The highlight of this week’s “Living Jazz” show will be a live telephone interview with Hal Galper, one of our local piano jazz luminaries. Hal has played with Cannonball Adderley, Chet Baker, Lee Konitz, Phil Woods and many other jazz greats. We’ll talk to him about what he has been up to lately and his plans for the future. We’ll also listen to some of his recent recordings, which have been lauded by critics. (“Hal Galper Quintet Live at the Berlin Philharmonic 1977” earned the top 5-Star rating from Downbeat magazine, for instance.) Hal’s trio, by the way, can be heard live at Rafter’s Tavern in Callicoon every Saturday starting at 3:30 p.m.
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we’ll also pay tribute to the Mexican drummer Tino Contreras, who died recently at the age of 97. Contreras, who was a fixture of the Mexican jazz scene for decades, was taken up at age 96 by the London-based music producer, disk jockey, and taste-maker Gilles Peterson, who helped Contreras put out a new album last year. We’ll listen to tracks from that album, as well as from earlier Contreras recordings. We’ll also check out the new album by Daniel Garcia, the up-and-coming Spanish pianist.
Finally, we’ll celebrate the anniversary of Bud Powell’s birth (Sept. 27, 1924) by playing a track from a limited edition CD out of Japan that features the great pianist playing live with Phil Woods on alto sax. “Living Jazz” airs Fridays from noon to 2 p.m. on WJFF, 90.5 F.M., and streams online at http://wjffradio.org. Listen On-Air, Online, On Your Smartphone, and On Your Smart Speaker!