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The Stephen Phillip Harvey Jazz Orchestra is a seventeen-piece ensemble featuring a rotating roster of world-class musicians from across the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest. Known for their bold sound and adventurous programming, the group debuted in 2022 with Smash!, a studio album released on Next Level. With their most recent release Multiversal, Harvey channels the spirit of America's original large ensemble—the jazz orchestra—into a vivid, pseudo-cinematic soundscape filled with drama, intensity, and imaginative storytelling and the orchestra performs selections from that release here. From October 24th, 2025 Daniel Peck is your host for the Stephen Phillip Harvey Jazz Orchestra…Live at the Bop Stop. -
Elvis' R&B Influences. 49 years ago this week, we lost the "King Of Rock n' Roll." Much has been written about Elvis’ enormous impact and popularity over the years, but it’s almost impossible to overstate the cultural shift that took place as he rose to fame in 1956. Elvis was a musical sponge. He absorbed all the music that moved him and those around him, from Country and Hillbilly to Gospel, Pop, R&B and Blues. This week focuses solely on the rhythm & blues that motivated Elvis’ early career. During the end of his first session with Sam Phillips, Elvis cut into an inspired rendition of a semi-forgotten Arthur Crudup gem and rock n’ roll was literally born. From the New Orleans R&B of Smiley Lewis, to the jump blues of Wynonie Harris, Elvis dug it all and made each song uniquely his own. He wasn’t copying his R&B idols, he was merely using their material as a springboard for his own blend of the White and the Black. Sam Phillips was right when he said that it would take a White cat with an African-American feel to propel this exciting R&B music into the mainstream and lucky for us, he found that in Elvis Presley.
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Film and TV orchestrator, arranger, composer, Dave Slonaker has been working in Hollywood for over thirty years, utilizing his lifetime knowledge of a broad range of musical influences. Dave loves every aspect of his musical life but is especially inspired when he records his own music which this conversation celebrates, focusing on his new CD, Shifty Paradigms, a big band extravaganza of Dave’s compositions and arrangements with one standard thrown in for fun. -
Jamey Haddad Quartet Featuring Helio Alves. Jamey Haddad holds a singular position in the world of jazz and contemporary music. Haddad’s musical voice transcends styles and trends, and the universal quality of his playing has attracted many international collaborations with artists including Yo-Yo Ma, Paul Simon, and Sting. Born of Lebanese descent, he is regarded as one of the foremost world music and jazz percussionists in the United States.A native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, pianist Helio Alves combines the rhythmic complexity of modern Brazilian music with the edgy energy of contemporary jazz. A resident of NYC, Alves has received high praise as an in-demand sideman with Joe Henderson, Yo-Yo Ma, Slide Hampton, Paquito D'Rivera, Airto Moreira and Flora Purim to name a few.Together with Trombonist Jay Ashby and Bassist Kip Reed, the Quartet provide an exciting performance of jazz from around the world.From December 18th, 2025 Daniel Peck is your host for the Jamey Haddad Quartet featuring Helio Alves…Live at the Bop Stop. -
Sun Records R&B, Part 1 - 1952-53. This week salutes the most influential and important record label of all-time, Sun Records. Sam Phillips started the legendary label in Memphis, TN in March, 1952 after successfully recording the debut sides from B.B. King, Ike Turner, Phineas Newborn and Howlin' Wolf and selling the masters to RPM Records in LA and Chess Records in Chicago. This is part one of a two-part feature, leading up to Phillips' groundbreaking, pop culture shifting discovery of Elvis Presley in July, 1954. Matt The Cat examines nearly every rhythm & blues side that Sun Released during 1952 and '53 on this in-depth look into one of America's most treasured music catalogs. That little yellow label from Memphis is in the spotlight as America's showcase for 1940s and '50s Rhythm & Blues. -
In honor of John Coltrane’s centennial we’ll air the 5-Part series produced by Steve Rowland, the acclaimed oral historian, educator, and documentary producer, “Tell Me How Long Trane’s Been Gone.” Widely regarded as the most comprehensive documentary ever produced for radio (or television), it is unhurried, rigorous, and deeply intimate, tracing John Coltrane’s career from his North Carolina roots through the classic quartet years, the spiritual breakthrough of “A Love Supreme”, and into his avant-garde explorations. The documentary features rare interviews, archival recordings, from Coltrane’s contemporaries and collaborators including Alice Coltrane, Elvin Jones, McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison, Rashied Ali, Sonny Rollins, Max Roach, and many others. -
Strata East: How a revolutionary record label put the control in the artist's hands. In the 1970s, Strata-East Records took a revolutionary approach empowering musicians with complete artistic control and the majority of the record sales profit. Take a dive with us into their discography, impact and legacy. -
In honor of John Coltrane’s centennial we’ll air the 5-Part series produced by Steve Rowland, the acclaimed oral historian, educator, and documentary producer, “Tell Me How Long Trane’s Been Gone.” Widely regarded as the most comprehensive documentary ever produced for radio (or television), it is unhurried, rigorous, and deeply intimate, tracing John Coltrane’s career from his North Carolina roots through the classic quartet years, the spiritual breakthrough of “A Love Supreme”, and into his avant-garde explorations. The documentary features rare interviews, archival recordings, from Coltrane’s contemporaries and collaborators including Alice Coltrane, Elvin Jones, McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison, Rashied Ali, Sonny Rollins, Max Roach, and many others. -
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In honor of John Coltrane’s centennial we’ll air the 5-Part series produced by Steve Rowland, the acclaimed oral historian, educator, and documentary producer, “Tell Me How Long Trane’s Been Gone.” Widely regarded as the most comprehensive documentary ever produced for radio (or television), it is unhurried, rigorous, and deeply intimate, tracing John Coltrane’s career from his North Carolina roots through the classic quartet years, the spiritual breakthrough of “A Love Supreme”, and into his avant-garde explorations. The documentary features rare interviews, archival recordings, from Coltrane’s contemporaries and collaborators including Alice Coltrane, Elvin Jones, McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison, Rashied Ali, Sonny Rollins, Max Roach, and many others. -
Vocalist Stella Cole is a romantic and not afraid to show it. In our time when so much is slick or ironic, Stella chooses to be sincere and sing from the heart, digging deep into the emotional journey of a song, always with a bit of hope shining through, reflecting the classic musicals of the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s that she loved as a child. Stella has toured with Post Modern Jukebox, with her own band, and now, three albums later, she’s off and running with loads of fans who include her twenty-something contemporaries, those who heard some of those songs originally, and everyone in between. -
Joshua Smith Quartet, Set 1. For over 20 years as a professional jazz pianist and 7 full-length album appearances (3 as leader), Keigo Hirakawa has transformed himself from a student of the jazz masters to an artist with vision and unique sense of expressions. His jazz piano trio is well-known throughout the Midwest for their willingness to be musically spontaneous on stage, exploring original compositions and redefining jazz standards to make it their own.Cleveland native Joshua Smith is a saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist who has been playing for the past 25 years with a Who's Who of creative music and jazz, from Joe Lovano to Chris Jonas and Scott Amendola. Now based in San Francisco, Joshua is one of the Bay Area’s most sought-after collaborators.This August 3rd, 2024 performance features the quartet working out material in advance of Joshua and Keiho heading into the studio to record new music. Featuring Joshua Smith on Saxophone, Keigo Hirakawa on Piano, Connor Smith on Bass and Jeff Mellott on Drums, Daniel Peck is your host for the Joshua Smith Quartet…Live at the Bop Stop.
