Saturday 23 May:
5.00 Jazz Record Requests
Sixty years ago, saxophonist Wardell Grey was found dead in the desert outside Las Vegas at the age of 34. In his selection of listeners' requests, Alyn Shipton remembers this giant of the saxophone, the riddle of whose disappearance has never been solved. There's also music by Argentinian pianist Lalo Shifrin and British cornettist and broadcaster Digby Fairweather.
Annie Ross devised a vocalisation based on a Wardell Gray solo for her tune "Twisted", thereby summing up about all I know about Mr Gray.
6.00 Jazz Line-up
First broadcast of concert music by New Focus featuring saxophonist Konrad Wiszniewski and pianist Euan Stevenson, recorded in March at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh. Phil Smith shines the spotlight on Finnish guitarist/composer Vatteri Poyhonen and his "surf-jazz" project Dalindeo.
The guy with the Polish-sounding surname is good, I tell you.
12.00 Geoffrey Smith's Jazz
Pianist William "Red" Garland (1923-84) was the linchpin of Miles Davis's great 1950s band. Geoffrey Smith picks up highlights from his work with Miles, John Coltrane and his own hard-driving combos.
Red always seemed to have a special approach for Miles, but sounded like too many other hard bop pianists in other contexts, to my way of thinking. Maybe I've got that wrong, and this programme can correct me.
Monday 25 May:
11.00 Jazz on 3
American saxophonist Joe Lovano explores the link between West African music and jazz with his Village Rhythms Band.
Joe Lovano - the friendly guy with the strongest handshake you'll ever encounter!
And people might like the following, next Tuesday (26 May) on Radio 2:
10.00 Fats Waller and Al Capone
US jazz vocalist Kurt Elling sets out to uncover the mystery surrounding an encounter between influential jazz pianist and songwriter Fats Waller (1904-43) and Chicago gangster Al Capone (1899-1947). Kidnapping, brothels and speakeasies all figure [was this written by an American? S_A] with musicians and jazz critics addressing conflicting versions of this story that had Fats Waller forced (at gunpoint) to agree to play a gig for America's most notorious criminal.
The Kray Brothers were known to be jazz fans of a sort; they ran a place in Walthamstow in the late '60s which helped keep the wolf from the door for some of our younger homegrown jazzers who stayed the course while others went Rock.
Same night, Jamie Cullum interviews Kamasi Washington in his hour-long programme at 7.00 on Radio 2.
5.00 Jazz Record Requests
Sixty years ago, saxophonist Wardell Grey was found dead in the desert outside Las Vegas at the age of 34. In his selection of listeners' requests, Alyn Shipton remembers this giant of the saxophone, the riddle of whose disappearance has never been solved. There's also music by Argentinian pianist Lalo Shifrin and British cornettist and broadcaster Digby Fairweather.
Annie Ross devised a vocalisation based on a Wardell Gray solo for her tune "Twisted", thereby summing up about all I know about Mr Gray.
6.00 Jazz Line-up
First broadcast of concert music by New Focus featuring saxophonist Konrad Wiszniewski and pianist Euan Stevenson, recorded in March at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh. Phil Smith shines the spotlight on Finnish guitarist/composer Vatteri Poyhonen and his "surf-jazz" project Dalindeo.
The guy with the Polish-sounding surname is good, I tell you.
12.00 Geoffrey Smith's Jazz
Pianist William "Red" Garland (1923-84) was the linchpin of Miles Davis's great 1950s band. Geoffrey Smith picks up highlights from his work with Miles, John Coltrane and his own hard-driving combos.
Red always seemed to have a special approach for Miles, but sounded like too many other hard bop pianists in other contexts, to my way of thinking. Maybe I've got that wrong, and this programme can correct me.
Monday 25 May:
11.00 Jazz on 3
American saxophonist Joe Lovano explores the link between West African music and jazz with his Village Rhythms Band.
Joe Lovano - the friendly guy with the strongest handshake you'll ever encounter!
And people might like the following, next Tuesday (26 May) on Radio 2:
10.00 Fats Waller and Al Capone
US jazz vocalist Kurt Elling sets out to uncover the mystery surrounding an encounter between influential jazz pianist and songwriter Fats Waller (1904-43) and Chicago gangster Al Capone (1899-1947). Kidnapping, brothels and speakeasies all figure [was this written by an American? S_A] with musicians and jazz critics addressing conflicting versions of this story that had Fats Waller forced (at gunpoint) to agree to play a gig for America's most notorious criminal.
The Kray Brothers were known to be jazz fans of a sort; they ran a place in Walthamstow in the late '60s which helped keep the wolf from the door for some of our younger homegrown jazzers who stayed the course while others went Rock.
Same night, Jamie Cullum interviews Kamasi Washington in his hour-long programme at 7.00 on Radio 2.
Comment