Totaling nearly six hours this is an in-depth examination of the life, music and genius of a brilliant technician and overlooked composer: from his piano rolls and early classic, “The Charleston” through
his mastery of Harlem Stride piano, to exploration of theatrical and
symphonic forms, this is an exhaustive consideration of Johnson, from
recordings old and new.
A thorough examination of the music, life and times of trumpeter Joe ‘King’ Oliver, one of the prime movers of early Classic Jazz.
Programs include exclusive live performances of Oliver’s music by: South Frisco Jazz Band; Fenix Jazz Band of Argentina and Evergreen Classic Jazz Band of Washington
Oliver’s own historic records with his Creole Jazz Band, Dixie Syncopators and Jelly Roll Morton are heard along with music from: The Southern Stompers (France), Ted Shafer’s Jelly Roll Jazz Band, John Gill’s Dixieland Serenaders, Abbi Hubner’s Lowdown Wizards (Germany), Chris Tyle’s Silver Leaf Jazz Band and Keith Nichols Red Hot Syncopators (Britain).
This vintage JAZZ RHYTHM program first broadcast on KALW, San Francisco in the mid-1990s.
This vintage JAZZ RHYTHM program first broadcast on KALW, San Francisco in the mid-1990s.
Jelly
Roll Morton created a large body of early Jazz tunes, sheet music and
recordings that summed up the best of New Orleans Jazz. He composed a
great deal of terrific music making a vast number of recordings of
mostly superior musical quality for their day during a career spanning
from the early, early days in New Orleans (before the year 1900) to
1941.
He was one of the most gifted musicians from New Orleans to
attain worldwide fame -- though more so after his death than during his
life. Morton was possibly the best musician of the 1920s at achieving
an ideal symmetry between structure and improvisation. His records
skillfully balance between song structure and improvised group polyphony
-- and between ensemble and solo improvisation.
A peculiar and
fascinating character, Jelly Roll was a gifted musician, major jazz
pianist & composer, and helped shape Classic Jazz in the 1920s. His
music, particularly his piano style, can be seen a bridge -- the
missing link if you will -- between Ragtime, the music that preceded
jazz in the late 19th century, and the classic jazz style that emerged
in the 1920s.
These programs were broadcast live in the San
Francisco Bay Area in the early or mid-1990s in 2-hour segments. In
general these vintage programs contain more comprehensive information
and examine the featured artists in greater depth.
Vintage JAZZ
RHYTHM programs may be of special interest to committed enthusiasts
seeking a more complete picture of early jazz style and development --
and the musicians keeping this music alive today.
While most of
the local context has been removed, you will still hear references to
the fact that these were heard Sunday nights on KALW-FM in San
Francisco. JAZZ RHYTHM became a nationally syndicated series in its
current form in October 1998.
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