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Best Of 2020, King Day, Tenor & Organ, Jimmy Cobb (Kind Of Blue) & Hard Bop

Monday, January 18

Night Train marks Martin Luther King Jr. Day with music inspired by him and the Civil Rights Movement. We’ll hear selections from Nina Simone, Dr. Billy Taylor, Duke Ellington, Bobby Watson and more in hour one; and a King Day music special in hour two with more music dedicated to Dr. King.

Tuesday, January 19

It’s legendary tenor saxophonists and classic and contemporary organists featured tonight on the Night Train, both separately and together. Among the highlights, guitarist Pat Martino with organist Pat Bianchi, and organists Gregory Lewis, Jimmy McGriff, and Dr. Lonnie Smith as leaders. Plus tenor men Coleman Hawkins, Gene Ammons, John Coltrane with Thelonious Monk, Stan Getz with Charlie Byrd from the pioneering Jazz Samba album, and Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis with organist Shirley Scott.

Wednesday, January 20

Night Train marks birthdays of two drummers. We’ll hear Jeff ‘Tain’ Watts with Warren Wolf and Wynton Marsalis. And we remember legendary drummer Jimmy Cobb, also born on this date, with music he did as a leader and with Harold Mabern, and  in a special in hour two on the classic Kind of Blue album that featured Cobb as part of the lineup. And, as the January feature looking back at the past year in music continues, we remember Latin jazz percussionist Ray Mantilla and Brazilian trumpeter Claudio Roditi, who passed away in 2020. We also remember tuba master Howard Johnson, who passed away last week.

Thursday, January 21

It’s hard bop classics tonight on the Night Train with selections from Horace Silver, Lee Morgan, Kenny Dorham, Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers, John Coltrane, Grant Green and more. And as the show looks back at the past year in music, we’ll hear 2020 releases from Artemis, Conrad Herwig, the Dafnis Prieto Sextet, and Bobby Watson.

Chris Heim produces and hosts Global Village, a nationally and internationally distributed world music show; the nightly jazz show Night Train, and Crossroads, KMUW’s twice-weekly blues and R&B show. Chris is also a critic and freelance writer whose work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Utne, Global Rhythm, Dirty Linen, and Option, among others.