Jazz

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews the new box set Albert Ayler: Holy Ghost, celebrating the saxophonist and composer. Through renewed interest — and a string of reissues — Ayler has grown increasingly influential and appreciated in recent years.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews Crazy Walk, a compilation of recordings by saxophonist Tab Smith.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews The Great Divide, the new CD by saxophonist Von Freeman.

Jazz Critic Kevin Whitehead reviews new reissues of Duke Ellington recordings between 1950 and 1961: Blues in Orbit, Masterpieces By Ellington, Piano in the Background, and Piano in the Foreground.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews Expansion, the new CD by pianist Dave Burrell (High Two label).

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews Anglo-American, a new retrospective of the late Gary Windo, an English-born Tenor saxophonist.

The jazz tenor sax player died July 22 at the age of 81 in Queens, N.Y. A seminal figure in R&B, Jacquet played with some of the great big bands, including ones led by Lionel Hampton, Cab Calloway, and Count Basie. (Rebroadcast From Oct. 13, 1988).

In memory of the late, great R&B singer, rock historian Ed Ward gives us a guided tour of a famous Ray Charles studio rehearsal tape, circa 1953.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews Pioneer Recording Bands 1917-1920, a new collection of jazz recorded before 1920 by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band and the Earl Fuller Orchestra.

He died earlier this month. Lacy was considered "the foremost interpreter of Thelonius Monk" and in fact trained and performed with Monk when he was in his mid-20s. Lacy was also known as the "father of the modern soprano saxophone." (This interview first aired Nov. 20, 1997.)

Critic Kevin Whitehead reviews the new recording by tenor saxophonist Fred Anderson and drummer Hamid Drake. It's called Back Together Again.

Jones was considered one of the most influential drummers in jazz history. He died Tuesday at the age of 76. He was best known for his work with John Coltrane. He also toured with bassist Charles Mingus and pianist Bud Powell. Jones had been a bandleader for over 30 years. His brother Hank Jones is a respected jazz pianist and his brother Thad Jones was a composer, arranger and bandleader who died in 1986. (Originally broadcast on Jan. 7, 1998.)

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead pays tribute to Fats Waller on the centennial of his birth, and reviews Fats Waller: The Centennial Collection, a CD and DVD.

Guitarist and singer Marty Grosz and cornet player Randy Reinhart join us for a special in-studio performance in honor of the 100th birthday of Thomas "Fats" Waller. He would have been 100 on May 21. Grosz and Reinhart will perform songs composed by the great pianist and vocalist. Waller wrote many hit songs, appeared in films in the 1930s and 1940s, and wrote Broadway musicals.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews Give (Columbia) the latest by the trio The Bad Plus.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews a new box set of Dave Brubeck's Time Out albums.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews The Complete Verve Roy Eldridge Sessions on the mail-order Mosaic label. The box set includes seven CDs.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews Jones' second album, Feels Like Home, on the jazz label Blue Note.

Ed Ward reviews the career of almost unknown soul singer Bobby Paterson.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews the new reissue Black Christ of the Andes (Smithsonian label) by pianist Mary Lou Williams.