Blue Music

Jazz records from the 1930s and 40s that are longer than usual for the time. Music includes: Sing Sing Sing by Benny Goodman, Concerto For Clairnet by Artie Shaw and Do You Know What It means to Miss New Orleans? by Louis Armstrong. 

Celebrating the 100th Birthdays of: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Tony Bennett, Julie London, Big Mama Thorton, Buddy Greco, Stan Freberg, Chuck Berry, And Ray Brown. 

Songs include Valencia by Paul Whiteman, Black Bottom Stomp by Jelly Roll Morton, White House Blues by Charlie Poole, Hebbie Jebbies by Louis Armstrong, Lost Your Head Blues by Bessie Smith and I'm Sitting On Top Of the World by Al Jolson. 

Mr Blue Sky is the Electric Light Orchestra's brilliantly off-beam classic song. It was released as a single in 1978, having first appeared on the ELO album 'Out of the Blue' in 1977. Written by Jeff Lynne, it was a no.6 hit in the UK, and has endured on the radio airwaves ever s ... Show More

***Visionary jazz musician Miles Davis joins BBC Radio 4 Extra's 100 Club – born 26th May 1926. He died in 1991 aged 65***On 2nd March 1959, Miles Davis and his sextet began recording a new album: "Kind of Blue". The first track was "So What" and the album became the best selling ... Show More

"I'm convinced it's the best thing ever written and recorded in the history of things written and recorded" - Moby.Rhapsody in Blue was premiered on February 12, 1924, in New York's Aeolian Hall. Through its use at the opening of Woody Allen's 'Manhattan' it’s become synonymous w ... Show More

What do Duke Ellington, United Airlines, and the K Pop group Red Velvet share in common? They've all covered George Gershwin's piano concerto, Rhapsody in Blue. First premiered in 1924, the piece became an immediate hit for the way it blended American jazz with the European symph ... Show More

Charlie's out on parental leave, which means no one is here to stop Nate from going off the rails. And you know what means... JAZZ! As soon as dad left the room, Nate enlisted his favorite journalist, jazz and sports writer Natalie Weiner, to come on the show and discuss her incr ... Show More

In 1964, Louis Armstrong knocked the Beatles off the top of the charts with his recording of “Hello, Dolly!” becoming, at age 62, the oldest artist to ever hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Sixty years later, Louis Armstrong remains a beloved cultural figure, his oft-imita ... Show More

Send us Fan MailFeeling tired? Need to unwind? Then how about some gentle, soothing piano music? Welcome to the the first episode of Series 4 in the Relaxing Piano Playlist! In this episode, I perform for you music by Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Grieg, Scriabin and Debussy.