Tune in on Saturday the 7th at 10pm for the next presentation of All This Jazz, right here on Public Radio 89.5-1. (We'll also offer, per custom, a 7pm re-airing of our program on Sunday the 8th on Jazz 89.5-2, which is our station's all-jazz HD Radio channel.)
Each week, ATJ conveys modern jazz, both recent and classic, from Coltrane and Chet to Miles and Moody, from Wynton and Weather Report to Scofield and Sandoval. Also, the second half of our two-hour program always carries a "theme."
This time around, that latter-hour theme will be Jazz Groups Led by Bassists, and so we'll dig standout tracks from terrific young bass-playing composers like Ben Allison and Linda Oh as well as from established masters of the instrument like Ron Carter and Miroslav Vitous. And you can bet your low-end last dollar that we'll likewise encounter Charles Mingus, shown here, who remains one of the greatest American musicians ever to front an ensemble whilst also pulling a mean string.
We'll also remember the wonderful drummer and bandleader, Chico Hamilton, who passed away last month at the age of 92.
And lastly, we'll hear --- near the end of the first half of our show --- a moving piece that alto saxist Bobby Watson recorded in 1986 in tribute to Nelson Mandela, who of course died recently at 95 (and who actually had a few different excellent jazz pieces written in his honor over the years).
Join us.