On April 23, 2024 Cornbread Harris celebrated his 97th birthday. Ahead of his birthday festivities at the Hook and Ladder on Thursday, Harris took the time to chat with Jazz88’s Sean McPherson about his life. Special thanks to Andrea Swensson for facilitating the interview. Photo credit: Anthony Markunas Full interview: This interview aired on The...Read More

Saxophonist Steve Cole is a big name in the world of smooth jazz and he has been based in the the Twin Cities for over fifteen years now. He’s bringing his horn and his Super Band onto the stage of the Dakota for two shows on Friday, April 26. Cole dropped by the Jazz88 studio...Read More

Jazz88 celebrates the life and career of drummer Albert “Tootie” Heath, who died on April 3rd at the age of 88. Heath was born in Philadelphia to a family of accomplished musicians. His oldest brother Percy was the bassist with the Modern Jazz Quartet for four decades and his other elder sibling Jimmy was a legendary saxophonist and composer. While still in...Read More

Bassist Anthony Cox joined Jazz88’s Sean McPherson to discuss Charles Mingus and Paul Chambers on their birthday (April 22). As a fellow bass player Cox shared the influence these icons of the instrument had on his development as a bass player, including how catching a live performance from Charles Mingus shaped Cox’s decision to pursue...Read More

Greetings! Every Friday I’ll be bringing you some highlights of new music we are featuring here on Jazz88. This is all connected to This Just In, our weekly show that celebrates new jazz releases. You can catch This Just In, hosted by moi, on Fridays at Noon on 88.5 or catch it on your own...Read More

  It’s true! The Twin Cities has an exorbitant  amount of record stores per capita. Having gone record shopping all over the country, I can confirm we probably have more record stores than some of the major cities on each coast.  The music community that fuels our programming and represents our listenership at Jazz88 and all...Read More

  In honor of Record Store Day coming up on Saturday I’d like to list to you five records that you will not regret owning on vinyl because they are amazing. Do I own them all? Not on vinyl. Do I love them all? Absolutely. Will I one day own them all on vinyl? Probably....Read More

Jazz88 celebrates the birthday of legendary bassist Buster Williams, born on this day in Camden, New Jersey. Williams made his first recordings at the age of seventeen, while working with the tenor saxophone duo of Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt. He became a favorite accompanist for several great jazz singers, including Dakota Staton, Nancy Wilson, Shirley Horn, and Carmen McRae. Williams became...Read More

Like so many of the greats out of the Twin Cities, Steve Yeager is equally comfortable on stage, in the studio or in a lesson setting. Wherever he goes Yeager carries his love and dedication to the vibraphone. His recent release, Collective Vibe, gives listeners a chance to hear some highlights from Yeager’s earlier releases...Read More

Twin Cities guitar mainstay Jeremy Yvilsaker is curating Monday nights at Icehouse for the month of April and he’s doing it with a simple philosophy: get really creative people to try out new ideas. The results have been a success for Jeremy so far, and he took a break from a van ride to Kansas...Read More