Jazz Beat

Tom Reney looks back at Duke Ellington’s “New Orleans Suite,” and the crucial role that Duke and festival producer George Wein played in the establishment of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, which just completed its 49 th annual presentation in the Crescent City. Wein’s insistence that any festival he produced would include Ellington, who “stayed only in the finest hotels,” and feature integrated ensembles was a spur to ending rigid segregation practices in New Orleans.

Tom Reney looks back at Duke Ellington’s “New Orleans Suite,” and the crucial role that Duke and festival producer George Wein played in the establishment of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, which just completed its 49th annual presentation in the Crescent City. Wein’s insistence that any festival he produced would include Ellington, who “stayed only in the finest hotels,” and feature integrated ensembles was a spur to ending rigid segregation practices in New Orleans.

In the latest edition of Jazz Beat, Tom Reney explores the legacy of the bassist Scott LaFaro, who was a leading innovator in modern jazz and a member of the Bill Evans Trio. LaFaro was tragically killed in an auto accident in 1961 at age 25, and he’s the subject of an outstanding biography by his sister Helene LaFaro-Fernandez. Tom’s appreciation of LaFaro includes numerous samples of his music.

For Jazz Beat 30, Tom Reney pays tribute to Nat Hentoff, who died on January 7 at 91. The Boston-born journalist wrote primarily on First Amendment issues for the Village Voice for 50 years, but was also a renowned jazz critic and historian. In the early 1960s, Hentoff produced an outstanding series of albums for Candid Records by Charles Mingus, Clark Terry, Abbey Lincoln, and blues greats Otis Spann, Memphis Slim, and Lightnin’ Hopkins. Tom’s memorial includes excerpts from some of these, and

In the latest edition of NEPR's Jazz Beat, Tom Reney highlights the prominence of jazz in Bob Dylan’s memoir, Chronicles, Volume 1, and a critical moment of impact that the music had on the return to form that the Nobel laureate has exhibited since 1997.

In the latest edition of NEPR's Jazz Beat, Tom Reney highlights the prominence of jazz in Bob Dylan’s memoir, Chronicles, Volume 1, and a critical moment of impact that the music had on the return to form that the Nobel laureate has exhibited since 1997.

For the latest edition of New England Public Radio's Jazz Beat, Tom Reney speaks with Loren Schoenberg, the founding director and resident scholar at the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. The museum has just released the first volume of recordings from the Savory Collection, a treasure trove of jazz recorded off of broadcasts in the 1930s and early ‘40s. Listen here for Coleman Hawkins, Ella Fitzgerald, Lionel Hampton, and other highlights from the collection, and a lively exchange between Loren

For the latest edition of New England Public Radio's Jazz Beat, Tom Reney speaks with Loren Schoenberg, the founding director and resident scholar at the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. The museum has just released the first volume of recordings from the Savory Collection, a treasure trove of jazz recorded off of broadcasts in the 1930s and early ‘40s. Listen here for Coleman Hawkins, Ella Fitzgerald, Lionel Hampton, and other highlights from the collection, and a lively exchange between Loren and Tom. Additional material and information on the National Jazz Museum in Harlem and the Savory Collection is available at www.jmih.org

In this edition of Jazz Beat, NEPR's Tom Reney pays tribute to the jazz legend Phil Woods. The late, great alto saxophonist was born in Springfield, Mass, 85 years ago. This month, Downbeat Magazine announced that Phil has been elected to its Hall of Fame. Listen here for an overview of Woods's career and numerous samples of his great music.

In this edition of Jazz Beat, NEPR's Tom Reney pays tribute to the jazz legend Phil Woods. The late, great alto saxophonist was born in Springfield, Mass, 85 years ago. This month, Downbeat Magazine announced that Phil has been elected to its Hall of Fame. Listen here for an overview of Woods's career and numerous samples of his great music.