Jazz Library

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.

On the weekend of what would have been his 80th birthday, the drummer Allan Ganley is heard selecting his favourite recordings in an interview recorded before his death in 2008. He tells Alyn Shipton about his work with John Dankworth, Ronnie Scott and Tubby Hayes, and we also hear Ganley the composer in a variety of settings from trio to big band.

Roy Eldridge, with his fiery tone, brilliant upper register and inventive phrasing, was the most musically combative trumpeter of the swing era. The heir to Louis Armstrong and the main influence on Dizzy Gillespie, his own canon of work stands alongside theirs. New Orleans-born trumpeter Abram Wilson helps Alyn Shipton to select the key recordings by Eldridge, including his creative partnerships with Gene Krupa, Chu Berry, Artie Shaw, Lester Young and Art Tatum.

Dinah Washington was only 39 when she died of an accidental overdose of barbiturates in 1963. Yet in her short life she was one of the most successful of all jazz singers, also crossing into blues and pop territory. Gwyneth Herbert joins Alyn Shipton to pick the essential recordings by Dinah, starting with her bluesy repertoire of the mid-1940s and tracing her career as she became one of the finest interpreters of American popular song. The programme includes her collaborations with Quincy Jones and with the fourth of her eight husbands, Eddie Chamblee.

Hank Mobley was one of the finest tenor saxophonists in jazz during the 1950s and 1960s. In this programme, fellow saxophonist, author and broadcaster Dave Gelly joins Alyn Shipton to select Mobley's best work. As well as the sessions Mobley led himself, principally for the Blue Note label, the programme looks at his brief period as a member of the Miles Davis quintet.

Killed in a car accident aged just 25, Scott LaFaro was widely regarded as the most technically gifted bassist of the 20th Century. His records with Bill Evans are among the finest jazz trio discs ever made. Bassist Dave Green joins Alyn Shipton to pick the highlights of these, and to trace the other significant records in LaFaro's brief but brilliant career.

Sonny Stitt was one of the finest bebop saxophonists, transferring the style of Charlie Parker to the tenor instrument, as well as developing his own approach to the alto. Fellow saxophonist Alan Barnes joins Alyn Shipton to choose the best examples of Stitt's work, including his recordings with Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell and Sonny Rollins as well as the many sessions he led himself.

Ian Smith joins Alyn Shipton to select the best recordings by trumpeter and vocalist Chet Baker, including his early work with Gerry Mulligan, his West Coast quartets and the early collaborations with Art Pepper. There is also a focus on his latterday career, and in particular the records he made in Europe in his final years.

Louis Moholo Moholo arrived in London from South Africa in the 1960s with Chris McGregor's Blue Notes. During his visit to the UK for the 2010 London Jazz Festival, he joins Alyn Shipton to discuss the high points in a long and extensive recording career, that not only encompasses work with fellow South Africans Harry Miller and Dudu Pukwana, but also with mercurial American pianist Cecil Taylor.

A product of the M-Base revolution and then a major artist on the Blue Note label, Geri Allen is one of the most accomplished female pianists in jazz. In this programme, recorded in front of an audience at London's Purcell Room, she joins Alyn Shipton to pick the highlights from her recorded work.

Vibraphonist Gary Burton was a teenage prodigy and his four mallet style revolutionised his instrument's playing technique. Prior to his 2010 London Jazz Festival concert, he joined Alyn Shipton in front of an audience on the South Bank to pick his favourite recordings including work with Carla Bley, Chick Corea and Pat Metheny.

Singer Norma Winstone joins Alyn Shipton to select her best recordings, looking back to her early days with Michael Garrick, her long associations with John Taylor and Kenny Wheeler, and at songs for which she has written lyrics herself, including her renowned collaboration with Jimmy Rowles on The Peacocks.

From his meteoric rise to fame with Benny Goodman to his small group records with Billie Holiday, pianist Teddy Wilson was one of the stars of the swing era. Pianist Martin Litton joins Alyn Shipton to select the best examples of Wilson's work, including his own short-lived big band, his solo recordings, and many latterday trios.

Clifford Brown died in a car crash at 25, robbing the jazz world of one of its most talented and original trumpeters. To mark the 80th anniversary of Brown's birth, author Tom Perchard joins Alyn Shipton to pick the highlights of his recordings. The programme centres on the Clifford Brown / Max Roach Quintet, but also includes a wide variety of other material including discs with Sarah Vaughan and with a string orchestra.

Martial Solal is one of France's most highly acclaimed jazz musicians. Prior to his solo appearance at this year's London Jazz Festival (in association with Radio 3) he talks to Alyn Shipton about his long recording career and also the Martial Solal International Piano Competition that takes place this month in Paris. His selection of albums ranges from solo piano to his current large ensemble the Newdecaband. He also talks about his long associations with American jazz musicians Lee Konitz and Paul Motian.

American singer Mark Murphy is one of the most versatile vocalists in jazz. A master of scat and vocalese, he is also a renowned interpreter of ballads and standards. British singer Ian Shaw joins Alyn Shipton to consider Murphy's finest records, from his early work such as 'That's How I Love The Blues' to his vocalese masterpiece 'Stolen Moments'.

Trumpeter, composer, arranger and bandleader Thad Jones was a hugely influential musician. In this programme Guy Barker and Alyn Shipton discuss his finest work, including many discs under his own name, records with Count Basie and Charles Mingus, and records made by the big band he co-led with Mel Lewis.

Fred Anderson, who died in June, was a founder member of the AACM in Chicago and ran the city's famous club, the Velvet Lounge. Alyn Shipton visited him at the site of his historic club before it was demolished in 2006, and talked to Anderson about his best recordings.

The music features Joe Jarman, Muhal Richard Abrams and Anderson's long-term collaborator, the drummer Hamid Drake.

Jimmy Woode was one of a dynasty of jazz musicians from Boston, where he began his career with the likes of Charlie Parker and Sidney Bechet. He joined Alyn Shipton during one of his last visits to the UK before his death, to select his finest records, including examples of his work with Ellington, and with the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland band with whom he played after settling in Europe at the end of the 1960s.

Wynton Kelly was one of the most individual pianists in jazz, famous for his work with Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and Wes Montgomery. He also led his own trio - often with fellow Miles Davis sidemen Paul Chambers (bass) and Jimmy Cobb (drums) who played with him on "Kind of Blue". Tim Richards guides Alyn Shipton through Kelly's impressive catalogue of recordings.

Richard Pite joins Alyn Shipton to pick the best discs by the founder of modern jazz drumming, Max Roach. They include pieces by many of Roach's own groups.

Despite a recording career that lasted only from 1924 to 1931, Bix Beiderbecke changed the way jazz soloists played. An influence on a par with Louis Armstrong or Sidney Bechet, his discs had an immediate and long-lasting effect. Ian Smith joins Alyn Shipton to explore the legend of the tragically short-lived Beiderbecke, and to choose his key recordings, including his small group masterpieces "Singing the Blues" and "I'm Coming Virginia" plus his later work with the big bands of Jean Goldkette and Paul Whiteman. Beiderbecke's piano compositions are also discussed, and his pioneering use of the language of French impressionism in jazz.

Ahead of the launch of his Later Works at this year's Gateshead International Jazz Festival at the Sage, Stan Tracey joined Alyn Shipton to look back at his recording career. As well as work with visiting Americans such as Zoot Sims, Ben Webster and Sonny Rollins, Stan discusses his fascination with Duke Ellington, his own big bands and quartets, his suite Alice in Jazzland, and the story behind his most recent recordings.

Clarinettist, soprano, alto and tenor saxophonist Tony Coe is one of Britain's most brilliant jazz musicians, the first non-American to be awarded the "jazz Oscar" by Denmark's "Jazzpar" prize committee. In this programme he joins Alyn Shipton to select his finest recordings, including work by his own groups, as well as with Franz Koglmann, Neil Ardley and the Kenny Clarke / Francy Boland Big Band. Coe also has strong views about the sound of the soprano saxophone and clarinet, and provides an illuminating commentary as to how he approaches playing these instruments.

As a vocalist, Shirley Horn was expert at lending subtle treatment to old jazz standards. She was also a fine pianist, and in this week's Jazz Library singer Christine Tobin discusses the American's intimate trio sound as well as Horn's work with some of the finest big bands of the 1960s. Taking time out to raise a family, Horn returned in the 1980s and 1990s to make some of her finest recordings, including the Grammy-winning I Remember Miles.

Benny Powell grew up in New Orleans to the sound of marching bands and jazz in the air. He joined Lionel Hampton in the 1940s and went on to be a key member of the 1950s Count Basie Orchestra, staying for several years. He joins Alyn Shipton to pick highlights from his records with both leaders, plus examples of his work with Duke Ellington and also his long-running association with pianist Randy Weston, which fuses jazz and African music.

Bassist Arvell Shaw was the longest-serving member of Louis Armstrong's All Stars. As well as picking his finest discs with Armstrong (including the big band recordings) in an interview recorded in 2001, he guides Alyn Shipton through his best work with Sidney Bechet, Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Earl Hines.

Barney Kessel is one of the most prolific recording artists in jazz, yet one of the least well-known names. Fellow guitarist John Etheridge delves into Kessel's extensive catalogue to explore his legacy and help Alyn Shipton suggest the essential Kessel recordings, including early efforts with Charlie Parker, his pioneering years with Oscar Peterson and his dazzling triumphs as a West Coast studio player.

In later life, reclusive and swathed in a jewelled scarf, Peggy Lee had come a long way from her origins as a jazz singer. In this programme, Gwyneth Herbert, herself a fine interpreter of Lee's songs, explores the singer's earlier work, with Benny Goodman, as a broadcasting artist and as a pure jazz singer. As well as Peggy Lee standards such as Why Don't You Do Right and Fever, there are many examples of her jazz excellence in lesser known songs.

Despite a lifelong battle with narcotics, harrowingly related in his book "Straight Life", Art Pepper was one of the finest alto saxophonists in jazz. In this programme, British saxophonist Alan Barnes joins Alyn Shipton to choose Pepper's finest recordings, and also reveals the American's remarkable talents on the clarinet, on the tenor saxophone, and as a composer.

Duke Ellington's biographer Harvey Cohen joins Alyn Shipton to select highlights from the 1920s and 30s recordings.

From the Cotton Club to national icon, author Harvey Cohen traces Ellington's finest output from the decade starting in 1928. He guides Alyn Shipton through jungle music, the first extended works and the finest Ducal small groups, as well as offering insights from his recent book 'Duke Ellington's America'.

PIanist Michael Garrick died in November 2011. In this archive interview, he joins Alyn Shipton to look back over a fifty year span of some of the finest big band and small group records in British jazz.

Whether inspired by Hobbits, Thomas Hardy or J M Barrie, Garrick's musical settings were some of the most imaginative and colourful in jazz. His music took inspiration from a huge variety of sources, ranging from Indian and Burmese music and literature to English folksongs and novels. A brilliant pianist, Garrick was also known for his pioneering work with Don Rendell and Ian Carr, for his poetry and jazz sessions, and for continuing to lead groups large and small against all commercial odds for over half a century.

Joe Henderson was one of the finest tenor saxophonists in jazz. Fellow saxophonist Julian Siegel joins Alyn Shipton to assess Henderson's catalogue of discs from his early Blue Note days to his final triumphs playing the music of Strayhorn and Jobim. The programme also includes part of an archive interview with Henderson.

Joe Henderson's career falls into two distinct parts, his early days as a young lion, recording with the cream of 1960s modern jazz players for Blue Note, and his remarkable comeback after his celebrated trio disc "The State of the Tenor" in 1985, which led to a new international touring career. He discusses this later stage of his career with Alyn Shipton in a Radio 3 interview from the mid-1990s and the rest of his catalogue is assessed by Julian Siegel, a frequent UK poll winner who has been greatly influenced by Henderson.

Bassist Steve Swallow joins Alyn Shipton in front of an audience at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival.

A specialist on the electric bass, Swallow looks back at his early days on the acoustic instrument and talks about the wide variety of his work over a forty-year period.

Significant partnerships include reed-player Jimmy Giuffre, trumpeter Art Farmer, the Gary Burton Quartet (with whom Swallow came to England many times) and fellow-Cheltenham Jazz Festival star John Scofield.

This month, Chicago-born pianist Ramsey Lewis celebrates his 75th Birthday and the recent release of Songs From The Heart, his latest trio recording. This acoustic format has been a central component of Lewis' sixty-year career, bringing chart success in 1965 with 'The In Crowd', a track recorded live at Washington D.C.'s Bohemian Caverns where the audience's whoops and claps became, in Ramsey's words, the 'fourth member of the band'. But, as Alyn Shipton finds out in this programme, Lewis' catalogue of discs is richly varied, including interpretations of Beatles ballads, forays into fusion (with the help of Earth, Wind & Fire) and a large-scale gospel album alongside his many trio outings. A natural storyteller, Lewis remembers his father introducing him to the virtuosity of Art Tatum (prompting the question: 'Dad, who are they?') and, in conversation with Alyn Shipton, he describes how Western Classical tradition holds an important position in his musical thinking.

Prior to his appearance at the 2010 Cheltenham Jazz Festival, guitarist John Scofield joins Alyn Shipton to choose key albums from his extensive recorded catalogue. As well as his most recent disc, Piety Street, he chooses discs with Medeski Martin & Wood, Joe Lovano, Pat Metheny and Gary Burton.

Scofield is one of the most famous jazz guitarists on the planet. As he tells Alyn Shipton in this programme, he was once more popular in Europe than in the USA, but that all changed after his albums A-Go-Go and Bump, which put him firmly at the centre of the dance-based "jam-band" movement. So in this programme as well as sampling his work with jazz heavyweights such as Gary Burtion, Charlie Haden and Billy Higgins, we also hear him in full flight with members of Sex Mob, Deep Banana Blackout and Medeski, Martin & Wood.

Bassist Ron Carter is one of the most influential and revered instrumentalists in jazz, famous for his work with Miles Davis's 1960s quintet. He joins Alyn Shipton to select the highlights of his recording career, ranging from his work with Miles to string orchestras and his current quartet.

Producer: Alyn Shipton.

Trombonist Al Grey (1925 - 2000) was one of the most distinctive soloists in big band jazz, working with many of the most famous swing orchestras. In an archive interview, recorded just before his death 11 years ago, Al selects his key recordings with, among others, Count Basie, Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie.

With his gap-toothed grin, pith helmet and extrovert trombone style, Al Grey was one of the most colourful characters in jazz. He and Alyn Shipton first met when Radio 3 broadcast Lionel Hampton's Golden Men of Jazz, for whom Al was musical director. They kept in touch, and not long before Al's death in March 2000, Alyn visited him at his home in Great Neck Long Island to pick the trombonist's favourite recordings from his voluminous catalogue.

Celebrating Ornette Coleman's 80th birthday in March 2010, Alyn Shipton was joined by Scottish saxophonist Paul Towndrow to select the key recordings by Coleman, the saxophonist who developed free jazz in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Jazz Library pays tribute to the drummer Ed Thigpen who died in January. He was such a consummate percussionist that he was known as "Mr Taste". A lynch-pin of the bands of Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington and Oscar Peterson, Thigpen joined Alyn Shipton during one of his last visits to Britain to select the recorded highlights of his career.

The British-born pianist Marian McPartland has become an American national treasure, not least through her long-running radio show Piano Jazz. In this edition of Jazz Library she joins Alyn Shipton to celebrate her 92nd birthday next month, and to select the highlights both from her recordings with her own trio, and also from available CDs of her radio series.

Producer: Alyn Shipton.

Pianist Keith Tippett is a musician of extraordinary breadth and vision. His projects range from the vast 50-piece orchestra Centipede - so large it had its own private plane for touring - to introspective improvised solo concerts. He joins Alyn Shipton to pick the highlights of a recorded catalogue that spans over forty years, and which not only contains his ensembles large and small, but several surprises as well.

Keith Tippett is one of Britain's most inventive musicians, although nowadays he something of a prophet without honour in his own land, celebrated in Europe, but performing infrequently at home. This edition of Jazz Library demonstrates just what local audiences have been missing, in a fascinating spread of music in which Tippett handles sprawling big bands with the same sureness of touch as he applies to his own piano playing. The programme includes his large groups Tapestry, Ark and Centipede, his current band Mujician, the celebratory Dedication Orchestra which commemorates the cream of South African jazz players, and Keith's long musical partnership with his wife, Julie Tippetts, who was formerly known as the pop singer Julie Driscoll, with her top ten hit for Brian Auger "Wheels on Fire".

On 6 February 2010, Sir John Dankworth died aged 82. In this special edition of Jazz Library, Alyn Shipton introduces an archive interview in which John Dankworth selected some of his finest recordings. These range from his work with the Johnny Dankworth Seven and his big band to the settings he wrote for Cleo Laine, as well as music composed for films and television.

Erroll Garner was one of the most distinctive and original pianists in jazz. To select his finest recordings, Alyn Shipton is joined by the young British pianist Neil Cowley. The programme includes examples of Garner's earliest stride style, covers the emergence of his own individual jazz voice, and features his most popular album "Concert by the Sea". Producer Alyn Shipton.

Focusing on the jazz side of Bing Crosby, Gwyneth Herbert joins Alyn Shipton to pick Bing's jazziest recordings, ranging from his Paul Whiteman days to the swing bands of Buddy Bregman and Billy May, and including Bing's immortal discs with Louis Armstrong.

One of the highlights of 2009's London Jazz Festival was pianist Stefano Bollani's residency at Kings Place, where the Italian gave solo performances as well as concerts in duo, trio and quintet settings. Recorded in front of an audience at the festival, Alyn Shipton talks to Bollani about his varied recording career, including his latest trio outing for ECM.

Swing guitarist Lawrence Lucie died in 2009, aged 101. Not long before his death, Lucie met Alyn Shipton in New York to look back over his remarkable career, which not only included stints with Fletcher Henderson, Lucky Millinder and Benny Carter, but a long stay in Louis Armstrong's orchestra. Lucie was also the longest surviving member of Jelly Roll Morton's band, and he looks back on his work with the self-styled "inventor of jazz".

Few people did more to promote the cause of jazz in Britain than Graham Collier, who died on September 9th. He led a succession of pioneering ensembles over the last 45 years, and was a key figure in Jazz Education. Collier was still actively writing and composing right up until the time of his death. In this special memorial edition of Jazz Library, Alyn Shipton presents an archive interview with Collier, who selected highlights from his long career, from early triumphs such as Down Another Road to his last issued album Directing 14 Jackson Pollocks.

Critic and pianist Brian Priestley joins Alyn Shipton to select recording highlights from the career of drummer, vibraphonist and pianist Lionel Hampton, one of the greatest musicians of the swing era. Including his work with Benny Goodman, his many studio recordings from the 1930s and the regular working bands he led from the 1940s for the rest of his life.

Recorded in front of an audience at the 2009 London Jazz Festival, British saxophonist John Surman joins Alyn Shipton to look back over his recording career. As one of the country's finest saxophonists, Surman's copious output since the 1960s includes many gems, and among those discs explored in the programme are those by his long-running quartet, his partnership with drummer Jack DeJohnette, and his work with the Norwegian singer Karin Krog.

Looking forward to her appearance at the 2009 London Jazz Festival, Cleo Laine joins Alyn Shipton to select some of the finest recorded performances from her distinguished career.

DISC 1 Title: Just a Sittin' and A Rockin' Artist: Cleo Laine Composer: Ellington, Strayhorn, Gaines Album: I Hear Music Label: Salvo (Union Square) Number BX403 CD3 Track 13 Personnel: Cleo Laine (vocals), Clark Terry (trumpet), Mark Whitfield (guitar) John Dankworth Orchestra.

DISC 2 Title: Mr and Mississippi Artist: Cleo Laine with the Johnny Dankworth Seven Composer: Gordon Album: I Hear Music Label: Salvo (Union Square) Number: BX403 CD1 Track 8 Personnel: Cleo Laine (vocals), Jimmy Deuchar (trumpet), John Dankworth (alto sax), Don Rendell (tenor sax), Bill Le Sage (vibes), Joe Muddell (bass), Eddie Taylor (drums). 4 March 1952.

DISC 3 Title: Easy Living Artist: Cleo Laine with the Johnny Dankworth Seven Composer: Rainger/Robin Album: I Hear Music Label: Salvo (Union Square) Number: BX403 CD1 Tr 6 Personnel: as above. 6 May 1953.

DISC 4 Title: A Child Is Born Artist: Cleo Laine Composer: Jones/Wilder Album: Christmas at the Stables Label: Audio B Number: 5011 Personnel: Cleo Laine, voc; John Dankworth, ss; John Horler, p; Malcolm Creese, b; Allan Ganley, d; Andy Panayi, fl; Chris Garrick, vn; Matt Skelton, perc. 1999.

DISC 5 Title: PIerrot Lunaire Artist: Cleo Laine, Nash Ensemble - Elgar Howarth (conductor) Composer: Schoenberg Album: Cleo Laine sings Pierrot Lunaire and songs by Charles Ives Label: RCA Number: LRL1 5058 Personnel: Cleo Laine, voc; Nash Ensemble - Elgar Howarth (conductor)

DISC 6 Title: Summertime Artist: Cleo Laine and Ray Charles Composer: George and Ira Gershwin, Heyward and Hayward Album: I Hear Music Label: Salvo Number BX 403 CD 3 Track 10 Personnel: Cleo Laine and Ray Charles, with studio orchestra from the original RCA album Porgy and Bess.

DISC 7 Title: He Was Beautiful Artist: Cleo Laine and John Williams Composer: Myers, Laine Album: I Hear Music Label: Salvo Number BX 403 CD 3 Track 12 Personnel: Cleo Laine, voc; John Williams, g. 1976.

DISC 8 Title: Shall I Compare thee to a Summer's Day Artist: Cleo Laine Composer: Shakespeare, Laine, Dankworth Album: I Hear Music Label: Salvo Number: BX 403 CD 3 Track 5 Personnel: Cleo Laine, voc. Personnel not listed.

DISC 8 Title: Oh Tell me The Truth About Love Artist: Cleo Laine Composer: Auden/Dankworth Album: I Hear Music Label: Salvo Number BX 403 CD 3 Track 6 Personnel: Cleo Laine, voc; John Dankworth, cl, arr., dir. Personnel not listed.

DISC 9 Title: Bill Artist: Cleo Laine Composer: Kern/Wodehouse/Hammerstein Album: I Hear Music Label: Salvo Number: BX 403 CD 3 Track 8 Personnel: Cleo Laine and John Dankworth Orchestra, Carnegie Hall, 1974.

DISC 10 Title: No One Is Alone Artist: Cleo Laine and Jacqui Dankworth Composer: Sondheim Album: I Hear Music Label: Salvo Number: BX 403 CD 4 Track 2 Personnel: Cleo Laine, voc; Jacqui Dankworth, voc; ensemble arr and cond. John Dankworth.

DISC 11 Title: It was a Lover and His Lass Artist: Cleo Laine Composer: Shakespeare/Young Album: I Hear Music Label: Salvo Number: BX 403 CD 3 Track 10 Personnel: as for disc 8.

To choose the finest recordings by Stan Getz, Alyn Shipton is joined by the great saxophonist's biographer Dave Gelly. Together, they pick the critical high points of Getz's work, from the 1940s Woody Herman Orchestra, through to his many small groups, and by way of the bossa nova craze to his final quartet of the 1980s.

To mark jazz violinist Stuff Smith's centenary year in 2009, Alyn Shipton meets fiddle player Chris Garrick to celebrate one of the most unusual instrumentalists in jazz. They chart a course through the available recordings, from the 52nd Street days of Stuff's Onyx Club Boys to his latter-day triumphs as a soloist in Europe, and also present new releases of previously unavailable material.

Until his untimely death in 2009, Rashied Ali was widely regarded as the doyen of free jazz drummers. He made his name in John Coltrane's quartet and went on to a wide range of musical activity in the forty-two years since Coltrane's death.

More of a colourist than a rhythm player, Rashied Ali changed the role of jazz drumming for ever. In a candid interview with Alyn Shipton he explains the importance of John Coltrane to his life and work, and selects the finest records they made together, before also selecting highlights of his discs with Marion Brown, Archie Shepp, Eddie Henderson and his own bands.

Looking forward to guitarist Bill Frisell's appearance at the 2009 London Jazz Festival, Alyn Shipton is joined by Phil Robson to select Frisell's finest recordings. Spanning from 1984 to the present, his discs encompass a huge range of styles and effects, pushing forward the boundaries of what it is possible to achieve on the guitar.

Chris Barber is one of Britain's best-loved bandleaders. He joins Alyn Shipton to select highlights of his recordings from 1953 to the present, not only featuring his own bands, but also his collaborations with Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Louis Jordan, John Lewis and many other visiting Americans.

Singer Carmen McRae was a protegee of Billie Holiday but soon grew beyond that early influence to develop her own distinctive musical personality. Singer Christine Tobin joins Alyn Shipton to pick the highlights from the more than 60 albums that McRae made before her death in 1994.

The jazz composer and theorist George Russell was a major innovator in jazz for over 50 years. In an archive interview with Alyn Shipton, Russell looks back at the highlights of a recorded repertoire that began with Dizzy Gillespie's big band and went on to encompass modal jazz and the dawn of jazz rock fusion.

George Russell was a ceaseless experimenter - spending most of his life writing his theoretical masterwork on Lydian Modal theory - but on the way writing extended compositions for Dizzy Gillespie in the 1940s, introducing Miles Davis and John Coltrane to modal jazz in the '50s, and mixing world jazz and rock with Jan Garbarek and Terje Rypdal in the 60s. His Living Time Orchestra ran from the '70s to the present decade and included innovative soloists from both sides of the Atlantic. In conversation with Alyn Shipton, who visited Russell at his home near the New England Conservatory in Boston, the composer looks back at what he considers the highlights of his work, and at his standard compositions such as All About Rosie and Ezz-Thetic.

Pianist and composer Carla Bley joins Alyn Shipton to choose her essential records, from the jazz opera Escalator Over the Hill via her various big bands, to her current small groups.