Marty Ashby is joined by the Jazz Program Director at the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian, Ken Kimery. Marty and Ken take a look at the music and legacy of Louie Bellson, a beloved NEA Jazz Master. Louie was a talented jazz and swing drummer, as well as a bandleader and composer/arranger. Hear why Duke Ellington deemed Bellson "the world's greatest musician." MCG Jazz Spotlight - Friday and Sunday at 6, Saturday at 1pm. Louie Bellson ..read more

Kate Borger Plays Music She Loves on Rhythm-a-Ning Sounds from Ethan Iverson to Pittsburgh’s Earl Hines with Jimmy Rushing - marvelous sounds from Ethel Waters, Johnny Adams and James Booker. Add in Miles Davis, Emmet Cohen, Dexter Gordon, Kat Edmonson, Ray Charles and a dash of Slim Gaillard for spice, and you have perfect episode of Rhythm-a-Ning. Join Kate Borger - Friday morning at 10, Saturday morning at 11, on WZUM. Show playlist Kate Borger Kat Edmonson ..read more

This weekend is filled with jazz treasures in Pittsburgh - and we visit with the leaders of two of them on the program. One is saxophonist T.K. Blue, former Musical Director for the legendary composer, pianist and bandleader Randy Weston. Saturday night at 7:30, Kente Arts presents The African Rhythms Alumni Quintet: A Tribute to Randy Weston - featuring saxophonist TK Blue, bassist Alex Blake, master percussionist Chief Baba Neil Clarke, trombonist Frank Lacy and pianist Sharp Radway. All of them have deep connections with Dr. Weston and his music. Our conversation with TK Blue went on for ne ..read more

Marty Ashby is joined by musician, composer, and NEA Jazz Master, Paquito D'Rivera. The duo discuss Paquito's return to his Pittsburgh musical home with fond memories of MCG Jazz and the fabulous artists who have played and recorded with him. Hear jazz and classical sounds from Paquito, plus collaborations with Nancy Wilson, Claudio Roditi, the New York Voices and more. MCG Jazz Spotlight - Friday and Sunday at 6, Saturday at 1pm. Paquito D’Rivera in the Drew Mathieson Greenhouse (DMG) at the Bidwell Training Center Paquito D’Rivera, Marty Ashby Paquito D’Rivera, Claudio Roditi ..read more

2024 NEA Jazz Masters Tribute from Kennedy Center Live online at WZUM.org Saturday night at 7:30 - and Broadcast Sunday night on WZUM AM/FM and online at 7:00pm April is Jazz Appreciation Month - and WZUM is joining with @NEAarts and @kennedycenter with a special live stream of the 2024 #NEAJazzMasters Tribute. It will be on our homepage as a live stream at WZUM.org for the 7:30 Saturday night event - Plus, we’ll be broadcasting the whole event on the radio, Sunday night at 7, right at the MCG Spotlight Show. The 2024 recipients—Gary Bartz, Terence Blanchard, Willard Jenkins, and Amina Claudin ..read more

Marty Ashby and Renee Govanucci look back on Jazz Appreciation Month highlights performed and recorded at MCG Jazz. All sorts of live performances in April’s of the past - Spyro Gyra, Tom Scott, Ann Hampton Callaway, the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, Paquito D’Rivera, Herbie Mann, Phil Woods and more! The MCGJazz Spotlight on WZUM - Friday and Sunday nights at 6, and Saturday afternoon at 1. Paquto D’Rivera and Mary Ashby Playlist ..read more

Billie Holiday was born on April 7, 1915. Join Kate Borger Friday and Saturday morning on "Rhythm-a-ning" for a celebration featuring music from Billie Holiday, as well as tracks from Pittsburgh artists Tony Campbell, Fred Pugh, Ahmad Jamal, Johnny Costa and Tom Roberts. You can hear Rhythm-a-ning on WZUM The Pittsburgh Jazz Channel Friday at 10 and Saturday at 11 a.m. 101.1 FM and AM 1550, plus 96.9 HD3 FM in Pittsburgh, 88.1 in the Ohio Valley and wzum.org worldwide Billie Holiday with her dog Mister - 1947, William P. Gottlieb Collection, Library of Congress Kate Borger Show playlist ..read more

April is Jazz Appreciation Month - and the Jazz Central Calendar is showing it in many ways. One of the ways is theatrical - in the return of a musical play and review by the Pittsburgh Playwrights Theater of Ernest McCarty’s exploration of the last year of legendary blues and jazz singer Dinah Washington. Dinah Washington was born in Tuscaloosa Alabama, but she grew up in Chicago. She and playwright and bassist Ernest McCarty, Jr were more than a decade apart in age - but they did both study at Chicago’s DuSable High School and were influenced by the noted educator Captain Walter Diet (who al ..read more

This week on the MCG Jazz Spotlight Show, Hosts Marty Ashby and Renee Govanucci preview the artists and music of the upcoming 38th Season, the "Season of Firsts." The season contains 12 total performances, two of which will involve MCGJazz’s first-ever Artist-In-Residence, Ray Angry. In addition to performing, Ray Angry will also contribute to other programming throughout the season and work closely with local young musicians through workshops, masterclasses, and mentorship opportunities. The MCGJazz Spotlight on WZUM - Friday and Sunday nights at 6, and Saturday afternoon at 1. Concerts incl ..read more

 Kate Borger continues the celebration of Women's History Month on "Rhythm-a-ning" on WZUM. Friday morning at 10 and Saturday at 11 a.m., she’ll be featuring women currently working on the Jazz scene with music from Jazzmeia Horn, Lakecia Benjamin, Samara Joy and Terri Lyne Carrington, among others. It’s an inspirational hour of Jazz! Terri Lynne Carrington Kate Borger Show playlist ..read more