WGTE Public Media Blog

Wayne Shorter

By Fritz Byers

This Friday is the birthday of Wayne Shorter, born August 25, 1933. He passed in March of this year, at 89. For more than fifty years, Wayne was in the pantheon of composers and instrumentalists, and he will live there permanently. If we had only his nine 1960s Blue Note recordings, from Night Dreamer in 1964 through Super Nova in 1969, he would be unrivaled as a composer, bandleader, and improviser. Read More

This week on Jazz Spectrum – August 19, 2023

Jazz Spectrum

By Fritz Byers

As you’ll see in the playlist for this week’s show, three of the first four sets begin with big-band pieces. Read More

New FM 91 Special “Late Night Klezmer with the Berlin Philharmonic”

Media & Press

“Late Night Klezmer with the Berlin Philharmonic” celebrates the eminent composer Samuel Adler.TOLEDO, OHIO – August 16, 2022 – Join WGTE Public Media as it presents the one-night special, “Late Night Klezmer with the Berlin Philharmonic” on Thursday, September 7 at 8 p.m. on FM 91. Read More

Celebrating Bill Evans (b. Aug. 16, 1929) and Mal Waldron (b. Aug. 16, 1925)

Jazz Spectrum

By Fritz Byers

Today is the birthday of two essential jazz pianists – Bill Evans, a front-line luminary in the music by almost any reckoning; and Mal Waldron, less prominent in the broader culture but widely admired among musicians and by partisans of what is loosely but helpfully called the avant-garde. For years I’ve been meaning to write at length about Bill Evans and what his music has meant to me over the half-century of my attentions to jazz. Read More

Drummer Johnathan Blake and His Quintet, Pentad

Jazz Spectrum

By Fritz Byers

The blog post immediately below, an appreciation of the pianist Larry Willis, expresses some of the reasons Larry is this week’s featured artist. Read More

LARRY WILLIS – An Appreciation

Jazz Spectrum

By Fritz ByersIn the early years of the Murphy’s Jazz Masters program, we brought the pianist Larry Willis to play in Toledo. There were day-time educational features, as usual, and the night gig was, of course, at Murphy’s, back when it was still in the original location on Madison. If memory serves, Buster Williams was the bassist. I can’t quite bring the occupant of the drum seat back to mind; it likely was Lewis Nash, but maybe I’m half-transposing the name, and it was Victor Lewis. Read More

Bobby Watson and Jon Faddis

Jazz Spectrum

By Fritz ByersThe alto saxophonist Bobby Watson’s composition, “The Misery of Ebop,” from his career-defining 1986 masterpiece, Love Remains. In the late 70s, Bobby, who on the LP cover of this album is billed as Robert, studied in the fabled institute of advanced hard-bop studies that was Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. He began making recordings as a leader toward the end of that decade. His 1983 date with the pianist Mulgrew Miller, Beatitudes, is of particular note. Read More

Toledo Library Partners with WGTE for Toledo Stories

Media & Press

Release from the Toledo Lucas County Public LibraryThe Toledo Lucas County Public Library (TLCPL) and WGTE Public Media proudly announce an exciting new partnership to bring the local community a captivating video series, "Toledo Stories." This collaborative effort seeks to preserve and share the rich history, culture, and stori Read More

New Voices Around Us® Podcasts

Media & Press

“Voices Around Us®” aims to amplify the community’s voices and share diverse stories and backgrounds.TOLEDO, OHIO – August 3, 2023 –WGTE Public Media’s “Voices Around Us®” podcast series officially launches on Tuesday, August 8th with six brand new podcasts at www.wgte.org/vau. WGTE is working with community experts and voices to launch these new podcasts that cover a variety of important topics. Read More

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