Series: Jazz Profiles

Produced by NPR Music

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This series profiles the legends and legacy of jazz. Hosted by Nancy Wilson, each episode brings to life the vibrant history of the genre through music, interviews, and commentary.

Singer Nancy Wilson hosts this Gold Medal award-winning, documentary series chronicling the people, places and events in jazz.

Jazz Profiles features jazz topics that are varied and all-encompassing. The program focuses largely on individuals, in particular artists who are still living and performing. Musicians who have been featured in-depth on Jazz Profiles include Dave Brubeck, Sarah Vaughan, Oscar Peterson, Sonny Rollins, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Charlie Parker. The series has covered significant anniversaries of the dearly departed, the instruments of jazz, jazz cities, jazz families and more.

By combining archival recordings, interviews and narration, each program in the series tells an informative and engaging story that celebrates the music and those who make it. The appeal of Jazz Profiles is broad, ranging from the news junkie to the jazz aficionado. The music-to-talk ratio of the program is approximately 50/50.
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Singer Nancy Wilson hosts this Gold Medal award-winning, documentary series chronicling the people, places and events in jazz.

Jazz Profiles features jazz topics that are varied and all-encompassing. The program focuses largely on individuals, in particular artists who are still living and performing. Musicians who have been featured in-depth on Jazz Profiles include Dave Brubeck, Sarah Vaughan, Oscar Peterson, Sonny Rollins, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Charlie Parker. The series has covered significant anniversaries of the dearly departed, the instruments of jazz, jazz cities, jazz families and more.

By combining archival recordings, interviews and narration, each program in the series tells an informative and engaging story that celebrates the music and those who make it.... Show full description


86 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
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Her voice is instantly recognizable. Her youthful exuberance, pure sound and positive energy just make you feel good. Her incredible technical abil...

Bought by WJFF, KZYX, and Northstate Public Radio


  • Added: Oct 17, 2011
  • Length: 00:54:00
  • Purchases: 3
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One of the greatest improvisers in jazz history, Art Tatum also set the standard for technical dexterity with his classic 1933 recording of "Tea fo...

Bought by WJFF, KZYX, KREV-LP, and Northstate Public Radio


  • Added: Oct 17, 2011
  • Length: 00:54:00
  • Purchases: 4
Caption: Miles Davis (July 1991), Credit: Patrick Hertzog/AFP/Getty Images
Miles Davis was the personification of restless spirit, always pushing himself and his music into uncharted territory.

Bought by WJFF and KZYX


  • Added: Oct 17, 2011
  • Length: 00:54:00
  • Purchases: 2
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The best-selling jazz record of all time is a universally acknowledged masterpiece, revered as much by rock and classical music fans as by jazz lov...

Bought by WJFF and KZYX


  • Added: Oct 17, 2011
  • Length: 00:54:00
  • Purchases: 2
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Sidney Bechet was the undisputed king of the soprano saxophone and also one of the most innovative and original clarinetists in jazz.

Bought by WJFF, KMUN, and KZYX


  • Added: Oct 17, 2011
  • Length: 00:54:00
  • Purchases: 3
Caption: Mary Lou Williams, Credit: Michael Ochs Archives
Mary Lou Williams was not only present for nearly every development in jazz music -- she was influential to most of them. In her compositions, arr...

Bought by WJFF, KZYX, Northstate Public Radio, WCAI / WNAN, WFIU and more


  • Added: Apr 30, 2010
  • Length: 00:54:31
  • Purchases: 7
Caption: A young Louis Armstrong., Credit: Getty Images
It is hard to overstate the incredible reach of Louis Armstrong. The music he made touched everyone who heard it, and revolutionized American enter...

Bought by KMUW, WJFF, KIOS-FM Omaha Public Radio, KZYX, KTRL and more


  • Added: Oct 17, 2011
  • Length: 00:54:00
  • Purchases: 9
Caption: Louis Armstrong, pictured here in 1956, produced hit films and records throughout his long career., Credit: Getty Images
By his early thirties, Louis Armstrong had already revolutionized jazz forever. Working with his mentor "King" Oliver in Chicago, Armstrong explore...

Bought by KIOS-FM Omaha Public Radio, KMUW, WJFF, KTRL, KZYX and more


  • Added: Oct 17, 2011
  • Length: 00:54:00
  • Purchases: 6
Caption: Louis Armstrong, in a 1944 publicity photograph., Credit: Getty Images
Before Louis Armstrong ever sang a duet with Ella Fitzgerald or Bing Crosby, there was just a lanky young man with a bright, beautiful horn. That y...

Bought by KTRL, KMUW, WJFF, KZYX, and Northstate Public Radio


  • Added: Oct 17, 2011
  • Length: 00:54:00
  • Purchases: 5
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Louis Armstrong left not one but two great legacies in American music. His trumpet defined the role of the jazz soloist and revolutionized jazz its...

Bought by KTRL, KMUW, WJFF, KZYX, and Northstate Public Radio


  • Added: Oct 17, 2011
  • Length: 00:54:00
  • Purchases: 5
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Johnny Hartman was the quintessential romantic balladeer. The only singer to record with John Coltrane — on the iconic album John Coltrane & Johnny...

Bought by WJFF and KZYX


  • Added: Oct 17, 2011
  • Length: 00:54:00
  • Purchases: 2
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Unlike the vast majority of jazz musicians, Dave Brubeck was blessed with both talent and commercial success. His renowned 1950s quartet recorded s...

Bought by WJFF, KZYX, Northstate Public Radio, and KAXE


  • Added: Oct 17, 2011
  • Length: 00:54:00
  • Purchases: 4
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Famed jazz pianist Oscar Peterson commanded the entire keyboard with incredible dexterity, drive and precision. He performed around the world for m...

Bought by WJFF, KAXE, KZYX, and Northstate Public Radio


  • Added: Oct 17, 2011
  • Length: 00:54:00
  • Purchases: 4
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A dynamic percussionist, veteran bandleader, masterful arranger and an irrepressible showman, Tito Puente Sr. is forever remembered as El Rey — the...

Bought by WJFF, KZYX, Northstate Public Radio, and KMXT


  • Added: Oct 17, 2011
  • Length: 00:54:00
  • Purchases: 4
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For more than fifty years, Rosemary Clooney's simple and exquisite singing style defined her dynamic career. She also took on movie roles, and did ...

Bought by WJFF and KZYX


  • Added: Oct 17, 2011
  • Length: 00:54:00
  • Purchases: 2
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He is now hailed as one of America's greatest musical eminences. But Duke Ellington's early career is the story of how a bright yet unremarkable te...

Bought by WJFF, KZYX, KTRL, 88.5 JAZZ FM Erie's Jazz Station, WNCU and more


  • Added: Nov 07, 2007
  • Length: 00:53:55
  • Purchases: 8
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Decade after decade, Ellington's ever-talented orchestra rode incredible waves of creativity.

Bought by WJFF, KZYX, KTRL, WNCU, KSVR Studios: Skagit Valley Radio and more


  • Added: Nov 14, 2007
  • Length: 00:53:56
  • Purchases: 10
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Duke Ellington led an institution which even the greatest musicians aspired to be part of.

Bought by WJFF, KZYX, KTRL, Northstate Public Radio, 88.5 JAZZ FM Erie's Jazz Station and more


  • Added: Nov 21, 2007
  • Length: 00:53:56
  • Purchases: 9
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Duke Ellington's instrument was his orchestra, a hand-picked group of the best musicians available.

Bought by WJFF, KZYX, KTRL, Northstate Public Radio, 88.5 JAZZ FM Erie's Jazz Station and more


  • Added: Nov 28, 2007
  • Length: 00:53:56
  • Purchases: 8
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Duke Ellington composed some of the most enduring music of the 20th century, producing more than one thousand lasting works during a career spannin...

Bought by WJFF, KZYX, and Northstate Public Radio


  • Added: Oct 17, 2011
  • Length: 00:54:00
  • Purchases: 3