Jazz

Cello player David Eyges and saxophonist Byard Lancaster have been playing together since 1979. Eyges is trained and classical and chamber music, but has added jazz to his repertoire. Lancaster is a native Philadelphia who was played with many jazz legends. He also plays in the band Philly Funk. Eyges and Lancaster released the album "The Arrow" as a duo, and with, Sunny Murray, the album "Crossroads" as the David Eyges Trio. The trio will begin a residency at the Painted Bride Arts Center.

Pianist Kenny Barron is part of the band Sphere. One of the group's largest influences and inspirations is Thelonious monk whose work is featured on their newest and first album "Four in One." Native Philadelphian Barron has also recently released two solo albums "Kenny Barron at the Piano" and "Golden Lotus."Barron also teaches music at Rutgers. Sphere will perform at the Afro-American Museum.

In 1952 jazz singer Cleo Laine joined The John Dankworth Band; in 1958, she and Dankworth married. They continue their collaboration: Dankworth produces and arranges Laine's albums and manages her career. Their latest effort is the album "Smilin' Through," which features Dudley Moore on piano. The English couple began touring the United States and Canada in the 1970s and Laine has sung in many prestigious venues. Dankworth has also written the scores for several films. The two are in town to perform at the Valley Forge Music Fair.

Trombonist Melba Liston is one the few women to find success as a musician, arranger, and composer in the world of jazz. Liston has worked with artists as diverse as Dizzy Gillespie and Aretha Franklin. After spending five years living in Jamaica, Liston has returned to the United States and formed a new big band, the seventeen-piece "Melba Liston and Company."

The two dancers have performed together since the 1960s in the group Hoofers. They talk about the influence of jazz on their generation of dancers.

In his regular feature Interval, jazz critic Francis Davis considers the impact of two groups which arose from the Chicago collective, the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM).

In addition to being an in-demand bass player, Milt Hinton is an accomplished photographer. His portraits offer a candid look into the lives of famous jazz musicians. He and Fresh Air host Terry Gross talk about the experience of black musicians touring the segregated South and listen to highlights from Hinton's recording career.

Freeman's time studying with Chicago's Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) was crucial to his musical development. A student of both the avant-garde and traditional bop traditions, his compositions draw inspiration from different facets of the African American experience.

The musician taught himself the instrument before taking lessons at the Philadelphia Conservatory. After a brief stint as a rock and roll bassist, he joined drummer Art Blakey's ensemble.

The pianist rejected the life of a traveling jazz musician, instead choosing to perform and record live performances in clubs near his home in the Delaware Water Gap area. He also makes a living as a transcriber and arranger. He plays selections from each of his albums for a live audience.