Join Louise as she plays songs about neighborhood and community, celebrating connection and love.

The SF Jazz Collective is an American jazz ensemble comprising eight performers/ composers launched in 2004 by SF Jazz, a west coast non-profit institution and the presenter of the annual San Francisco Jazz Festival.

In the 1950s the Chess Record label was the premier Blues Music label in the US. With the dawn of the 1960s, and with Blues Music no longer selling in large quantities to a black audience, Leonard Chess needed to stay with the times. He did this first with Etta James, Little Milton and The Dells. He expanded his recording down to Muscle Shoals, Alabama and updated the sound for new record buyers. Tune in on October 5th at noon as The Rum Cove brings the 45s that kept the Chess Record label at the top of the heap in Chi-town!

From the Mingus Dynasty formed after his death, through the Mingus Big Band and later the Mingus Orchestra, musicians who performed with Charles Mingus and those who admired his music united to continue his legacy. We will sample their music.

Jimi Hendrix holds the undisputed title as greatest rock guitarist, but he influenced countless jazz musicians. We will focus on musicians who admit they “copied” Jimi (Miles Davis for one) and others where Hendrix’s presence is fairly obvious.

Retired Albemarle High School music director Greg Thomas will have candid and revealing conversations with former students who have gone on to play professionally, as well as local and regional musicians. Featured during each program will be never-before-aired recordings and other musical surprises. This is a unique opportunity to learn about the legendary Charlottesville jazz scene from one of its educational leaders. Monday will feature Veronica Swift. At age 25, Veronica Swift has become one of the world's most sought-after jazz talents. Having grown up on the road with her parents- jazz pianist Hod O'Brien and jazz vocalist Stephanie Nakasian- she was exposed to some of the greatest musicians of the time; Annie Ross, Jon Hendricks, Bob Dorough, Paquito d'Rivera, and Marilyn Maye. At age nine, Swift recorded her first album "Veronica's House of Jazz," and began professionally touring with her parents as well as singing and playing trumpet in the youth jazz group "The Young Razzcals Jazz Project." It was with the Young Razzcals she had her first opportunity to perform on festival stages like the Telluride Jazz Festival and would for the next ten years. At age 11, after recording her second album "It's Great to be Alive," she headlined her first show at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. Swift continued touring throughout her years in College, obtaining a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Miami in 2016. Just before graduating, and the passing of her father, Swift was awarded second place at the Thelonious Monk 2015 Jazz Vocal Competition landing her a showcase at the esteemed Birdland Jazz Club in New York City. She then moved to New York in 2017 to continue pursuing her growing career. Maintaining a weekly residency at Birdland, Veronica toured internationally and joined the lineup on the show of Trumpeter Chris Botti. The past few years, she has toured and performed on numerous occasions with Michael Feinstein, Benny Green, Wynton Marsalis, and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, appearing at legendary festivals (Montreal, Monterey, Umbria, Detroit, Marciac...) and jazz clubs (Birdland, Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, Jazz Showcase, Jazz Standard, SF Jazz, JALC Shanghai, Blue Note...). In 2018, Veronica signed a deal with Mack Avenue Recordings and released her 2019 album "Confessions" with them. In addition to singing bebop and Great American Songbook classics, Veronica is also a passionate devotee of the 20's and 30's repertoire and opera as well as rock and roll and metal. Swift also writes and acts in her films she makes with Darkstone Entertainment. In 2020, Swift will release her next album on Mack Avenue with her regular touring trio: The Emmet Cohen Trio.

Rahsaan Roland Kirk was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist who played tenor saxophone, flute, and many other instruments. Blinded at the age of two from a botched medical procedure, be became world-renowned for his onstage vitality, during which virtuoso improvisation was accompanied by comic banter, political ranting, and the ability to play several instruments simultaneously. But don't let his humor or banter fool you; Kirk was an avid promotor of racial equality and possessed super-human musical abilities. There was only one Rahsaan and we will celebrate his spirit and soul together during the Jazz and Blues Marathon.

Between 1967 and 1972, St. Louis was home to a multidisciplinary arts collective known as the Black Artists Group or BAG. Not unlike its contemporary AACM in Chicago, local African American experimentalists, with an even wider background ranging from theater, visual arts, dance, poetry, film, to free jazz, were educated and introduced from here. We'll spin the classics of Julius Hemphill, Oliver Lake and Human Arts Ensemble, while readdressing this important piece of history on jazz in community.

Overnight Monday through Saturday, we will present the five-part documentary of the life and music of John Coltrane, "Tell Me How Long Trane's Been Gone," a documentary on the historic Carnegie Hall concert of Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane and "The House that Trane Built," the story of Impulse Records.  We will also spend one evening each on Prestige, Blue Note, Atlantic and Impulse, the four labels on which Trane recorded, featuring Trane's music alongside his label mates and will explore recent recordings of Trane's work by living artists.

Two hours of Brubeck, Desmond and more as part of this year's Jazz Marathon. While we know "Dave Digs Disney," now is the time to show you dig WTJU!

We all know that New Orleans blended the foundational rhythms created in Africa with the syncopations in the Caribbean, resulting in new interpretations in the US by the Nevilles, Rufus Thomas, James Brown, Sly and others that brought the most vibrant music on the planet. Join the Professor for two hours of the funk-a-do-shus-ness that put a dip in its hip and a glide in its slide and just see if you don’t get a case your own self!

Norah Jones alone with her piano can be excellent company. And even better is Norah with friends like Herbie Hancock, Willie Nelson, Ray Charles, Bonnie Raitt, Anoushka Shankar (her sister), Danger Mouse, Billie Joe and M. Ward. Keep us company while we settle in to bask in the warmth and beauty of two hours with Norah Jones.

Founded in the 1950s as an art museum, Preservation Hall soon expanded to promote the great jazz music of New Orleans from the Jaffes and Sweet Emma Barrett in the 1960s through its 50th Anniversary Concert at Carnegie Hall with Allen Toussaint. Check out the Bands and Community of Preservation Hall on the WTJU 2020 Jazz and Blues Marathon.

Butch Warren anchored the rhythm section on numerous classic recordings during the early 1960s, including many of the classic Blue Note albums of that era. Many listeners may be acquainted with Warren’s musicianship and a few of his compositions via recordings by Sonny Clark, Jackie McLean, Dexter Gordon, Don Wilkerson, Herbie Hancock, Stanley Turrentine, Donald Byrd, Kenny Dorham, Joe Henderson and Thelonious Monk. Warren worked with a number of pianists and drummers, including notable collaborations with Sonny Clark and Bill Higgins. Butch Warren, born and raised in Washington DC, passed away in 2013. Unfortunately, his brief professional career during the early 1960s was curtailed, in part due to the combination of mental illness and drug addiction. Warren’s father, a part time musician who sometimes worked in clubs in the Washington DC area, often made his home available to black musicians traveling through the area during the era of segregation. It seems quite likely Warren learned and absorbed much from these professional musicians he likely met in his home during those formative years. Though the most significant part of his career was indeed quite brief, he was a key contributor to numerous classic recordings by some of the most important artists working in the early 1960s. Interestingly, he seems to have made only two recordings as a leader, during a brief career resurgence in the last few years of his life. We are fortunate to be able to acknowledge and pay homage to the contributions of Butch Warren.

You know him from Bela Fleck and the Flecktones and the Dave Matthews Band. Now hear his bands, side projects and from his own Ear Up Records.

Before the Cold War got in the way, jazz benefited from a free flow of ideas between Cuban and American musicians. We'll dance to classic rumba and mambo beats from the big bands, and snap our fingers for bebop-flavored improvisational brilliance. There'll be plenty of sabor and sazon on tap!

Join Shea Butter and DC jazz stalwart Jon Lee for a tour of the DMV’s modern jazz scene.

Overnight Monday through Saturday, we will present the five-part documentary of the life and music of John Coltrane, "Tell Me How Long Trane's Been Gone," a documentary on the historic Carnegie Hall concert of Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane and "The House that Trane Built," the story of Impulse Records.  We will also spend one evening each on Prestige, Blue Note, Atlantic and Impulse, the four labels on which Trane recorded, featuring Trane's music alongside his label mates and will explore recent recordings of Trane's work by living artists.

Tune in for some of Jazz's greatest female vocalists like Sarah Vaughn, Rosemary Clooney, and Ella Fitzgerald.

In this show we will be listening to the Piano Players of the Blues, whether it’s in their own band, solo setting, or with the band that got them on the map. Some you may know and some you may have never heard of, but you’ve most likely heard them!

Cuban and Afro Cuban music from longstanding groups that became musical institutions

Exploring the evolution of jazz music from 1962-1972 featuring the bossa nova and the jazz fusion movements. Artists include Antonio Carlos Jobim, Stan Getz, Astrud Gilberto, Herbie Hancock, Cannonball Adderley, Walter Wanderley, the Modern Jazz Quartet and Larry Coryell.

The guitar of John Scofield has been a favorite of the JazzCzar for years, so we'll explore some of the best tunes we can find.

Retired Albemarle High School music director Greg Thomas will have candid and revealing conversations with former students who have gone on to play professionally, as well as local and regional musicians. Featured during each program will be never-before-aired recordings and other musical surprises. This is a unique opportunity to learn about the legendary Charlottesville jazz scene from one of its educational leaders. Wednesday will feature Charles Owens. Charles Owens is a master tenor saxophonist, composer, band leader, recording artist, and educator and has been performing, composing, and teaching professionally for over 25 years. After attending the New School and living as a professional musician in New York City from 1992 to 2004, he is currently living in Charlottesville, VA. Charles is an integral part of the vibrant music scene there and in Richmond VA. He also travels back to New York City several times a year to perform with his trio at venues such as Smalls, The Django, Fat Cat and others. He has made 8 albums as a leader and appeared on numerous recordings as a hired soloist. He's performed with such jazz luminaries as Brad Mehldau, Mark Turner, Omer Avital, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Brian Blade, Peter Bernstein, Larry Goldings, Ari Hoenig, Alexander Claffy, Jeff Watts, and Joel Frahm among many others. He has devoted his life to pursuing excellence in music and bringing peace and happiness to his fellow humans with his saxophone playing, performing, and composing.

Showcasing the rise of the Afro-Centric music championed by Kamasi Washington and the family of Los Angeles-based musicians known as the West Coast Get Down; as well as music from the vibrant new London Jazz scene, personified by saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings and his groups: Shabaka and the Ancestors and The Comet Is Coming

Since the late 90s, Gerald Short and his Jazzman Records have been digging out some of the scarcest and grooviest jams that no one can resist. And his hard work didn't come in vain: Young musicians are contributing to an exciting contemporary jazz scene in England thanks to the taste education Jazzman has brought over 20 years. The label itself had helped bring some of their musical statements to world's attention. Once a Jazzman, always a jazz man.

Overnight Monday through Saturday, we will present the five-part documentary of the life and music of John Coltrane, "Tell Me How Long Trane's Been Gone," a documentary on the historic Carnegie Hall concert of Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane and "The House that Trane Built," the story of Impulse Records.  We will also spend one evening each on Prestige, Blue Note, Atlantic and Impulse, the four labels on which Trane recorded, featuring Trane's music alongside his label mates and will explore recent recordings of Trane's work by living artists.

It can be (and has been) said that Black Women saved the Blues! They made the first Blues recordings and were instrumental in spreading the popularity of the Blues. Join Sandy in a 2-hour celebration of the Blues Matriarchy: Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Ida Cox, Ethel Waters, and more, as well as the following generations of Blues Women like Billie Holiday, Etta James, and Gaye Adegbalola.

Hank, Thad and Elvin. Music from the royal family of Pontiac, Michigan, spanning the swing, bop, hard bop eras, and beyond

From its inception in the 1920's as Western Swing, this sub-genre of country music has remained popular with audiences for nearly 100 years. We'll swing through the decades, from Milton Brown to Wayne Hancock and many in between, with two whole hours of this delightful music on a special edition of the Cosmic American Jamboree especially for the Jazz Marathon.

A musical medley of memories as Frank, Dean, Sammy, and chums will entertain you with their songs and banter - a lasting "community" of fun and style like no other!

Celebrating the life and songs of Marvin Gaye

The Free Bridge Quintet is the faculty jazz quintet of the University of Virginia Department of Music. Founded in 1997, it features Jeff Decker on saxophones, Robert Jospé on the drums, Peter Spaar on bass, John D’earth on trumpet and flugelhorn, and Butch Taylor on piano. The quintet has been a staple of the UVA/Charlottesville jazz scene, and of the greater Central Virginia jazz world, for two decades. Its members are internationally recognized jazz performers and recording artists. Join your host, Brian Keena, for a two-hour live broadcast with the members of the FBQ. They will share with you the inside story of this long-standing band, the jazz environment in and around Charlottesville, their new projects, how music makes life better, and live on-air instrumentals. We will also be featuring never-before-aired concert recordings of the Quintet from UVA's Old Cabell Hall, as well as some of their earlier recordings. While we do this, we plan to raise much-needed funds for the Sound Choice, WTJU!

The Juddermeister presents two hours of piano professors from New Orleans. We'll start at the beginning with the "Spanish tinge" of Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe (aka Jelly Roll Morton), and move into Archibald, Walter "Fats" Pichon, Tuts Washington, Champion Jack Dupree, Cousin Joe Pleasant, and Roland "Professor Longhair" Byrd. Next, we'll move into such masters as Fats Domino, James Booker, Huey Piano Smith, Allen Toussaint, Art Neville, and Dr John. Finally, we'll end with current professors of piano such as Jon Cleary, Joe Krown, Tom McDermott, Marcia Ball, Papa John Gros, and David Torkanowsky. Get up, wave your handkerchief, and support this community radio station.

Tenor saxophonist Kamasi Washington has been one of modern jazz’s brightest lights over the past decade. This show will explore Kamasi’s epic solo work and his many collaborations with the West Coast Get Down collective, hip hop superstar Kendrick Lamar, and others.

Overnight Monday through Saturday, we will present the five-part documentary of the life and music of John Coltrane, "Tell Me How Long Trane's Been Gone," a documentary on the historic Carnegie Hall concert of Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane and "The House that Trane Built," the story of Impulse Records.  We will also spend one evening each on Prestige, Blue Note, Atlantic and Impulse, the four labels on which Trane recorded, featuring Trane's music alongside his label mates and will explore recent recordings of Trane's work by living artists.

Three of the modern giants of Guitar Jazz. All incredibly prolific and always something new! John Abercrombie RIP.

Horace Silver once said, "Funky means earthy and blues-based. It might not be blues itself, but it does have that 'down-home' feel to it. Soul is basically the same, but there's an added dimension of feeling and spirit." Let's funk it up for three solid hours of B3 organs, guitars, drums and horns and get down with your groovy host Brian Keena. The soul jazz genre stems from hard bop, gospel, blues, rhythm & blues, as well as other veins of jazz. If you dig artists like Silver, Cannonball Adderley, Jimmy Smith, Shirley Scott, Baby Face Willette, Big John Patton, Herbie Hancock, Les McCann, Nina Simone, Eddie Harris, Aretha Franklin, and Lou Donaldson, then you definitely must tune in Friday morning from 9 to noon during the WTJU Jazz and Blues marathon! Listen in and pledge to keep this programming alive. Be a part of this year's soul jazz experience. This is a show not to be missed!

An overview of some of the most significant jazz vocal performers in the canon. Some old, some new, great compositions, swinging, and ballads, but most importantly, those fabulous voices that stir our souls.

Between 1966 and 1976, Larry Coryell arguably set the standard for creative, electric, overdriven guitar (save Jimi, of course). Larry was going strong up until his unexpected death in 2017 (after a gig at the Iridium in NYC) but we will focus on Coryell’s first decade merging jazz and rock with the likes of Gary Burton and Herbie Mann, and then as frontman with the seminal groups Foreplay and the Eleventh House.

If you’re a regular listener from 4-6pm on Fridays, you’ll hear a fair amount of fiddle music on Sunset Road. Tune in on October 9th from 4-6pm during the jazz marathon, and you won’t be disappointed... there will be nothing but jazz fiddle, from A(smussen) to Z(acharias). And please, make a pledge!

Retired Albemarle High School music director Greg Thomas will have candid and revealing conversations with former students who have gone on to play professionally, as well as local and regional musicians. Featured during each program will be never-before-aired recordings and other musical surprises. This is a unique opportunity to learn about the legendary Charlottesville jazz scene from one of its educational leaders. Friday will feature Will Evans. Trumpeter, improviser, and composer, Will Evans is from Charlottesville and has been playing trumpet for eight years. In this short time, Will has earned a reputation as an emerging jazz talent, winning multiple accolades and sharing the stage with top Virginia jazz masters including John D’earth, Art Wheeler, Charles Owens, Michelle Oliva, Devonne Harris, and the prestigious Albemarle High School Jazz Band directed by Greg Thomas. He is a four-time All-Virginia Jazz honoree and former winner of the top soloist award at the prestigious Chantilly Jazz Festival. Will is currently in his second year of studies at the Manhattan School of Music where he is a student of master trumpeter, Ingrid Jensen.

Cool instrumentals from the great house bands coming out of Stax, Motown, Hi and Fame Records.

It’s back, and now with even bigger fins! Cadillacs feature in more popular songs, by far, than any other make of car, turning up in some genuinely surprising places. Per the ad copy of 1905: "You Can Kill a Horse but not a Cadillac.” Tune in Friday night at 10:00 to hear the smooth roar of power on Son of Cadillac Attack.

Overnight Monday through Saturday, we will present the five-part documentary of the life and music of John Coltrane, "Tell Me How Long Trane's Been Gone," a documentary on the historic Carnegie Hall concert of Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane and "The House that Trane Built," the story of Impulse Records.  We will also spend one evening each on Prestige, Blue Note, Atlantic and Impulse, the four labels on which Trane recorded, featuring Trane's music alongside his label mates and will explore recent recordings of Trane's work by living artists.

Pioneering jazz and blues guitarist and composer during the 20s, 30s and 40s, Alonzo "Lonnie" Johnson's single note guitar solos were a major influence on modern jazz and blues. In addition to his solo work, he accompanied a wide range of musicians such as Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington, Texas Alexander, Johnny Dodds, among others. Join us as we celebrate his work.

While the momentum has been building for many years, the last 15 years marks the coming of age of a major group of significant jazz musicians from Israel, mostly now ex-pats in New York. Tune in for music from Omer Avital, Anat Cohen, Avishai Cohen, Gilad Hekselman, Shai Maestro and Ruet Regev, among others.

Reverend Mike welcomes you to the Church of Community Healing and Higher Consciousness. We'll expand minds and soothe our souls with spiritual jazz from John Coltrane, Pharaoh Sanders, Ambrose Akinmusire, Billy Harper, Sun Ra, Lonnie Liston Smith, Matthew Halsall, Clifford Jordan, Cecil Taylor, and others.

1962. Jamaica was ablaze with new possibilities, a new inspiration. A new sound. The music reflected that. And then, they learned otherwise. The music reflected that, too.

Each spring music lovers from across the globe flock to New Orleans for Jazzfest. Celebrating the birthplace of jazz and its many musical offspring, the festival’s stages are primarily filled with artists from New Orleans and elsewhere in Louisiana. This show will feature live recordings from the festival’s archives for what will surely be a great day at Jazzfest.

Needless to say, as an African-American art form, the jazz community made its collective voice heard during the Civil Rights struggle in the mid-20th century. Billie Holiday’s Strange Fruit, John Coltrane’s Alabama, Charles Mingus’s Fables of Faubus, James Brown’s I’m Black and I’m Proud, and Nina Simone’s Mississippi Goddam are just some of the notable expressions from that era that, alas, are still relevant to the Black Lives Matter movement. Join us for an exploration of music that matters more than ever. As does your support for the 2020 Jazz and Blues Marathon.

The music of saxophonist, composer and jazz iconoclast John Zorn, minus the screaming saxophone he is known for. The music from the family of artists on his Tzadik label is wide, varied and often beautiful.

A showcase of tunes from the NYC label that puts out new and vintage afro-soul, psychedelic latin, disco, and reggae music. This is basically my favorite label, as their crates are deep and their connections with the scene creating the newest stuff in this space are rock solid.

The off beat cannot exist without the down beat so we will listen to those who paved the way such as The Funky Meters, before getting into more contemporary funk like New Master Sounds, Vulfpeck, and the Dap-Kings. To stay true to WTJU's mission, DJ D WOO takes pride in making sure some "Not on Labels" get some airtime as well.

Overnight Monday through Saturday, we will present the five-part documentary of the life and music of John Coltrane, "Tell Me How Long Trane's Been Gone," a documentary on the historic Carnegie Hall concert of Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane and "The House that Trane Built," the story of Impulse Records.  We will also spend one evening each on Prestige, Blue Note, Atlantic and Impulse, the four labels on which Trane recorded, featuring Trane's music alongside his label mates and will explore recent recordings of Trane's work by living artists.

The mambo wasn't just a kind of Latin music that Ricky Ricardo played to throw Arthur Murray's back out of whack. In Mexico, where the Mambo was born, it was a revolution both musically and socially, a type of dance music that appealed to the aspirations of post-war Mexicans that wanted freeways, modern cities and modern conveniences. By 1953 the bottom had dropped out of the social revolutionary aspect of Mambo, but the difficult dance steps and sophisticated music, for a time, caught on throughout the world. Uncle Dave Lewis doesn't speak Spanish, but he is longtime aficionado of Mambo, and while Perez Prado will be the main focus of the show, some attempt will be made to cast a wider net in this late wrinkle in the big band fabric.

A special edition of In the Spirit for these hard times. Rebecca will present a selection of inspiring gospel songs filled with hope for a better day.

Recorded in '69 and released in 1970, Bitches Brew is credited with ushering in the electrification of jazz, or jazz fusion. This record changed the face of jazz in the 20th century, so we'll check out some precursors and the album in which Miles brought in some of the most forward-thinking musicians of his day-- Wayne Shorter, John McLaughlin, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Joe Zawinul, Dave Holland and Tony Williams. Join the JazzCzar and call in your support to 434-924-3959.

In 1956, the US State Department created the Jazz Ambassadors program, hiring leading American jazz musicians such as Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman, and Duke Ellington to be "ambassadors" for the United States overseas, particularly to improve the public image of the US in the light of criticism from the Soviet Union around racial inequality and racial tension. The show will feature artists participating in this goodwill mission.

Get up and dance! Sexy rhythms, swaying hips, blaring trumpets, pounding congas. Hot! Hot! Hot! Mambo, Merengue, Salsa - nothing says community like a sweaty dance floor ... or close your eyes and cha cha in the safety of your own living room, today's great Latin bands will be scorching the airways.

As the British blues boom came into full swing in the 60’s, Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac were at the top of the list. Unfortunately, at the height of his fame he left the music business only to reappear from time to time guesting on different recordings and recording his own odd album or two, but then again, he drifted away again only to make a comeback in the 90’s with the Splinter Group and recorded several albums and once again drifted away from the music. He had a unique sound in his guitar that could be quite haunting at times, as well as believing in less is more. RIP Peter Green.

Following the "Leaders of the Pack" through this "Big Bad World," "I'd Much Rather Be With The Girls" is two packed hours of girl group Radio. Focusing on black R&B groups from the late 1950s into the early 1960s and pulling in some girl group garage rock and "outsider" sounds, "I'd Much Rather Be With the Girls" takes a slow cruise through one of the most prolific, influential, and joyful genres of American music.

Take a stroll down the Native American Music Hall of Fame. This is a category as broad as the Great Plains, but we'll try to stay focused on Jazz and Blues for the WTJU 2020 Jazz and Blues Marathon. See you there!

The late, great Hamilton Bohannon started his career as the drummer behind Motown's live shows and ended up creating and perfecting a singular brand of hypnotizing, metronomic funk that was distinctive and utterly his own. This much-sampled music ended up influencing early disco music, Talking Heads, Krautrock, and even the Godfather of Soul, James Brown. Join Don, Rick and an international cast of Radio Wowsville All-Stars as they conclude the jazz marathon with a three-hour, foot-stompin' tribute to the man behind the Bohannon Beat.