1954 and tonight's Feature in 1961. This album is special as it was to be the last und...

Guitar master Grant Green and Wes Montgomery were two of the most influential voices of their instrument in the 1960's. They seemed to come out of nowhere to Jazz fame and in a way they did. Both honed their skills in their respective home towns...Montgomery in Indianapolis and Green in St. Louis. Cannonball Adderley discovered Wes and brought him to the attention of Riverside Records honcho Orrin...

This is arguably Charles Mingus' last great recording. It was done at two separate sessions. One composition was done in 1976 with his working band of the time with Jack Walrath (trumpet), George Adams (tenor saxophone), Danny Mixon (piano) and of course Dannie Richmond on drums and Mingus on bass. The band was augmented by some fine Italian musicans as well. The piece was to be used in a film cal...

January 24 is the birthday of one of the great unsung drummers....his name....Leonard Louis McBrowne. He was born in New York on Jan. 24,1933 and passed away after a short illness in San Francisco in the mid-90's. Lenny had played with many people of note: Billie Holiday, Sonny Rollins, Randy Weston, Thelonious Monk,Paul Bley, just to name a few. Lenny studied with Max Roach and reflected Roach's...

A significant recording in the long distinguished history of Modern Jazz pioneer, drummer extraordinaire Max Roach. Today, January 10 is Mr. Roach's Birthday and The Jazz Show celebrates this event by presenting the album "Max Roach Plus Four" recorded in September 1956.. This was Max's fist recording after the tragic end to the Clifford Brown-Max Roach Quintet. Brown and the band's pianist, Richa...

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...