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PODCAST

Jazz Focus

Exploring the highways and byways of Classic Recorded Jazz - from the Ragtime era to the day before yesterday!

music music history

All Episodes

61:42

Dave Brubeck Octet - 1948/9/50

Jazz Focus ·

2025/09/08

Third Stream before it was called that - several students of Darius Milhaud including Brubeck, Dave Van Kriedt (ts), Dick Collins (tpt), Bill Smith (clarinet), and Jack Weeks contribute arrangements of originals and standards using counterpoint, fugue and other classical techniques. With Paul Desmond (as), Bob Cummings (bars), Ron Crotty (sb), Carl Tjader (d) and Bob Collins (tbn)

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59:16

Show - Frank Trumbauer 1929-30

Jazz Focus ·

2025/09/08

Recordings by the Frank Trumbauer Orchestra without Bix! Mostly members of the Paul Whiteman Orchestra - Andy Secrest, Harry Goldfield, Charlie Margulies, Bill Rank, Charles Strickfadden, Izzy Friedman, Roy Bargy, Lennie Hayton, Eddie Lang, Joe Venuti, George Marsh, Min Leibrook . .also with Stan King, Fud Livingston, Snoozer Quinn and Smith Ballew

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63:38

Zoot Sims Quartets - 1950/51

Jazz Focus ·

2025/09/02

Great swing tenor at the beginning of his bandleading career, featured with both late swing and bebop musicians including John Lewis, Gerald Wiggins, Art Blakey, Curly Russell, Kenny Clarke, Don Lamond, Pierre Michelot, Clyde Lombardi and others.

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58:24

Show - Duke Ellington 1939

Jazz Focus ·

2025/09/02

Great pre-Blanton/Webster band, this Ellington Orchestra has Rex Stewart, Wallace Jones, Cootie Williams, Juan Tizol, Lawrence Brown, Joe Nanton, Barney Bigard, Johnny Hodges, Otto Hardwick, Harry Carney, Ellington, Fred Guy, Billy Taylor and Sonny Greer doing all Ellington compositions and arrangements (with one Strayhorn tune). Some retreads of 1920's hits but mostly new tunes and arrangements!

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74:27

Smith Ballew and His Orchestra 1928-1932

Jazz Focus ·

2025/08/26

Great performances of well known and unknown tunes of the period with (almost) all featuring Smith Ballew singing. The personnel is very murky, but various tracks feature J.D. Wade and Jack Purvis on trumpet, Glenn Miller on trombone, Pete Pumiglio and Jimmy Dorsey on clarinet, Babe Russin on tenor sax, Bobby Van Eps on piano, George Van Eps on guitar, Bruce Yantis on violin and many others!

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58:40

Show - Conte Candoli and West Coast Jazz

Jazz Focus ·

2025/08/26

Three different groups all featuring the trumpet player Candoli recording between August 15 and 22 of 1955 . . a primer of West Coast Jazz, the West Coast Wailers feature him with Bill Holman on tenor, Lou Levy on piano, Leroy Vinnegar on bass and Lawrence Marable on drums. The Herb Geller sextet has the leader on alto with Candoli, Ziggy Vines on tenor, Lorraine Geller on piano, Red Mitchell or Vinnegar on bass and Buzz Freeman on drums. One track by the Stan Getz Quintet has Getz, Candoli, Levy,

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01:05:36

Stephane Grappelli and the Diz Disley Trio 1975

Jazz Focus ·

2025/08/19

The legendary violinist Grappelli was in his late 60's when these recordings were made, but he had another twenty years of extreme productivity ahead of him and his playing here is certainly on par with his classic recordings of the 1930's and 40's. The Canadian/British guitarist Disley had a particular affinity for those records with Django Reinhardt and his trio (with Burmese guitarist Ike Isaacs and bassists Dave Moses and Isla Eckinger) clearly inspired Grappelli on two dates - one live and one

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59:08

Show - Oscar Peterson Trio and Quartet 1945-49

Jazz Focus ·

2025/08/19

Some of the first recordings made by the great Afro-Canadian pianist. Done for Victor in Montreal, the groups feature local guitar, bass and drums but the focus is on the already developed virtuosity of Peterson in a program of Tin Pan Alley standards and American Pop Songbook tunes.

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01:02:36

Cozy Cole 1944-45

Jazz Focus ·

2025/08/11

Great small group sessions recorded for Keynote, Guild and Savoy by the drummer and bandleader Cozy Cole . . .featuring Shorty Rogers, Shad Collins and Frankie Newton on trumpet, Tyree Glenn and Vernon Brown on trombone, Aaron Sachs on clarinet, Earl Bostic on alto sax, Don Byas on tenor sax, Ernie Caceres on baritone sax, Billy Taylor, Bill Rowland and Teddy Wilson on piano, Remo Palmieri and Tiny Grimes on guitar, Slam Stewart, Billy Taylor and Sid Weiss on bass, June Hawkins on vocals and Red

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58:56

Show - Pee Wee Russell Quartet 1962, 63

Jazz Focus ·

2025/08/11

Almost Avant-Garde group led by clarinetist Russell and valve trombonist Marshall Brown in their two albums. Bass player Russell George and drummers Ronnie Bedford or Ron Lundberg negotiate tunes by Coltrane, Monk, Ornette Coleman and Tadd Dameron as well as a few standards, giving Pee Wee wide scope to develop his ideas and show off his tone.

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01:17:02

Duke Ellington Live at the Cotton Club 1938

Jazz Focus ·

2025/08/04

Live recordings by the Duke Ellington Orchestra and three small groups from the Cotton Club (and one from a Saturday Night Swing Club broadcast) - all in 1938 and featuring Cootie Williams, Rex Stewart, Wallace Jones, Joe Nanton, Juan Tizol, Lawrence Brown, Barney Bigard, Johnny Hodges, Otto Hardwick, Harry Carney, Duke Ellington, Fred Guy, Hayes Alvis, Billy Taylor, Sonny Greer and Ivy Anderson

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59:42

Show - Stephane Grappelli in the 1970's

Jazz Focus ·

2025/08/04

The 1970's was a fallow decade for classic jazz, but Grappelli made quite a few excellent recordings - including duets with Earl Hines and Alan Clare, a quintet with George Shearing and a tribute to Django album with Larry Coryell, Philip Catherine and Niels Henning Orsted-Pederson.

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01:13:10

Dorsey Brothers 1932-33

Jazz Focus ·

2025/07/29

Basically a studio band made up of the best white jazz players in New York, this version of the Dorsey Brothers band is heard backing Johnny Mercer, Bing Crosby and Mildred Bailey in addition to doing several great pre-swing instrumentals. Featuring Bunny Berigan, Mannie Klein, Benny Goodman, Larry Binyon, Fulton McGrath, Eddie Lang, Dick McDonough, Artie Bernstein and Stan King in addition to Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey.

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59:02

Show - Tate Houston . .bebop baritone sax

Jazz Focus ·

2025/07/29

Detroit native Tate Houston was much in demand in the late 1940's through the 1950's - playing with Maynard Ferguson, Milt Jackson, Billy Eckstine, Sonny Stitt and others. After that he went back to Detroit and played around the local music scene until he died in 1974. These recordings are from the late 1940's (JC Heard's band, with Joe Newman, Wardell Gray and Al Haig; Sir Charles Thompson's All Stars with Benny Powell, Bob Dorsey and others), 1950's (the album Bone and Bari with Curtis Fuller,

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01:02:54

Cootie Williams' Rug Cutters 2

Jazz Focus ·

2025/07/21

The great Ellington trumpeter Cootie Williams led a series of dates for Vocalion in the late 1930's featuring his bandmates - Joe Nanton, Barney Bigard, Johnny Hodges, Otto Hardwick, Harry Carney, Billy Taylor, Jimmy Blanton, Sonny Greer, Billy Strayhorn and the Duke himself along with vocalists Scat Powell and Jerry Kruger

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54:56

Show- June Christy and the Kentones 1946

Jazz Focus ·

2025/07/21

The underrated Jazz singer June Christy here at the beginning of her career with Stan Kenton recording for Capitol Transcriptions with Ray Wetzel and John Anderson on trumpet, Kai Winding and Gene Roland on trombone, Boots Mussulli on alto, Bob Cooper on tenor, Freddie Zito and Arnold Ross on piano, Dave Barbour on guitar, Eddie Safranski on bass, Eddie Spanier and Shelly Manne on drums. Arrangements by Roland and Tommy Todd!

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01:02:05

Pee Wee Russell - Quartets and Quintet 1950's and 60's

Jazz Focus ·

2025/07/14

The unique clarinetist Russell is here featured on quartet and quintet sessions for Counterpoint (with Nat Pierce, Steve Jordan, Charles Potter, Walter Page, Karl Kiffe and George Wettling), a trio with Art Hodes, a quartet with Dave Frishberg, George Tucker and Oliver Jackson and a quartet with Jimmy Giuffre, Danny Barker and Jo Jones.

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58:43

Show - Rex Stewart 1930's

Jazz Focus ·

2025/07/14

Rex Stewart joined Duke Ellington's band in 1935 and his cornet was one of the most frequently featured sounds with that group for the next decade or so. During that time he was also heard in small group sessions led by Ellington or himself. Here are the sessions by Rex Stewart and his 52nd Street Stompers (with Freddy Jenkins, Louis Bacon, Lawrence Brown, Joe Nanton, Barney Bigard, Johnny Hodges, Harry Carney, Hayes Alvis, Billy Taylor, Sonny Greer, Brick Fleagle and Ceele Burke as well as

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01:13:53

New McKinney's Cotton Pickers

Jazz Focus ·

2025/07/08

An early (1970's) revival band of a group from almost fifty years earlier. The original MKCP was a crack band from Detroit that was guided by Don Redman and then later Benny Carter, developing a terrific repertoire of hot jazz. Singer Dave Wilborn (who played banjo as well as sang with the original group) fronted the NMKCP, which was directed by clarinet and saxophone player David Hutson. Local Detroit and area musicians like Paul Klinger, Tom Saunders, Al Winters, Ted Buckner, Ernest Rogers and

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55:07

Show - Cootie Williams and His Rug Cutters - 1937-38

Jazz Focus ·

2025/07/08

One of the great Ellington small groups recording in the 1930's - led by the great (yet still underrated) trumpeter Cootie Williams, the various groups include Juan Tizol, Joe Nanton, Barney Bigard, Johnny Hodges, Harry Carney, Otto Hardwick, Duke Ellington, Fred Guy, Hayes Alvis, Billy Taylor and Sonny Greer with most of the arrangements by Ellington.

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162 results

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