Riverwalk Jazz On-Air
The Jim Cullum Jazz Band Presents…
5/2 Gentle Giants: The Beauty of the Jazz Ballad
Ask any jazz musician and they’ll tell you the real test of a player’s ability is the ballad. Cornetist Bob Barnard and the band explore the art of the jazz ballad.
5/9 Irving Berlin’s Music Box
Becky Kilgore and Nina Ferro join the band for a concert of America’s best-loved popular songs from its hardest-working composer.
5/16 Riffs and Shouts: The Building Blocks of Jazz
Nothing gets us in the groove like a catchy riff—those short melodic patterns that many jazz tunes are based on. Trumpeter Bob Barnard and the band heat up the bandstand with a show devoted to the hot rhythm of jazz riffs.
5/23 Tango, Opera and the Blues: Jelly Roll’s Recipe for Jazz
Many jazz musicians and writers have said that Jelly Roll Morton was the first great composer in jazz. Some of his best work is performed here by the band with Dick Hyman and others.
5/30 Swinging on the South Side: The Heartbeat of Chicago Jazz
The band and guests Duke Heitger, Topsy Chapman and Evan Christopher visit The Dreamland Café, The Grand Terrace Ballroom, The Vendome Theater and other Chicago hot spots — circa 1915 to 1930.
Somewhere Over the Rainbow Lyricist Yip Harburg
Writing in The Times Literary Supplement, Lucy Popescu offers this review of a new biography of lyricist E. Y. ‘Yip’ Harburg, best known for his collaboration with composer Harold Arlen on the music for the soundtrack of the 1939 MGM film The Wizard of Oz. CLICK HERE for MORE
Live & Online with Jim Cullum
Connect with other classic jazz fans on Facebook
and Twitter. For a schedule of live performances, view our event calendar.
Photo Credits
- Gerry Mulligan. Photo courtesy allaboutjazz.com.
- The Music Box Theater Program, 1921. Image courtesy American Classics.org
- Harlem Dancers Leon James and Willa Mae Riker. Photo courtesy The Swing Era by Time-Life
- Jelly Roll Morton. Photo courtesy Institute for Studies in American Music, Conservatory of Music, Brooklyn College of the City University of New York.
- Earl Hines by the Grand Terrace marquee. Photo courtesy Earl Hines and Stanley Dance Collection, from World of Earl Hines by Stanley Dance.
- Jim Cullum courtesy Riverwalk Jazz
- The Original Creole Orchestra. L to R: Eddie Vincent, Ollie “Dink” Johnson, Freddy Keppard, Jimmie Palao, George Baquet, Bill Johnson, and W.M. Williams, cir. 1918. Photo courtesy Red Hot Jazz Archive.
Book Worth Reading: Jelly Roll, Bix, and Hoagy, Revised and Expanded Edition
In conjunction with our airing later this month of the Riverwalk Jazz show Tango, Opera and the Blues: Jelly Roll’s Recipe for Jazz, we’d like to call your attention to a newly revised and expanded edtion released earlier this year of Jelly Roll, Bix, and Hoagy, a book about the early days of Gennett Records—a small but unique recording company of the 1920s tucked away in a piano factory in Richmond, Indiana.
From 1916 to 1934, the company debuted such future stars as Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Bix Beiderbecke and Hoagy Carmichael, while also capturing classic performances by Morton, Duke Ellington, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Charley Patton, Uncle Dave Macon and Gene Autry.
Morton’s solo piano discs recorded there between 1923 and 1924 include such iconic titles of classic jazz as “Grandpa’s Spells,” “Jelly Roll Blues,” “Shreveport Stomp” and many others.
In this new edition, author Rick Kennedy shares anecdotes from musicians, employees, and family members to trace the colorful history of one of America’s most innovative record companies.
A Hit in 1911 – Irving Berlin’s Alexander’s Ragtime Band
Expanding on music to be offered the second week of May on the broadcast titled Irving Berlin’s Music Box, Topsy Chapman and Vernel Bagneris join The Jim Cullum Jazz Band to perform Irving Berlin’s first big hit song, “Alexander’s Ragtime Band,” published in 1911.
Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby and Ray Charles are among the legends to record Berlin’s composition and keep it present on the charts for five straight decades.
Classic Jazz Caribbean Cruise with The Jim Cullum Jazz Band Fall 2013
The Jim Cullum Jazz Band and Riverwalk Jazz artists Warren and Allan Vaché, and guitar legend Bucky Pizzarelli top the bill for 7 nights of traditional jazz and swing aboard the MSC Divina, leaving from Miami November 30, with stops in the Bahamas, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands and Cozumel.
Bring your instrument to jam on board with the New Orleans Nighthawks. Call now to reserve your stateroom at 800.654.8090
South Side of Chicago Bonus Content
From vaudeville houses and ballrooms to ‘black and tans,’ take a club-hopping tour through the early days of Chicago jazz. CLICK HERE to VIEW
Where to Hear Hot Jazz Live
Information on live performances by your favorite guest artists appearing on Riverwalk Jazz. Regular Gigs
