This Month on Riverwalk Jazz
The Jim Cullum Jazz Band Presents
The Rhythmakers: A Gathering of Jazz Titans
A celebration of the 1930s’ multiracial recording group The Rhythmakers, which included luminaries like Fats Waller, Eddie Condon and Red Allen, with help from musical guests Duke Heitger on trumpet and guitarist Clint Baker.
Love, Hollywood Style: Romance and the Silver Screen
Listener favorites Rebecca Kilgore and Nina Ferro perform love songs made famous in the silver screen’s golden age. Included are audio clips from classic romantic Hollywood movies like Shall We Dance and Babes on Broadway.
Porgy & Bess: An Original Jazz Transcription Part 1
Encore Presentation: Stage legend William Warfield tells the story as The Band performs their original jazz transcription of George Gershwin’s “folk opera.” Part One of this two-part series introduces the characters of Catfish Row and the classics “Summertime”and “Bess, You is My Woman Now.”
Porgy & Bess: An Original Jazz Transcription Part 2
In Part Two of this encore presentation, William Warfield returns in his role as narrator as Porgy’s love for Bess is put to the test. Songs include “It Ain’t Necessarily So,” “A Red-Headed Woman,” and “Oh Lawd, I’m On My Way.”
Note: Riverwalk Jazz public radio broadcasts are recorded well in advance of air dates. The above listings do not reflect live appearances by the Jim Cullum Jazz Band.
You can find the JCJB concert calendar here.
The Story of Porgy and
Bess
By Jim Cullum
Porgy and Bess is probably the greatest single accomplishment of the band’s 50-year history. To my knowledge no one has ever performed a jazz version of the entire opera. We musically followed the passion, richness, sorrow, laughter, romance and tragedy — all the moods of Porgy and Bess as they rose and fell. Various jazz band instruments took on character roles.
Read the entire article here >>
Jim Cullum Jazz Band Plays Port of San Antonio for Women’s Pavilion February 29th
In celebration of Black History Month, Port San Antonio, in partnership with the Women’s Pavilion at HemisFair Park, is hosting an exhibit of more than 30 works by regional African American artists. The paintings, lithographs and sculptures belong to former San Antonio Mayor Lila Cockrell, who for almost 30 years has researched and collected artworks by noted and upcoming regional artists.
In addition, the Women’s Pavilion is organizing a series of related lectures at Port San Antonio from 5:30-8:00 pm February 8, 22 & 29.
Admission to the exhibit and lectures is free of charge. Seating is limited for the lectures and RSVP’s are required by calling Port San Antonio at (210) 362-7804.
February 29, 6:30 to 7:30 - East Side Jam featuring The Jim Cullum Jazz Band. An evening of exciting upbeat performances featuring local composers and the stories behind San Antonio’s jazz music.
Stay in Touch with Jim Cullum
Connect with Jim and fans like you on Facebook and Twitter. To find out when The Jim Cullum Jazz Band is coming to your town in 2011, and for a schedule of live performances in San Antonio, TX, view our event calendar.
Where to Hear Live Jazz
Information on live performances by your favorite guest artists appearing on Riverwalk Jazz.
Regular Gigs
Central Texas Teens Learn About Civil Rights Listening to Riverwalk Jazz
Jim Cullum Jazz Band offers area students history lesson of Don Albert’s Keyhole Club
Jim Cullum at Carver Center, San Antonio, 2007
By Jim Beal Jr., jbeal@express-news.net, updated 12:40 a.m., Friday, December 23, 2011
Thanks to the long reach of Public Radio International, the “Riverwalk Jazz” radio program not only reaches jazz diehards around the world, it reached a group of teens in Central Texas. Emily North, 13, an eighth grader in Leaslie Deville’s class at Midway Middle School, paid attention to the music of Don Albert, Troy Floyd, Boots Douglas and others. She also paid attention to the story about Albert fighting against segregationists who worked to shut down the Keyhole Club on West Poplar Street.
The Warmth of Other Suns Chronicles “Great Migration”- Now in Paperback
The “Great Migration” of African Americans from the rural South to the cities of the North and West during a 55-year segment of the 20th century mirrors the history of jazz itself.
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson tells the stories of three migrants from three different decades. Janet Maslin, in a New York Times book review, writes, ‘The single greatest strength of The Warmth of Other Suns lies in its anecdotal examples of how the rules of segregation, whether spoken or unspoken, actually worked on a day-to-day basis.”
Read the entire review here >>
New SFJazz Website Hopes to Create Jazz Community
From a new website based in San Francisco: “What is jazz to you? What is the music’s place in our culture today? These are the conversations that will fill the SFJAZZ Center”
Riverwalk Jazz guest artist Savion Glover makes a contribution to the first round of video interviews.
Rhythmakers Collection Online
In July and October of 1932, a remarkable series of jazz recordings were made for the Banner label in New York City. The multi-racial band was organized by Eddie Condon to back up a now long-forgotten female impersonator named Billy Banks. The result was a collection that documents the state of hot swinging jazz music in that year.
Photo Credits
- Henry “Red” Allen, photo believed to be in the public domain
- Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire from The Gay Divorcee (1934)
- William Warfield courtesy Riverwalk Jazz
- Todd Duncan and Anne Browne in original 1935 Porgy and Bess production, courtesy “Songbook”
- “Summertime” sheet music cover courtesy jmhare.com
- Jim Cullum courtesy Riverwalk Jazz
- JCJB at Carver Center, photo by Jamie Karutz
- Warmth of Other Suns cover courtesy Amazon.com
