Jazz Legends

Saxophonist Sonny Rollins (born Sept 7, 1930) is universally considered one of the most creative musicians the music has produced. Throughout his long recording career he produced over 60 albums as a leader, was awarded a lifetime Grammy award and the Kennedy Center award in 2011. A number of his compositions have become jazz standards, including Oleo, St Thomas, Airegin, and Doxy.

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Neither Rube Bloom (born April 24, 1902) or Isham Jones (born January 31, 1894) are what we would today consider well-known songwriters, but their contributions to the great American songbook are still loved and performed regularly. These early twentieth century contemporaries are responsible for such tunes as "Day In, Day Out", "It Had to Be You", "I’ll See You in my Dreams", "There is No Greater Love", "Don’t Worry Bout Me", "Fools Rush In", "Give Me the Simple Life" and many other chestnuts that are still regularly performed to this day.

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Saxophonist Lee Konitz (born Oct 13, 1927) is perhaps the best known of the Lennie Tristano disciples. He and Warne Marsh continued to follow Tristano’s musical path, essentially eschewing most of the innovations of bebop to follow a more abstract and more cerebral approach to the music. First gaining recognition recording with Tristano, he played with Claude Thornhill and the Thornhill/Gil Evans-influenced Birth of the Cool band with Miles Davis. He was a true improviser, refusing to fall back on preconceived licks when inspiration flagged.

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Help sponsor St. Michael's Jazz Fest

Donate to the Jazz Legends podcast

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Saxophonist / multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy (born June 20, 1928) and trumpeter Booker Little (born April 2, 1938) were frequent collaborators near the end of their all too brief careers. After establishing himself with the Chico Hamilton group, he went on to perform with John Coltrane and Charles Mingus, as well as his own groups and recordings with Oliver Nelson and George Russell. While often considered a member of the jazz avant-garde, he was just stretching the conventions of tonality and rhythm established by the beboppers in novel and unexpected ways. Trumpeter Little played with Max Roach, replacing the great Clifford Brown in that band. He passed away at the age of 23 of uremia, and Dolphy at 36 of complications of undiagnosed diabetes.

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Saxophonist Charlie Parker (nicknamed Yardbird or Bird) (born Aug 29, 1920) and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie (nicknamed Diz) (born Oct 21, 1917) are two of the most innovative musical minds of the twentieth century. Dizzy was often quoted that he and Parker were two halves of the same heart. Together they were architects of the bebop style that swept jazz in the 1940s and they influenced literally every jazz musician since.

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Saxophonist/composer Wayne Shorter (born Aug 25, 1933) is one of the most influential and prolific performers and composer in jazz. His time with the bands of Art Blakey and Mikes Davis firmly established him as one of the most original voices on his instrument, and provided a platform for his incredible original compositions. He is also featured on his myriad recordings as a leader in his own right. He was one of the cofounders of the supergroup Weather Report in the 70s.

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Pianist/composer Kenny Werner (born Nov 19, 1951) has been leading his own trios since 1981. He played with the Mel Lewis Orchestra in the early 1980s and was encouraged by Lewis and Bob Brookmeyer to compose for the band, which led to him composing for many European radio bands. He played duo with Toots Thielmans for 14 years and was awarded a Guggenheim fellowship in composition. His book Effortless Mastery, about the psychological aspects of music performance is widely read and he teaches a course based on it at the Berklee School in Boston.

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Oregon was a jazz and world music group started in 1970, featuring multiple woodwind artist Paul McCandless, guitarist/pianist Ralph Towner, bassist Glenn Moore, and percussionist Collin Walcott. The personnel remained stable for decades, with the percussion chair changing once or twice, but their musical output remained unique throughout. Esoteric sounds of oboe, English horn, and bass clarinet gave the band a unique sound, and the compositions of McCandless and Towner bridge jazz and world music styles creating a unique and original melange unique to the group.

Everyone in the group writes original music, some of which has been played publicly in the past and some which will be premiered this week. In this episode, the guys discuss what it's like to write their own original tunes.