KNKX's Tree of Jazz takes you through the eras, from the roots to the newest budding leaves, with a weekly deep dive into iconic artists, albums, and instruments.
This week's Tree of Jazz begins with a study of W.C. Handy, known as the "father of the blues."
Handy was the first to publish "jazz" compositions, starting in 1912 with the "Memphis Blues" and later "St. Louis Blues" and many more. We'll forgo the scratchy recordings of Handy himself, instead taking in versions of his tunes throughout the years including renditions from Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Dr. John, and more.
This week we also lost two jazz legends; saxophonist Lou Donaldson and drummer Roy Haynes.
On record and in person, Donaldson’s music pleased crowds across the country. Building on the organ grooves, the melodic blues of R&B, and international rhythms; his sound defined the transformative years between the intensity of the bebop into the laid back and groovy soul jazz era of the 1960s.
Drummer Roy Haynes also was around from bebop to soul jazz and beyond. He was a percussive exclamation point on recordings beginning in the 1940s and all the way into the 2010s.
Listen to Tree of Jazz, on air and online every Sunday from 3-6 p.m. PT. Find the past two weeks of Tree of Jazz On-Demand.
