What I Like About Jazz

Host John Arvish continues to explore the six-decades-long career of engineer Rudy Van Gelder Wednesday on "What I Like About Jazz," starting at 8:00 p.m.

After moving into his own studio at Englewood Cliffs, NJ, Van Gelder continued his long relationship with Blue Note Records, as the primary engineer on most of their hundreds of sessions between 1953 and 1967.

He also developed a relationship with the newly-formed Impulse Records. Among his many sessions there, Van Gelder recorded nearly all of John Coltrane's records up until his death. He also did pivotal sessions with J.J. Johnson, Yusef Lateef, McCoy Tyner and numerous others.

"What I like About Jazz" does a retrospective on the career of George Coleman, in honor of his first album as a leader in many years. George came up in the 1950's, and played and recorded with Lee Morgan, Booker Little, and Max Roach, then replaced Hank Mobley in Miles Davis' band in 1963. Coleman has recorded as a leader and sideman, and was the original saxophone in Eastern Rebellion with Cedar Walton and Billy Higgins.

Hear all these and more on MTPR, including his new album "The Master Speaks," Wednesday, May 25 from 8:00 - 10:00 p.m. on your radio, or online.

This week on "What I Like About Jazz:" a tribute to the tenor sax, with a spotlight on two of the masters, Gene Ammons and Houston Person.

This week on "What I Like About Jazz", Director of Jazz Studies Rob Tapper sits in again. This time, for a tribute to drummer Jeff Hamilton, whose trio plays at The University of Montana on February 6.

Tune in to "What I Like About Jazz" Wednesday night at 8:00 as jazz artists interpret the songs of Stephen Sondheim. Artists as wide ranging as Herbie Hancock, Eden Atwood, Holly Cole, Sarah Vaughan, Bill Mays and Kurt Elling show their chops.

We'll pay special tribute to trombone players, including Curtis Fuller, JJ Johnson, Bob Brookmeyer, Frank Rosolino, and Steve Davis. But we'll also hear some great arrangers and some favorite tunes.

Join John Arvish and guest Rob Tapper, Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Montana, this week on What I Like About Jazz. That's Wednesday, November 25, from 8:00 - 10:00 p.m. on MTPR; online or on your radio.

American jazz artists, and indeed the jazz form have had a strong link with with Paris since the early days of jazz. This week on "What I Like About Jazz," we pay tribute to France's love of American jazz, with recordings made there by the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Art Blakey, Donald Byrd, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Dexter Gordon. We'll also hear from classic French artists including Michel LeGrand, Barney Wilen, Bobby Jaspar, and Jacques Loussier. Tune in Wednesday, November 18 from 8:00-10:00 p.m. on your radio or online.

This week on "What I Like About Jazz", we pay tribute to jazz musicians who served in the armed forces. Four branches of the service will be represented.

We'll hear from everyone from Jack Sheldon (Air Force) to Nat and Cannonball Adderley (Army) to John Coltrane (Navy) and Oliver Nelson (Marines). Other Veterans include Wynton Kelly, Junior Mance, Clark Terry, Aaron Bell, Jamil Nasser and many, many more.

This week on What I Like About Jazz, we pay tribute to the songs of Cal Massey, a brilliant composer, arranger and little-known trumpet player. We'll hear from Lee Morgan, John Coltrane, Herbie Mann, Freddie Hubbard, Houston Person, McCoy Tyner, Archie Shepp, and more.