The big biggie this week is marked this Saturday (30 May) by two and a half hours' worth of non-schedule clashing jazz on BBC2 TV:
9.30pm Ella Fitzgerald: Just One of Those Things
Moving beyond the remit of a conventional biopic, this feature-length documentary follows the singer's rise to fame from an early appearance in a 1934 talent contest at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem to the heights of her popularity. Her distinctive jazz style, which led to such timeless classics as Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye and Night and Day, became a soundtrack to a tumultuous century. Images and music from the archives bring to life the context of Fitzgerald's unique career and contributors Smokey Robinson, Jamie Cullum, Tony Bennett, Norma Miller and Laura Mvula share their memories of the singer and their love of her artistry. See page 40 [of Radio Times].
Laura Mvula would have been nine the year Ella passed away.
11pm - Jazz Divas Gold
Archive performances by acclaimed female jazz artists, featuring Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Blossom Dearie, Nina Simone, Cleo Laine, Marion Montgomery, Betty Carter, Sarah Vaughan, Eartha Kitt and Amy Winehouse.
If they've included Messrs Kitt and Winehouse, whose jazz credentials call for some questioning, you'd have thought they would have found space for Norma Winstone, by far our greatest jazz singer, in my view. Hey-ho!
You presumably have to check after these programmes are broadcast for the iplayer.
Sat 30 May
5pm - J to Z
A showcase of the finest new jazz and classics of the genre, with guests and exclusive sessions and gigs.
Thassall it says, folks - but do check for details on the link below, 'cos this looks one looks to be promising.
12midnight - Freeness
Cutting edge jazz and improvised music, featuring a performance by French act Orchestre National de Jazz, recorded in June 2019 at Kesselhaus in Berlin as part of the Jazzdor Festival. Plus a Washington-based pair consisting of guitarist Gary Prince and saxophonist Kate Olsen, and guitarist Shane Parish with avant-garde percussionist Tatsuya Nakatani.
Question: when is a Jazzdor not a Jazzdor?
Answer: when it's a jam jar.
Sun 31 May
4pm - Jazz Record Requests
Alyn Shipton introduces recordings by Don Ellis, Keith Jarrett and Tony Kofi.
Also worthy of mention:
Tues 2 June (Radio 2)
11pm - The Jazz Show with Jamie Cullum
New and classic jazz recordings. Plus studio guests, tonight with soul-inspired Swedish singer/songwriter and Native Dancer frontwoman Frida Toura, who discusses her route into jazz and her current project.
He still looks just the same:
9.30pm Ella Fitzgerald: Just One of Those Things
Moving beyond the remit of a conventional biopic, this feature-length documentary follows the singer's rise to fame from an early appearance in a 1934 talent contest at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem to the heights of her popularity. Her distinctive jazz style, which led to such timeless classics as Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye and Night and Day, became a soundtrack to a tumultuous century. Images and music from the archives bring to life the context of Fitzgerald's unique career and contributors Smokey Robinson, Jamie Cullum, Tony Bennett, Norma Miller and Laura Mvula share their memories of the singer and their love of her artistry. See page 40 [of Radio Times].
Laura Mvula would have been nine the year Ella passed away.
11pm - Jazz Divas Gold
Archive performances by acclaimed female jazz artists, featuring Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Blossom Dearie, Nina Simone, Cleo Laine, Marion Montgomery, Betty Carter, Sarah Vaughan, Eartha Kitt and Amy Winehouse.
If they've included Messrs Kitt and Winehouse, whose jazz credentials call for some questioning, you'd have thought they would have found space for Norma Winstone, by far our greatest jazz singer, in my view. Hey-ho!
You presumably have to check after these programmes are broadcast for the iplayer.
Sat 30 May
5pm - J to Z
A showcase of the finest new jazz and classics of the genre, with guests and exclusive sessions and gigs.
Thassall it says, folks - but do check for details on the link below, 'cos this looks one looks to be promising.
12midnight - Freeness
Cutting edge jazz and improvised music, featuring a performance by French act Orchestre National de Jazz, recorded in June 2019 at Kesselhaus in Berlin as part of the Jazzdor Festival. Plus a Washington-based pair consisting of guitarist Gary Prince and saxophonist Kate Olsen, and guitarist Shane Parish with avant-garde percussionist Tatsuya Nakatani.
Question: when is a Jazzdor not a Jazzdor?
Answer: when it's a jam jar.
Sun 31 May
4pm - Jazz Record Requests
Alyn Shipton introduces recordings by Don Ellis, Keith Jarrett and Tony Kofi.
Also worthy of mention:
Tues 2 June (Radio 2)
11pm - The Jazz Show with Jamie Cullum
New and classic jazz recordings. Plus studio guests, tonight with soul-inspired Swedish singer/songwriter and Native Dancer frontwoman Frida Toura, who discusses her route into jazz and her current project.
He still looks just the same:
