Big Band Themes Part 1

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. 

Great big band led by the pioneer arranger Redman following his tenures with Fletcher Henderson and McKinney's Cotton Pickers. This band features Sidney DeParis, Benny Morton, Ed Inge, Robert Carroll, Horace Henderson, Talcott Reeves, Bob Ysaguirre, Manzie Johnson and Harlan ... Show More

Small group sides led by the great tenor saxophonist Lester Young after his departure from the Basie band. All were done in the middle 1940's on the West Coast and feature Nat "King" Cole, Joe Albany, Irving Ashby, Frank Lacy, Red Callendar, Henry Tucker, Chico Hamilton, Howard M ... Show More

Bruce Turner was a largely self-taught clarinet player who picked up alto sax in the navy during WWII. He became an in demand clarinetist in trad bands (Freddy Randall, Humphrey Lyttleton) but became even more valued for his swinging, Benny Carter styled alto playing. This podcas ... Show More

<p>Dust off your head charts and brush up your best licks, cause it's time to wade into the warm, welcoming waters of jazz. This episode's Strong Song is Bobby Timmons' gospel-tinged "Moanin'," from Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers' 1959 album of the same name. Kirk zooms out a ... Show More

<p>After more than two years, a Strong Songs jazz mystery is finally solved.</p><p>Thanks to listener (and outro soloist) Jeff Bean, who finally cracked the case of the mysterious lick played by Clifford Brown, Lee Morgan, and may others. I can finally sleep at night.</p><p><stro ... Show More

Marking the 70th Wexford Festival Opera: stories, music and song from Wexford, with Margaret Galvin, Joe Brennan, Tom Mooney, Jackie Morrissey, AM Cousins and Sinéad O’Reilly 

<p>Heathcliff! It's us, it's Strong Songs, we've come home!</p><p>The time has come for a deep dive into the music of the great Kate Bush, and what better song to analyze than her breakthrough 1978 hit, "Wuthering Heights." This song has it all - odd phrasing, shifting key center ... Show More

<p>Time for the first Q&A episode of Strong Songs year three!</p><p>On this episode, Kirk digs into the mailbag for your questions on Jack White's guitar tone, Shabaka Hutchings' sax sound, 70s kitsch jazz, concept albums, drummers learning mallet instruments, Celtic sounds, "sav ... Show More

<p>Let's go back, let's go back, let's go way on back to that time Aretha Franklin recorded one of her best songs.</p><p>On this episode, Kirk dives into two different versions of Franklin's classic tune "Think." First it's the laid back groove and roomy mix of the 1968 original, ... Show More

<p>You don't have to be beautiful, rich, OR cool to appreciate Prince - you just need a little extra time, a pair of ears, and a pulse.</p><p>It's finally time to talk about the Purple One on Strong Songs, specifically his 1986 chart-topper "Kiss." How did a song that was origina ... Show More