Jazz Legends

Tom Harrell (Round 3)

Trumpeter/composer Tom Harrell (born June 16, 1946) has overcome daunting physical and mental obstacles to become one of the most important musicians of his generation. H

The Incomparable Sonny Rollins

Saxophonist Sonny Rollins (born Sept 7, 1930) is universally considered one of the most creative musicians the music has produced. Throughout his long recording career he

Rube Bloom & Isham Jones

Neither Rube Bloom (born April 24, 1902) or Isham Jones (born January 31, 1894) are what we would today consider well-known songwriters, but their contributions to the gr

Lee Konitz

Saxophonist Lee Konitz (born Oct 13, 1927) is perhaps the best known of the Lennie Tristano disciples. He and Warne Marsh continued to follow Tristano’s musical path, ess

John Coltrane's Phrasing & Emotional Weight

John Coltrane (born Sept 23, 1926) is easily one of a handful of the most important and influential musicians that jazz has produced. His harmonic and rhythmic innovation

Eric Dolphy & Booker Little

Saxophonist / multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy (born June 20, 1928) and trumpeter Booker Little (born April 2, 1938) were frequent collaborators near the end of their al

Bird & Diz

Saxophonist Charlie Parker (nicknamed Yardbird or Bird) (born Aug 29, 1920) and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie (nicknamed Diz) (born Oct 21, 1917) are two of the most innovati

Wayne Shorter (Round 3)

Saxophonist/composer Wayne Shorter (born Aug 25, 1933) is one of the most influential and prolific performers and composer in jazz. His time with the bands of Art Blakey

Kenny Werner

Pianist/composer Kenny Werner (born Nov 19, 1951) has been leading his own trios since 1981. He played with the Mel Lewis Orchestra in the early 1980s and was encouraged

Oregon

Oregon was a jazz and world music group started in 1970, featuring multiple woodwind artist Paul McCandless, guitarist/pianist Ralph Towner, bassist Glenn Moore, and perc

Writing Original Tunes

Everyone in the group writes original music, some of which has been played publicly in the past and some which will be premiered this week. In this episode, the guys disc

Michael Brecker

Saxophonist/composer Michael Brecker (born March 29, 1949) was one of the most recorded saxophonists of all time. Over his four-decade career he appeared on over 900 reco

Carla Bley

Pianist, organist, composer, and bandleader Carla Bley (born May 11, 1936) considered herself primarily a composer, saying she was 99% composer and 1% pianist. She associ

Burton Lane

Composer and lyricist Burton Lane (born Feb 2, 1912) is perhaps best remembered as the composer of the hit Broadway shows "Finian’s Rainbow" and "On a Clear Day You Can S

Richie Bierach

Pianist and composer Richie Beirach (born May 23, 1947) made hundreds of recordings, both as a leader of his own groups, and as part of a long-standing duo with saxophoni

Keith Jarrett

Pianist /composer Keith Jarrett (born May 8, 1945) has had a long and distinguished career performing with his own groups, making a succession of solo piano recordings, a

Matt Dennis

Singer/songwriter/pianist Matt Dennis (born Feb 11, 1914), while not exactly a household name,  wrote some of the most enduring gems of the Great American Songbook. "Ange

Vincent Youmans

Songwriter Vincent Youmans (born Sept 7, 1898) was one of the leading Broadway composers of his day, and collaborated with most of the top lyricists of his generation. Wh

Ivan Lins

Brazilian singer/songwriter Ivan Lins (born June 16, 1945), has been active for over fifty years. His composition 'Love Dance', a hit in 1989, is one of the most recorded

Bobby Hutcherson

Vibraphonist / composer Bobby Hutcherson (born  January 27, 1941), was inspired to take up the vibraphone at the age of twelve after hearing Milt Jackson, and became the