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To commemorate the 600th full episode of Neon Jazz outta Kansas City, we focus on the life of Memphis-born bass cat Jamil Nasser. His son, Muneer, penned his biography and it's called Upright Bass: The Musical Life & Legacy of Jamil Nasser. George Joyner, Jamil Sulieman, and Jamil Nasser are three names that appear on the records of Phineas Newborn, Lou Donaldson, Red Garland, and Ahmad Jamal. These names identify one jazz bassist, composer, and jazz advocate, who made an indelible mark upon in the the jazz world for over fifty years, Jamil Nasser.

Upright Bass chronicles his evolution from a young bassist on Beale Street, the musical epicenter of Memphis, to a top-flight bassist on the New York jazz scene. Miles Davis harbored curiosity about the environment that produced Jamil and three Memphis musicians he hired in 1963. Along with Jamil, this hour looks into cats like Blue Mitchell, Cecil Payne and Helen Humes. Dig the 600 ride.

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