Jazz Library

In the final edition of the present series of Jazz Library, Alyn Shipton presents archive interviews with Kenny Baker, Vic Lewis, Coleridge Goode and Annie Ross in which they select some highlights of British jazz records from the 1930s to the 1960s, from Chicagoan-style Dixieland to free jazz.

Alyn Shipton selects the most enduring records from vibraphonist Milt Jackson's extensive catalogue, with the help of an archive interview with Jackson himself.

Alan Skidmore is a legendary figure in British jazz and one of its truly individual saxophone voices. To celebrate his imminent 70th birthday, he joins Alyn Shipton to select some of his finest recordings, ranging from work with John Mayall and Eric Clapton to the experimental bands SOS and SOH. He also discusses his work with African musicians and his lifelong love for the music of John Coltrane.

From his early recordings with the Bill Evans trio in the 1950s, Paul Motian remained in the very highest echelons of jazz until his death in November 2011. His former colleague, the saxophonist Martin Speake, who worked with Motian on record and in concert, joins Alyn Shipton for a selection of the essential discs by this most innovative and influential of percussionists. As well as work with Evans, the programme includes pieces by Keith Jarrett, the trio with Joe Lovano and Bill Frisell, and Motian's own Electric Bebop Band.

Bruce Boyd Raeburn joins Alyn Shipton to select some unusual examples of the original works of his jazz bandleader father, Boyd Raeburn.

Simon Woolf joins Alyn Shipton to explore the recorded legacy of American bassist Red Mitchell - from his early years on the West Coast and time in Sweden to his later work in duos.

In 2011, trombonist, bandleader and arranger Bob Brookmeyer celebrated his 80th birthday. To mark the event, Alyn Shipton met Brookmeyer to pick the highlights of his recorded work, ranging from his pioneering small group playing with Gerry Mulligan and Stan Getz to his big band contributions to the Mulligan Concert Jazz Band. Alyn also hears about Brookmeyer's New Art Orchestra, based in continental Europe, and discusses recent reissues of Bob's classics such as Traditionalism Revisited, and his trio with Jim Hall and Jimmy Giuffre.

John Etheridge is one of Britain's most versatile jazz musicians. He joins Alyn Shipton to pick his recordings, including Soft Machine and his acclaimed duo with John Williams.

Alyn Shipton is joined by a group of the country's leading jazz critics, broadcasters and writers to select the best new releases of 2011.

Saxophonist David Sanborn joins Alyn Shipton in front of an audience at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, during the 2011 London Jazz Festival to select his finest recordings. A star of fusion, but with a far wider stylistic range, Sanborn looks back at his 1975 debut Taking Off (which featured his long-term associates the Brecker Brothers); 1980s triumphs such as "As We Speak" right up to his current work, including 2010's "Only Everything".

Violinist Regina Carter is a major jazz talent from Detroit. She joins Alyn Shipton in front of an audience at the Purcell Room to pick her finest records as part of the London Jazz Festival. The music covers her own bands plus collaborations with Kenny Barron and Cassandra Wilson.

Prior to his appearance with Veryan Weston at the 2011 London Jazz Festival (in association with Radio 3), saxophonist, percussionist and bandleader Trevor Watts joins Alyn Shipton to pick the highlights of his recorded career. From the vigorous sounds of Amalgam in the 1970s, via his Drum Orchestra, Celebration Band and Moire Music, Watts brings us to the present with solo recordings as well as examples of the duo which will be appearing in London.

French saxophonist Michel Portal is also one of the world's great classical clarinettists, and a restless musical experimenter. In this week's programme, prior to a concert at the London Jazz Festival, Portal joins Alyn Shipton to pick some of the best examples of his recorded jazz. From his multi-tracked solo "Dajarme" via work on clarinet, soprano, alto and tenor sax to his most recent album "Baliador", selections from which he will play in London, Portal's choices are eclectic and dazzlingly virtuosic.

The saxophonist and singer Louis Jordan bridged the gap between jazz and rhythm and blues, pioneering many techniques that would be the foundation of r and b, and of rock, but always played as straight ahead jazz. Jordan produced dozens of classic recordings including "Five Guys Named Moe" and "Saturday Night Fish Fry". His discography stretches for over three decades from the mid-1930s and to pick his best work, Alyn Shipton is joined by singer Gwyneth Herbert.

The French saxophonist Barney Wilen is best known for his 1950s recordings with Miles Davis, on the score for Louis Malle's film "Lift to the Scaffold". But his work is much wider than this. After growing up in America, he fitted naturally into groups led by the drummer Roy Haynes, Art Blakey and Kenny Clarke. But he was also a towering figure in his own country's music, pioneering both jazz rock and world music influences on jazz. Tom Perchard joins Alyn Shipton to explore the high points in Wilen's recorded repertoire.

Gerry Mulligan was one of the finest baritone saxophonists in jazz history, bringing an effortless grace to the large instrument, enhanced by his skill as a composer and arranger. Brian Priestley joins Alyn Shipton to select Mulligan's key recordings, from his "pianoless" quartet through his sextets and ten-piece bands to the Concert Jazz Band. The music ranges from the early 1950s until the 1990s, and includes Mulligan's final, emotionally charged recordings.

Pianist, composer and bandleader Django Bates has been one of the most innovative figures on the European jazz scene since the 1980s. In front of an audience at this year's Cheltenham Jazz Festival, he joins Alyn Shipton to look back over his recorded career from his early days with Loose Tubes to his more recent bands. As well as his group Human Chain, he also discusses his Danish StoRMChaser project and his recent album Beloved Bird.

Famous for his associations with Dizzy Gillespie, Oscar Peterson and Ella Fitzgerald (who was also his wife) bassist Ray Brown (who died in 2002) talked to Alyn Shipton about his key recordings in a 1996 interview for Radio 3. In addition to many records made under his own name, he includes collaborations with Duke Ellington and Milt Jackson.

Best known for his film themes such as "Mission Impossible", Argentine pianist and composer Lalo Schifrin is also one of the world's great jazz musicians. In an archive interview with Alyn Shipton he traces his recording career, starting with Dizzy Gillespie's quintet and big band and running through to his present-day "Jazz Meets the Symphony" projects.

Artie Shaw was one of the most technically brilliant clarinettists in jazz. He was also an improviser, composer and bandleader of the first order, until he ended his career at the age of 44, believing that he had said all he had to say as a musician. Alan Barnes, who has specialised in playing Shaw's music, joins Alyn Shipton to pick the key examples from Shaw's varied catalogue. The music includes tracks by his various big bands, by singers Billie Holiday and Hot Lips Page and by Shaw's small group the Gramercy Five.

Oliver Nelson wrote and directed the iconic album Blues and The Abstract Truth - a defining 1960s jazz record. In this programme Guy Barker joins Alyn Shipton to explore the wealth of material that Nelson created as both arranger and saxophonist in a prolific career cut short by chronic overwork.

Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen was one of the most technically brilliant jazz double bassists from the 1960s to the early 2000s, until his sudden death from a heart attack in April 2005. Most famous for his work with Oscar Peterson, Niels-Henning also played with Joe Pass, Count Basie and many of the great American visitors to Europe. In this archive interview, he joins Alyn Shipton to select examples of his finest recordings.

The star trumpeter with Count Basie in the 1930s and 40s, Harry Sweets Edison went on to become one of the most recorded trumpet soloists in jazz. In an interview recorded for Radio 3 in 1992 he joined Alyn Shipton to select his favourite recordings from that vast catalogue, including discs with Nat King Cole, Ben Webster and Billie Holiday.

Looking back on the long recording career of Stephane Grappelli, Alyn Shipton is joined by Martin Taylor who played with the great French violinist for several years. The music spans over fifty years from the first 1930s discs by the Hot Club of France, and covers the full impressive range of Grappelli's achievements.

In the Count Basie Orchestra from 1936-48, Jo Jones redefined jazz drumming. Percussionist Richard Pite joins Alyn Shipton to select Jones's finest recordings, and to demonstrate some of his innovations in the studio. As well as the Basie band, the programme focuses on Jones's trios and sextets.

Alex Welsh was a fine traditional and mainstream trumpeter, who led one of Britain's best jazz groups from the 1950s to the 1980s. Digby Fairweather, who knew him well and inherited Welsh's cornet, joins Alyn Shipton to select the finest available recordings from the Welsh band's long career.

A one-time member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Cedar Walton is one of the most sought-after and versatile pianists in jazz. He joins Alyn Shipton to discuss records made under his own name, as well as work with Blakey, the Jazztet, Ron Carter and Lee Morgan.

Originally in folk-jazz group Lammas, leader of a regular band at London's Pizza Express and then recruited to join Chick Corea, Tim Garland is now one of Britain's best known jazz saxophonists. In this programme he joins Alyn Shipton to pick not only examples of his work in all those contexts, but also in orchestral settings, with his Lighthouse Trio, Acoustic Triangle, and his current touring band with Americans Joe Locke and Geoff Keezer, known as Storms / Nocturnes.

John Etheridge joins Alyn Shipton to suggest the best recordings by three generations of gypsy guitarists whose work is often overshadowed by Django Reinhardt. Artists covered include the Ferre family, Bireli Lagrene, Fapy Lafertin and the Rosenberg dynasty.

Barbados-born Harry Beckett was one of the most fiery and inventive trumpeters in British jazz, right up until his death in July this year. Chris Batchelor joins Alyn Shipton to look back at Beckett's recordings, and to pick his best performances. As well as a range of music from his own bands, the programme includes Beckett's work with Ian Carr, Mike Westbrook and Graham Collier.

Before his death in 2007, Esbjörn Svensson was regarded as the leading pianist in European jazz. His trio (EST) topped the Swedish charts and appeared on MTV. His appeal was broad enough to reach audiences of every age, and his repertoire stretched from dazzling interpretations of jazz standards by the likes of Thelonious Monk to quirky originals, such as his "Dodge the Dodo" which combined drum 'n' bass ideas with languid jazz balladry. In this programme, John L Walters of the Guardian joins Alyn Shipton to pick the high points of Svensson's recording career.

Best known as the leader of the fusion bands Tempest and Colosseum, drummer Jon Hiseman's career in jazz covers almost all styles and genres. He talks to Alyn Shipton about a catalogue of recordings that includes free jazz trios with Mike Taylor, big bands, his own groups including Colosseum, and his work with his wife Barbara Thompson in Paraphernalia and the United Jazz and Rock Ensemble.

Phineas Newborn Jr. was one of the finest pianists in jazz history, but his short career was dogged by physical and mental illness and he is now a somewhat obscure figure. In the wake of several recent reissues of Newborn's work, Brian Priestley joins Alyn Shipton to pick the highlights and to reappraise this largely forgotten genius of the piano.

In an archive interview with Alyn Shipton and Geoffrey Smith, the late Johnny Griffin selects his favourite records. The tenor saxophonist was one of the most technically brilliant and audacious soloists in jazz. He died in 2008, but a year or two earlier, he joined Alyn Shipton and Geoffrey Smith in conversation at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival to discuss his personal favourites from his extensive catalogue of recordings.

John Taylor is one of the finest and most influential pianists in British jazz. He joins Alyn Shipton in front of an audience at the 2011 Cheltenham Jazz Festival to discuss his recorded catalogue, including his early collaborations with Kenny Wheeler and Norma Winstone, work with John Surman, and his own trios and duos, including a disc with legendary bassist Charlie Haden.

Bobby Wellins joins Alyn Shipton at the Oxford Jazz Festival to select his key recordings. The Glasgow-born saxophonist achieved stardom for his solo on Starless and Bible Black in Stan Tracey's Under Milk Wood. In conversation with Alyn Shipton at the Oxford Jazz Festival he discusses many other highlights from his recordings.

Composer and saxophonist John Altman joins Alyn Shipton to pick the best records by saxophonist Al Cohn. As well as his solos albums and his lengthy association with fellow tenorist Zoot Sims, the programme covers Cohn's work with Joe Newman and Freddie Green, and as an arranger for Gerry Mulligan's Concert Jazz Band.

Alton Purnell was born on 16 April 1911, and to celebrate his centenary, Mike Pointon joins Alyn Shipton to pick the best records by the New Orleans pianist. The programme covers his work with Bunk Johnson and George Lewis, his own records, and later recordings with Jimmy Archey and with the Legends of Jazz. Both Pointon and Shipton played with Purnell on his UK tours, so this edition of Jazz Library includes some shared insights into his musical world.

Guitarist Mike Stern has been a major figure in jazz fusion throughout his career. In this programme he traces some of his principal associations and picks some of his own best recordings in conversation with Alyn Shipton at the Sage Gateshead, as part of the 2011 Jazz Festival there. The music ranges from his work with Miles Davis and the Brecker Brothers to his long association with saxophonist Bob Berg.

Saxophonist Joe Lovano is one of the most versatile soloists in jazz. In conversation with Alyn Shipton in front of an audience at the 2011 Gateshead International Jazz festival he discusses some of his finest records, from duos with Hank Jones to a range of trios, and from there to octets and his current group Us Five. He also discusses his compositions and work with large ensembles such as his Symphonica project.

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.