In this series of glimpses into the world of jazz guitar, Hot Box 68 finds perhaps the most important guitarist of them all – Charlie Christian. He was born in 1916 and sadly died of tuberculosis when just 25 years old, but he’d already established the amplified guitar as a permanent part of the instrumental repertoire of jazz, and gone part of the way in leading jazz out of the Swing Era and into Bebop and modern jazz.

Other prominent players in the “C” file include Larry Coryell, Steve Cardenas and Philip Catherine.

An hour of guitar with a wide range of styles.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:01:44 — 84.7MB)

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After the last edition of Hot Box Xtra, remembering the great Chick Corea (1941 – 2021), Donald Helme returns to some “New Stuff“ with a varied programme from jazz-funk to lush vocals, from the valedictory saxophone of Jimmy Heath to brilliant solo piano.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:06:19 — 91.0MB)

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Chick Corea 1941-2021

A Hot Box Xtra checks out the music of one of the most important musicians in jazz. Sadly, he passed away in February this year aged 79.

A pianist, composer and bandleader who visited all corners of the music box from Hispanic to Fusion, from Jazz to Classical. Chick Corea collected an amazing 23 Grammy Awards over his career – probably more than any other musician – delivering almost 90 recorded albums during his 60 plus years as a professional. He had played concerts in Ireland on several occasions.

Footnote: Since this programme was recorded, the 2021 Grammys were announced March 14, and Chick Corea received posthumously two more awards, for Best Improvised Jazz Solo (All Blues – included in this tribute show) and the album Trilogy 2 in which it featured.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:23:58 — 115.2MB)

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In this edition we once again visit the alphabetical countdown of prominent jazz guitar players, taking a few more filed under the letter B. And we indulge in a little repetition to celebrate Ireland’s guitarist Hugh Buckley.

Included is one piece by the late Chick Corea who died on February 9 2021.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:03:43 — 87.4MB)

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After too long a gap, The Hot Box returns with tracks from recently released albums by Christian McBride, John Beasley, Chick Corea and the Cuban wonder Harold Lopez Nussa amongst others.

There’s an emphasis on big bands, with among others, selections from the “tribute” album “For Jimmy, Wes and Oliver” by Christian McBride.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:07:31 — 92.6MB)

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The Hot Box 64th edition…in which we check out guitar players filed under the letter B.

The file must run to two editions, so popular is that letter in the array of surnames. The letter B starts to illustrate the diversity and depth of the guitar’s contribution to the jazz music we love.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:05:21 — 89.6MB)

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The 63rd edition of Hot Box reminds us of the importance of Charlie Parker as we celebrate his 100th anniversary, we mark the death of one of the greatest of bass players Gary Peacock, we offer a shout-out for Sonny Rollins whose 90th birthday has just passed, and we revel in a massive re-release of long unavailable albums by the self-taught genius of the piano, Errol Garner. In between all of that some exciting new material, including an album featuring Irish guitarist David O’Rourke.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:10:06 — 96.3MB)

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The 62nd edition of The Hot Box opens up the guitar files for an alphabetical series that will cover a wide range of eras and styles in the very wide world of the guitar in jazz. By some margin the guitar is the most popular of all musical instruments, and its presence in jazz is no less widespread, blossoming when someone had the bright idea of amplifying its sound. Right now, there are over 30 pro or semi-pro guitarists in Ireland who play jazz, although finding their recorded output may be problematic.

So, we start with The A File – John Abercrombie, Howard Alden and Laurindo Almeida for starters.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:04:36 — 88.7MB)

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It seems that this is a time for memories of the great jazz musicians of yesterday who have “left the building” during the current pandemic (but not necessarily as a direct result of it), and in The Hot Box #061 we celebrate the music of saxophonist Jimmy Heath, singer/pianist Freddy Cole and singer Annie Ross. And we find some new music from Brazilian, New York based guitarist Riccardo Grilli.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:05:37 — 90.1MB)

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The final episode of The Piano Files A-Z. The Z File

Not too may surnames start with the letter Z but here we find 4 amazing piano players that give us a wide spectrum of style and content……the majority of tracks included here were recorded live, in front of an audience. Remember those days?

Joe Zawinul, the former Miles Davis collaborator and founding member of Weather Report.

Denny Zeitlin, professor of Clinical Psychiatry with over 30 jazz albums to his name.

Aziza Mustafa Zadeh, classical student fusing jazz with Azerbajani Mugam.

Peter Zak, prolific proponent of the Eternal Triangle – his phrase for the jazz piano trio.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:03:16 — 86.9MB)

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