Nick Morrison
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When Ritenour visited the KPLU/Jazz24 studios on an unseasonably cool August afternoon, he arrived with a rhythm section hot enough to raise Seattle's temperature a few degrees: drummer Will Kennedy and bassist Melvin Davis. Together, they laid down three delightful tracks.
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It's hard to overstate Rollins' contribution to jazz. As the groundbreaking saxophonist celebrates his 80th birthday, he can look back on a performing and recording career that spans more than 60 years and has influenced generations of jazz players.
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Summer is a time for family gatherings, and over the years, there have been some very notable families of jazz musicians. Hear five songs by some of those talented families — songs selected to accompany your own family's backyard cookout.
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Influencing everyone from The Rolling Stones to Cassandra Wilson, the blues recordings that came out of the Mississippi Delta from the late 1920s through the late '30s have had an enormous impact on American music. Hear songs from Charley Patton, Robert Johnson, Son House and more.
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Martin Luther King Jr. opened the 1964 Berlin Jazz Festival with these words: "Jazz speaks for life." The 1960s civil-rights movement inspired blues and jazz songs about the setbacks, hardships and hard-won victories that moved (and that continue to move) America closer to racial equality.
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The trumpeter's quintet is one of the finest hard-bop jazz bands on the road today. When the whole group came into the Jazz24 performance studio, it performed the hard-hitting Donald Byrd classic "Low Life," as well as a couple of originals.
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Born in the '60s, soul-jazz is a groove-oriented style built from the bottom up. You take a strong bass line, establish a steady groove between the bass and drums, and then embellish that groove with riffs and melody lines that draw heavily from gospel, blues and R&B.
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On the surface, there might seem to be a world of difference between jazz and bluegrass music. Jazz is predominantly urban and often deals with relatively complex structures, chords and key changes. Bluegrass is predominantly rural and, like blues, often works within fairly predictable structural boundaries. But jazz and bluegrass are more alike than they appear.
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On a wet, chilly October afternoon, the prodigiously talented young jazz pianist Eldar visited the KPLU performance studio in Seattle. He immediately warmed everyone up with his outgoing personality and stunning solo piano work.
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It's early November, and for many in America, that means that when we go outside, we're likely to get wet. Whether we're dodging sprinkles, showers or downpours, November is part of a rainy season. Hear five songs from vocalists inspired by rain, including Gene Kelly, Patricia Barber and Mahalia Jackson.