Short List with host Bob Naujoks Monday – Friday at 8:35 AM and Saturdays at 7 AM Cats on the Keys: Lovie Austin The Short List this week recalls Lovie Austin, a Chicago pianist and arranger of the 1920’s. She led her own band and played with some of the best of …
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify. The music of Joel Harrison stubbornly defies categorization. From haunting psychedelia to rollicking Afro-Appalachian grooves, from the complex poly-everything of Charles Ives to the deceptively simple re-imagining of American folk ballads, Harrison is perhaps the most imaginative, inventive and inclusive artist in contemporary jazz music. The …
Short List with host Bob Naujoks Monday – Friday at 8:35 AM and Saturday at 7 AM Cats on the Keys: Shelly Berg Pianist Shelly Berg’s greatest accomplishments lie in jazz education, not necessarily on stage. Berg was a top-ranked educator for over thirty years, teaching at the University of California’s Thornton School …
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify. Guitarist John Scofield has been on serious roll since 2015, when his release, “Past Present,” earned a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Jazz Album. He followed that release with the 2016 album, “Country for Old Men,” which earned him two more Grammys. Last year, he joined forces with …
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify. “I learned a lot about phrasing from Frank,” Willie Nelson said in a recent interview. “He didn’t worry about behind the beat or in front of the beat, or whatever—he could sing it either way, and that’s the feel you have to have.” That’s the …
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify. In 1994, Xavier Davis was playing with his college ensemble at the International Association of Jazz Educators in Boston when legendary vocalist Betty Carter spotted him. Carter was so impressed with the talented young artist that she hired him as the pianist for her working trio. …
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify. As the title of his second collaboration with the WDR Big Band implies, forward-thinking trombonist/composer/arranger Marshall Gilkes is committed to pushing ahead with his music. Following the success of his Grammy nominated 2015 recording with the band, Gilkes has come up with another adventurous bit of modernism …
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify. One of the most energetic and visceral voices in jazz, trombone master Steve Turre delivers a surprising set of lush ballads accompanied by a superb all-star band and inspiring strings on “The Very Thought of You.” Backed by pianist Kenny Barron, bassist Buster Williams and drummer Willie …
