The New Jazz Archive

A musical feast dedicated to some of the best food themed jazz with stories and sounds from the kitchen at one of New York’s hottest clubs, and the favorite dishes of some of the biggest icons in jazz. We’ll listen to music from the undisputed king of food jazz, talk with John Colbert who owned the oldest continually operating jazz club in the world, and hear from Lorraine Gordon whose office is the kitchen at the Villa...

A celebration of the life and music of the legendary and prolific composer Duke Ellington, whose six decade long career created some of the most iconic music in American history. We'll explore the stories and songs behind his politically charged musicals, hear how international tours pushed him to infuse his music with Latin rhythms to Middle Eastern melodies, and learn more about Ellington’s unexpected comeback and his later...

A celebration of the brilliant and tumultuous life of Chet Baker from his unlikely breakthrough as one of the most popular trumpeters of the 1950s to the drug addiction which nearly unraveled his career. We’ll chat with Baker biographer James Gavin about Chet’s life and music, explore Chet’s surprising work as a jazz vocalist, and trace his role in bringing new life to one of jazz’s most treasured standards.

We delve into the shared history of jazz and spirituality with the spiritual side of sax titan John Coltrane, the gospel roots of jazz, and the sacred music of jazz icon Duke Ellington. We’ll also chat with a founding member of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band about the unique New Orleans spiritual tradition that is the jazz funeral.

Episode Transcript

Host: Jeff Haas

Guests: Leonard Brown, Emmett Price, Bill Sears, Roger Lewis

...

A celebration of the complicated life and innovative music of Charles Mingus whose powerful voice for civil rights and hot temper earned him the reputation as “The Angry Man of Jazz.”  

We’ll talk with his widow Sue Mingus about her husband's compositional genius, explore his music and virtuosic bass playing, hear the story behind his legendary collaboration with Joni Mitchell, and learn about the effort...

Jazz and r&b both have a long history of protest songs and artists who were also potent political activists not only in the USA, but across the globe. We’ll explore how some of jazz’s most important musical pioneers wrote both subversive instrumental suites and outright angry musical manifestos, hear how American swing music became the unlikely soundtrack to an underground youth movement in Nazi Germany, and learn h...

Music from the essential jazz recordings for building your jazz library with picks from jazz historians, jazz fans, and jazz insiders. We’ll listen to music from the best albums of jazz heavyweights, tune in to a few more obscure recordings, and give tips on how to complete your very own jazz library, whether you’re new to the music or one of its most hardcore listeners. 

Episode Transcript

Host: Jeff Haas

Guests...

A look at the shared frontiers of jazz and literature from the many ways jazz shaped the world of poetry and vice versa, and hear how jazz critics have shaped our understanding of the music for the last hundred years. We’ll talk with poet Sascha Feinstein and literature historian Michael Borshuk about how everyone from the Beat writers of the 1950s to the civil-rights minded poets of the 1960s found their muses in the world o...

A celebration of the life and legend of jazz great Thelonious Monk from his pioneering days as a bebop revolutionary, and hear how he was both a great mentor and family man from his son, T. S. We’ll talk with biographer Robin Kelley about Monk’s life and music, explore how Monk’s battle with mental illness shaped his life and career, and hear how Monk’s masterpiece “‘Round Midnight” became ...

We continue our tour of America’s great jazz cities with the long-lost jazz and blues traditions of St. Louis, from the turn-of-the-century Mississippi River riverboat economy to St. Louis’ favorite son Miles Davis growing up in the Gateway City. We’ll talk with historian Kevin Belford about St. Louis’ rich blues heritage that got written out of the jazz history books, explore how Father of the Blues W.C. Ha...

Blue Note Records is the label synonymous with the best in jazz since 1939, and from its unique mystique around its sound and up and down history, we’ll learn how Blue Note is still relevant to jazz and non-jazz fans today. We’ll talk with veteran Blue Note man Michael Cuscuna about the label’s humble beginnings in a New York apartment, the rise of the so-called Blue Note sound in the 1950s, how commercial success...

We celebrate Halloween by exploring jazz’s spooky side with plenty of the best scary music and mysterious legends surrounding some unlucky jazzers. We’ll talk with mystery writer Bill Moody about the real-life jazz mysteries that inspire his novels, visit the cemetery in the Bronx that’s become the final resting place for an A-list of bygone jazz legends, and hear the myth and truth behind bluesman Robert Johnson&...

The fascinating intersection of jazz and psychology with an insiders’ look at the world of music therapy, and examining how jazz in particular is well suited to helping non-musicians reach their real life recovery goals. We’ll talk with jazz pianist Kenny Werner about how his self-styled, self-help manifesto for musical breakthroughs became a must-read for musicians of all stripes, chat with psychologist Judith Schlesin...

From 1930s dance culture sparking the big band revolution, through the politics of race shaping the music, it’s the rise, fall, and legacy of the big bands. We’ll talk with music historian Jeffery Magee about the rich history of big bands, discover why the big band sound is still finding a home in communities across America well past the heyday of swing, and go in search of music from the more experimental side of the b...

A celebration of the life and music of John Coltrane from his early roots growing up in rural North Carolina through his redemption and transformation from heroin addict to spiritual icon. We’ll talk with our jazz historian and renowned Coltrane scholar Lewis Porter about Trane’s early roots and get to know the softer side of John Coltrane the balladeer, retell John Coltrane’s redemption story, and sit down for a ...

Stories and sounds from jazz’s history overseas from the U.S. State Department using jazz as a weapon in the Cold War, the music’s extensive history in other countries, and learn how Israel is producing some of the best modern jazz musicians. We’ll talk with Israeli jazzer Anat Cohen about why Israel is becoming a hotbed for new jazz talent, take a look at the nearly hundred-year-old history of jazz in Japan, and ...

A celebration of the life and legend of the great Les Paul by talking with rock icon Steve Miller about his memories of his legendary godfather, and how the many famous inventions of the Wizard of Waukesha transformed 20th-century music. We’ll find out how Les Paul shaped Miller’s own life as a man and musician, talk with Sue Baker of the Les Paul Foundation about Les’s life and legacy, and how Les Paul’s in...

When the two separate paths of jazz and country cross, we get some of the most fascinating fusions in American music, from Hank Garland jazzing up the early Nashville country scene, to the development of Western Swing, and contemporary jazz takes on country classics. We’ll talk with music historian Cary Ginell about forgotten Nashville session man Hank Garland, look at the thriving Nashville jazz scene with Maxx Myrick of the...

A celebration of the life and musical genius of the great Billie Holiday, traveling the hard road she took on her way to becoming one of jazz’s most beloved voices, and talk with curators and authors who continue to expose young people to Lady Day’s talents. We’ll talk with biographer Robert O’Meally about Billie’s musical genius, chat with Jazz at Lincoln Center curator Phil Schaap about the great Lou...