This quartet is based out of Dublin, thanks to singer Joe Gibney and guitarist James Ryan, but fiddler J.C. Morel and flutist Julien Brunetau originally hail from Bordeaux, France. They've been crafting their own tunes (independently and in collaboration with others) since about 2013, and Gibney's lyrics in particular reflect a strong respect for Irish history, and compassion for humanity. They visited with Martin Anderson in Studio B this past Tuesday morning, and Richard Beard airs our session again during Celtic Winds . They play Isis Restaurant & Music Hall in Asheville Sunday evening.

Firecracker has played everywhere from street corners, secret speakeasies, jazz festivals, & swing-and-swill dance halls, to Bonnaroo and the Kennedy Center. They've returned to the 20's -- as in the 1920's, give or take a few decades -- on their fine new collection of songs from the Teens through today, centered around their great Dixieland and New Orleans jazz heroes. Album release show Saturday the 14th at The Mothlight.

It shouldn't surprise anyone that Western NC has some of the freshest, most innovative bluegrass being made, thanks in part to Fireside Collective. It's Joe Cicero on guitar, Alex Genova on banjo, Jesse laquinto on mandolin, and Tommy Maher on resonator guitar, and Carson White on upright bass. Their brand new album is a real winner! And they officially release it at the Grey Eagle in Asheville on Saturday the 14th. We have a rather firy streak of local Studio B acts this week, with Firecracker Jazz band live Friday at 3.

This Charlotte band started off as a solo project of singer/guitarist and SC native Jeremy Davis, but their sound has morphed to the great fiddle/mandolin/bass lineup they have today. And their indie-rock roots still show with a new cover of My Morning Jacket's "Golden". We welcome them back to Studio B in advance of their Friday the 13th show at Pisgah Brewing in Black Mountain.

Johnson City's own performs solo and with her own band, when not part of Our Native Daughters (for which she received particular acclaim for her song "Black Myself".) Following are words from Amythyst herself, in a Facebook post regarding the current COVID-19 pandemic: "...I love what I do and I am thinking of all of the beautiful, hardworking, full-time musicians I've met that this will affect. It's important now more than ever for us to talk to and support one another in the music industry - most of us musicians are not millionaires with Swiss bank accounts. I'm proud to see so many resourceful folks finding new ways to do things. We'll make it through this, but also remember it's okay to freak out if you need to, and then use that energy and anxiety to make it work. We'll see you all back out on the road soon enough."

We've got a special "Ten O'Clock Doc" set for you this time, with two of Doc's visits to WNCW back in the 1990's: Doc with Wayne Henderson and Charles Welch from March of 1996, and with Jack Lawrence from March of 1997.

We go back in time to two years ago to the day -- May 11th, 2018 -- for this smokin' hot session from Samantha Fish and her band, not long after we'd discovered her music.

It's quite possibly the most adventurous ukulele player ever, in this encore session from Jake Shimabukuro. Join us as we revisit this interview/performance with WNCW morning host Martin Anderson. Mahalo, Jake!

In the absence of live Studio B sessions, we thought we'd revisit some of our favorite ones from years' past. Tune in during "Celtic Winds" as we re-air this one from Irish favorites Solas!

Someday soon we'll be able to open Studio B back up for live sessions... In the meantime, revisit this one with the Carolina Chocolate Drops from their heyday in 2010, on "This Old Porch."

The beloved, charismatic Del & the Boys have visited us more than a time or two over the years, and this one from September 25th, 1998 has never aired since that date. What say we revisit it again? "Well all RIGHT!"

Many factors have shaped jazz in Ann Arbor, but trumpeter and educator Louis Smith has to be at the top of the list for modern jazz and education. Sean Dobbins , Rick Roe, Justin Walter and Ingrid Racine will testify to his grace, wisdom, strength and total honesty as a teacher. He encouraged a professional attitude and exponential musical growth from middle school students. His students could play rings around others years older!

Earlier this Month vocalist Roberta Gambarini visited Detroit to be the judge for Detroit Jazz Festival Vocal Competition and appear at The Dirty Dog Jazz Café. She also visited WEMU to share her Italian and international jazz life story as well as her admiration for jazz masters such as Hank Jones and Jimmy Heath. She also brought her most recent CD “Connecting Spirits”.

Couldn't make it to this year's Detroit Jazz Festival? You can catch all the highlights from WEMU hosts and staff from the 2016 Detroit Jazz Festival right here!

For the past 18 years, saxophonist, flutist and educator Vincent York has carved out a unique niche in the Southeastern Michigan jazz and educational community with his multi-media and live performance program, Jazzistry. Saturday, November 12th, Vincent, his band and Jazzistry board members will receive national recognition for the program from The National Association for Multicultural Education, N.A.M.E. At the closing banquet of the convention Vincent York and Jazzistry will receive The Founder's Award for outstanding national multicultural program: The Rose Duhon-Sells Award of the National Association for Multicultural Education.

Ahead of his new album, "A World That's Bigger," Washtenaw County songwriter Mike Vial stops by the WEMU studios for exclusive live music performances and conversation.

As I reflected on the past 12 months, I realized that 2016 was a banner year for jazz releases. It was extremely difficult to narrow my selections of outstanding recordings to just 16. My criteria for this list is that these were all CDs that moved me emotionally. They are albums that I would like to keep in my permanent collection.

WEMU’s first free Sesi Motors 5:01 Jazz Show for 2017 will be a salute to the legendary trumpet player and widely respected teacher, Louis Smith. Louis passed away in August, 2016. He had suffered a stroke, but recovered valiantly and lived for years afterwards with his loving and generous wife, Lulu. Louis was equally generous and was very wise as a teacher. Trumpeter Paul Finkbeiner will lead the Louis Smith salute on Friday, January 6th at 5:01PM sharp at Rush Street Nightclub, 314 South Main Street in Ann Arbor.

"Our best musicians in the jazz tradition were radical imaginers," Samora Pinderhughes says. A pianist and composer in his mid-20s, he has asserted his connection to that lineage with The Transformations Suite , an earnest and ambitious new work combining music, words and visuals. The piece, which took five years to chisel into shape, was inspired by African-American resistance and protest movements, as well as the oppression that many still endure. Pinderhughes now lives in Harlem, but he grew up in the Bay Area, in a family of academics and social activists. Shortly after releasing The Transformations Suite last fall, he brought the project to the Way Christian Center in Berkeley for a performance that was several things at once: a homecoming, an album-release concert, a rousing community gathering. Along with a group of smart young jazz musicians, the ensemble features spoken-word poetry by the accomplished actor Jeremie Harris and passages of soulful singing by Jehbreal Jackson.

On May 5th – Cinco de Mayo – WEMU wraps up the 2017 winter/spring Sesi Motors 5:01 Jazz shows with a real showstopper – the magnificent Latin jazz group, Tumbao Bravo . While Paul Vornhagen continues to head up Tumbao Bravo on saxophone, flute, piccolo and percussion, he has added new members and new repertoire while retaining tunes of years past and some veteran players. Joining Paul for “5:01 Jazz” are Olman Piedra – timbales, Brian DiBlassio – keyboards, Gregory (Greco) Freeman – congas and, Joe Fee – bass.

On May 5th the Detroit Music Awards honored WEMU for 40 years of jazz broadcasting with a Distinguished Service Award at the Fillmore Theater in Detroit.

Early in her musical career, in the ‘90s, Diana Krall played a regular gig on Saturday evenings in Boston. When she drove down to New York City on Sunday mornings, she’d plan the trip so she could get close enough to hear the FM signal of WBGO in time to hear Singers Unlimited. She’s been hearing herself playing piano and singing ever since on WBGO. Diana Krall performs live in-studio, and speaks with Michael Bourne. Recorded 5/5/17. Nowadays, she can listen to wbgo.org during her travels around the world or in her hometown, Nanaimo, British Columbia. “I listen to you all the time,” she said when she came in for a recent session with a killer band, featuring frequent quartet-mate Anthony Wilson on guitar, along with bassist Robert Hurst, drummer Karriem Riggins and violinist Stuart Duncan.

A great musician never forgets the early life lessons that shaped them. Chris Collins, Artistic Director of The Detroit Jazz Festival has never forgotten and now carries on the Detroit jazz tradition of teaching and mentoring the next generations of jazz musicians. Chris talked with me this morning about what mentoring and creating music with aspiring players means to him.

Despite a last minute cancellation of some of the final performances, the free 38th Annual Detroit Jazz festival provided a ray of light shining down on the festival goers experiencing new and familar regional and national acts all Labor Day weekend in downtown Detroit.

Today would have been the great pianist Art Tatum's 108th birthday. WEMU celebrated his birth in 1909 with Dr. Imelda Hunt, author Does A Genius? - A Tribute To Art Tatum. Dr. Hunt is a new faculty member of the Department of Africology and African Studies at Eastern Michigan University. She brings a deep understanding of African-Americans in the midwest including her hometown of Toledo, Ohio - also Art Tatum's hometown. Dr. Hunt's research revealed Art Tatum's neighborhood, the legendary department stores, dance halls, and nightclubs where he performed and details about his loving and supportive family. Dr. Hunt also shared how the experience of listening to Art Tatum's brilliant music inspired her to write many poems, two of which she shared in conversation. Enjoy the genius of Art Tatum and a heartfelt appreciation from Dr. Imelda Hunt.

As WEMU continues our yearlong celebration of 40 years of jazz, it is great to invite former staff members to join the party this Friday.

To wrap up our 40 Years of Jazz celebration, WEMU is inviting area musicians and jazz fans to come in the studio and be a Guest DJ. Today’s guest was drummer Sean Dobbins. Sean remembers years ago when his main musical mentor, trumpeter, and teacher Louis Smith told Sean to listen to WEMU to hear more of the music he wanted to play. WEMU has been a big part of Sean’s life and Sean has been a big player in our sound and programming for years.

If you want to know where jazz is going today, you must check in with the next generation of musicians who are taking it in new directions. One such musician is pianist, vocalist, lyricist, and composer Hannah Baiardi. Hannah is in her fifth year of studying jazz and improvisational music at The University of Michigan with the esteemed professional music faculty including Ellen Rowe, Benny Green and Dennis Wilson. Hannah has taken full advantage of the opportunities at UM. That means she was able to record in the outstanding studios of The Duderstadt Center.

The first Roots Music Project of 2018 is a special one! Host Jeremy Baldwin welcomes Ann Arbor's own Americana band Corndaddy to the WEMU studios for a live interview and performance!

89.1 WEMU and Golden Limo have partnered once again to provide shuttles to and from the Detroit Jazz Festival during Labor Day Weekend.

The 39th annual Detroit Jazz Festival was marked by two overriding themes: a sense of musical discovery and a series of unfortunate weather events.

Release date : TBA 2020
Synopsis : A father faces a personal crisis when he discovers his estranged son fleeing a botched drug deal. The two men ...

Release date : TBA 2020
Synopsis : The film follows Vietnam veterans who return to the jungle to find their lost innocence. Searching for the remains of ...

Release date : TBA 2020
Synopsis : Lilly Abdal (Dakota Fanning) was orphaned in Africa as a child and experiences her parents' homeland of England for the ...

Release date : June 19, 2020
Synopsis : When seriously ill teenager Milla (Eliza Scanlen) falls madly in love with smalltime drug dealer Moses (Toby Wallace), it's her ...

Release date : June 12, 2020
Synopsis : Scott (Pete Davidson) has been a case of arrested development ever since his firefighter father died when he was seven. ...

Release date : June 09, 2020
Synopsis : "Think Like a Dog" (aka "Dogs Best Friend") follows 12-year- old tech prodigy, Oliver (Gabriel Bateman), whose science fair experiment ...

Release date : June 05, 2020
Synopsis : The pic centers on Becky (Lulu Wilson), a rebellious 13-year-old who is brought to a weekend getaway at a lake ...

Release date : May 29, 2020
Synopsis : Set in the dazzling world of the LA music scene comes the story of Grace Davis (Tracee Ellis Ross), a ...

The former 'Full House' actor is recruited by Mike Love to help The Beach Boys with their new song 'This Shall Too Pass' to raise money for the hungry amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

The former Destiny's Child member admits she's inept at using music software so she's not as productive as she wanted to be during the ongoing coronavirus lockdown.

The 'Uptown Funk' hitmaker announces live performances by a series of musicians for a new lockdown livestream event which he describes as a video mixtape.

The complete winners for the 2020 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards have been announced at an online event which is hosted by 'Victorious' actress Victoria Justice.

The 'Bob' hitmaker celebrates his second No. 1 album and shuts his haters up as his third studio installment 'Blame It on Baby' climbed atop the Billboard charts.

Pearl Jam, in the meantime, takes part in the viral challenge by proposing to fans a chance to write their future setlist and be Eddie Vedder's personal guitar technician.

With the new chart-topper, DaBaby's former leader 'Blame It on Baby' falls one spot to No. 2 with 56,000 equivalent album units earned this week of Billboard 200 chart.

The 'American Idol' alum serving as Queen frontman admits in a social media post that he and the 'Genie in a Bottle' hitmaker had tried to put together Summer tour before the COVID-19 lockdown.

Using her time in quarantine to rework ABBA's classic 'Chiquitita', the 'Believe' hitmaker will debut her new track on May 8 and release its video as part of UNICEF's COVID-19 Virtual Special.

Through his tell-all memoir, the former frontman of Screaming Trees brands the 'Wall of Glass' singer 'an obvious poser' for bailing on the 1996 tour after he stood up to the latter's bullying.

The 'Juicy' rapper releases the video as part of Vevo LIFT program just days after making public a dance visual promo for a remix of her hit song that features Nicki Minaj.