JazzStories

Series produced by Murray Street Productions

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Jazz musicians refer to what they do as telling stories. We bring you backstage stories from jazz legends and those in the making.

Jazz musicians refer to what they do as telling stories. We bring you backstage stories from jazz legends and those in the making. Hear what jazz sounds like when musicians put down their instruments. A companion to the weekly program Jazz at Lincoln Center Radio.


54 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
JazzStories: Randy Weston — From Brooklyn to the Berkshires and Back
From: Murray Street Productions
Series: JazzStories
Caption: Randy Weston , Credit: Frank Stewart
Pianist Randy Weston has seen a lot people and places in his life. Born in Brooklyn in 1926 and served in the US Army during World War II. But it ...

Bought by KUCR 88.3 fm Riverside, Calif., WEZU, KPVL, Delmarva Public Media, KREV-LP and more


  • Added: Jan 19, 2011
  • Length: 12:57
  • Purchases: 8
JazzStories: Barry Harris and Billy Higgins – The Majesty of Tap
From: Murray Street Productions
Series: JazzStories
Caption: Barry Harris, Billy Higgins
In the 40s, jazzmen came of age on the stages of dance halls. Pianist Barry Harris and drummer Billy Higgins capture the view from those stages.

Bought by WMOT, Delmarva Public Media, KREV-LP, WNCU, KFOK-LPFM and more


  • Added: Apr 20, 2012
  • Length: 10:44
  • Purchases: 6
JazzStories: Abbey Lincoln
From: Murray Street Productions
Series: JazzStories
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"The artists are the ones who make it possible for people to remember what the time was like, and who was there, and what we did as human beings. ...

Bought by WMOT, WHQR, Delmarva Public Media, and KREV-LP


  • Added: Aug 12, 2013
  • Length: 11:41
  • Purchases: 4
JazzStories: Warren Wolf
From: Murray Street Productions
Series: JazzStories
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"I did a lot of practicing with my dad. We were practicing five days a week Monday through Friday for 90 minutes a day starting at the age of 3 up ...

Bought by WMOT, Delmarva Public Media, and KREV-LP


  • Added: Aug 12, 2013
  • Length: 14:23
  • Purchases: 3
JazzStories: Chris Potter
From: Murray Street Productions
Series: JazzStories
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"The music is not just the music. It's a reflection of how to live. I think I started out I just really liked the sound of the music and I had no i...

Bought by WMOT, Delmarva Public Media, and KREV-LP


  • Added: Jun 24, 2013
  • Length: 20:34
  • Purchases: 3
JazzStories: Mulgrew Miller
From: Murray Street Productions
Series: JazzStories
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“I think of a lot of things when I’m playing the piano and one of the last things I think about is the piano…you try to somehow think and feel li...

Bought by WMOT, Delmarva Public Media, and KREV-LP


  • Added: Jun 10, 2013
  • Length: 11:02
  • Purchases: 3
JazzStories: Michael Cuscuna
From: Murray Street Productions
Series: JazzStories
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"I guess it was about 3rd or 4th grade that I got hooked on R & B and early rock & roll. I just became a fanatical record collector even at that ...

Bought by Delmarva Public Media and KREV-LP


  • Added: May 28, 2013
  • Length: 17:26
  • Purchases: 2
JazzStories: Reid Anderson
From: Murray Street Productions
Series: JazzStories
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"Smells Like Teen Spirit," in particular sounds like a modal jazz tune. That's one of the funniest things to me. It says so much about people's att...

Bought by WMOT, Delmarva Public Media, and KREV-LP


  • Added: May 13, 2013
  • Length: 16:32
  • Purchases: 3
JazzStories: Mary Halvorson
From: Murray Street Productions
Series: JazzStories
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"I want to have clarity of ideas and I want to be able to execute ideas. So if I'm going to play something really sloppy, I want it to be sloppy on...

Bought by Delmarva Public Media and KREV-LP


  • Added: Apr 24, 2013
  • Length: 18:32
  • Purchases: 2
JazzStories: Stefon Harris
From: Murray Street Productions
Series: JazzStories
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"When I started to play jazz... I started in the middle. I wanted to play Coltrane, Charlie Parker, and all of that stuff first... When I started c...

Bought by WMOT, Delmarva Public Media, KREV-LP, and WCSU-FM


  • Added: Apr 30, 2013
  • Length: 07:39
  • Purchases: 4
JazzStories: Christian McBride
From: Murray Street Productions
Series: JazzStories
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"I always thought of the acoustic bass as the quintessential jazz instrument... I knew that jazz meant cool, and hip, and on the cutting edge, and ...

Bought by WMOT, Delmarva Public Media, KREV-LP, and WCSU-FM


  • Added: Mar 27, 2013
  • Length: 16:39
  • Purchases: 4
JazzStories: Freddie Hubbard
From: Murray Street Productions
Series: JazzStories
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"When people get two trumpet players it becomes very competitive...It was [Booker Little], Lee Morgan and myself at the time. We we're the young ...

Bought by WMOT, Delmarva Public Media, KREV-LP, and WCSU-FM


  • Added: Mar 27, 2013
  • Length: 11:41
  • Purchases: 4
JazzStories: The Three Cohens
From: Murray Street Productions
Series: JazzStories
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"We have a mixture of many elements from the world. The classical music from Europe- the sense of melody and deep harmonic sense- and on the other ...

Bought by Delmarva Public Media and KREV-LP


  • Added: Apr 01, 2013
  • Length: 14:45
  • Purchases: 2
JazzStories: Dr. Lonnie Smith
From: Murray Street Productions
Series: JazzStories
Caption: Dr. Lonnie Smith
"They name it -- they just come up with all kinds of names..."'Funk'... 'jazz' or... 'acid jazz.' Or they named it 'boogaloo.' We don't know anyth...

Bought by Prairie Public, WMOT, Delmarva Public Media, KREV-LP, and WCSU-FM


  • Added: Mar 04, 2013
  • Length: 10:19
  • Purchases: 5
JazzStories: Toshiko Akiyoshi
From: Murray Street Productions
Series: JazzStories
Caption: Toshiko Akiyoshi, Credit: Amanda Brown
"The fact is my parents lost all of their assets. If I didn't have something (I was) really into, in my case was piano and jazz, I think it would h...

Bought by Delmarva Public Media and KREV-LP


  • Added: Dec 18, 2012
  • Length: 12:08
  • Purchases: 2
JazzStories: Catherine Russell
From: Murray Street Productions
Series: JazzStories
Caption: Catherine Russell
"Singing lead is all about you. The focus is on you. Your name is on the ticket. The people have paid to see you...So you are responsible for you...

Bought by WMOT, Delmarva Public Media, KREV-LP, and WNCU


  • Added: Nov 07, 2012
  • Length: 14:27
  • Purchases: 4
JazzStories: Jonathan Batiste
From: Murray Street Productions
Series: JazzStories
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"I felt like I had to do more in order for people to think of what they would think of another musician—about the level of intellect or artistry of...

Bought by Delmarva Public Media, KREV-LP, and WNCU


  • Added: Oct 12, 2012
  • Length: 17:44
  • Purchases: 3
JazzStories: Fred Hersch
From: Murray Street Productions
Series: JazzStories
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"Sometimes I hear jazz and it sounds like hip cats playing for other hip cats to dig instead of taking more of a chance by trying to relate to the ...

Bought by WMOT, Delmarva Public Media, KREV-LP, and WNCU


  • Added: Oct 12, 2012
  • Length: 13:44
  • Purchases: 4
JazzStories: Gretchen Parlato
From: Murray Street Productions
Series: JazzStories
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Vocalist and songwriter Gretchen Parlato's music is introspective and crafted with a knowing touch. Winner of the 2004 Thelonious Monk Jazz Vocalis...

Bought by WMOT, Delmarva Public Media, KREV-LP, and WNCU


  • Added: Aug 09, 2012
  • Length: 15:06
  • Purchases: 4
JazzStories: Benny Golson
From: Murray Street Productions
Series: JazzStories
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"...This country lookin' guy was standing there in the door, waiting for me to tell him what to do. So I said, 'play something!' He took out his ...

Bought by KMUW, WMOT, Delmarva Public Media, and KREV-LP


  • Added: Jul 26, 2012
  • Length: 19:40
  • Purchases: 4

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