''Riverwalk Jazz'' was a popular weekly public

radio series A radio program, radio programme, or radio show is a segment of content intended for broadcast on radio. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode. Radio networ ...

distributed by

Public Radio International Public Radio International (PRI) was an American public radio organization. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, PRI provided programming to over 850 public radio stations in the United States. PRI was one of the main providers of programm ...

that ran from 1989 to 2012.

History

The series began broadcasting in 1989 and was produced by PVPMedia. The principal performing band on ''Riverwalk Jazz'' is the

Jim Cullum Jazz Band James Albert Cullum Jr., better known as Jim Cullum Jr. (September 20, 1941 – August 11, 2019), was an American jazz cornetist known for his contributions to Dixieland jazz. His father was Jim Cullum Sr., a clarinetist who led the Happy Jazz Ba ...

. The series co-hosts are bandleader Jim Cullum, Jr. and folklorist and storyteller David Holt. Jim Cullum's Landing Jazz Club on the Paseo Del Rio ( San Antonio River Walk) in San Antonio, Texas serves as the venue where most of the hour-long shows are produced. In 2012, the ''Riverwalk Jazz'' Collection was donated to the Stanford Archive of Recorded Sound by PVPMedia. Two continuous streams of almost every Riverwalk show can be accessed from Stanford's ''Riverwalk Jazz'' site.

Program

Jazz era

Through the use of live music performance, narration, autobiographies, historical recordings and musical demonstrations, the series focuses on jazz from before World War II as played by the great pioneers such as Jelly Roll Morton, Joe "King" Oliver,

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

Bix Beiderbecke Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke (March 10, 1903 – August 6, 1931) was an American jazz cornetist, pianist and composer. Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s, a cornet player noted for an inventive lyrical app ...

, Sidney Bechet,

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

Fletcher Henderson James Fletcher Hamilton Henderson (December 18, 1897 – December 29, 1952) was an American pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer, important in the development of big band jazz and swing music. He was one of the most prolific black musi ...

and many more. Also featured are the lives and music of the great interwar pop composers such as George and

Ira Gershwin Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the 2 ...

, Rodgers and Hart,

Harry Warren Harry Warren (born Salvatore Antonio Guaragna; December 24, 1893 – September 22, 1981) was an American composer and the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song ...

Harold Arlen Harold Arlen (born Hyman Arluck; February 15, 1905 – April 23, 1986) was an American composer of popular music, who composed over 500 songs, a number of which have become known worldwide. In addition to composing the songs for the 1939 film ...

, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern and many others.

Guests

Frequent guests include playwright and actor Vernel Bagneris, pianist

Dick Hyman Richard Hyman (born March 8, 1927) is an American jazz pianist and composer. Over a 70-year career, he has worked as a pianist, organist, arranger, music director, electronic musician, and composer. He was named a National Endowment for the Art ...

, vocalists Topsy Chapman and Nina Ferro, and cornetist Bob Barnard, as well as guest bands such as the

Hot Club of San Francisco The Hot Club of San Francisco is an American gypsy jazz band. Led by guitarist, songwriter, and arranger Paul 'Pazzo' Mehling, the group uses the instrumentation of violin, bass, and guitars from Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli’s Quint ...

. Other notable musical guests in past years have included Benny Carter,

Linda Hopkins Linda Hopkins (December 14, 1924 – April 10, 2017) was a Tony-winning American actress and blues and gospel singer. She recorded classic, traditional, and urban blues, and performed R&B and soul, jazz, and show tunes. Biography Born Mel ...

Bob Wilber Robert Sage Wilber (March 15, 1928 – August 4, 2019) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, and band leader. Although his scope covers a wide range of jazz, Wilber was a dedicated advocate of classic styles, working throughout his caree ...

Bob Haggart Robert Sherwood Haggart (March 13, 1914 – December 2, 1998) was an American dixieland jazz double bass player, composer, and arranger. Although he is associated with dixieland, he was one of the finest rhythm bassists of the Swing Era. Music c ...

Yank Lawson John Rhea "Yank" Lawson (May 3, 1911 – February 18, 1995) was an American jazz trumpeter known for Dixieland and swing music. Born John Lausen in 1911, from 1933 to 1935 he worked in Ben Pollack's orchestra and after that became a founding ...

, Kenny Davern, Harry "Sweets" Edison,

Clark Terry Clark Virgil Terry Jr. (December 14, 1920 – February 21, 2015) was an American swing and bebop trumpeter, a pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz, and a composer and educator. He played with Charlie Barnet (1947), Count Basie (1948–51), Duke ...

, Bucky Pizzarelli, John Pizzarelli, Banu Gibson,

Rebecca Kilgore Rebecca Kilgore (born September 24, 1949) is an American jazz vocalist based in Portland, Oregon. She has been called "one of the best interpreters of the Great American Songbook." She has performed with jazz pianist and composer Dave Frishberg, ...

Ralph Sutton Ralph Earl Sutton (November 4, 1922 – December 30, 2001) was an American jazz pianist born in Hamburg, Missouri. He was a stride pianist in the tradition of James P. Johnson and Fats Waller. Biography Sutton was born in Hamburg, Missouri, ...

Ken Peplowski Ken Peplowski (born May 23, 1959) is an American jazz clarinetist and tenor saxophonist. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, and known primarily for playing swing music. For over a decade, Peplowski recorded for Concord Records. In 2 ...

, Doc Cheatham, Savion Glover,

Milt Hinton Milton John Hinton (June 23, 1910 – December 19, 2000) was an American double bassist and photographer. Regarded as the Dean of American jazz bass players, his nicknames included "Sporty" from his years in Chicago, "Fump" from his time on the ...

, Jay McShann, Joe Williams,

Shelly Berg Shelton "Shelly" Glen Berg (born August 18, 1955) is an American classical and jazz pianist and music educator. He is the dean of the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida and the school's Patricia L. Frost P ...

, Catherine Russell, Bob Havens,

Carol Woods Carol may refer to: People with the name *Carol (given name) *Henri Carol (1910–1984), French composer and organist *Martine Carol (1920–1967), French film actress * Sue Carol (1906–1982), American actress and talent agent, wife of actor Al ...

, Harry Allen,

Howard Alden Howard Vincent Alden (born October 17, 1958) is an American jazz guitarist born in Newport Beach, California. Alden has recorded many albums for Concord Records, including four with seven-string guitar innovator George Van Eps. Early life How ...

. Marty Grosz,

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles M ...

, Vince Giordano, Warren Vaché, Jr., and William Warfield.

Broadcasts

In addition to PRI affiliates on FM/AM radio, ''Riverwalk Jazz'' airs weekly on Sirius XM Radio's Real Jazz channel (XM 70/Sirius 72).

Personnel

The personnel of the

included Jim Cullum, Jr., leader and cornet; Ron Hockett, clarinet and saxophone; Kenny Rupp, trombone; Jim Turner, piano; Howard Elkins, banjo and guitar; Steve Pikal, bass; Hal Smith, drums. Past personnel heard in encore performances on the radio series include John Sheridan, piano;

Allan Vaché Allan Vaché (born December 16, 1953) is an American jazz clarinetist, son of the jazz bassist and journalist Warren Vaché Sr. and brother of jazz cornetist Warren Vaché Jr. Raised in Rahway, New Jersey, Vaché graduated from Rahway High Sch ...

, clarinet; Mike Pittsley, trombone;

Brian Ogilvie Brian Hugh Ogilvie (born January 30, 1952) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played 90 games in the National Hockey League for the Chicago Black Hawks and St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hock ...

(de), clarinet and saxophone; Evan Christopher, clarinet; Don Mopsick, bass; Mike Waskiewicz, drums; Ed Torres, drums; Kevin Dorn, drums and Benji Bohannon, drums.

References

External links

* * Interviews with Jim Cullum, Jr.
June 11, 1980August 12, 1986
University of Texas at San Antonio: Institute of Texan Cultures: Oral History Collection, UA 15.01, University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections.
''Riverwalk Jazz'' Collection (ARS.0129), Stanford Archive of Recorded Sound
{{Public Radio International Public Radio International programs American jazz radio programs 1989 radio programme debuts 2012 radio programme endings