Jazz Library

A product of the M-Base revolution and then a major artist on the Blue Note label, Geri Allen is one of the most accomplished female pianists in jazz. In this programme, recorded in front of an audience at London's Purcell Room, she joins Alyn Shipton to pick the highlights from her recorded work.

Vibraphonist Gary Burton was a teenage prodigy and his four mallet style revolutionised his instrument's playing technique. Prior to his 2010 London Jazz Festival concert, he joined Alyn Shipton in front of an audience on the South Bank to pick his favourite recordings including work with Carla Bley, Chick Corea and Pat Metheny.

Singer Norma Winstone joins Alyn Shipton to select her best recordings, looking back to her early days with Michael Garrick, her long associations with John Taylor and Kenny Wheeler, and at songs for which she has written lyrics herself, including her renowned collaboration with Jimmy Rowles on The Peacocks.

From his meteoric rise to fame with Benny Goodman to his small group records with Billie Holiday, pianist Teddy Wilson was one of the stars of the swing era. Pianist Martin Litton joins Alyn Shipton to select the best examples of Wilson's work, including his own short-lived big band, his solo recordings, and many latterday trios.

Clifford Brown died in a car crash at 25, robbing the jazz world of one of its most talented and original trumpeters. To mark the 80th anniversary of Brown's birth, author Tom Perchard joins Alyn Shipton to pick the highlights of his recordings. The programme centres on the Clifford Brown / Max Roach Quintet, but also includes a wide variety of other material including discs with Sarah Vaughan and with a string orchestra.

Martial Solal is one of France's most highly acclaimed jazz musicians. Prior to his solo appearance at this year's London Jazz Festival (in association with Radio 3) he talks to Alyn Shipton about his long recording career and also the Martial Solal International Piano Competition that takes place this month in Paris. His selection of albums ranges from solo piano to his current large ensemble the Newdecaband. He also talks about his long associations with American jazz musicians Lee Konitz and Paul Motian.

American singer Mark Murphy is one of the most versatile vocalists in jazz. A master of scat and vocalese, he is also a renowned interpreter of ballads and standards. British singer Ian Shaw joins Alyn Shipton to consider Murphy's finest records, from his early work such as 'That's How I Love The Blues' to his vocalese masterpiece 'Stolen Moments'.

Trumpeter, composer, arranger and bandleader Thad Jones was a hugely influential musician. In this programme Guy Barker and Alyn Shipton discuss his finest work, including many discs under his own name, records with Count Basie and Charles Mingus, and records made by the big band he co-led with Mel Lewis.

Fred Anderson, who died in June, was a founder member of the AACM in Chicago and ran the city's famous club, the Velvet Lounge. Alyn Shipton visited him at the site of his historic club before it was demolished in 2006, and talked to Anderson about his best recordings.

The music features Joe Jarman, Muhal Richard Abrams and Anderson's long-term collaborator, the drummer Hamid Drake.

Jimmy Woode was one of a dynasty of jazz musicians from Boston, where he began his career with the likes of Charlie Parker and Sidney Bechet. He joined Alyn Shipton during one of his last visits to the UK before his death, to select his finest records, including examples of his work with Ellington, and with the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland band with whom he played after settling in Europe at the end of the 1960s.