Discovering Jazz

This week I talk with amazing drummer, composer, and band leader, Kelby McNayr. Kelby has evolved into one of the most important ‘leaders’ in the Victoria jazz scene and is a first call drummer for virtually everybody! This episode features m

Investigating a ‘story’ about a song can take a lot of time and effort. I do that as I track the interconnection among three Duke Ellington compositions. And the jury is still out. You’ll also hear three great Cole Porter songs, interpr

Welcome to a series of “Discovering Jazz” episodes about compositions that jazz musicians play that seem to have an interesting story. So what’s an example of an ‘interesting story’?. How about this one? Today when a new jaz

February as Black History Month has its roots as early as 1915, thanks to being the birthdays of Frederick Douglass–an abolitionist, writer, and statesman who had escaped slavery, and president Abraham Lincoln. In Canada this year the theme is &#82

The last of this series of some of the best recordings of lesser known tunes found in the jazz student’s ‘bible’—The Real Book, 6th Edition. Here is what you’ll hear today: The Intrepid Fox by Freddie Hubbard Central Park We

The Real Book, 6th Edition, is commonly used by jazz musicians and students as a ‘guide’ for learning different well-known and not-so-well known jazz tunes. This current 4 part series focuses on the ‘not-so-well-known’. Another gr

One of the best ways to ‘discover’ jazz is to try playing it—on whatever instrument (including voice) that you feel most comfortable. I’ve been trying that with my keyboard and The Real Book, Sixth Edition. When I come up to the p

The “Real Book”, Sixth Edition, is sort of like a ‘bible’ for beginning jazz students.  It consists of 400 jazz tunes, ranging from compositions written by jazz musicians to some of the great Broadway tunes that have become jazz s

I’ve taken some time to explore the 75 best albums of 2019 according to the British publication, Uncut, as well as their top 30 reissues and some top rated albums from the January 2020 issue. The purpose?  To see how much jazz one can find in some

Today I’m playing a track from each of the seven albums that received a 5 star review in Downbeat Magazine in 2019.  As well, there is one album by a Canadian who The Ottawa Citizen jazz reviewer rated as not just the best Canadian jazz album of th

Today you will learn a lot about absolute or ‘perfect’ pitch, and hear selections by jazz musicians who possess this faculty.  Also a demonstration from a child who has it, and some descriptions by musicians as to how it has been helpful as w

This is the last of the five part series on Time Life’s Giants of Jazz—28 three record sets with huge booklets featuring swing era musicians who helped define jazz. This week you’ll hear and hear about James P. Johnson, Fats Waller, Joh

Something from the Archives.  One from my favourite series of the past year—The Jazz Solo, Part 3.  I give examples of solos that have been considered by ‘experts’ to be exceptionally amazing.  And one by a great jazz artist that is con

This is Part 4 of my five part series on Time Life’s Giants of Jazz.  Today you’ll hear Teddy Wilson, Earl Hines, Benny Carter, plus six tracks from one set called “The Guitarists”.   The latter includes six of the earliest jazz g

This is a program I put together two years ago…Episode 14—of holiday music.  Mostly Winter holidays: Christmas, Channukah, New Years, Chalica (you probably have no idea what that one is, eh?), one Spring holiday (Ramadan)—and quite a fe

I asked Victoria vocalist and studier of ‘swing’ style jazz, Angela Verbrugge,  to send me names of some great jazz vocalist that would likely be new to me.   She did.   Thank you! This program, as well as last week’s, has me playing mu

Special guest, singer and songwriter Angela Verbrugge, has sent me (upon my request) some recordings from jazz singers I probably never heard of.   These recordings are the subject of this week’s and next week’s podcast. I make it an exchange

Part 3 of Time-Life’s Giant’s of Jazz series, this time featuring Sidney Bechet, Coleman Hawkins, Jelly Roll Morton, Jack Teagarden, Ben Webster, plus Canadian born orchestrator Gil Evans. You’ll also hear Dizzy Gillespie’s first

More from that great Time-Life series, The Giants of Jazz, with such fascinating information about each of the 28 early jazz giants.   This episode features Bix Beiderbecke,  Art Tatum, Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday, Coleman Hawkins, and—surprising

This week I’m catching up on some cd’s that I recently acquired, many of which feature great piano playing.  One of them by Victoria pianist Tom Vickery includes a version of Manha de Carnaval (Black Orpheus), which inspired me to play a few

Time-Life surveyed a number of jazz scholars and as a result put together 28 three-record album sets  dedicated to one jazz ‘giant’.  Each one includes a 30 to 40 something page booklet.  I subscribed to this series and would get one set each

My 3-part series of programs on the jazz solo last year invoked a lot of positive response.   I already re-broadcast the first one on an earlier archives program, and now I’m going to present you with part 2.  This is for those of you who either mi

It seems to be increasingly hard to find good second hand vinyl jazz albums at low prices through thrift stores or used record stores.  But I found some, and I finished listening to them.   I play at least one track from each.   They include albums by Sh

Since we’re in the midst of a federal election here in Canada, I thought I could revisit part 1 of my four-part series from last year on the role of jazz in promoting social and political activism. I address topics of civil rights, diplomacy during

Today I’m playing and talking about some jazz tracks that I recently discovered—some are new recordings, some are older.  And I’m letting them inspire me to create ideas for future podcasts. There appears to be quite the Peterborough-Vi