Duke Ellington birthday marathon 4/29

[Doctor Strange]

Just a reminder that tomorrow, Thurs/April 29, is the Duke's birthday, and the jazz department of Columbia U station WKCR is doing their annual 24-hour marathon broadcast. No commercials (they don't even seem to be asking for pledges at this point), and it's bound to include some great less-frequently played stuff, fascinating (if obsessive!) commentary by Phil Schaap at times, and plenty of inspiring Ellingtonian goodness!

Midnight tonight through midnight Thursday, NYC time. On the air at 89.9 if you're within radio range, and streaming on the Web at:

http://www.studentaffairs.columbia.edu/wkcr/

Does anybody know of any other Ellington birthday broadcasts/events?

 

[Chas]

I will be broadcasting a two hour Duke Ellington on my radio show "Sweet And Hot" on CiTR 101.9 FM. Podcast address is in my signature.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Bump.

This starts in 35 minutes.

 

[fluteplayer07]

Thanks for posting, Doc. I could only squeeze in four hours or so, total. Wish they did that every day. Highly enjoyable.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Glad you dug it!

I only managed to hear a few hours myself, mostly while in the car (unfortunately, my job's system blocks streaming media so I couldn't listen throughout), but I heard some great stuff: Songs from the 1961 Louis Armstrong summit, 1929-1930 "Jungle Band" tracks, "The Tattooed Bride" from one of the Carnegie Hall concerts, and part of Phil Schaap's presentation on Duke's earilest recordings and how the distinctive Ellington style shockingly emerges full-blown after a six-month break between sessions in 1926 (*).

WKCR does around a dozen day-long marathons a year for different jazz greats, plus memorial broadcasts when we lose a notable jazz player. And their normal programming includes plenty of jazz - about one-third of every weekday - so check their site.

( * I didn't mind missing some of this, as I'm actually in the middle of taking Schaap's eight-night class on Ellington at Jazz at Lincoln Center's adult-ed program, "Swing University". I highly recommend it if you appreciate Schaap's encyclopedic narrative style and live in the NYC area. Frankly, I'm already so well-versed in Ellingtonia that there haven't been very many revelations, but I've still been enjoying it tremendously.)

 

[Doctor Strange]

Phil Schaap Ellington class radio broadcast 5/26

As I mentioned above, I have been taking Phil Schaap's class on Duke Ellington at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Swing University program. It's been fun and interesting... if you enjoy Schaap's obsessively detailed and tangent-tending presentation style. (Which, after listening to him on the radio for 20 years, I definitely do. He's a walking jazz encyclopedia!)

Tomorrow night's final class - a review and summary of Ellington's life and career - is planned to be audio-broadcast live on WKCR. If you don't know much about Ellington, this will be one-stop shopping for a great overview. Even if you are well-versed in Ellington, there will likely be some concepts brought forward that you hadn't ever heard or carefully considered. Either way, I highly recommend it!

Wednesday, May 26, 6:30-8:30pm Eastern Time

89.9 FM in the NYC area, and streaming at:

http://www.studentaffairs.columbia.edu/wkcr/

(Schaap told us this broadcast was planned at last week's class - please don't hold me responsible if it doesn't actually happen!)

 

[Nathan Dodge]

if you enjoy Schaap's obsessively detailed and tangent-tending presentation style. (Which, after listening to him on the radio for 20 years, I definitely do. He's a walking jazz encyclopedia!)

While I agree that he is a knowledgeable man, he goes on for so long that I forget what he's talking about. Of course, that could just be me...