Jazz Profiles

KPBX Thursdays 10-11 p.m.

Jazz Profiles with Nancy Wilson discontinues production at the end of September; past episodes will be available via NPR.org. KPBX will announce a new jazz program for this slot in October.

Upcoming Program Listings

Sep 6 Armstrong: Hollywood
One of the first jazz artists to perform in talking films, Louis Armstrong appeared in over 30 films. Some of his finest musical triumphs came out in his movies; they reveal a great deal about him as an artist and about institutional racism in America. On this show, we explore Armstrong's life in Los Angeles and his troubled relationship with the silver screen.

Sep 13 Armstrong All Stars
From 1947 until the end of his life, Louis Armstrong worked with a small band unit that he called "The All Stars." It featured pianist Earl Hines and trombonist Jack Teagarden. The creation of that band resulted in the renaissance of his career, and made it possible for his music to be heard by millions of people worldwide.

Sep 20 Oscar Pettiford
Though he lived just 37 years, the jazz world will never forget bassist, composer, and bandleader Oscar Pettiford. The man helped define and refine the bass into the melodic, solo instrument we hear today. He also wrote tunes that lay easy on the large resonant bass body. From his birthplace on a Native American reservation in Oklahoma to his death in 1960 in Copenhagen, Pettiford's musical breadth was a match for the distances he'd traveled, finding a home for himself and his music.

Sep 27 Benny Waters
As a player whose incredible longevity linked him to the jazz pioneers, Benny Waters reemerged late in life as one of the great, unsung saxophonists in jazz. He had played with all the legends -- King Oliver, Fletcher Henderson, Jimmie Lunceford, and Hot Lips Page. After a forty-year stay in France, Waters returned to the United States. In the final years of his life he was discovered by a new generation and was very active: playing jazz festivals, composing, recording, and telling stories.