Jazz Insights with Dr. Gordon Vernick
By AM 1690
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Podcast Description
Jazz history in 10 minutes. Dr. Gordon Vernick, a Professor of Music and Coordinator of Jazz Studies at Georgia State University, creates these jazz vignettes to cover all aspects of jazz from its inception until the current day. These vignettes are created for the music novice hoping to learn more about jazz through simple explanation and musical examples.
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1 |
Jazz Rock Fusion - Part 4 | Gordon concludes his segment on jazz rock fusion and the overall influence of jazz structures on rock music from the 1960s. In this, the final segment, Gordon takes a look at the music of three masters: Van Morrison, The Allman Bros Band, and Frank Zappa. | 1/11/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2 |
Jazz Rock Fusion - Part 3 | Gordon continues his series on the influence of jazz structures on rock music in the 1960s. By the late 1950s, the emergence of free jazz isolated much of the public and began to fall out of favor as rock music began winning the hearts of listeners worldwide. During that time, musicians in England began experimenting not only with the blues, but also with elements of jazz. Musicians like Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce, who later went on to form Cream, melded their love of blues, rock and jazz into what is today known as jazz rock fusion. This practice continued throughout the 1960s to include progressive-rock bands like King Crimson and Jethro Tull. In the late 1960s, modal jazz became a big part in blues-rock bands and artists like Jimi Hendrix and the Blues Project. | 1/4/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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3 |
Jazz Rock Fusion - Part 2 | Gordon continues his series on the influence of jazz structures on rock music in the 1960s. By the late 1950s, the emergence of free jazz isolated much of the public and began to fall out of favor as rock music began winning the hearts of listeners worldwide. During that time, musicians in England began experimenting not only with the blues, but also with elements of jazz. Musicians like Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce, who later went on to form Cream, melded their love of blues, rock and jazz into what is today known as jazz rock fusion. This practice continued throughout the 1960s to include progressive-rock bands like King Crimson and Jethro Tull. | 12/14/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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4 |
Jazz Rock Fusion - Part 1 | Gordon begins a new series on the influence of jazz structures on rock music in the 1960s. By the late 1950s, the emergence of free jazz isolated much of the public and began to fall out of favor as rock music began winning the hearts of listeners worldwide. During that time, musicians in England began experimenting not only with the blues, but also with elements of jazz. Musicians like Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce, who later went on to form Cream, melded their love of blues, rock and jazz into what is today known as jazz rock fusion. | 12/7/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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5 |
Ahmad Jamal - Part 3 - Influence on Miles Davis | Although Jamal is not necessarily a household name, he is considered by many to be one of the most important figures in jazz music in the last 50 years and has been cited by many major figures including Miles Davis who recorded many of Jamals arrangements. This look at the life and work of Ahmad Jamal concludes in part 3 by looking at the arrangements and tunes borrowed by Miles Davis from the mid to late-1950s. | 11/3/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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6 |
Ahmad Jamal - Part 2 - Trio Work in Chicago | Although Jamal is not necessarily a household name, he is considered by many to be one of the most important figures in jazz music in the last 50 years and has been cited by many major figures including Miles Davis who recorded many of Jamals arrangements. Part 2 begins a more intense look at Jamals solo work with his legendary trio which included Israel Crosby on bass and Vernel Fornier on drums. | 10/27/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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7 |
Ahmad Jamal - Part 1 - Influences, Three Strings and Autumn Leaves | Although Jamal is not necessarily a household name, he is considered by many to be one of the most important figures in jazz music in the last 50 years and has been cited by many major figures including Miles Davis who recorded many of Jamals arrangements. In the first segment, Dr. Vernick takes time to look at some of the players who influenced Jamal and helped Ahmad cultivate his original playing style. As well, Gordon looks at his first group Three Strings and his highly influential arrangement of Autumn Leaves | 10/20/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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8 |
How Jazz Works - Part 4 | Gordon continues his look at how jazz works by showing the evolution of popular jazz styles throughout the decades. Like last week, Gordon welcomes in some of his Georgia State colleagues including Justin Varnes on drums and Robert Dickson on bass and shows how a melody as simple as Just a Closer Walk with Thee can be given a different mood based on style and rhythm. | 10/6/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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9 |
How Jazz Works - Part 3 | Gordon presents another edition of How Jazz Works, this time taking a look at the role of the drummer and bassist that provide the foundation and roots for jazz bands. Joining Dr. Vernick for this episode are Justin Varnes, a professor of jazz drumming at Georgia State University and bass instructor Robert Dickson. Aside from simply taking a look at the role of these instruments, both Varnes and Dickson take a look at the history and evolution of the respective instruments. | 9/29/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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10 |
The Train Songs of Duke Ellington - Part 2 | Gordon takes a look at Duke Ellingtons fascination with trains. From his earliest recordings in the mid-1920s. Ellingtons obsession with trains worked it way into his music. Throughout his career, Ellington would write tunes that tried to emulate the sounds and feel of the classic coal-powered train. As a way of mixing his passion for visual arts with his music, Duke used his brass section to emulate train horns, the drums to convey the rhythm of the wheels on a track and his woodwinds to emulate the melodies from a trains whistle. | 9/15/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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11 |
The Train Songs of Duke Ellington - Part 1 | Gordon takes a look at Duke Ellingtons fascination with trains. From his earliest recordings in the mid-1920s. Ellingtons obsession with trains worked it way into his music. Throughout his career, Ellington would write tunes that tried to emulate the sounds and feel of the classic coal-powered train. As a way of mixing his passion for visual arts with his music, Duke used his brass section to emulate train horns, the drums to convey the rhythm of the wheels on a track and his woodwinds to emulate the melodies from a trains whistle. | 9/8/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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12 |
Jazz Trombone and the 1920s - Part 3 - Jack Teagarden | Gordon continues his look at the evolution of the trombone in jazz music. In the third and final segment, Gordon concludes his look at the trombone players in 1920s jazz by focusing on perhaps the biggest and most influential of that time period, Jack Teagarden. | 8/25/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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13 |
Jazz Trombone and the 1920s - Part 2 - Jimmy Harrison and Charlie Green | Gordon continues his look at the evolution of the trombone in jazz music. In the second segment, Jimmy Harrison and Charlie Green are the featured players. While both players played with Jelly Roll Morton, Charlie Green has the distinction of being Bessie Smiths favorite horn player - even above Louis Armstrong - and is immortalized in the song Trombone Cholly. | 8/18/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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14 |
Jazz Trombone and the 1920s - Part 1 - Kid Ory and Miff Mole | Gordon takes a look at the evolution of the trombone in jazz music. Part 1 of the series begins looking at some of the earliest pioneers of the trombone in jazz including the well-known Kid Ory out of New Orleans and the not-so-well-know Miff Mole out of New York City. | 8/11/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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15 |
Woody Shaw - Part 3 - Woody the Successful Arranger | From 1976 to 1979, Shaw enjoyed the greatest success of his career. After being signed to Columbia Records, Shaw was afforded the opportunity to expand the scope of his work by using more musicians, showing Shaw's abilities not just as a player but also as an arranger and composer. | 7/21/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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16 |
Woody Shaw - Part 2 - Influential in the 60s | Gordon talks about legendary trumpet player Woody Shaw. Often referred to as the last innovator, Shaw is best remembered for revolutionizing the technical and harmonic vocabulary of the jazz trumpet. In the second segment, Gordon takes a look at some of Woodys monumental recordings from the mid-1960s including Woody's first true recording as a bandleader. The album that came from this session, Casandranite, wouldn't be released until the mid-1980s. | 7/14/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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17 |
Woody Shaw - Part 1 - Influences and Early Recordings | Gordon talks about legendary trumpet player Woody Shaw. Often referred to as the last innovator, Shaw is best remembered for revolutionizing the technical and harmonic vocabulary of the jazz trumpet. The first segment begins by looking at some of Woodys influences including Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard and Booker Little. Also highlighted are some Shaws first recordings in his late teens and early twenties with legends like Eric Dolphy and Art Blakey. | 7/7/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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18 |
Wilbur Sweatman - Part 2 - Serious Artist | Gordon looks into the work of Wilbur Sweatman, a seminal yet fairly obscure character in the history of jazz. Born near Kansas City in the late 19th century, Sweatman quickly became a virtuosic clarinetist capable of playing in a variety of styles including ragtime and classical among others. In the early 20th Century, Sweatman started his career as a Vaudeville performer, a move which would help him gain notariaty but also cause him to be panned by most jazz historians. By the early 1920s, Sweatman escaped the Vaudeville life that had held him back from being a serious musician and began making a string of legendary recordings with the Columbia label with his Original Jazz Band. However, these recordings would be the last important recordings Sweatman would make as popular music made the switch from Dixieland to Big Band Jazz. | 6/23/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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19 |
Wilbur Sweatman - Part 1 - The Vaudeville Years | Gordon looks into the work of Wilbur Sweatman, a seminal yet fairly obscure character in the history of jazz. Born near Kansas City in the late 19th century, Sweatman quickly became a virtuosic clarinetist capable of playing in a variety of styles including ragtime and classical among others. In the early 20th Century, Sweatman started his career as a Vaudeville performer, a move which would help him gain notariaty but also cause him to be panned by most jazz historians. In 1916, Sweatman makes what Dr. Vernick considers the first jazz recording in history, coming almost a year before Original Dixieland Jazz Bands famous recording for Victor Records in 1917. | 6/16/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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20 |
Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?) - Instrumental Version | Rather than looking at one specific artist, this Jazz Insights takes a look at one song. The composition in question is Lover Man, a song most famously done by Billie Holiday. Since her version in 1944, this song has been reimagined and re-interpreted hundreds of times and in hundreds of ways. The second segment of the show examines versions played on the alto saxophone. Aside from playing examples from the likes of Charlie Parker, Jackie McLean and others, Gordon takes a look at how well the alto saxophone mimics the female voice. Also, unlike the vocal versions of this song, the alto interpretations leave more room for improvisation and experimentation with the melody of the song. | 6/2/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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21 |
Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?) - Vocal Version | Rather than looking at one specific artist, this Jazz Insights takes a look at one song. The composition in question is Lover Man, a song most famously done by Billie Holiday. Since her version in 1944, this song has been reimagined and re-interpreted hundreds of times and in hundreds of ways. In the first segment, Gordon looks at some of the finest and most unique vocal versions of the song including Billie Holidays original, Blossom Dearie, Carmen McRae, Sarah Vaughn, and Etta James. | 5/26/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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22 |
Jackie McLean - Part 3 | Gordon takes a look at alto saxophonist Jackie McLean. McLean grew up in an area of New York surrounded by legendary figures like Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker and soon to be legends like Sonny Rollins and Kenny Drew. By the third segment set in the mid-1960s, after returning from an extended trip to Paris, Jackie was fully engulfed in free and modal jazz. In order to help him pull of this emerging style of jazz, Jackie enlisted the help of some younger players like Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams and Jack Dejohnette. | 5/19/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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23 |
Jackie McLean - Part 2 | Gordon takes a look at alto saxophonist Jackie McLean. McLean grew up in an area of New York surrounded by legendary figures like Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker and soon to be legends like Sonny Rollins and Kenny Drew. In the second segment, Gordon looks at the evolution of McLeans music as he makes the move from bebop and hard-bop to modal jazz in the early-1960s. | 5/12/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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24 |
Jackie McLean - Part 1 | Gordon takes a look at alto saxophonist Jackie McLean. McLean grew up in an area of New York surrounded by legendary figures like Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker and soon to be legends like Sonny Rollins and Kenny Drew. The first segment takes a look at some of the legends like Charlie Parker, Bud Powell and Dexter Gordon who would have a huge influence on McLean as well as Jackies first recordings with Charles Mingus and Miles Davis. | 5/5/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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25 |
Raymond Scott | The music of Raymond Scott is hard to define. A graduate of the Juilliard School of Music, Scotts music incorporates elements of classical music and klezmer while emphasizing a reduced reliance on improvisation. While most of his melodies were based on improvisations, rather than strict compositions, once these melodies were set, they could never be changed. In the late 1930s, Raymond Scotts music was exposed to a whole new world when it was licensed by Carl Stalling and used in over 120 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons. | 4/21/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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26 |
Thad Jones - Part 4 | On this Jazz Insights, Gordon presents the 4th and final segment on trumpet player, composer and arranger Thad Jones. In the mid-1960s, after many years of service with the Count Basie Orchestra, Count Basie let Thad know very plainly that his arrangements were far too complex and experimental for the Basie band. After the Count made the suggestion that he go off on his own, Thad joined forces with drummer Mel Lewis to form the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra. While performing, arranging and composing for this band, Thad left his mark as a truly great composer and arranger that would challenge and push his arrangements to the point that only the finest jazz musicians would be able to play with him. | 4/7/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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27 |
Thad Jones - Part 3 | Gordon continues his exploration into the work of trumpet player Thad Jones. While the first two segments have focused mainly on Thads playing style and improvisations, this third segment takes a look at Thads writing and arranging skills with the Count Basie Band from the mid to late 1950s. | 3/31/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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28 |
Thad Jones - Part 2 | Gordon continues his look into trumpet player Thad Jones. Where the first segment showed Thad's trumpet influences and his work as a sideman in other peoples bands, the second segment shows Thads work with his own small bands. This segment takes a specific look at Thads ability to write and improvise in a different way melodically and rhythmically than any other players at the time. | 3/24/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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29 |
Thad Jones - Part 1 | Trumpet player and arranger Thad Jones is the subject of this episode of Jazz Insights. Dr. Gordon Vernick gives a history of Jones life, from his days as a self-taught musician in Detroit to the formation of his own big band in the 1960s. Dr. Vernick goes on to discuss Jones influences, such as Dizzie Gillespie and Clark Terry, and the impacts of these artists on Jones playing, as part of this tour through Jones impressive and varied career. | 3/9/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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30 |
How Jazz Works, Part II | Dr. Gordon Vernick explains the fundamentals of jazz improvisation and song structure in this episode of Jazz Insights. Dr. Vernick and his colleague David Frackenpohl play trumpet and guitar, respectively, to illustrate key points. Excerpts from classic jazz recordings, such as the Miles Davis classic So What?, also serve as examples to highlight characteristics of jazz improvisations. | 3/2/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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31 |
Scott LaFaro - Part 4 | Dr. Vernick explores the career of jazz bassist Scott LaFaro who is known for revolutionizing the role of his instrument. The 4th and final segment documents the engagement that he played with the Bill Evans Trio at the Village Vanguard within two weeks of his untimely death in a car accident. Rather than showcase LaFaros individual performance, Gordon emphasizes the musical interaction that occurs between the group as a whole since he feels that is what made this night particularly notable and memorable. | 2/16/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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32 |
Scott LaFaro - Part 3 | Dr. Vernick explores the career of jazz bassist Scott LaFaro who is known for revolutionizing the role of his instrument. In the year 1960, LaFaro's playing received wide acclaim on the unconventional version of jazz standard Autumn Leaves which he covered with the Bill Evans Trio. It was in this year that he also contributed to Ornette Colemans Free Jazz album which, for better or worse, would greatly influence the course of jazz history. | 2/9/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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33 |
Scott LaFaro - Part 2 | Dr. Vernick explores the career of jazz bassist Scott LaFaro who is known for revolutionizing the role of his instrument. The second segment Gordon presents examples of LaFaro's work with bands both big and small leading up to the group he formed with Ornette Coleman and Eric Dolphy which helped launch the free jazz movement. | 2/2/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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34 |
Scott LaFaro - Part 1 | Dr. Vernick explores the career of jazz bassist Scott LaFaro who is known for revolutionizing the role of his instrument. The first segment is devoted to his early work prior to joining the Bill Evans Trio and becoming a young star of the jazz scene. | 1/26/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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35 |
Stan Getz - Part 5 | This segment of Jazz Insights with Dr. Gordon Vernick focuses on the American tenor saxophonist Stan Getz. Born in New York City in the late 1930s, Getz has one of the most original and recognizable saxophone sounds in the Jazz world. Getz began playing in New York City clubs by age 15, often times being sneaked around to avoid truancy officers around the city. | 1/12/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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36 |
Stan Getz - Part 4 | This segment of Jazz Insights with Dr. Gordon Vernick focuses on the American tenor saxophonist Stan Getz. Born in New York City in the late 1930s, Getz has one of the most original and recognizable saxophone sounds in the Jazz world. Getz began playing in New York City clubs by age 15, often times being sneaked around to avoid truancy officers around the city. | 1/5/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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37 |
Stan Getz - Part 3 | This segment of Jazz Insights with Dr. Gordon Vernick focuses on the American tenor saxophonist Stan Getz. Born in New York City in the late 1930s, Getz has one of the most original and recognizable saxophone sounds in the Jazz world. Getz began playing in New York City clubs by age 15, often times being sneaked around to avoid truancy officers around the city. Part 3 finds Getz forging his own bands after leaving the group he had with Woody Herman. | 12/15/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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38 |
Stan Getz - Part 2 | In the 2nd installment of our Jazz Insights unit exploring the music of Stan Getz, Dr. Gordon Vernick features the period in Getzs career when he was playing with Woody Herman in the Second Herd. The band, also known as The Four Brothers Band, had a saxophone section with the unique dynamic of three tenors and one baritone making for a sound that distinguished them from many other groups of the day. Each of the players have an evident influence from Lester Young's playing but Getzs horn stands out from them all for the ease in which he plays and his clever choice of notes. | 12/8/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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39 |
Stan Getz - Part 1 | This podcast begins a new segment of Jazz Insights with Dr. Gordon Vernick focusing on the American tenor saxophonist Stan Getz. Born in New York City in the late 1930s, Getz has one of the most original and recognizable saxophone sounds in the Jazz world. Getz began playing in New York City clubs by age 15, often times being sneaked around to avoid truancy officers around the city. | 12/1/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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40 |
What Is Jazz? | AM 1690s resident jazz expert Dr. Gordon Vernick admits that even he often wonders, What is Jazz? This cultural medium, changing across periods and regions, is hard to put a finger on. In fact, as Dr. Vernick suggests, perhaps the only constant in jazz music is its ever-changing nature. In this episode of jazz Insights, Dr. Vernick takes the listener through a journey of the varied formulas for playing different types of jazz, from bebop to the 1960s jazz fusions, to the role that improvisation plays and the way in which jazz and culture evolve hand-in-hand. | 11/17/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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41 |
Louis Armstrongs First Recordings | This segment of Jazz Insights covers the first recordings of Louis Armstrong. They were made in 1923 when he was living in Chicago and playing with his mentor King Oliver. In 1922, King Oliver sent a telegram to a young Louis Armstrong inviting him to come to Chicago to take advantage of the multitude of playing opportunities to the Windy City. | 11/10/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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42 |
Booker Little - Part 3 | This segment of Jazz Insights takes a look at the brief career of trumpet player Booker Little. Little showed great promise from an early age and had been hailed as the predecessor to Clifford Browns bebop legacy. His mature approach to the instrument and jazz composition received attention from Max Roach who hired him to play as part of his band as well as Eric Dolphy who had him as part of his legendary residency at the Five Spot club in New York City which resulted in three releases from Dolphy. The virtuosity and versatility of his playing up to his untimely demise at age 23 from complications of uremia put his story up there with the biggest what could have beens in jazz history. | 11/4/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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43 |
Booker Little - Part 2 | This segment of Jazz Insights takes a look at the brief career of trumpet player Booker Little. Little showed great promise from an early age and had been hailed as the predecessor to Clifford Browns bebop legacy. His mature approach to the instrument and jazz composition received attention from Max Roach who hired him to play as part of his band as well as Eric Dolphy who had him as part of his legendary residency at the Five Spot club in New York City which resulted in three releases from Dolphy. The virtuosity and versatility of his playing up to his untimely demise at age 23 from complications of uremia put his story up there with the biggest what could have beens in jazz history. | 10/28/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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44 |
Booker Little - Part 1 | This segment of Jazz Insights takes a look at the brief career of trumpet player Booker Little. Little showed great promise from an early age and had been hailed as the predecessor to Clifford Browns bebop legacy. His mature approach to the instrument and jazz composition received attention from Max Roach who hired him to play as part of his band as well as Eric Dolphy who had him as part of his legendary residency at the Five Spot club in New York City which resulted in three releases from Dolphy. The virtuosity and versatility of his playing up to his untimely demise at age 23 from complications of uremia put his story up there with the biggest what could have beens in jazz history. | 10/21/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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45 |
John Coltrane - The Transition of a Genius | This segment focuses not on the entire breadth of John Coltrane's work, but instead a period in Coltrane's career from around 1957-1961. This was a very important transitional period in his life and his music. In 1957, he recorded a record called Blue Train, which was not his first record as a leader, but perhaps his first important album as a leader. This segment traces his life from this point in his career and into his work with the famous quarter with McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones and Jimmy Garrison. | 10/14/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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46 |
Max Roach Part 4 | This segment of Jazz Insights explores the music of Max Roach and marks the first time that Dr. Gordon Vernick has focused his program on a jazz drummer. Playing with some of the most important jazz musicians of the twentieth century, Roach ushered in a new approach to drumming, as swing developed into bebop, that focused less on a standard 4/4 backdrop to the music and became more interactive with each soloist. For this, the fourth and final segment of Max Roach on Jazz Insights on AM 1690, we focus on Max Roachs solo drum work. While the three previous shows focused on his dynamics and drum solos within songs, these are melodic works written specifically for solo drums. This was a first for Roach's time period and would become the bar to which other solo kit work would be measured. | 10/7/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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47 |
Max Roach Part 3 | This segment of Jazz Insights explores the music of Max Roach and marks the first time that Dr. Gordon Vernick has focused his program on a jazz drummer. Playing with some of the most important jazz musicians of the twentieth century, Roach ushered in a new approach to drumming, as swing developed into bebop, that focused less on a standard 4/4 backdrop to the music and became more interactive with each soloist. This third segment tracks the evolution of Max Roach's melodic approach towards drumming through his works with Sonny Rollins, Duke Ellington and Charlie Parker. | 9/30/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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48 |
Max Roach Part 2 | This segment of Jazz Insights explores the music of Max Roach and marks the first time that Dr. Gordon Vernick has focused his program on a jazz drummer. Playing with some of the most important jazz musicians of the twentieth century, Roach ushered in a new approach to drumming, as swing developed into bebop, that focused less on a standard 4/4 backdrop to the music and became more interactive with each soloist. This second segment explores Max Roachs careful attention to dynamics in the music, his work on the Birth of the Cool sessions with Miles Davis, and the landmark occasion dubbed The Greatest Jazz Concert Ever when he joined bebop heavy hitters Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, and Bud Powell for one night only at Massey Hall in May of 1953. | 9/23/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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49 |
Max Roach Part 1 | This segment of Jazz Insights explores the music of Max Roach and marks the first time that Dr. Gordon Vernick has focused his program on a jazz drummer. Playing with some of the most important jazz musicians of the twentieth century, Roach ushered in a new approach to drumming, as swing developed into bebop, that focused less on a standard 4/4 backdrop to the music and became more interactive with each soloist. The first segment focuses mainly on Roach's early work from the mid-1940s with Coleman Hawkins and Charlie Parker. | 9/16/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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50 |
Benny Carter - Part 2 | This two-part segment of Jazz Insights focuses on the great Benny Carter. Carter is known today as one of the great arrangers, composers, bandleaders, film scorers and alto saxophone players in jazz and his influence can be heard on music throughout the 20th century. The first segment focuses particularly on his work throughout the mid to late 1920s up to around 1930 while the second segment focuses on some of his later work. | 9/9/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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51 |
Coronet vs. Trumpet | Perhaps one of the most confusing instruments for non-musicians is the Cornet. It looks like a trumpet, and in many ways is very similar to a trumpet. However, it is the history and small differences in sound that separate the two instruments. Gordon Vernick demonstrates the differences by playing both live in the AM 1690 studios. | 8/26/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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52 |
Howard McGhee - Part 2 | This Jazz Insights features Howard McGhee, a relatively obscure trumpet player by today's standards. However, back in the 1940s and throughout the 1960s he was a very well respected jazz trumpet player, composer and arranger. He was a very much on the scene at the inception of bebop playing with the likes of Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk and Fats Navarro. | 8/19/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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53 |
Howard McGhee - Part 1 | This Jazz Insights features Howard McGhee, a relatively obscure trumpet player by today's standards. However, back in the 1940s and throughout the 1960s he was a very well respected jazz trumpet player, composer and arranger. He was a very much on the scene at the inception of bebop playing with the likes of Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk and Fats Navarro. | 8/12/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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54 |
The International Sweethearts of Rhythm | This Jazz Insights is devoted to the first fully-integrated all-female jazz band, the International Sweethearts of Rhythm. They performed in the 1930s and 40s alongside acts such as Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington, and Benny Goodman, and their prowess on their instruments and stage show was just as good. Gordon discusses the role that women have played in jazz and perhaps why there has not been much attention given to their numerous and notable contributions. | 8/5/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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55 |
Duke Pearson - Part 3 - Big Bands | For this Jazz Insights, Gordon brings it local with pianist Duke Pearson who was born and raised in Atlanta before moving on to New York City where along with musicians Donald Byrd, Bennie Golson and Pepper Adams, he helped shaped the hard bop Blue Note sound of the 1960s. Part 3 of our exploration into Duke Pearsons work focuses on his compositions for big bands. | 7/29/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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56 |
Duke Pearson - Part 2 - Bands with Two or More Horns | For this Jazz Insights, Gordon brings it local with pianist Duke Pearson who was born and raised in Atlanta before moving on to New York City where along with musicians Donald Byrd, Bennie Golson and Pepper Adams, he helped shaped the hard bop Blue Note sound of the 1960s. Part 2 of our exploration into Duke Pearsons work focuses on his compositions featuring more than two horns. | 7/22/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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57 |
Duke Pearson - Part 1 - The Composer | For this Jazz Insights, Gordon brings it local with pianist Duke Pearson who was born and raised in Atlanta before moving on to New York City where along with musicians Donald Byrd, Bennie Golson and Pepper Adams, he helped shaped the hard bop Blue Note sound of the 1960s. While Pearson was a formidable talent on his instrument, the focus of this first segment is on his accomplishments as an arranger and composer. | 7/15/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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58 |
JJ Johnson - Part 4 - Poem For Brass | This segment of Jazz Insights focuses on JJ Johnson. JJ Johnson is the first trombonist featured on Jazz Insights, and certainly one of the most important and influential Jazz trombonists of the bebop era. Johnson was influential in that he focused mainly on the bebop style of playing while swing still ruled the Jazz world. His style evolved from fellow trombonists Tommy Dorsey and Jack Teagarden. Johnson would eventually go on to play in Miles Davis group during the Birth of the Cool sessions. | 7/8/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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59 |
JJ Johnson - Part 3 - Mid-1950s | This segment of Jazz Insights focuses on JJ Johnson. JJ Johnson is the first trombonist featured on Jazz Insights, and certainly one of the most important and influential Jazz trombonists of the bebop era. Johnson was influential in that he focused mainly on the bebop style of playing while swing still ruled the Jazz world. His style evolved from fellow trombonists Tommy Dorsey and Jack Teagarden. Johnson would eventually go on to play in Miles Davis group during the Birth of the Cool sessions. | 7/1/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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60 |
JJ Johnson - Part 2 - Early Bebop | This segment of Jazz Insights focuses on JJ Johnson. JJ Johnson is the first trombonist featured on Jazz Insights, and certainly one of the most important and influential Jazz trombonists of the bebop era. Johnson was influential in that he focused mainly on the bebop style of playing while swing still ruled the Jazz world. His style evolved from fellow trombonists Tommy Dorsey and Jack Teagarden. Johnson would eventually go on to play in Miles Davis group during the Birth of the Cool sessions. | 6/24/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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61 |
JJ Johnson - Part 1 - Influences | This segment of Jazz Insights focuses on JJ Johnson. JJ Johnson is the first trombonist featured on Jazz Insights, and certainly one of the most important and influential Jazz trombonists of the bebop era. Johnson was influential in that he focused mainly on the bebop style of playing while swing still ruled the Jazz world. His style evolved from fellow trombonists Tommy Dorsey and Jack Teagarden. Johnson would eventually go on to play in Miles Davis group during the Birth of the Cool sessions. | 6/17/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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62 |
Fats Navarro | This segment of Jazz Insights focuses on the works on Fats Navarro. Navarro was an American trumpet player and an early pioneer of the bebop style of jazz. His influence over future generations of trumpet players cannot be overstated with legends like Clifford Brown naming Fats Navarro as a major influence on style and sound. Although a nasty combination of heroin, tuberculosis and weight issues cut his career short at the young age of 26, he left his mark in such a short amount of time. | 5/27/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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63 |
Paul Chambers - Part 2 | Although his career was short, Paul Chambers was one of the most influential and prolific bass players of the 20th Century. His knack for improvisation and his mastery of timing and intonation made him one of the most in-demand session musicians of his time. In his career, which spanned from the mid-1950s and throughout the 1960s, Chambers played with some of the biggest name in Jazz music including Dexter Gordon, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Wes Montgomery, Red Garland, Cannonball Adderley and many others. | 5/20/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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64 |
Paul Chambers - Part 1 | Although his career was short, Paul Chambers was one of the most influential and prolific bass players of the 20th Century. His knack for improvisation and his mastery of timing and intonation made him one of the most in-demand session musicians of his time. In his career, which spanned from the mid-1950s and throughout the 1960s, Chambers played with some of the biggest name in Jazz music including Dexter Gordon, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Wes Montgomery, Red Garland, Cannonball Adderley and many others. | 5/13/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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65 |
Wes Montgomery - Part 3 - Later Years | This episode of Jazz Insights focuses one of the most innovative jazz guitarists of the last 50 years, Wes Montgomery. Part 2 highlights Wes Montgomerys amazing knack for interpreting ballads. Part 3 looks at the later years of Montgomerys career. | 5/6/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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66 |
Wes Montgomery - Part 2 - Interpretations | This episode of Jazz Insights focuses one of the most innovative jazz guitarists of the last 50 years, Wes Montgomery. Part 2 highlights Wes Montgomerys amazing knack for interpreting ballads. Part 2 also pays special attention to Montgomerys technical prowess when moving from plucked bass notes on the guitar to block chording to soloing. | 4/29/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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67 |
Wes Montgomery - Part 1 - Influences and Early Work | This episode of Jazz Insights focuses one of the most innovative jazz guitarists of the last 50 years, Wes Montgomery. In order to get an idea of where Montgomery drew his inspiration, part 1 begins by focusing on two of his biggest influences, Charlie Christian and Django Reinhardt. Part 1 also features Montgomery’s beginnings playing sporadically in night clubs while still working a modest factory gig. | 4/22/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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68 |
The John Kirby Sextet | This episode focuses on the John Kirby Sextet which was led by bass player John Kilroy and featured the trumpeter Charlie Shavers in a 3 horn band which was unique for the big band era of the 1930s. Known as The Littlest Big Band in the Land, This bands blending of jazz and classical traditions made it a precursor to the cool jazz that Miles Davis would bring to the forefront ten years later with The Birth of the Cool. | 4/15/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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69 |
Dave Douglas - Part 3 - Traditional Jazz | Dr. Gordon Vernick delves into a more modern jazz musicians work by request from his listenership, Dave Douglas. Douglas is a composer, trumpet player, and band leader who came out of the New York City Knitting Factory scene of the 1980s. His jazz travels have led him to play with some of the Jazz worlds greatest, but most notably fellow Knitting Factory alum John Zorn. Douglas has drawn acclaim for incorporating klezmer, classical and Eastern European styles into Jazz music. Part 3 highlights his more recent work with traditional jazz instrumentation. | 4/8/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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70 |
Dave Douglas - Part 2 - Eastern Influences | Dr. Gordon Vernick delves into a more modern jazz musicians work by request from his listenership, Dave Douglas. Douglas is a composer, trumpet player, and band leader who came out of the New York City Knitting Factory scene of the 1980s. His jazz travels have led him to play with some of the Jazz worlds greatest, but most notably fellow Knitting Factory alum John Zorn. Douglas has drawn acclaim for incorporating klezmer, classical and Eastern European styles into Jazz music. Part 2 looks at the influence of Eastern European music on his playing and composing. | 4/1/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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71 |
Dave Douglas - Part 1 - String Trios | Dr. Gordon Vernick delves into a more modern jazz musicians work by request from his listenership, Dave Douglas. Douglas is a composer, trumpet player, and band leader who came out of the New York City Knitting Factory scene of the 1980s. His jazz travels have led him to play with some of the Jazz worlds greatest, but most notably fellow Knitting Factory alum John Zorn. Douglas has drawn acclaim for incorporating klezmer, classical and Eastern European styles into Jazz music. Part 1 highlights Daves work with string trios. | 3/25/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| Total: 71 Episodes |
Customer Reviews
A Must for Jazz Lovers
Accessible without oversimplifying, this podcast is exactly what I combed iTunes for: a tasty overview, with music samples, of the important figures in jazz. Highly recommended.
Outstanding and yes, Insightful!
This podcast stays exactly in the happy middle between accessible explanation and technical analysis. It points out new aspects in and other recordings of players you already know, and exposes you to new players, with an emphasis on trumpeters.
Highly recommended if you have more than a casual interest in jazz.
Outstanding
A wealth of information presented in an infectiously enthusiastic but also nicely accessible style. Good for those who are newer to jazz as well as the more experienced. A very welcome addition to the field.
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