Vocalist Kim Nalley with Lee Thomas

Trumpeter Terell Stafford with Chris Cortez

Saxophonist Azar Lawrence with Micheal Burman

Violinist Regina Carter with Lee Thomas

Jazz Goes to the Movies: A Look at Jazz Music & Musicians in Film
From ‘soundies’ and ‘musical shorts’ to full-length Hollywood films, jazz and jazz musicians have appeared in films throughout the decades. The Jim Cullum Jazz Band and friends perform hot jazz from movie soundtracks, with favorite picks for viewing jazz in the movies from writer Scott Yanow, author of Jazz on Film.

Women of the Harlem Renaissance
In Jazz Age Harlem, the rise of black culture produced talents like Langston Hughes and Duke Ellington. But this ‘Black Renaissance’ wasn’t limited to men.  Actress Carol Woods joins The Jim Cullum Jazz Band in this salute to Black History Month as they introduce the artistic, fascinating women that launched New York’s great social revolution of the 1920s.

Lovers Holiday: Valentine Romance from Irving Berlin
The Jim Cullum Jazz Band and special guests take listeners on a ‘lovers holiday’ with a concert of Irving Berlin songs that speak to the heart.

Fletcher Henderson & Don Redman: The Birth of the Big Band Reed Section
Allan Vaché and Kim Cusack join The Jim Cullum Jazz Band in a tribute to musical collaboration between bandleader Fletcher Henderson and arranger Don Redman in the 1920s that paved the way for the big band sound that defined the Swing Era of the 1930s.

Robert Glasper
Blue Note recording artist Robert Glasper recorded at Yoshi's in Oakland on August 22, 2007. The pianist is joined by Vincente Archer Chris Dave. The Brooklyn based musician told Mojo Magazine.."I NEVER know what's going to happen live. I like it uncomfortable."

Kim Nalley
Vocalist Kim Nalley, recorded at the Jazzschool in Berkeley, on November 15th, 2009, with Tammy Hall, Mike Zisman and Kent Bryson.

A Tribute to the Late Lester Bowie
A tribute to the late Lester Bowie, recorded at the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco on October 9th, 2009, featuring San Francisco Art Ensemble members Roscoe Mitchell, Corey Wilkes and Famoudou Don Moye, with special guests James Carter, Frank Lacy, Jon Jang and Peter Barshay.

Frederick Harris
An encore broadcast of pianist Frederick Harris, a Stanford Jazz Workshop alumnus and long-time faculty member, heard performing in trio, quartet, and quintet formats with Charles Thomas, Curt Moore, Jonathan Bautista and Father Roberto DeHaven at Campbell Recital Hall. Recorded on July 20th, 2009 at the Stanford Jazz Festival by Lee Brenkman.

Taft Jordan with Chick Webb
Echoes of Bix in London

Trombone Glisses, Smears And Slides With
Tommy and Jack, Vic and Kid and others

Whoopee Makers "Futuristic Rhythm"
Rampart Street Paraders at "Storyville"

Swinging in Paris with Alex Combelle, Django Reinhardt and Jean Sablon

Count Basie: The Man and His Music (Part 3)
Notwithstanding their earlier success, Basie's band was not immune to the post-WW II collapse of the swing bands. Basie muddles through with a small group until his early-'50s reunion with promoter Norman Granz sets the stage for Basie's "New Testament" band. The '50s prove to be grand for Basie as singer Joe Williams comes aboard and they hit the charts with "Every Day I Have the Blues." With Williams, Basie was back on the top of the world. His subsequent collaborations with Frank Sinatra at the Sands in Las Vegas only add to his celebrity status. The story concludes with the chronicle of another reunion with Norman Granz - one that leads to the famous "piano battle" with Oscar Peterson.

Willie "The Lion" Smith
A musician's musician whose original approach to the keyboard has made him the envy of virtually every pianist in jazz. He was part of the Harlem stride scene perfected by pianists James P. Johnson and Thomas Fats Waller. This show features rare tape of Smith talking and playing.

John Coltrane (Part 1)
No modern jazz musician has a sound more influential yet less attainable than saxophonist John Coltrane. His pure tone was established by the mid-'50s, playing in Miles Davis' hard bop quintet. Coltrane's career was characterized by his constant, exponential advancement in improvisational technique and ideas. His sound reached its peak in his quartet of the '60s, which has served as a model for modern jazz ensembles for the last forty years.

John Coltrane (Part 2)
John Coltrane's never-ending quest for musical improvement and self-awareness distinguished his playing and compositions in the '60s. It was driven by an increasing spirituality, most potently unveiled in his 1964 recording A Love Supreme. Coltrane later created music of great turbulence and ecstasy, and he remains a powerful inspiration to artists of all disciplines.

Afro-Cuban Fiesta
The well-heeled moves of the danzones and the percussive calls of the sons montunos spill into the streets when maestro Paquito D. Rivera leads a musical journey through the folklore of his native Cuba. Sonero and guitarist David Oquendo, Las Hermanas Márquez and percussionist Candido Camero join in this Afro-Cuban Fiesta.

John Coltrane/Johnny Hartman
On their legendary album, Johnny Hartman's lush vocals perfectly matched Coltrane's lyric tenor saxophone. Baritone Kevin Mahogany joins Todd Williams, one of today's great tenor sax men, to recreate classics from that 1963 collaboration including Dedicated to You, Autumn Serenade and You Are Too Beautiful. Wycliffe Gordon, host.

Frank Foster and Songs of Romance
Tenorman, composer and Basie alum Frank Foster joins the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra for a few of his new and classic arrangements. Singers Dennis Rowland and Marlena Shaw guest on tunes like Black Coffee and Perdido.

Masters of the Mallet
Three modern masters of the mallet take the stage at Dizzy’s for one solid hour of good vibes. Vibraphonists Bobby Hutcherson leads his quartet; Joe Locke pays tribute to Henry Mancini and Stefon Harris.

Ron Carter
Ron Carter has set the standard for modern jazz bass players.  He rose to fame with Miles Davis and went on to play with Stan Getz, Coleman Hawkins, and Thelonious Monk.  His recording work spans 2000 albums and he’s had equally successful careers as a bandleader, composer and educator.  He joins McPartland for standards and a pair of Oscar Pettiford tunes – “Bohemia After Dark” and “Blues in the Closet.”

Remembering Eubie Blake
This month marks the 122nd anniversary of the birth of James Herbert “Eubie” Blake. He was the last known original ragtime pianist when he appeared on the second season of Piano Jazz at the age of 93. On this program from 1980, Blake remembers his vaudeville days, writing classics “Charleston Rag” and “I’m Just Wild About Harry.” Blake and McPartland get together for duets on “St. Louis Blues” and “The Star Spangled Banner.”

Janis Siegel
Singer Janis Siegel is one quarter of the jazz super-group, The Manhattan Transfer.   Throughout the 30 years she spent with this musical institution, she’s also released her own recordings featuring hip, seductive arrangements of standards, as well as newer works. She visits Piano Jazz along with pianist and accordion player Gil Goldstein to perform Tad Dameron’s “Whatever Possessed Me” and Annie Lennox’s “A Thousand Beautiful Things.”

Marcus Roberts with guest host Christian McBride
Pianist Marcus Roberts draws on his strong improvisational skills and a deep respect for swing and ragtime influences to create his signature style. On this Piano Jazz he sits down with guest host Christian McBride for a discussion of Jelly Roll Morton, Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, and the future of jazz. Roberts plays his own tunes “The Party Is Almost Over” and “Hidden Hues,” and ends the program by playing a duet of his composition “Country By Choice,” with McBride on bass.

BBQ: The Brubeck Brothers Quartet
Outdoors, they are Chris on bass and Dan on drums, with Mike DeMicco on guitar and Chuck Lamb on piano, opening the Detroit International Jazz Festival.

Stefon Harris and Blackout 
On vibes and marimba, Harris and his super-talented group meld jazz, soul, hiphop and gospel on “an imaginatively orchestrated and vigorously propelled collection of tunes” [Washington Post] at the KC Jazz Club.

Keys to New Orleans
In a piano spectacular, Jon Cleary and Henry Butler set the stage at the Kennedy Center for grand master Allen Toussaint.

Monterey Highlights
Artists TBA on jazzset.npr.org