Monday, October 3
Night Train kicks off the October Illinois Jacquet Centennial Birthday feature with one of his classic compositions on a new release from Doug MacDonald and a guest appearance he made on an early album from Joey DeFrancesco. We also begin a week-long tribute to saxophonist Pharoah Sanders with a classic track he co-wrote with vocalist Leon Thomas. We'll hear the latest from guitarist John Stein, bassist John Lee and drummer Dafnis Prieto (with vocalist Luciana Souza) and mark birthdays drummer Mike Clark, saxophonist Von Freeman, and impresario George Wein (featured in a special in hour two).
Tuesday, October 4
Night Train marks the birthdays of bassists Eddie Gomez (with Bill Evans) and Steve Swallow (with Carla Bley), vocalist Leon Thomas (with Pharaoh Sanders, as we pay tribute to him throughout the week), and guitarist Duke Robillard (featured in a special showcasing his jazz side in hour two of the show). We'll also hear October's featured artist Illinois Jacquet, music from Yusef Lateef recorded on this date in 1960, and new albums from Lia Booth, Brian Lynch, and the WJ3 All Stars.
Wednesday, October 5
In conjunction with our October feature marking the centennial birthday of pioneering tenor saxophonist Illinois Jacquet, it's a two-hour special tonight, Tough Tenors, showcasing some of the many great players who followed in Jacquet's footsteps or were, to some degree or another, influenced by the trail he blazed. Among the artists featured are Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, and Sonny Stitt.
Thursday, October 6
Night Train marks the birthdays of pianist Norman Simmons (with Joe Williams and as a leader) and guitarist Mark Whitfield (from a Grammy-winning release he did as part of the Christian McBride Big Band). We wrap up our week-long salute to Pharoah Sanders with music from an album he did in tribute to John Coltrane and with a guest appearance he made with Joey DeFrancesco. There's new music tonight from 3 More Sounds and the second of three trio albums from Charles Lloyd. And we'll hear the blues side of October featured artist Illinois Jacquet in hour one and a special highlighting two of the bands (Lionel Hampton and Cab Calloway) where he first got his start.
