Jazz Library

Singer Gwyneth Herbert has proved herself an insightful commentator on the recordings of fellow vocalists on Jazz Library, but in this week's programme she shares her enthusiasm for the pianist Brad Mehldau, who is one of the most challenging and innovative of contemporary jazz players. With a repertoire ranging from Broadway songs to the works of contemporary rock players, his music seldom stands still. He is a romantic player in the grand tradition of Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett, but also a fearless experimenter with time, and musical structure. Gwyneth Herbert joins Alyn Shipton to pick Mehldau's finest recordings, as a soloist, with his trio and with the bands of Lee Konitz and Charles Lloyd. Brad Mehldau performs at the 2010 London Jazz Festival.

The tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon was one of the first tenor saxophonists in jazz to adopt the bebop style in the 1940s, going on to become one of the most influential and distinctive soloists of the 60s and 70s. Soweto Kinch joins Alyn Shipton to select Gordon's finest recordings, ranging from his early days with Billy Eckstine to his Oscar-nominated performance in Bertrand Tavernier's film "Round Midnight".

Alyn Shipton is joined by vintage-drum expert Richard Pite to select the highlights from Krupa's many recordings. As well as his work with Benny Goodman, the programme spans Krupa's playing from the 1920s to the late 1950s, including his epic battles with Buddy Rich and his famous recordings with Anita O'Day and Roy Eldridge.

Trumpeter, author and broadcaster Ian Carr is considered by some to be one of the most influential figures in British jazz. Alyn Shipton features an archive interview, in which Carr selects some of his finest recordings. These include music by the Rendell-Carr Quintet, the Emcee Five and Nucleus, as well as movements from Neil Ardley's suite Kaleidoscope of Rainbows.

Alyn Shipton interviews veteran saxophonist Benny Golson, who turns 80 in 2009, and who is to be honoured at the Kennedy Centre in Washington DC for his lifetime achievements in jazz. The programme features Golson looking back at his career with musicians including Art Blakey, Lee Morgan and Dizzy Gillespie as well as his own Jazztet, plus a preview of his new 80th birthday album New Times, New 'Tet.

Alyn Shipton talks to the prolific American composer and alto saxophonist about the landmarks in his career, beginning with his early days with Claude Thornhill and Stan Kenton and progressing to his work on Miles Davis's Birth of the Cool and with Lennie Tristano and his circle.

Alyn Shipton explores the best examples of recordings by pianist Bud Powell, who died in 1966 aged 41 and altered the course of jazz piano through his bebop innovations of the 1940s. He left an impressive legacy of recorded work, although this also charts his slow decline as a consequence of mental illness and addiction problems. Shipton is joined by pianist Geoff Eales to consider the largest body of Powell's work, for the Blue Note label.

Alyn Shipton and Gwyneth Herbert select highlights from the recorded catalogue of the jazz singer and pianist known as the High Priestess of Soul. The programme includes part of an archive interview by Alyn with Nina herself, recorded on her last visit to Britain, as well as her best songs ranging from Porgy through Mississippi Goddam to I Put a Spell on You.

Author and critic Brian Morton joins Alyn Shipton to select the essential examples of bandleader Sun Ra's work. Born Herman Blount, he was as famous for his exotic headgear and claims that his inspiration and music came from outer space, as his band The Arkestra. Yet beneath the exotic image, Ra was a highly creative musician, redefining the structure and sound of the jazz big band.

The King of Swing, and one of the finest of all jazz clarinetists, Benny Goodman recorded prolifically, and was as dazzlingly talented in a big band setting as in a small group. He encouraged multi-racial bands, with his trio, quartet and sextet, and helped bring guitarist Charlie Christian to a wider audience. Alyn Shipton is joined by John Dankworth, who shares some of his keen insights into Goodman's style, his selection of key recordings and his personal reminiscences of Benny, with whom he played for the first time in 1949.

Alyn Shipton is joined by Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stanko to help select the finest examples of his recorded work that should be in any jazz collection. One of the most celebrated jazz musicians in Europe, Stanko looks back on his collaborations with Krzysztof Komeda and Edward Vesala, and discusses the albums he has made under his own name, including Litania and Leosia.

The man who was Duke Ellington's amanuensis, co-pianist and arranger is not so well-known in his own right. In tonight's programme Ellingtonian specialist Brian Priestley joins Alyn Shipton to look at Strayhorn's small catalogue of records under his own name, and also separates out his immense personal contribution to Duke Ellington's work for both large and small bands, as composer, arranger and instrumentalist.

Dave Brubeck To celebrate pianist Dave Brubeck's 87th birthday, Alyn Shipton introduces part of a conversation with Brubeck recorded during his quartet's 40th anniversary tour of the UK, in which he selects some of his favourite recordings from a catalogue that includes over 100 albums. As well as such perennial favourites as Take Five by his historic quartet with Paul Desmond, Brubeck also looks at his collaborations with Gerry Mulligan, the London Symphony Orchestra and his present day band with saxophonist Bobby Militello.

Alyn Shipton is joined by one of the most famous Ellingtonians of all, trumpeter Clark Terry, to look back over his recordings. In addition to his work with Ellington, Terry was also a member of Count Basie's famous orchestra and he also discusses his discs with the late Oscar Peterson, including the amusing Mumbles.

John Etheridge helps Alyn Shipton select highlights from the catalogue of fellow jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery, explaining how he achieved his unique sound. Montgomery is considered to have been one of the most innovative players on his instrument and developed a technique that combined the rapidity of bebop with a mellow romanticism.

Alyn Shipton talks to gifted South African jazz pianist Abdullah Ibrahim about the highlights in his recorded catalogue. Ibrahim discusses discs from the apartheid era, when he was both an exile and, on a brief return home, the creator of the freedom anthem Mannenberg, as well as his international work as a solo pianist, bandleader and composer.

Alyn Shipton presents a special tribute edition of Jazz Library devoted to Oscar Peterson, who died in December 2007 and is regarded as one of the greatest jazz pianists. The programme not only suggests the essential Peterson CDs, but also calls on the help of the man himself, with an extended interview recorded in 2000.

Django Reinhardt The first European jazz musician to make a significant impact on the world stage, guitarist Django Reinhardt's effect was felt throughout jazz. John Etheridge, leader of the Django tribute band Sweet Chorus, joins Alyn Shipton to select the finest recordings by the gipsy genius. From the Hot Club Quintet of France to Reinhardt's solo waltzes, and from his later electric guitar triumphs such as Nuages to his wartime big band discs, this covers all the essential Reinhardt recordings for any jazz collection.

Cab Calloway Christmas Day marks the centenary of one of the most outsize talents in jazz, the Hi-de-Ho man himself, Cab Calloway. To select from such recorded gems by Cab as Minnie the Moocher, St Louis Blues and Nagasaki, Alyn Shipton is joined by the singer's grandson Calloway Brooks, who leads the present day Calloway Orchestra and has an encyclopedic knowledge of his grandfather's work.

Alyn Shipton concludes his conversation with the great Sonny Rollins, and brings his survey of the saxophonist's recorded output up-to-date. The programme includes excerpts from Rollins' latest album Sonny Please, and looks back at his work from the time of his 1950s political protest, by way of his score for the Michael Caine film Alfie, and his long association with the Milestone record label, which produced some of his most memorable albums.