theJazz Blog

A quick note to flag up our first weekend of regular programming here on theJazz. At 9pm tonight, there's a very welcome return to the nation's airwaves for Mike Chadwick with The Cutting Edge. Each week, Mike will be presenting three hours of contemporary jazz, covering a range of styles from post bop to fusion direct from our Manchester studios.

We have a very laid back weekend breakfast for you in the company of Claire Anderson between 7am and 11am on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

Then, at 11am on Saturdays Jamie Cullum will be here with his own personal selection of great jazz tracks, including a few that are only available on vinyl. Jamie's enormous popularity with our listeners was in no doubt if you listened to theJazz 500 over the Easter weekend. Now, this will be a chance for us all to hear the music that HE listens to.

At 1pm, Tim Lihoreau presents The Jazz Jury, our weekly review of the latest new CD releases. This week, Jon Newey, the Editor of Jazzwise Magazine and our very own Digby Fairweather will be joining Tim to pass comment on the pile of new CDs that has spilled off Tim's incredibly untidy desk and onto the floor of our office.

At 3pm, it's your turn to pick the music that we play. Helen Mayhew is here with You Choose theJazz. Rather than sitting on high telling you what music we think you want to hear, we're really keen for you to get involved in telling us what we should be playing. So if there's a great track that you haven't heard on the radio for ages, or a new discovery that you'd like to share with the nation, then please do send through your requests and dedications via the "contact us" page here on thejazz.com

Saturday nights are party nights on theJazz. Mike Chadwick is on air direct from our Manchester studios with theLatin Party from 6pm. He'll have a real feel good couple of hours of Latin Jazz, Salsa, Brazilian and Dancefloor Jazz to get you in the mood for whatever you're doing on a Saturday night. The music continues with Chris Philips and theJazz Party between 8pm and midnight. Chris will be playing the very best in uptempo rhythmic jazz.

We're absolutely delighted to be able to bring you Ramsey Lewis's Legends of Jazz between 11am and 1pm on Sunday lunchtime. This programme currently airs across the USA on a network of radio stations - but theJazz will be the only place that you're able to hear it in the UK.

Then, at 1pm the fantastic Jacqui Dankworth is here with a couple of hours of her favourite music, peppered with the sort of anecdotes that you can only get if jazz has been part of your life since the day you were born. Digby Fairweather is our Sunday afternoon man on theJazz. Listen out for some great Dixieland tracks from Eddie Condon, and Jack Teagarden as part of his music mix.

Curtis Stigers is Helen Mayhew's guest on MyJazz on Sunday afternoon at 5pm. He'll be talking about his musical influences, as well as sharing some of the contents of his own CD collection with us. And then, Margherita Taylor is back on theJazz with the Sunday night edition of Easy Jazz @ 6 - the perfect way to wind down at the end of the weekend.

I'm really excited that the legendary Courtney Pine is with us for an hour every Sunday night at 9pm. The Courtney Pine Experience is a unique mix of jazz with every single track chosen and mixed by Courtney in his own studio at home. As you'll hear, he has absolutely impeccable taste in music.

Then, rounding off our weekends on theJazz, between 10pm and midnight, will be the great Campbell Burnap. He's chosen a selection of music that will set you up for another week of great music here on theJazz.

I really hope that you enjoy all of our new programmes. As ever, we're keen to hear from you with your thoughts about everything you hear on theJazz. Please do get in touch through through the "Contact Us" button above.

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