Shirley Scott

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

Charles Mingus 2

WKCR presents a marathon broadcast celebrating Charles Mingus annually, on his birthday anniversary, April 22.   From my segment on the 2026 edition, I presented a variety of sounds, among them a selection of early Debut recordings, and a feature of live concerts of the 1964 ensemble with Eric Dolphy (about an hour towards the end).

Teddy Edwards

Saxophonist Teddy Edwards was born in Jackson, Mississippi on April 26, 1924.  His grandfather and other family members were leading local musicians, and Teddy began playing the alto sax as a youth. By age 12 he had played in some professional settings himself.  As a teenager he went to Detroit to live with an uncle and began participating in the vital Motor City scene. In his development, he forged connections with many young jazz artists, among others notably Wardell Gray with whom he became a close friend. Edwards toured with R&B and jazz bands and ended up in Los Angeles in 1945.  There he teamed up with Howard McGhee and switched to tenor sax.  With his sophisticated harmonic sense and free flowing sound, Edwards became a leading figure in the early bebop days on the West Coast.  He was a key member of the Central Avenue scene, participating in duels with Dexter Gordon and Wardell and making notable records such as “Blues In Teddy’s Flat”. Prominent on the West Coast, Edwards was one of the original Lighthouse All Stars and an early choice to be in the Clifford Brown-Max Roach Quintet. By the late fifties and sixties, he recorded notable LPs with compatriots such as McGhee, Leroy Vinnegar and Gerald Wilson for the World Pacific, Contemporary, and Prestige labels (“It’s All Right”). An accomplished arranger, Edwards wrote for brass and string ensembles and contributed to many projects. Additionally, he was an important accompanist for vocalists such as Jimmy Witherspoon, Helen Humes, King Pleasure and numerous others. Edwards never ventured to the major New York limelight, but he was an important and influential figure in Los Angeles. In later years he  spent time in the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe, where he enjoyed admiration and popularity.  Edwards gained some publicity in the popular field when he toured regularly with Tom Waits for a time in the 1980s.. Edwards had a powerful and pulsating sound on the sax, always tinged with emotional warmth and insight. I always liked this encomium to Edwards from Tom Waits: “He can sound like a train, or he can sound like he's drinking champagne on that same train." Edwards had various health problems in later life, and he died of cancer at the age of 78 in 2003. originally broadcast April 19, 2026