Billie Holiday 5

Teddy Charles

Teddy Charles was a hard swinging master of the vibes and also a sophisticated composer and arranger of forward looking sounds. Theodore Charles Cohen was born in 1928 to Jewish immigrant parents in Springfield, Mass.  He loved music as a child, noodled on the piano and took drum lessons.  As a teenager during the World War II years he played professional gigs filling in for those drafted overseas.  He suffered from anti-semitism and chafed at the poor musical prospects in his small town.  So, upon graduating high school he was fortunate to move to New York, and he eventually qualified to enroll in Julliard.  He also pursued “musical studies” in 52nd Street nightclubs. These were the bebop years, and the youthful Teddy was caught up in the sway of this modern music.  It the early 1950s he formed a vibes-guitar-bass trio and later worked closely with pianist Hall Overton and guitarist Jimmy Raney.  Teddy’s “New Directions” series for Prestige incorporated his modal ideas and concept of more free form improvisation within straight ahead jazz.  It was during this period that his agent had him use the professional name “Teddy Charles”. Prestige records hired Teddy to open and run its California office in 1953 at the age of 25.   There he honed his organizational skills, recorded old friend Wardell Gray and “discovered” Sonny Clark and Frank Morgan, among others, for their first recordings. Charles returned to New York and had significant associations with modern workshops and composers, and he developed a long lasting friendship and collaboration with Charles Mingus.  He arranged the stunning “Blue Moods” album with Miles and Mingus.   Teddy also formed his own favorite group, his Tentet, which gave him the opportunity to explore his complex writing and arranging ideas.  The Tentet released two classic albums on Atlantic. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, in addition to his own playing, Charles became an A&R man and producer for record companies and an arranger, championing the likes of Booker Little.  He was part of the scene of the “Newport Rebels”.  As a producer, he supervised recordings for artists ranging from John Coltrane to Aretha Franklin. Later in the 1960s, fed up with the music business and wishing to explore the other love of his life, sailing, Teddy moved to the Caribbean and became a charter boat captain.  In the early 1980s, Charles felt an itch to return to music, so he moved back to New York, living first on City Island and then for many years in Greenport on Long Island, and from those bases he still pursued maritime activity while also returning to the jazz scene and many gigs, working often with Harold Danko. In his later years Teddy collaborated with Chris Byars.  They resurrected his tentet charts and other compositions, and Chris organized ensembles for renewed concerts and recordings. Teddy Charles died of heart failure in 2012 at the age of 84.   originally broadcast June 21, 2026

Frank Strozier

Frank Strozier, a powerful and dynamic player on the otherwise softer instruments of alto saxophone and flute, was born in 1937 and came of age in Memphis the 1950's among an influential group of young musicians who combined the soulful Southern rhythms with the intricacies and sophistication of bebop to create a style and sound that has a lasting impact in the development of modern jazz.  Strozier made his first mark with the “MJT + 3" group.  He also played with Memphis buddies such as Booker Little, George Coleman, and Harold Mabern, among others in the New York area.  Frank was in the Roy Haynes group for a time. In the mid-60's he moved to California, working with people like Shelley Manne and Oliver Nelson.  He briefly was in the famous Miles Davis organization.  Strozier returned to be a prominent player on the New York jazz scene in the 1970's and early 1980's.  But thereafter he retired from music and became a science teacher in Yonkers, still occasionally sighted the piano in the Westchester area.  The radio show will present a retrospective of his various recordings, which will impress you with his power, lyricism, and personal voice, a strong musician who should be wider known.   originally broadcast June 2, 2013

Shirley Scott

Shirley Scott was born in 1934 in Philadelphia and was raised in a musical family.  As a schoolchild she played both trumpet and the piano.  She began playing jazz professionally on the then-robust and creative Philadelphia jazz scene.  Upon embarking in earnest in her professional career, in the mid 1950's Shirley turned to the Hammond B-3 Organ and established herself as one of the primary figures in our jazz organ canon.   Her first major professional association, and what a great one it was, was in the dynamic combos of saxophonist Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, performing around the country and creating classic albums such as the Cookbooks.  By the early 1960's, Scott became one of the foremost jazz organists.  In this fertile and prominent period of her career, Shirley led her own groups, appeared as an accompanist to her then-husband Stanley Turrentine, and also used Stanley as her “sideman” – she produced prolific recording outputs in all these formats.   Scott stepped aside from her touring career in her later years, and focused on education in her native Pennsylvania, establishing a jazz music program at Cheney State University.  She continued to perform, mainly on piano, and she remained an important figure and mentor in Philadelphia, and on the national jazz scene, as well.   Shirley developed health problems in her sixties after taking the dietary supplement fen-phen, and she died of heart disease in 2002.  As a legal footnote to her life story, Shirley won a significant lawsuit against the makers of the drug shortly before her demise.   originally broadcast April 14, 2019

Miles Davis Centennial 1

For the Miles Davis Centennial (May 26, 1926) WKCR presented a series of marathon programming over several days. Here's one of my segments.  It includes selections of Sonny Rollins, Miles with Bob Dorough, and then over two hours of an in depth listen to the Bill Evans association with Davis.

Mark Murphy

Mark Murphy (1932-2015) was an unsung hero among modern jazz vocalists, a cult figure who deserves wider recognition, a primary influence for new generations of jazz singers. He was a risk taker of musical invention.  Murphy was a masterful scat singer and a champion of vocalese with compositions such as Stolen Moments and Red Clay.  Mark’s outlook is that of a wide ranging humanist, including his poetry and theatrical sides, with interpolations from Jack Kerouac, Lord Buckley, and other literary greats in his songs and presentations.  And he possessed a sturdy baritone on standards and Brazilian songs. Murphy was born in Syracuse, NY and made his first name as a pop-jazz singer with recordings on the Decca and Capitol labels.  He hit his stride upon moving to New York City in the early 1960's, and with hip modern recordings on Riverside.  Since then he traveled the world as a vibrant, performing force. This episode provides five hours of fun. originally broadcast December 4, 2011