We’ll start this week’s “Living Jazz” with violinist Sara Caswell. We’ll hear her sitting in with the Florida-based Jazz Surge big band, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary. We’ll also listen to another track from Omegah, the extraordinary new CD from 9 Horses, the experimental chamber/jazz trio that Caswell co-founded. From there we’ll move on to “Kimbrough,” a beautiful tribute to the late pianist and composer Frank Kimbrough, who died unexpectedly last year. Four generations of prominent jazz musicians gathered to record dozens of Kimbrough’s compositions; we’ll hear contributions from pianists Helen Sung and Fred Hersch, and sax player Scott Robinson.
We’ll also check out a new collection of Nina Simone’s appearances at the Montreux Jazz Festival, and a compilation of 90 live performances by Ray Charles (to celebrate what would have been his 90th birthday). Also in the mix will be a newly reissued live recording of John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme, as well as new releases featuring the trumpeters Ibrahim Maalouf and Yazz Ahmed, the Montreal-based pianist Jean-Michel Pilc and the veteran drummer Andrew Cyrille. Finally, we’ll note the passing of the jazz impresario George Wein and celebrate the re-opening of the storied Village Vanguard jazz club in New York City, whose owner Deborah Gordon has a home in our listening area. Many jazz clubs failed to survive the pandemic so the reopening of the Village Vanguard is great news.
“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!