The Checkout

Nate Smith is a drummer in high demand, and he could have gone in almost any direction on his debut album as a leader. What he explores on Kinfolk: Postcards from Everywhere is his family history — from his grandfather, who worked a blue collar job in the Jim Crow South, to his parents, who earned enough to send him to college.

Danilo Perez is more than a pianist. He’s an educator, urban developer, the proprietor of his own jazz club – Danilo’s Club – in the heart of old Panama City, Casco Viejo. He’s also the Cultural Ambassador of Panama, where he presents his annual Panama Jazz Festival, which just wrapped up for the year.

Donny McCaslin remembers his former mentor and old boss David Bowie one year after the rockstar's death with his recording Beyond Now (Motema).  The tenor saxophonist joins Mark Guiliana (drums), Nate Wood (bass), and Jason Lindner (keys) in performance of new arrangements of classic Bowie material at the 2016 Charlie Parker Jazz Festival at Tompkins Square Park in Manhattan.

The Donny McCaslin Group performs at the 2017 Winter Jazzfest on January 6th.

Music mix by David Tallacksen.

The Westerlies -- two trumpeters and two trombonists from Seattle -- breeze into our performance studio. This chamber jazz setting features a "blues fugue" and an arrangement from a 17th-century English and Scottish folk ballad discovered by Sam Amidon and Nico Muhly.

The band features Riley Mulherkar & Zubin Hensler (trumpets), and Andy Clausen & Willem De Koch (trombones).

Originally published February 4, 2016.

Two of David Bowie's last band members, saxophonist Donny McCaslin and pianist Jason Lindner, visit our studios to celebrate the British rockstar's final album Blackstar, a recording that features some of the finest New York jazz-trained musicians. McCaslin and Lindner give us a unique duo performance.

Music recording by David Tallacksen.

  Originally published May 27, 2015.

Bassist Michael League talks with Alex Ariff about his band Snarky Puppy and their new album Sylva, which features the Metropole Orkest.

A lot can happen in six years. For Milwaukee-bred trumpeter Philip Dizack, it marked the passage of an era worth documenting in his own artistic chronology. 

Chris Dingman couldn't have a better name for a man who strikes metal bars for a living: "It's perfect," he says. "I had no idea I'd become a vibraphonist." He began playing vibes seriously 12 years ago, studied at Wesleyan University and the Thelonious Monk Institute, and then made the big-league swing into New York's hyper-competitive jazz scene. Dingman has just released his debut album, Waking Dreams. 

From the WBGO archives: WBGO's Josh Jackson talks to trumpeter Roy Hargrove about his quintet's two week residency at the Village Vanguard.

This interview was recorded in 2011, in advance of WBGO and NPR's Live at the Village Vanguard broadcast with Roy Hargrove.

Pianist Hiromi performs on WBGO's The Checkout.  Recorded 2/02/10 in New York, New York, USA.

Personnel:
Hiromi - piano

Set List:
Choux a la Creme
BQE
Place to Be

All compositions by Hiromi Uehara

Recorded February 2, 2010 at Yamaha Piano Studio
Producer and Host: Josh Jackson
Recorded by Josh Webb

Pianist Gerald Clayton performs on WBGO's The Checkout.

Personnel:
Gerald Clayton - piano
Joe Sanders - bass
Justin Brown - drums

Set List:
Casiotone
Pothole
One Two You
Trapped in Dream

All compositions by Gerald Clayton.

Recorded January 7, 2010 at WBGO

Producer and Host: Josh Jackson
Recorded by Josh Webb