Jazz

This week on ColaJazz Presents, we welcome clarinetist and saxophonist Pete Neighbour to the show.The London native brings a unique 21st century style to swing era jazz music. When he's not leading bands in jazz clubs and concert halls across the United States and Europe, Neighbour is at home in his adopted city of Charleston, SC.

This week on ColaJazz Presents, we speak with pianist Shannon Pinkney. Born in Orangeburg, SC, he's also known as "True Blue" and "Blue Deon" Pinkney in jazz circles. His music exudes a sense of joy and calmness, and he always plays it with a smile. One of the signature elements of Pinkney's style is quoting a different tune in the middle of a song.

On the first episode of ColaJazz Presents, we spotlight the Columbia, SC, ensemble Les Flat Out Strangers. The group specializes in gypsy swing, a European-tinged sound featuring popular music of the 1920s through 1940s, a seminal period in the development of the jazz idiom. Les Flat Out Strangers is a fixture in the Capital City, playing in clubs and festivals and offering a dance friendly vibe and sophisticated sound.

Scribbling notes on a dry erase board just won't do. So David Virelles plays them instead, on a piano. The Cuban composer and pianist is teaching a…

For many years, jazz great Marian McPartland welcomed some of the biggest names in - and out of - jazz to her NPR program, Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz.…

Ask Wynton Marsalis to name his favorite holiday song and he might tell you, “The Christmas Song” by Mel Torme. Then he’ll likely explain it’s personal.…

Guitarist Pat Metheny is one of the brightest stars in the jazz firmament. The only person to win a Grammy in ten different categories, the ever-evolving…

Grammy Award-winning pianist, composer, and bandleader Michel Camilo is one of the most fascinating jazz artists working today. A prodigy from the…

Pianist Gene Harris (1933 – 2000) was an integral part of the well-known group The Three Sounds trio, with bassist Andy Simpkins and drummer Bill Dowdy.…

This week, Piano Jazz remembers Marlene VerPlanck (1933 – January 14, 2018), who died from cancer this year at age 84. One of the finest interpreters of…