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Renee Klahr/Think of the best songs of 2021 as a playlist catering to the most basic human urges. Within it, booties were called, muffins were buttered and bloody revenge was contemplated. It was quite a year. -
Renee Klahr/Think of the best songs of 2021 as a playlist catering to the most basic human urges. Within it, booties were called, muffins were buttered and bloody revenge was contemplated. It was quite a year.
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Music reviewer Reuben Jackson talks about pianist, composer, and band leader Myra Melford's latest CD Dance Beyond the Color. Jackson says Melford has infused the jazz landscape with originality and vision since her emergence in 1991 — and this CD continues in that tradition. (4:00) Please note: The CD is produced by Arabesque recordings.
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Leonard and Phil Chess were two Polish immigrants who started a record company and gave us the sounds of post war urban America - from Muddy Waters' blues, to Chuck Berry's rock & roll, to the jazz sounds of Gene Ammons and Ramsey Lewis. Biographer Nadine Cohodas tells Liane the story of Chess Records. Her book is called Spinning Blues into Gold (St. Martins Press) (17:00).
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Louis Armstrong's version of Joe "King" Oliver's tune "West End Blues" was a hit in the late '20s. -
When Louis Armstrong recorded Hello, Dolly in 1963, he gave it his unique vocal and instrumental treatment. But he had no idea the song would become a success.
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The 1939 recording by Glenn Miller and his orchestra remains a classic, and one of the most influential songs of the 20th century.
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Host David Wright talks with blues singer Koko Taylor. Her first recording in seven years is titled, Royal Blue (Alligator Records, ALCD 4873). It features B.B.King (guitar and vocals) and Keb Mo' (on National Steel Guitar, harmonica, and vocals). Taylor sings both the Chicago and Delta Blues.
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GUESTS: CLARK TERRY * Jazz musician and bandleader, plays trumpet and flugelhorn DAN MORGENSTERN *Director of the Institute for Jazz Studies, Rutgers University LAURENCE BERGREEN *Author,Louis Armstrong: An Extravagant Life (Broadway Books, 1997) Louis Armstrong has been called the greatest musician of the century. While some may disagree, one thing is certain: after Louis, no one played or sang popular music the same way. Miles Davis once said that you can't play anything on the trumpet that Louis hadn't played-- even modern music. And while Armstrong may not have been gifted with a classically beautiful singing voice, the way he made a melody his own has inspired popular singers ever since; Frank Sinatra said that Louis Armstrong turned popular song into art. July 4th is the day when Armstrong's birthday is traditionally celebrated, so across the country this Independence Day, Americans will also be celebrating a hundred years of Pops. Join Juan Williams and guests for a look at the life and influence of Louis Armstrong, on the next Talk of the Nation, from NPR News.
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Jazz bassist Milt Hinton. He turned 90 years old a week ago today. Hinton is one of the great jazz bassists, having played with musicians like Cab Calloway, Dizzy Gillespie, Coleman Hawkins, Duke Ellington and Billie Holiday. Throughout his career, Hinton photographed the musicians he worked with, and the surroundings he moved through.
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"Take the 'A' Train" started the lasting collaboration between Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington.
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Robert Johnson's famous blues tune inspired musicians like John Lennon and Jim Morrison.
