JazzStories

Dr. Billy Taylor, who left us at the age of 87 in December 2010, opened the doors of Jazz for generations. As a pianist he played with the best in the business from 1942 (Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker et al) through 2010. But his contributions to jazz went far beyond the bandstand. Behind a radio microphone (for four decades), in front of a television camera, in the university setting and in the streets on Jazzmobile's flatbed trucks, Taylor was an evangelist and swinging practitioner of "America's classical music" In a 2007 Jazz at Lincoln Center conversation with Lewis Porter, he remembers the very surprising way he wound up in Ben Webster's band.

Bobby McFerrin has spent some four decades breaking ground in vocal music – and always feels fresh. His work VOCAbuLarieS is featured in our live performance Jazz at Lincoln Center Radio series. At rehearsals, and later backstage, he told producer Alexa Lim and Howard Mandel about his introduction to improvisation - courtesy of Miles Davis and friends.

"I don't ever want you to open for me again" said Sarah Vaughan. The diva was paying her a compliment, but the modest Dianne Reeves didn't know that. Now Reeves has won her own audiences (and four Grammy® awards) with pop, calypso, world music and jazz. Backstage at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Reeves shares her stories and reflects on the style and influence of the "Divine" Sarah Vaughan."

Widely admired for his original sound, the 83 year old alto saxophonist Lee Konitz is a master of improvisation who continues to travel the world seeking out new musical partnerships. JALC Radio producer David Goren recently interviewed Konitz about free improvisation, his association with the jazz pianist and teacher, Lennie Tristano, and the challenges of not imitating the iconic alto player, Charlie Parker.

Producer Matthew Long-Middleton brings us this story of a jazz musician who took the path less traveled. The late pianist Hank Jones was a musicians musician -- eloquent and always impeccable.But his career wasn't marked by the normal road gigs that most jazz greats build their reputations on.

Prolific pianist and composer Jason Moran fuses stride piano, avant-garde jazz and sampled sounds. Hear the 2010 MacArthur Fellow "a Texas computer geek who plays the piano" in conversation with Simon Rentner and Ave Carrillo.

Sam Rivers has sounded his horn across six decades of jazz with Miles Davis, Cecil Taylor, and Dizzy Gillespie. He's played with the best and cut his own path with the RivBea Orchestra. Producer David Goren brings us an intimate portrait of Sam Rivers in his own voice and those of his fellow band members.

"Moody's Mood for Love" is one of the most memorable and recognizable solos in jazz history. But for James Moody, the song contains a bigger history about overcoming adversity, exploring the world and finding one's own inner worth. Producer Andrew Parsons brings us a conversation with the late James Moody about the story behind his famous solo.

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 was jazz that exposed him to the most diverse travels. Jazz at Lincoln Center's Ken Druker unearths a live interview with Randy Weston about the people and places that he's seen in his life — from Langston Hughes and Candido — to Brooklyn and the woods of the Berkshires and back again.

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. Recorded in 1992, they remember "watching tassels sway" and the bebop hoofer who "would actually roll up to the microphone wearing a pair of skates - and tell the band '...anything by Charlie Parker!'" Producer Alexa Lim brings us this backstage conversation.