Jazz

Kris Bowers began classical piano studies as a toddler in Los Angeles. In 2011, he walked away with the top honor at the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition—a major career boost for the Juilliard student. He brings his award-winning chops to the Piano Jazz studios for this set of tunes.

For his uncompromising, serious music, the 2011 Newport Jazz Festival was eager to present Charles Lloyd. He could bring any group, they told him. Charles said he would bring Sangam (means "confluence"), his east-west trio with Zakir Hussain on tablas, Eric Harland on drums, and Lloyd on saxophone. Join three musical spirits, flowing together.

Vocalist Tammy McCann discovered jazz while she was an opera student in her native Chicago. She decided to apply her considerable vocal range to a broad palette of musical styles, touring as a backup singer for Ray Charles and with her own successful gospel ensemble. Host Jon Weber accompanies McCann on “Daydream,” “Why Was I Born,” and “Easy Living.”

This acoustic cocktail starts with a jigger of sax master Phil Woods, a shot of trombonist Steve Turre and an equal measure of Jazz Mastery by pianist Cedar Walton – stirred, shaken and captured live at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola. Wendell Pierce hosts.

As a child, Julian Lage was quickly recognized as a guitar prodigy. He recorded with David Grisman and toured with Gary Burton before he was old enough to drive. Since then he has evolved into a composer with a deep understanding of the scope of American music, expressed on his acclaimed 2011 album, Gladwell. Lage solos on his “Etude  #1” and “Alone Together,” and joins Jon Weber for “Just Friends.”