Great Live Moments: Dr. Billy Taylor/Jazzmobile in Newark

July 24, 2008. Posted by Becca Pulliam.

Add new comment | Filed under: 92nd street y, bassist, becca, billy taylor, brick city, earl may, gratitude, Great Live Moments, harlem, helms park, houston person, jazz legend, jazzmobile, live moment, newark, night in tunisia, pianists, teaching organization, university of massachusetts, university of massachusetts amherst, wbgo

Today is the 87th birthday of a jazz legend - Dr. Billy Taylor. Last night, on the eve of this very special day, Dr. T was one of several featured pianists at the 92nd Street Y in the Jazz in July series. He likes the name of that series because he came up with it himself when he helped to found a summer program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Just this month, Taylor quietly stepped down from his Jazz in July, and U Mass expressed gratitude for many summers on its website. Click to read the story.

Also this summer, Taylor is involved in a development right here in our town. Now we have a Brick City branch of Jazzmobile, the teaching organization he helped found in Harlem. Newark Jazzmobile is named for the late bassist Earl May, who first proposed it but did not live to see it happen. Click here for the Jazzmobile schedule. Houston Person plays tonight at Mildred Helms Park in the South Ward! Click and hear Billy Taylor play "A Night in Tunisia" on WBGO's (then) new Steinway, live on the air in the 1980s. Another Great Live Moment from WBGO.

Becca

© 2008 WBGO

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Al Foster Interview

May 20, 2008. Posted by Joshua Jackson.

Add new comment | Filed under: al foster, harlem, interview, Interviews, Jazz Alive, josh jackson, Masters, miles davis, village vanguard, wbgo

I was pleasantly surprised that this interview actually happened, but I know
all to well that persistence pays off in the long run. I say this because Al
Foster is famously dodgy about giving interviews to press. Probably because
everyone in the world wants to know about Al's relationship with Miles Davis.
Sure, he played with Miles for more than a decade, and was a dear friend, even
during Davis' self-imposed exile from the music scene in the late 1970s. Get
beyond that, and you realize that Al Foster has had an extraordinary musical
life. In this interview, Foster talks about growing up in Harlem, where he met
many of the legendary jazz musicians who shaped his career. And Miles too.
But did you know that Al Foster raised four daughters as a single father? One
more reason this guy deserves a medal. At the end of it all, you start to realize
why so many people regard Al Foster as one of the great messengers of our music.
-Josh

The Al Foster Quartet plays the Village Vanguard this week. You can hear them
live on WBGO, tomorrow night at 9. I'll be your host. Stay tuned.

© 2008 WBGO

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On the Shoulders of Giants

March 26, 2008. Posted by Doug Doyle.

Add new comment | Filed under: basketball, demand feature, harlem, jazz, Jazz Alive, kareem abdul jabbar, knicks fans, love, nba, nightmares, podcast, Sports Jam, time leading scorer, wbgo

Even though Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has had his fill of basketball, he says he can never get enough jazz. You can tell the NBA's all-time leading scorer enjoys talking about his early days in Harlem and his love of jazz. Find out more.

Click here for the latest session of SportsJam, WBGO's new podcast/on-demand feature. When you hear how serious Kareem is about music and basketball, you can understand why he has been so successful on and off the court. It's great to hear that Kareem listens to WBGO when he's in NYC, a place where he gave Knicks fans nightmares.
-Doug Doyle

© 2008 WBGO

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