Singer Gwyneth Herbert has proved herself an insightful commentator on the recordings of fellow vocalists on Jazz Library, but in this week's programme she shares her enthusiasm for the pianist Brad Mehldau, who is one of the most challenging and innovative of contemporary jazz players. With a repertoire ranging from Broadway songs to the works of contemporary rock players, his music seldom stands still. He is a romantic player in the grand tradition of Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett, but also a f...
Mar 07, 2009•30 min
The tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon was one of the first tenor saxophonists in jazz to adopt the bebop style in the 1940s, going on to become one of the most influential and distinctive soloists of the 60s and 70s. Soweto Kinch joins Alyn Shipton to select Gordon's finest recordings, ranging from his early days with Billy Eckstine to his Oscar-nominated performance in Bertrand Tavernier's film "Round Midnight".
Feb 28, 2009•34 min
Alyn Shipton is joined by vintage-drum expert Richard Pite to select the highlights from Krupa's many recordings. As well as his work with Benny Goodman, the programme spans Krupa's playing from the 1920s to the late 1950s, including his epic battles with Buddy Rich and his famous recordings with Anita O'Day and Roy Eldridge.
Feb 21, 2009•33 min
Trumpeter, author and broadcaster Ian Carr is considered by some to be one of the most influential figures in British jazz. Alyn Shipton features an archive interview, in which Carr selects some of his finest recordings. These include music by the Rendell-Carr Quintet, the Emcee Five and Nucleus, as well as movements from Neil Ardley's suite Kaleidoscope of Rainbows.
Feb 07, 2009•22 min
Alyn Shipton interviews veteran saxophonist Benny Golson, who turns 80 in 2009, and who is to be honoured at the Kennedy Centre in Washington DC for his lifetime achievements in jazz. The programme features Golson looking back at his career with musicians including Art Blakey, Lee Morgan and Dizzy Gillespie as well as his own Jazztet, plus a preview of his new 80th birthday album New Times, New 'Tet.
Jan 31, 2009•31 min
Alyn Shipton talks to the prolific American composer and alto saxophonist about the landmarks in his career, beginning with his early days with Claude Thornhill and Stan Kenton and progressing to his work on Miles Davis's Birth of the Cool and with Lennie Tristano and his circle.
Nov 16, 2008•28 min
Alyn Shipton explores the best examples of recordings by pianist Bud Powell, who died in 1966 aged 41 and altered the course of jazz piano through his bebop innovations of the 1940s. He left an impressive legacy of recorded work, although this also charts his slow decline as a consequence of mental illness and addiction problems. Shipton is joined by pianist Geoff Eales to consider the largest body of Powell's work, for the Blue Note label.
Nov 02, 2008•41 min
Alyn Shipton and Gwyneth Herbert select highlights from the recorded catalogue of the jazz singer and pianist known as the High Priestess of Soul. The programme includes part of an archive interview by Alyn with Nina herself, recorded on her last visit to Britain, as well as her best songs ranging from Porgy through Mississippi Goddam to I Put a Spell on You.
Oct 25, 2008•37 min
Author and critic Brian Morton joins Alyn Shipton to select the essential examples of bandleader Sun Ra's work. Born Herman Blount, he was as famous for his exotic headgear and claims that his inspiration and music came from outer space, as his band The Arkestra. Yet beneath the exotic image, Ra was a highly creative musician, redefining the structure and sound of the jazz big band.
Oct 18, 2008•35 min
The King of Swing, and one of the finest of all jazz clarinetists, Benny Goodman recorded prolifically, and was as dazzlingly talented in a big band setting as in a small group. He encouraged multi-racial bands, with his trio, quartet and sextet, and helped bring guitarist Charlie Christian to a wider audience. Alyn Shipton is joined by John Dankworth, who shares some of his keen insights into Goodman's style, his selection of key recordings and his personal reminiscences of Benny, with whom he ...
Oct 11, 2008•38 min
Alyn Shipton is joined by Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stanko to help select the finest examples of his recorded work that should be in any jazz collection. One of the most celebrated jazz musicians in Europe, Stanko looks back on his collaborations with Krzysztof Komeda and Edward Vesala, and discusses the albums he has made under his own name, including Litania and Leosia.
Oct 04, 2008•25 min
The man who was Duke Ellington's amanuensis, co-pianist and arranger is not so well-known in his own right. In tonight's programme Ellingtonian specialist Brian Priestley joins Alyn Shipton to look at Strayhorn's small catalogue of records under his own name, and also separates out his immense personal contribution to Duke Ellington's work for both large and small bands, as composer, arranger and instrumentalist.
Sep 05, 2008•35 min
Alyn Shipton is joined by one of the most famous Ellingtonians of all, trumpeter Clark Terry, to look back over his recordings. In addition to his work with Ellington, Terry was also a member of Count Basie's famous orchestra and he also discusses his discs with the late Oscar Peterson, including the amusing Mumbles.
May 16, 2008•36 min
Dave Brubeck To celebrate pianist Dave Brubeck's 87th birthday, Alyn Shipton introduces part of a conversation with Brubeck recorded during his quartet's 40th anniversary tour of the UK, in which he selects some of his favourite recordings from a catalogue that includes over 100 albums. As well as such perennial favourites as Take Five by his historic quartet with Paul Desmond, Brubeck also looks at his collaborations with Gerry Mulligan, the London Symphony Orchestra and his present day band wi...
May 16, 2008•25 min
John Etheridge helps Alyn Shipton select highlights from the catalogue of fellow jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery, explaining how he achieved his unique sound. Montgomery is considered to have been one of the most innovative players on his instrument and developed a technique that combined the rapidity of bebop with a mellow romanticism.
Apr 25, 2008•33 min
Alyn Shipton talks to gifted South African jazz pianist Abdullah Ibrahim about the highlights in his recorded catalogue. Ibrahim discusses discs from the apartheid era, when he was both an exile and, on a brief return home, the creator of the freedom anthem Mannenberg, as well as his international work as a solo pianist, bandleader and composer.
Feb 22, 2008•33 min
Alyn Shipton presents a special tribute edition of Jazz Library devoted to Oscar Peterson, who died in December 2007 and is regarded as one of the greatest jazz pianists. The programme not only suggests the essential Peterson CDs, but also calls on the help of the man himself, with an extended interview recorded in 2000.
Feb 08, 2008•38 min
Django Reinhardt The first European jazz musician to make a significant impact on the world stage, guitarist Django Reinhardt's effect was felt throughout jazz. John Etheridge, leader of the Django tribute band Sweet Chorus, joins Alyn Shipton to select the finest recordings by the gipsy genius. From the Hot Club Quintet of France to Reinhardt's solo waltzes, and from his later electric guitar triumphs such as Nuages to his wartime big band discs, this covers all the essential Reinhardt recordin...
Dec 28, 2007•38 min
Cab Calloway Christmas Day marks the centenary of one of the most outsize talents in jazz, the Hi-de-Ho man himself, Cab Calloway. To select from such recorded gems by Cab as Minnie the Moocher, St Louis Blues and Nagasaki, Alyn Shipton is joined by the singer's grandson Calloway Brooks, who leads the present day Calloway Orchestra and has an encyclopedic knowledge of his grandfather's work.
Dec 21, 2007•32 min
Alyn Shipton concludes his conversation with the great Sonny Rollins, and brings his survey of the saxophonist's recorded output up-to-date. The programme includes excerpts from Rollins' latest album Sonny Please, and looks back at his work from the time of his 1950s political protest, by way of his score for the Michael Caine film Alfie, and his long association with the Milestone record label, which produced some of his most memorable albums.
Dec 14, 2007•27 min
Sonny Rollins joins Alyn Shipton to select the key recordings from his voluminous catalogue. Widely regarded as a major living exponent of the tenor saxophone and an innovator since the end of the 1940s, here Rollins focuses on his early years, from albums made with Emo Hope and Kenny Dorham to his masterpieces Tenor Madness and Saxophone Colossus. On the way he discusses calypso, trio improvising and his close friendship with Thelonious Monk.
Nov 23, 2007•30 min
Jelly Roll Morton Alyn Shipton is joined by Morton specialist Martin Litton to explore the work of Jelly Roll's band, the Red Hot Peppers, as well as the solo discs. The self-proclaimed 'inventor of jazz', Jelly Roll Morton was a colourful figure, with diamonds in his teeth and gold on his fingers. He was also the first musician to appreciate the potential of the 78 rpm record for creating miniature jazz compositions. Including a contribution from Morton's last living sideman, 99-year-old Lawren...
Oct 19, 2007•40 min
Starting his life as a child star tap dancer, Buddy Rich became one of the most gifted drummers in jazz history. To survey the prolific recorded output of "The Man From Planet Jazz", Alyn Shipton is joined by British drummer Ralph Salmins, covering both Rich's discs under his own name, and his stellar appearances with other musicians.
Sep 21, 2007•34 min
Widely regarded as one of the great innovaters in Jazz Piano, Andrew Hill passed away in April of 2007. To celebrate his life Alyn Shipton and Trumpeter Bryon Wallen, who worked regularly with Hill, select highlights from the pianist's recorded catalogue.
Aug 31, 2007•38 min
Trumpeter Art Farmer was one of the most lyrical and inventive players in jazz. Alyn Shipton is joined by Ian Smith (who met and interviewed Farmer) to select his finest recordings, which include his work with Gerry Mulligan, Horace Silver and Hank Mobley, as well as the many famous albums he made under his own name such as 'Farmer's Market'.
Aug 31, 2007•34 min
Singer Christine Tobin guides Alyn Shipton through the best work from Billie Holiday's early and late career. Widely acknowledged as one of the finest singers in jazz history, Billie Holiday's short life produced a remarkable recorded legacy, in which anguish blended with ecstasy as she sang of unrequited love. Her voice changed with age and hard living, and among the highlights are Good Morning Heartache, My Man and the emotional wasteland of Strange Fruit, a song about a Southern lynching....
Aug 03, 2007•41 min
In this Jazz Library podcast, Alyn Shipton is joined by saxophonist Soweto Kinch to assess the legacy of the highly influential and innovative saxophonist, John Coltrane and select the most essential Coltrane recordings – from acclaimed albums such as Blue Train and Giant Steps to some of his lesser-known works.
Jul 20, 2007•38 min
Pat Metheny joins Alyn Shipton for this Jazz Library podcast. One of the most technically skilled jazz guitarists ever to record, he helps Alyn to select some of the highlights of his work not only in his own groups, but also with Ornette Coleman, Charlie Haden, Jim Hall and many other great names of jazz.
Jun 29, 2007•34 min
Pianist and bandleader Chick Corea himself guides Alyn Shipton through some of his finest recordings. Few musicians in jazz have the extraordinary stylistic range of Chick Corea. His work ranges from acoustic bebop to rock fusion, from free jazz to the classic Miles Davis Quintet, as well as his own groundbreaking ensembles Return to Forever and the Elektric Band.
Jun 22, 2007•29 min
Alyn Shipton is joined by Trumpeter Arturo Sandoval to choose key recordings in Cuban Jazz including music from Dizzy Gillespie, Machito, Cubanismo and Sandoval himself.
Jun 08, 2007•26 min
