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Jazz Artists Of History With Major Birthdays

The Sunday November 11 Jazz Unlimited show features the following jazz artists who have major birthdays in July,  They are: bassist Howard Rumsey (95),  pianists Joe Turner (105), Ralph Sutton (90), Teddy Wilson (100), Willie "The Lion" Smith (115), Dick Wellstood (85) and Paul Bley (80), vocalist-pianist Mose Allison (85), vocalist Chris Connor (85) trombonist Jimmy Knepper (85),  saxophonist Gigi Gryce (85), drummer George Wettling (105) and guitarist Ed Bickert (80).  Musical highlights range from a 17 minute "Jam Session at Commodore" recorded in 1940, Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All-Stars and a free jazz trio of Paul Bley, Jimmy Giuffre and Steve Swallow.  All of these artists will be heard in the first two hours.

The third hour will present new music from Kurt Elling, Keith Jarrett, Christian Scott, Lusians Souza, The Mike Barone Big Band, Kenny Drew, Jr., and Michael Pedicin.  Check out the slide show to see images of some of the musicians heard on this show.

>> See the playlist

Due to copyright restrictions, the audio from this show is no longer available. Audio links are available for one week after a show airs, starting on the Monday after the show.

Dennis Owsley has broadcast a weekly jazz show for St. Louis Public Radio since April 1983. He holds a Ph.D. in organic chemistry and is a retired Monsanto Senior Science Fellow and college teacher. His show, Jazz Unlimited, airs every Sunday from 9:00 p.m. to midnight. The show has the largest jazz audience in St. Louis and was named Best Jazz Radio Show in St. Louis for the years 2005-2007 and 2009 by the Riverfront Times. In celebration of his 25 years on the air, January 24, 2008 was proclaimed Dennis Owsley Day" in the City of St. Louis. He is the 2010 winner of the St. Louis Public Radio Millard S. Cohen Lifetime Achievement Award. Dennis is also a noted photographer, and his exhibit, In the Moment: Photographs of Jazz Musicians, ran from September 23, 2005 to January 21, 2006 at the Sheldon Art Gallery. He is a lifetime student of jazz history and teaches short courses on the subject. Dennis is the author of the award-winning book City of Gabriels: The History of Jazz in St. Louis 1985-1973, published in 2006.