John Coltrane, whose 90th birthday is Friday, September 23rd, had a short but episodic career. On the latest edition of Jazz Beat, New England Public Radio’s Tom Reney takes a look at an important transition in Coltrane’s life, when he made his final tour with Miles Davis and first began playing soprano saxophone, which was a gift from Miles to the tenor sax-playing icon.

Jazz Beat #25 - John Coltrane

Jazz Beat is a jazz and blues podcast from New England Public Media's Tom Reney. Tom was honored by the Jazz Journalists Association with the Willis Conover-Marian McPartland Award for Career Excellence in Broadcasting in 2019. In addition to hosting Jazz à la Mode since 1984, Tom writes the jazz blog and produces the Jazz Beat podcast at NEPM. He began working in jazz radio in 1977 at WCUW, a community-licensed radio station in Worcester, Massachusetts. Tom holds a BA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where he majored in English and African American Studies.

Music

Tom Reney's very first interview was with famed jazz drummer, Max Roach.

Max Roach Interview, 1979

Jazz Beat from New England Public Media features host Tom Reney's research and love for the music, one artist at a time. In this outing, he spends some time with the work of Houston Person.

Houston Person

Jazz critic Gary Giddins talks to Tom Reney about Sonny Rollins.

Jazz Beat #59 - Jazz critic Gary Giddins on Sonny Rollins

For Jazz Beat 57 and 58, Tom Reney spoke with Billy Boy Arnold about his autobiography, THE BLUES DREAM OF BILLY BOY ARNOLD.

Jazz Beat #25 - John Coltrane

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