Kind of Bird

06/14/2024

Charlie Parker talking about western classical music, Bartok etc.Interview by John McLellan

06/13/2024

Tune in THIS FRIDAY MORNING!

WXOX 97.1 FM

05/24/2024

Tune in tomorrow at 7am for the finest in classic jazz!

05/10/2024

In an excerpt from his book, '3 Shades of Blue: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, and the Lost Empire of Cool,' author James Kaplan writes about the fertile jazz scene that emerged at the Five Spot in NYC in the 50s.

05/04/2024

04/29/2024

Postwar Prez: Lester Young 1945-1950 🎷🎷🎷

In 1945 Lester Young, one of the most influential saxophonists in jazz history, was released from the Army after a traumatic period of service spent mostly in a military prison.

On this edition of Night Lights we'll hear recordings that Young made in the years immediately following the end of the war, as well as commentary from jazz scholar Loren Schoenberg, annotator of two Lester Young box sets for Mosaic Records, who delves into both the music and the myths of this phase of Young's career.

In 1945 Lester Young emerged at the age of 36 from a traumatic time in the Army to renew his career as one of jazz’s most influential and loved saxophonists.

04/25/2024

“A Night At The Village Vanguard” captures the legendary saxophonist in two of his pioneering trio formations, as he unshackled the tenor and pointed the way towards the avant-garde and free jazz.

04/04/2024

RIP MR. HEATH.

WKCR was deeply saddened to hear the news regarding legendary Philadelphia born drummer Albert “Tootie” Heath, who passed away yesterday afternoon at Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center in Santa Fe. In honor of Tootie Heath’s extraordinary legacy, WKCR will be dedicating a special 9-hour program tomorrow, April 5th, from 12:00 pm to 9:00 pm. This programming will preempt our regular Out to Lunch, Afternoon Classical, and Jazz Alternatives shows.

Tootie Heath’s versatility as a musician allowed him to seamlessly traverse different musical realms. Tootie Heath’s discography includes over a hundred recordings that have become canon. Over his lengthy career he worked with artists such as the Modern Jazz Quartet, John Coltrane, Dexter Gordon, Herbie Hancock, Sonny Rollins, Wes Montgomery, and of course his two brothers Jimmy and Percy Heath, among many others. Alongside his two brothers, for nearly his entire life Tootie Heath was an ambassador for jazz music, and he did it with style, poise, comedy, and warmth.

In addition to being a performer, reputable sideman, and bandleader, Heath was also an educator to students from around the world, and would frequently give masterclasses at summer programs, and universities. In 2018, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Jazz Foundation of America, and in 2021 he was named an NEA Jazz Master.

​​WKCR invites listeners to join us tomorrow in commemorating the life and work of Albert “Tootie” Heath. His spirit, and enduring influence will continue to resonate in all of our hearts here at WKCR.

04/04/2024

Yours truly with YARDBIRD in cold Chicago!

03/29/2024

Tune in tomorrow morning!

03/18/2024

The private musings of Sonny Rollins reveal an artist devoted to the rigors of self-improvement.

03/18/2024

In the late 1960s, journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl planned to write the definitive biography of Billie Holiday. Beginning in 1970, she spent eight years tracking down and recording interviews with key artists and personalities who knew the late singer, who...

03/10/2024

Bird and his plastic sax.

Seventy years ago, Charlie Parker and four other be-bop legends created what many call the greatest jazz concert ever— with Parker playing a plastic saxophone. A reissue of the recording is out.

03/10/2024

BIX BEIDERBECKE BIRTHDAY BROADCAST!

Happy Birthday to a jazz pioneer!
Tune in to
https://www.cc-seas.columbia.edu/wkcr/ # for a 24-hour broadcast of Bix!

BIX BEIDERBECKE BIRTHDAY BROADCAST

SUNDAY, MARCH 10, 2024 - 12:00AM TO 11:59PM
WKCR is very excited to announce the return of a beloved birthday broadcast in honor of one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s: cornetist, pianist, and composer Bix Beiderbecke.

Bix embodied the spirit of the Jazz Age with his pure style, gift for improvisation, and inventive compositions.

Bix was born Leon Bismarck Beiderbecke in Davenport, Iowa, on March 10, 1903. He began playing piano when he was only two or three years old––even before he could comfortably reach the instrument. By the age of seven, he could recreate on the piano almost any tune he heard. As a teenager, Bix taught himself to play cornet by listening to the Original Dixieland Jazz Band on his brother’s Victrola phonograph.

When his parents sent him to Lake Forest Academy to focus on academics, they unwittingly set him up to become a jazz legend: Lake Forest Academy was near Chicago, the jazz capital of America. In Chicago, Bix listened to the New Orleans Rhythm Kings and King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band (which featured Louis Armstrong on second cornet).

After being expelled from the Academy for sneaking out, Bix began playing as a professional musician. In 1923, he joined the Wolverines, a seven-person hot jazz group that took its name from Jelly Roll Morton’s “Wolverine Blues.” A year later, Bix played with Jean Goldkette and His Orchestra. In 1927, he joined the Paul Whiteman Orchestra––the most popular band at the time. Bix played on the band’s hit records: “Together,” “Ramona,” and “Ol’ Man River” featuring Bing Crosby on vocals. The band’s arranger, Bill Challis, wrote arrangements specifically to highlight Bix’s improvisational skills.

Bix passed away tragically in 1931, following a long battle with alcoholism. In his obituary, read “"Bixie" was a symbol of that jazz generation, expressing its wistful, restless temperament through the medium of the unconventional dance music which constitutes its theme song.…[Bix], in the eyes of thousands of young Americans, was a master of his art.”

Bix is remembered as one of the most important innovators in jazz, as well as one of the most important cornetists in jazz (along with Louis Armstrong). Critic Terry Teachout says that Bix and Louis are “the two most influential figures in the early history of jazz” and “the twin lines of descent from which most of today's jazz can be traced.”

And here at WKCR, Bix lives! WKCR will celebrate Bix’s birthday with an all-day broadcast. This special broadcast is one of our oldest traditions: at the suggestion of the late Phil Schaap, WKCR has been celebrating Bix’s birthday for over 50 years. This weekend is particularly special, as our all-day Bix birthday broadcast is––in keeping with tradition––back-to-back with our all-day Ornette Coleman birthday broadcast (March 9).

Listeners can tune in on 89.9FM or stream it live on our website, wkcr.org. Follow WKCR on Instagram () and Twitter () for updates about this special broadcast and future events. Online listening is available 24/7 at wkcr.org via our web stream.

03/08/2024

The best-selling and arguably the best-loved jazz album ever, Miles Davis’s "Kind of Blue" still has the power to awe.

03/08/2024

Classic jazz…a great way to start your day!

03/03/2024

Take WXOX with you! Download the app.

03/01/2024

Stream/tune in tomorrow morning! 💯❤️🎷

02/26/2024

Kind of Blue is the best-selling jazz album of all time. Here's what it was like inside the studio with Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Bill Evans on the day they laid down one of the record's iconic tracks.

02/26/2024

He lived outside convention, and was one of the wonders of twentieth-century music.

01/24/2024

Louisville’s ONLY classic jazz radio show!

Cool Struttin’ every Friday morning. Tune in/stream!

01/05/2024

Rebellious jazz took flight in Harlem at Minton’s Playhouse, but it was nurtured on the tree-lined streets that gave pioneering Black musicians a home.

12/24/2023

A Christmas tradition! Enjoy!

and "When The Saints Go Marching In"Continental CR-1001

12/15/2023

This Sunday!

The Louisville Jazz Society features the Kendall Carter Trio for our final 2023 Signature Series concert. This promises to be a swinging evening of classic organ trio jazz performed by an all-star lineup! Kendall Carter, Hammond Organ: Hammond Artist Kendall Carter is a formidable organist, pianist,...

11/30/2023

November 29, 1957…