Jazz Library

A fine saxophonist and a pioneer of jazz flute, James Moody died last December. Alyn Shipton remembers his career and picks his finest records with the help of the man himself in an archive conversation recorded at Ronnie Scott's. He recalls his long association with Dizzy Gillespie and his big hit 'Moody's Mood for Love'.

To celebrate the 92nd birthday of George Avakian, the veteran record producer joins Alyn Shipton to pick his personal favourites from a long career in supervising record sessions, starting in 1939. From the Chicago jazz of Eddie Condon and Jimmy McPartland, the programme covers a vast stylistic range including Erroll Garner, Miles Davis's quintet and his Gil Evans collaborations, the Duke Ellington Orchestra, Dave Brubeck's most famous quartet and the Louis Armstrong All Stars.

On the weekend of what would have been his 80th birthday, the drummer Allan Ganley is heard selecting his favourite recordings in an interview recorded before his death in 2008. He tells Alyn Shipton about his work with John Dankworth, Ronnie Scott and Tubby Hayes, and we also hear Ganley the composer in a variety of settings from trio to big band.

Roy Eldridge, with his fiery tone, brilliant upper register and inventive phrasing, was the most musically combative trumpeter of the swing era. The heir to Louis Armstrong and the main influence on Dizzy Gillespie, his own canon of work stands alongside theirs. New Orleans-born trumpeter Abram Wilson helps Alyn Shipton to select the key recordings by Eldridge, including his creative partnerships with Gene Krupa, Chu Berry, Artie Shaw, Lester Young and Art Tatum.

Dinah Washington was only 39 when she died of an accidental overdose of barbiturates in 1963. Yet in her short life she was one of the most successful of all jazz singers, also crossing into blues and pop territory. Gwyneth Herbert joins Alyn Shipton to pick the essential recordings by Dinah, starting with her bluesy repertoire of the mid-1940s and tracing her career as she became one of the finest interpreters of American popular song. The programme includes her collaborations with Quincy Jones and with the fourth of her eight husbands, Eddie Chamblee.

Hank Mobley was one of the finest tenor saxophonists in jazz during the 1950s and 1960s. In this programme, fellow saxophonist, author and broadcaster Dave Gelly joins Alyn Shipton to select Mobley's best work. As well as the sessions Mobley led himself, principally for the Blue Note label, the programme looks at his brief period as a member of the Miles Davis quintet.

Killed in a car accident aged just 25, Scott LaFaro was widely regarded as the most technically gifted bassist of the 20th Century. His records with Bill Evans are among the finest jazz trio discs ever made. Bassist Dave Green joins Alyn Shipton to pick the highlights of these, and to trace the other significant records in LaFaro's brief but brilliant career.

Sonny Stitt was one of the finest bebop saxophonists, transferring the style of Charlie Parker to the tenor instrument, as well as developing his own approach to the alto. Fellow saxophonist Alan Barnes joins Alyn Shipton to choose the best examples of Stitt's work, including his recordings with Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell and Sonny Rollins as well as the many sessions he led himself.

Ian Smith joins Alyn Shipton to select the best recordings by trumpeter and vocalist Chet Baker, including his early work with Gerry Mulligan, his West Coast quartets and the early collaborations with Art Pepper. There is also a focus on his latterday career, and in particular the records he made in Europe in his final years.

Louis Moholo Moholo arrived in London from South Africa in the 1960s with Chris McGregor's Blue Notes. During his visit to the UK for the 2010 London Jazz Festival, he joins Alyn Shipton to discuss the high points in a long and extensive recording career, that not only encompasses work with fellow South Africans Harry Miller and Dudu Pukwana, but also with mercurial American pianist Cecil Taylor.

A product of the M-Base revolution and then a major artist on the Blue Note label, Geri Allen is one of the most accomplished female pianists in jazz. In this programme, recorded in front of an audience at London's Purcell Room, she joins Alyn Shipton to pick the highlights from her recorded work.

Vibraphonist Gary Burton was a teenage prodigy and his four mallet style revolutionised his instrument's playing technique. Prior to his 2010 London Jazz Festival concert, he joined Alyn Shipton in front of an audience on the South Bank to pick his favourite recordings including work with Carla Bley, Chick Corea and Pat Metheny.

Singer Norma Winstone joins Alyn Shipton to select her best recordings, looking back to her early days with Michael Garrick, her long associations with John Taylor and Kenny Wheeler, and at songs for which she has written lyrics herself, including her renowned collaboration with Jimmy Rowles on The Peacocks.

From his meteoric rise to fame with Benny Goodman to his small group records with Billie Holiday, pianist Teddy Wilson was one of the stars of the swing era. Pianist Martin Litton joins Alyn Shipton to select the best examples of Wilson's work, including his own short-lived big band, his solo recordings, and many latterday trios.

Clifford Brown died in a car crash at 25, robbing the jazz world of one of its most talented and original trumpeters. To mark the 80th anniversary of Brown's birth, author Tom Perchard joins Alyn Shipton to pick the highlights of his recordings. The programme centres on the Clifford Brown / Max Roach Quintet, but also includes a wide variety of other material including discs with Sarah Vaughan and with a string orchestra.

Martial Solal is one of France's most highly acclaimed jazz musicians. Prior to his solo appearance at this year's London Jazz Festival (in association with Radio 3) he talks to Alyn Shipton about his long recording career and also the Martial Solal International Piano Competition that takes place this month in Paris. His selection of albums ranges from solo piano to his current large ensemble the Newdecaband. He also talks about his long associations with American jazz musicians Lee Konitz and Paul Motian.

American singer Mark Murphy is one of the most versatile vocalists in jazz. A master of scat and vocalese, he is also a renowned interpreter of ballads and standards. British singer Ian Shaw joins Alyn Shipton to consider Murphy's finest records, from his early work such as 'That's How I Love The Blues' to his vocalese masterpiece 'Stolen Moments'.

Trumpeter, composer, arranger and bandleader Thad Jones was a hugely influential musician. In this programme Guy Barker and Alyn Shipton discuss his finest work, including many discs under his own name, records with Count Basie and Charles Mingus, and records made by the big band he co-led with Mel Lewis.

Fred Anderson, who died in June, was a founder member of the AACM in Chicago and ran the city's famous club, the Velvet Lounge. Alyn Shipton visited him at the site of his historic club before it was demolished in 2006, and talked to Anderson about his best recordings. The music features Joe Jarman, Muhal Richard Abrams and Anderson's long-term collaborator, the drummer Hamid Drake.

Jimmy Woode was one of a dynasty of jazz musicians from Boston, where he began his career with the likes of Charlie Parker and Sidney Bechet. He joined Alyn Shipton during one of his last visits to the UK before his death, to select his finest records, including examples of his work with Ellington, and with the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland band with whom he played after settling in Europe at the end of the 1960s.