The Hot Box

(Note HB 129 is in production but has not been posted yet so will follow 130) In this special episode of The Hot Box, we pay tribute to the remarkable Russell Malone, a virtuoso guitarist known for his versatility, impeccable swing, and soulful sound. Throughout his distinguished career, Malone collaborated with legends like Diana Krall and Ron Carter, while also shining as a solo artist. Join us...

Welcome to the 127th edition of The Hot Box ! In the last two episodes, we celebrated Irish albums from start to finish. If you missed them, I highly recommend catching up—those shows were packed with fantastic music. This time, we’re diving into longer, more immersive tracks designed to help you unwind and savor the beauty of the music. Expect to hear works from the likes of Andy Sheppard,...

Firstly, we would like to welcome back Jazz Ireland to the jazz scene and without further ado here’s #126! www.jazzireland.ie

The all Irish edition of the Hot Box!

A long jump in just one hour, from a live concert by Duke Ellington’s Orchestra in Paris to settings of the poetry of Emily Dickinson by the Italian guitarist Daniele Cervigni, with a few new releases in between!

Another root in the big band files yields some great performances from bands you may never had heard before….

It happens to be Ella’s anniversary of her first concert in Ireland and also her birthday. Join Donald for 100% Ella!

As the title suggests, here are some big bands you’ve never heard of! The Lloyd Ryan Big Band? The Jazz Pacific Orchestra? Ring a bell? All on the 119th Hot Box!

Your latest edition of The Hot Box with Donald Helme. Put the kettle on, sit back and relax with #117!

Keeping you all in suspense as to what happened Hot Box #115, heres episode #116!

John Pizzarelli, Bobby Short and Mose Allison. All will be revealed on The Hot Box #114!

Our delve into new releases for our first edition of 2024. Happy New Year!

Donald Helme brings you a festive Hot Box. Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year.

The latest edition of the ever popular “Hot Box”.

The clarinet has been an endangered species for most of the last 50 years, and despite much admiration for modern-day exponents such as Anat Cohen, it remains on the outer fringes of jazz. Hot Box takes a look at clarinet from the heyday of Benny Goodman, Sidney Bechet and Jimmie Noone through to today’s most admired exponent, Anat Cohen. Some critics have suggested its decline is due to the diffi...

After the great reaction to Hot Box 108’s focus on big bands, we felt that a second dip into this big reservoir of music was advisable, if not inevitable. Some of the best ever herein!

Big Bands! A selection of recordings of big bands modern and not-so modern.

Stimulated by the upcoming release of John Donegan’s album Light Streams featuring his Irish Sextet, Hot Box 107 checks out some new releases, and a couple of returns to recent albums for a second look.

Hot on the heels of a little exploration of the role of the Hammond organ in jazz (HB104) a listener suggested we take a look at the role of another “minority” instrument in jazz music – the vibraphone. So we have. Starting at the beginning we hear from Lionel Hampton through to some modern-day masters like Warren Wolf and Stefan Harris. And we find Roger Beaujolais along the way. Who?

This edition of the Hot Box is comprised 9 pieces of new material, with all of it coming from USA and Canada.

In which we devote over an hour to the Hammond organ! In vogue during the 1960s and having star exponents like Jimmy Smith, and latterly Joey DeFrancesco, the Hammond B3 occupied a secure slot in instrumental jazz. Has it lost that? Hot Box this time is Organic!

Tony Bennett died on July 21st, aged 96, representing in a very real sense “the end of an era”. Across much of the history of crooning and singing jazz, Bennett succeeded in transferring a reputation amongst older fans of the Great American Songbook to an entirely new generation. He never lost his conviction that good music, good songs would eventually triumph. Hot Box 103 peeks into his enormous...