The Friday Riff

From one jazz duo–Rob and Bryan–comes a show about other (actual) jazz duos. Today we start a series of occasional shows highlighting different historical and current combinations of improvisers. The history of jazz has been significantly shaped by the various groupings of different musicians into trios, big bands, quintets, etc. Today, focusing on perhaps the most pared-down (pun intended) version of jazz conversation, we listen to some incredible duos, including Raw Materials (Vijay Iyer and Rudresh Mahanthappa), Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock, and more!

Finally, we return LIVE to the KCSB studios after a hiatus of several weeks. And we are even jazzier than ever; Bryan has a new scooter, and Rob has new records! We’ll feature some music new and old including jazz from NYC’s Vision Fest, Nepal’s Jazzmandu Festival, and more!

The second in our series exploring the diverse sounds of jazz and improvised music in Europe. From Scandinavia to the Mediterranean we’ll hear cuts from an amazing range of artists, including Jan Garbarek, Pierre Favre, and more!

Today we start a series of shows exploring the various directions that jazz and improvised music have taken in Europe. The creativity and diversity of these musics are amazing and we’ll barely scratch the surface today with music from Django Reinhardt, John McLaughlin, and more!

Today we feature the music of amazing jazz octogenarian Sam Rivers, multi-instrumentalist and composer. From his early days in Boston in the 1950s to his recent and consistently excellent and inspiring work, Mr. Rivers remains one of the most important voices of post-bebop jazz. We’ll hear music from his classic Blue Note albums as well as more recent recordings. Catch him at www.rivbea.com!