Sunday Jazz Brunch with Bob Perkins

During a recent interview, saxophone great Larry Mckenna was right on target when he shared that often in other cities, when people found out he was from Philadelphia, they’d ask him if he knew fellow Philadelphia  saxophone great Bootsie Barnes. 

When a dynamic figure in any walk of life departs, writers and just plain folks, usually try to recall certain events about the departed in which they may have been involved, or heard about.

February 24, 2020. Late in 2018, trumpeter Joe Magnarelli released his latest record, If You Could See Me Now. Curious title—might Magnarelli have been slyly foreshadowing his forthcoming appearance on WRTI’s NPR Live Sessions series? Anything’s possible. Though it’s much more plausible that the album takes its name from the iconic tune Tadd Dameron composed for Sarah Vaughan in 1946.

When I was a kid growing up in South Philly, there was an older fellow down the block who was trying to play an alto saxophone. He wasn't doing well at it.

If you're looking for BP with the GM, never fear, Bob Perkins is still here! He's back on the radio starting on January 2nd, 2020 at 6 PM.

September 23, 2019. Imagine Sting playing just one more sold-out gig with Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers as The Police. Or maybe Alexander Hamilton and George Washington getting together to teach the new country they built how to say goodbye, just "one last time."

April is Jazz Appreciation Month, and WRTI is celebrating throughout the month with music that showcases one of the most magical and innovative years of jazz—1959, which was 60 years ago.

Langston Hughes, an enduring icon of the Harlem Renaissance, is best-known for his written work, which wedded his fierce dedication to social justice with his belief in the transformative power of the word. But he was a music lover, too, and some of the works he was most proud of were collaborations with composers and musicians.