Straight No Chaser

Part of the Jazz at Lincoln Center facility in New York is the Nesuhi Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame (NEJHF). Musicians have been inducted into the Hall of Fame since 2004. On June 4, in a private ceremony, three more were inducted for this year. They were Lionel Hampton, Art Blakey and Clark Terry. Regrettably, Clark was the only one who lived to see this honor, but tonight we pay tribute to all three!

We celebrate the birthday of Grant Green. Also, in a blast from a more recent past, we hear the new CD from Bob James and David Sanborn and tenor players Zoot Sims and Teddy Edwards.

Guitarist Grant Green was born June 6, 1935. While he never achieved success with the general public like Wes Montgomery, he was highly regarded by other musicians for his use of the single note melodic line, and rarely played chords. On this week’s and next’s SNC, we will celebrate his birthday. Tonight, he plays his original No. 1 Green Street, along with two originals.

We conclude this month’s feature of the Hammond B3 organ with Barbara Dennerlein, Mike LeDonne, Jimmy Smith and Doug MacDonald’s Reorganized Quartet.

We continue our May feature, the B3 organ, tonight, as we hear Barbara Dennerlein, Mike LeDonne, Joey DeFrancesco and a 1957 recording of Jimmy Smith available only in a limited edition Mosaic set.

Our focus on the B3 continues tonight when we hear from Don Patterson, Jimmy Smith and Papa John DeFrancesco.

During the month of May, along with showers and flowers, SNC, along with Night Train and Strange Currency will feature the B3 organ, the Queen of Jazz. Tonight we hear West Coast organist Bobby Pierce with guitarist Doug Macdonald, and in a variety of settings, Shirley Scott.

Jazz Appreciation Month continues throughout April with more vibes, from Lionel Hampton, Terry Gibbs, the MJQ, Gary Burton and Bobby Hutcherson, only a few of whom will remember to pay their taxes tomorrow.

We hear nothing but the best from Art Blakey, Dexter Gordon and Jimmy Bruno to Alan Broadbent and Gary Foster.

Tonight we hear all big bands. Included are bands led by Count Basie, Mike Barone, Woody Herman, Maynard Ferguson and Bob Florence.