MusicMusic CommentaryMusic History

Jazz Legends

Conversations about the all-time jazz legends from local jazz legends Gunnar Biggs, Keith Bishop, Joey Carano, Leonard Thompson, and Bob Weller. Soak in their stories and expertise as they prep for their Sunday night shows at St. Michael’s-by-the-Sea in Carlsbad, California.

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27 episodes
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S3 · E110
Wednesday · 26 min
Gerry Mulligan (Round 2)
Saxophonist/composer Gerry Mulligan (born April 6, 1927) is perhaps the best-known baritone saxophonist in jazz. His mastery of this cumbersome instrument is legendary, but he also has recorded as a pianist, on clarinet, and on soprano and tenor saxophone. He is a prolific composer and arranger as well. His Concert Jazz Band in New York City featured many of the city’s finest jazz musicians in a fresh setting. His piano-less quartet featured Chet Baker, and his participation in the Miles Davis “Birth of the Cool” set the pace for countless West Coast jazz musicians. Help sponsor St. Michael's Jazz Fest Donate to the Jazz Legends podcast Contact us at stmichaelsjazzfest@gmail.com
S3 · E109
September 9 · 27 min
Tom Harrell (Round 3)
Trumpeter/composer Tom Harrell (born June 16, 1946) has overcome daunting physical and mental obstacles to become one of the most important musicians of his generation. Heavily medicated to deal with his bipolar disorder, he still maintains a busy performing, recording, and composing schedule. Early in his career he toured with Stan Kenton, Woody Herman, Horace Silver, and Phil Woods. He appears on over 85 recordings, 40 as a leader, and his compositions offer fresh slants on the jazz tradition.
S3 · E108
September 2 · 36 min
The Incomparable Sonny Rollins
Saxophonist Sonny Rollins (born Sept 7, 1930) is universally considered one of the most creative musicians the music has produced. Throughout his long recording career he produced over 60 albums as a leader, was awarded a lifetime Grammy award and the Kennedy Center award in 2011. A number of his compositions have become jazz standards, including Oleo, St Thomas, Airegin, and Doxy. Help sponsor St. Michael's Jazz Fest Donate to the Jazz Legends podcast Contact us at stmichaelsjazzfest@gmail.com
S3 · E107
August 26 · 18 min
Rube Bloom & Isham Jones
Neither Rube Bloom (born April 24, 1902) or Isham Jones (born January 31, 1894) are what we would today consider well-known songwriters, but their contributions to the great American songbook are still loved and performed regularly. These early twentieth century contemporaries are responsible for such tunes as "Day In, Day Out", "It Had to Be You", "I’ll See You in my Dreams", "There is No Greater Love", "Don’t Worry Bout Me", "Fools Rush In", "Give Me the Simple Life" and many other chestnuts that are still regularly performed to this day. Help sponsor St. Michael's Jazz Fest Donate to the Jazz Legends podcast Contact us at stmichaelsjazzfest@gmail.com
S3 · E106
August 19 · 23 min
Lee Konitz
Saxophonist Lee Konitz (born Oct 13, 1927) is perhaps the best known of the Lennie Tristano disciples. He and Warne Marsh continued to follow Tristano’s musical path, essentially eschewing most of the innovations of bebop to follow a more abstract and more cerebral approach to the music. First gaining recognition recording with Tristano, he played with Claude Thornhill and the Thornhill/Gil Evans-influenced Birth of the Cool band with Miles Davis. He was a true improviser, refusing to fall back on preconceived licks when inspiration flagged. Help sponsor St. Michael's Jazz Fest Donate to the Jazz Legends podcast Contact us at stmichaelsjazzfest@gmail.com
S3 · E105
August 12 · 25 min
John Coltrane's Phrasing & Emotional Weight
John Coltrane (born Sept 23, 1926) is easily one of a handful of the most important and influential musicians that jazz has produced. His harmonic and rhythmic innovations have influenced every generation of jazz musicians since he first rose to prominence with the bands of Miles Davis and Thelonius Monk. His own groups stretched the boundaries of modern jazz into free, extended improvisations. Help sponsor St. Michael's Jazz Fest Donate to the Jazz Legends podcast Contact us at stmichaelsjazzfest@gmail.com
S3 · E104
August 5 · 33 min
Eric Dolphy & Booker Little
Saxophonist / multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy (born June 20, 1928) and trumpeter Booker Little (born April 2, 1938) were frequent collaborators near the end of their all too brief careers. After establishing himself with the Chico Hamilton group, he went on to perform with John Coltrane and Charles Mingus, as well as his own groups and recordings with Oliver Nelson and George Russell. While often considered a member of the jazz avant-garde, he was just stretching the conventions of tonality and rhythm established by the beboppers in novel and unexpected ways. Trumpeter Little played with Max Roach, replacing the great Clifford Brown in that band. He passed away at the age of 23 of uremia, and Dolphy at 36 of complications of undiagnosed diabetes. Help sponsor St. Michael's Jazz Fest Donate to the Jazz Legends podcast Contact us at stmichaelsjazzfest@gmail.com
S3 · E103
July 29 · 30 min
Bird & Diz
Saxophonist Charlie Parker (nicknamed Yardbird or Bird) (born Aug 29, 1920) and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie (nicknamed Diz) (born Oct 21, 1917) are two of the most innovative musical minds of the twentieth century. Dizzy was often quoted that he and Parker were two halves of the same heart. Together they were architects of the bebop style that swept jazz in the 1940s and they influenced literally every jazz musician since. Help sponsor St. Michael's Jazz Fest Donate to the Jazz Legends podcast Contact us at stmichaelsjazzfest@gmail.com
S3 · E102
July 22 · 27 min
Wayne Shorter (Round 3)
Saxophonist/composer Wayne Shorter (born Aug 25, 1933) is one of the most influential and prolific performers and composer in jazz. His time with the bands of Art Blakey and Mikes Davis firmly established him as one of the most original voices on his instrument, and provided a platform for his incredible original compositions. He is also featured on his myriad recordings as a leader in his own right. He was one of the cofounders of the supergroup Weather Report in the 70s. Help sponsor St. Michael's Jazz Fest Donate to the Jazz Legends podcast Contact us at stmichaelsjazzfest@gmail.com
S3 · E101
July 16 · 27 min
Kenny Werner
Pianist/composer Kenny Werner (born Nov 19, 1951) has been leading his own trios since 1981. He played with the Mel Lewis Orchestra in the early 1980s and was encouraged by Lewis and Bob Brookmeyer to compose for the band, which led to him composing for many European radio bands. He played duo with Toots Thielmans for 14 years and was awarded a Guggenheim fellowship in composition. His book Effortless Mastery, about the psychological aspects of music performance is widely read and he teaches a course based on it at the Berklee School in Boston. Help keep the music and this show alive! Donate here.
S3 · E100
July 8 · 21 min
Oregon
Oregon was a jazz and world music group started in 1970, featuring multiple woodwind artist Paul McCandless, guitarist/pianist Ralph Towner, bassist Glenn Moore, and percussionist Collin Walcott. The personnel remained stable for decades, with the percussion chair changing once or twice, but their musical output remained unique throughout. Esoteric sounds of oboe, English horn, and bass clarinet gave the band a unique sound, and the compositions of McCandless and Towner bridge jazz and world music styles creating a unique and original melange unique to the group.
S3 · E99
June 24 · 32 min
Writing Original Tunes
Everyone in the group writes original music, some of which has been played publicly in the past and some which will be premiered this week. In this episode, the guys discuss what it's like to write their own original tunes.
S3 · E98
June 17 · 23 min
Michael Brecker
Saxophonist/composer Michael Brecker (born March 29, 1949) was one of the most recorded saxophonists of all time. Over his four-decade career he appeared on over 900 recordings as a leader and sideman and received fifteen Grammys. His virtuoso saxophone technique and soulful expressiveness made him a clear favorite of a whole generation of players who fell under his influence, setting the bar extremely high for anyone trying to emulate his prodigious abilities.
S3 · E97
June 10 · 27 min
Carla Bley
Pianist, organist, composer, and bandleader Carla Bley (born May 11, 1936) considered herself primarily a composer, saying she was 99% composer and 1% pianist. She associated herself with the avant guard movement, allying herself with musicians like Charlie Haden, Michael Mantler, and others in her cutting edge ensembles, she organized the Jazz Composers Guild in the 1960s featuring many of the most innovative musicians in NYC at the time, and her record label released recordings of Don Cherry, Roswell Rudd and Clifford Thornton.
S3 · E96
June 3 · 20 min
Burton Lane
Composer and lyricist Burton Lane (born Feb 2, 1912) is perhaps best remembered as the composer of the hit Broadway shows "Finian’s Rainbow" and "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever", but he had a long and distinguished career writing for films and the stage, and his tunes are much loved vehicles for jazz musicians.
S3 · E95
May 27 · 25 min
Richie Bierach
Pianist and composer Richie Beirach (born May 23, 1947) made hundreds of recordings, both as a leader of his own groups, and as part of a long-standing duo with saxophonist Dave Liebman. He taught jazz piano in Leipzig, Germany at the University of Music and Theater and lived in Germany up to his death earlier this year.
S3 · E94
May 20 · 28 min
Keith Jarrett
Pianist /composer Keith Jarrett (born May 8, 1945) has had a long and distinguished career performing with his own groups, making a succession of solo piano recordings, and playing with the bands of Miles Davis, Art Blakey and Charles Lloyd. In recent years he has been sidelined by the effects of a stroke which tragically left him without the use of his right hand.
S3 · E93
May 13 · 26 min
Matt Dennis
Singer/songwriter/pianist Matt Dennis (born Feb 11, 1914), while not exactly a household name, wrote some of the most enduring gems of the Great American Songbook. "Angel Eyes", "Everything Happens to Me", "Let’s Get Away from it All", "The Night We Called it a Day", and "Violets for Your Furs" are all standards that will be played for years to come.
S3 · E92
May 6 · 21 min
Vincent Youmans
Songwriter Vincent Youmans (born Sept 7, 1898) was one of the leading Broadway composers of his day, and collaborated with most of the top lyricists of his generation. While he is only credited with around 100 tunes, 18 of them are recognized as standard songs, many of which have been embraced by jazz musicians over many years. Tunes like 'Tea For Two', 'More Than You Know', 'Sometimes I’m Happy' and 'Without a Song' have been recorded innumerable times over the years.
S3 · E91
April 29 · 26 min
Ivan Lins
Brazilian singer/songwriter Ivan Lins (born June 16, 1945), has been active for over fifty years. His composition 'Love Dance', a hit in 1989, is one of the most recorded songs in contemporary music. He has won several Latin Grammy awards and his tunes have been recorded by myriad artists, a veritable who’s who of the jazz world.

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