Afternoon Jazz

Oscar Hernandez is the musical director of the Spanish Harlem Orchestra - but it wasn't his idea to form the band. Producer Aaron Levinson approached the pianist almost two decades ago with the idea of assembling and recording a Latin jazz orchestra. They did just that, but the album sat on the shelf for more than a year and the future of the group was uncertain. When the album finally was picked up and released by Ropeadope records, it quickly garnered attention - and a Grammy nomination for Best Salsa Album.

“The purest thing between heaven and earth is love,” says Abdullah Ibrahim, “and sincerity is the gatekeeper.”

This morsel of metaphysical insight — offered casually but with ringing purpose — arrived near the midpoint of Ibrahim’s session on Afternoon Jazz. The venerable South African pianist, long regarded as both a maestro and a sage, was settling in for an engagement at the Jazz Standard, with his longtime band Ekaya.

‪In less than 34 years on the planet, trumpeter Theo Croker has accomplished more than most.

Start with seven years as a working musician in Shanghai, China, where says he found real freedom as an artist. There’s also five albums as a leader, the latest titled Star People Nation.

Croker, the grandson of jazz immortal Doc Cheatham, recently brought pianist Michael Hill, bassist Eric Wheeler and drummer Shekwaga Ode to play on Afternoon Jazz. I didn’t want the session to end.  

Percussionist and composer Fran Vielma recently brought his Venezuelan Jazz Collective to Afternoon Jazz and the WBGO Performance Studio.

Tendencias, their recent album on Papelón Records, was among the top-rated releases of 2018 by DownBeat and the Latin Jazz Network.

Pianist Cyrus Chestnut recently brought some holiday cheer to Afternoon Jazz.

Chestnut’s new album, Kaleidoscope, is a departure from what he is known for: jazz tinged with blues, soul and gospel. Although those elements are there, he goes back to his classical roots. The album, released on HighNote Records, features his trio with bassist Eric Wheeler and drummer Chris Beck.

James Francies has a love affair with the piano. It’s apparent when you hear him play. We had that opportunity when he visited Afternoon Jazz to promote Flight, his debut album, recently released on Blue Note.  

Radam Schwartz is passionate about “organ rooms” — jazz clubs with a Hammond B-3 or some other type of organ. Schwartz, an organ scholar and a jazz historian, says that on many levels, such clubs are largely forgotten.

Tenor saxophonist JD Allen’s new release, Love Stone, is a departure from what his fans are accustomed to hearing.

After telling his story on albums ranging from his 1999 debut, In Search of JD Allen to last year’s Radio Flyer, Allen turns here to stories of love.

It’s always a special occasion when artists visit and perform in our studios here in Newark. Every now and then jazz royalty even comes through. Organist Brian Charette brought one of those legends with him when he stopped by to promote his new album, Groovin’ With Big G. 

I’ve known Bernie Williams since his early playing days with the New York Yankees.  He was just another young man trying to make his way in the demanding world of Major League Baseball.  What was different about Bernie the ballplayer was the acoustic guitar that he kept in his locker.  Media might hear him play it on the odd occasion they arrived at the ballpark really early on a game night.

In his first live on-air interview, drummer Nate Smith stops by Afternoon Jazz to talk with Nicole Sweeney about being a part of the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead program, the making of his new album — Kinfolk: Postcards From Everywhere, featuring bassist, longtime friend and 2017 NEA Jazz Master Dave Holland —the vibe behind the "Nate Bop," and more.