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This is Jazz on Radio Morcote International

This is Jazz is my weekly radio show of jazz music, heard on Radio Morcote International, Sundays at 8pm in Western Europe, which in the US is Sundays at 2pm Eastern time and 11 am Pacific time. The show repeats on Wednesdays, 9pm West EU / 3pm Eastern / noon Pacific. This show answers the question, “What is Jazz?” with music. Radio Morcote International has a worldwide online audience and is based in Morcote, Switzerland, in the province of Ticino (which is on the border with northern Italy and where Italian is spoken). Apart from This is Jazz and a few other news and feature shows, the station plays a Rock playlist that runs deep and wide, very unlike most commercial Rock stations.

How to listen to This Is Jazz:

1) The live show on Sundays and Wednesdays, visit the RMI site and click the orange “Ascolta” button, (it means “listen” in Italian) or download their app, or find RMI on TuneIn or lots of other similar channels including Swiss cable.

2) Online, either on this page (selected episodes) or on the RMI website, from the Sunday broadcast time until the next episode airs (updated most weeks, at least). Visit the “podcast” page at the RMI website to listen to the current show at any time on demand, 24/7. Scroll down to find This Is Jazz. Here are three selected recent episodes.

This is Jazz show n. 144: Music of Herbie Nichols and Tadd Dameron

Show 144 (broadcast date April 30, 2023) features music of Herbie Nichols and Tadd Dameron, two great American composers of the mid-20th century. Tadd Dameron enjoyed some level of success and admiration, while Herbie Nichols struggled to get the recognition he deserved during his short life. We’ll hear music of Herbie Nichols from the composer and also from the Buell Neidlinger Quintet, featuring Buell Neidlinger on cello, Richard Greene violin, Jimbo Ross viola, Marty Krystall tenor sax and Hugh Schick on trumpet. Listen for an exclusive Story Behind the Music from Hugh Schick, about the song The Gig. Then we’ll hear three of Tadd Dameron’s most popular compositions, also played by the composer, and by others.

1. House Party Starting, Herbie Nichols
2. Hangover Triangle, Herbie Nichols
3. Cro-Magnon Nights, Herbie Nichols
4. Cro-Magnon Nights, Buell Neidlinger, Hugh Schick, Marty Krystal
5. Step Tempest, Herbie Nichols
6. Step Tempest, Buell Neidlinger, Hugh Schick, Marty Krystal
7. The Gig, Herbie Nichols
8. The Gig, Buell Neidlinger, Hugh Schick, Marty Krystal
9. Good Bait, Tadd Dameron Sextet f. Fats Navarro, Kenny Clarke
10. Our Delight, Tadd Dameron Sextet f. Fats Navarro, K. Clarke
11. Our Delight, Phineas Newborn Jr, p, Paul Chambers, Roy Haynes
12. Ladybird, Tadd Dameron Sextet f. Fats Navarro, Kenny Clarke
13. Ladybird, Barry Harris Trio

This is Jazz show n. 136: Jazz Rhythms

Show 136 of March 5, 2023 features a wide variety of Jazz rhythms including Swing, Cuban and Brazilian styles from artists and performances over four decades.

1. Yearnin’, Oliver Nelson w/ Roy Haynes, drums
2. Hoe-Down, Oliver Nelson w/ Roy Haynes, drums
3. The Street Beat, Dexter Gordon, Charlie Parker
4. Manteca (1961), Dizzy Gillespie
5. Desafinado, Stan Getz, Charlie Byrd
6. Samba do Avião, Charlie Byrd, Tommy Newsome Orch. arr
7. St. Thomas, Sonny Rollins, Max Roach, d
8. Desafinado, AC Jobim, Stan Getz, João Gilberto
9. So Danço Samba, AC Jobim, Stan Getz, João Gilberto
10. So Danço Samba, Charlie Byrd, Tommy Newsome Orch. arr
11. Black, Joe Henderson, w/ Bobby Hutcherson, vib.
12. Naturally, Freddie Hubbard w/ Hubert Laws
13. Perdido, Duke Ellington Orchestra

This is Jazz show n. 132: Fred Astaire and others

Show 132 of Feb. features Fred Astaire the jazz singer on 9 songs, and each song is heard twice, once from Fred Astaire and once again by another jazz artist, either a singer or instrumentalist. Fred Astaire was a great stylist, which is as evident in his singing as in his dancing. In the 1930s, when Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers had a string of hit movies, these songs were chart-topping hits, and many other jazz singers covered them too.

Along with Fred Astaire, we will hear Tony Bennet, Art Tatum, Frank Sinatra, Anita O’Day, Benny Goodman with Gene Krupa and Teddy Wilson, and the king and queen, Ella and Louis. The Fred Astaire recordings from the early ’50s have Oscar Peterson on piano, with Barney Kessel on guitar, Ray Brown, bass and Alvin Stoller, drums.

1. Steppin’ Out With My Baby, Fred Astaire
2. Steppin’ Out With My Baby, Tony Bennett
3. They All Laughed, Fred Astaire
4. They All Laughed, Tony Bennett
5. The Way You Look Tonight, Fred Astaire
6. The Way You Look Tonight, Art Tatum
7. Nice Work If You Can Get It, Frank Sinatra & Count Basie Orchestra
8. Nice Work If You Can Get It, Fred Astaire
9. Cheek to Cheek, Fred Astaire
10. Cheek to Cheek, Oscar Peterson Trio w/ Ray Brown
11. They Can’t Take That Away From Me, Billie Holiday & Her Orchestra
12. They Can’t Take That Away From Me, Fred Astaire
13. I Won’t Dance, Anita O’Day & a big LA studio band
14. I Won’t Dance, Fred Astaire
15. Puttin’ On The Ritz, Benny Goodman
16. Puttin’ On The Ritz, Fred Astaire
17. Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off, Fred Astaire
18. Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off, Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong

Extras:

Big cathedral bell:

Radio Morcote International liner:

This Is Jazz Propaganda Syndrome promo & show opener: