This July 4th weekend, for our Sounds of America programming, WRTI’s jazz team will present three-song sets of some of the music’s greatest artists. From Friday Mixtape to Sunday Rotation, classic artists like Miles Davis and John Coltrane will sit side-by-side with genre-blurring artist Georgia Anne Muldrow, New York salsa legends Eddie Palmieri and Ray Barretto, the "Father of Soul" Ray Charles, and many more.
Here are five artists to look out for throughout the weekend — happy listening and happy 4th of July! And be sure to check out our Sounds of America: Classical as well.
Chaka Khan
The Queen of Funk makes an appearance on this weekend’s edition of First Fridays with Nicole Sweeney. Chaka Khan, a native of Chicago, rose to prominence first with the hard-hitting band Rufus and later as a solo artist. Hits like “Tell Me Something Good,” “Ain’t Nobody” and “I Feel for You” have an immortal place on dancefloors that span generations. And Khan’s love of jazz runs deep, not only as an early influence on her style, but evident in albums like 2004’s ClassicKhan, where she takes on staples like “Stormy Weather” and “‘Round Midnight”
James Blood Ulmer
Last month we lost the one-of-a-kind guitarist James Blood Ulmer. The son of a South Carolina preacher, Ulmer’s sound incorporated free jazz, blues and psychedelia into a style that was entirely his own. Throughout a career that spanned five decades, he collaborated with Ornette Coleman, David Murray and Arthur Blythe, among others. Read our editorial director Nate Chinen’s remembrance and tune-in during The Bridge with J. Michael Harrison on Friday night to hear Blood’s idiosyncratic genius.
Esther Phillips
Born in Galveston, TX in 1935, Esther Phillips grew up singing in churches and developed a style that lended itself to R&B, soul and even country music. She managed to score hits in the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s, and it’s that last decade that Julian Booker will focus on during Saturday night’s episode of The Get Down. Recording for Creed Taylor’s CTI subsidiary Kudu Records, Phillips turned in a string of late-period classics including 1972’s From a Whisper to a Scream, 1974’s Black Eyed Blues and 1975’s Performance. On these records, Phillips sings with world-weary experience that marries her roots in blues and soul with a heavy dose of ‘70s funk.
Mahalia Jackson
Few gospel singers have had as big an impact on American music as New Orleans native Mahalia Jackson. From a deeply religious family, Jackson was just one generation removed from slavery, and like many African Americans born in the south in the early 1900s, Jackson would eventually make her way north, to Chicago, where she began her professional career. While Jackson never strayed from recording religious music, her style and sound influenced popular music of all kinds, and performances at the Newport Jazz Festival and albums like 1968’s A Mighty Fortress helped cement her place as a forebearer to artists like Aretha Franklin and Sam Cooke. Hear Mahalia Jackson celebrated on Sunday morning during Spirit Soul Music with Bobbi Booker.
Count Basie
Among the true giants of early jazz, Count Basie stands as one of the artform’s great musicians, bandleaders and composers. From Monmouth County, New Jersey, Basie led one of the most successful big bands in the country for the better part of four decades, employing greats like Lester Young and Helen Humes, and introduced the world to standards that include “One O’Clock Jump” and “Oh, Lady Be Good.” You can hear Count Basie alongside the music of Quincy Jones and Temple University’s TU Jazz Band this weekend on Sunday night’s episode of Big Band Jazz.
