Billy Harper

Born: January 17, 1943

In his early recordings and performances with leaders such as Art Blakey, Lee Morgan, Max Roach, Thad Jones/Mel Lewis, Randy Weston and Gil Evans, during the 60s and 70s, Billy Harper already had a massive sound on the tenor saxophone, combining John Coltrane’s spiraling intensity with a bluesy brawn that pointed back to his Texas origins. 

Harper’s authority has only grown with age: a half-century on, he stands as one of the most commanding horn men on the planet, a pillar of stirring post-bop jazz whose robust back catalog seems long overdue for rediscovery. 

Dance, Eternal Spirits, Dance!

By Mark Masters

Label: Capri Records
Released: 2025
Track listing: Was It Here��Is It There?; The One Who Makes the Rain Stop; Croquet Ballet; If One Could Only See; Dance, Eternal Spirits, Dance!; The Seventh Day; Insight; Credence.

Sam Rivers 100

By Mark Masters

Label: Capri Records
Released: 2025
Track listing: Fuchsia Swing Song; Cycl8ic Episode; Helix; Parts Of Speech; Point Of Many Returns; Beatrice; Downstairs Blues Upstairs; Calls Of The Wild; Paean; Ellipsis; Luminous Monolith.

Was It Here...Is It There?

September 25, 2025

Album: Dance, Eternal Spirits, Dance!
By Mark Masters
Label: Capri Records
Released: 2025
Duration: 4:39

Downstairs Blues Upstairs

September 14, 2025

Album: Sam Rivers 100
By Mark Masters
Label: Capri Records
Released: 2025
Duration: 4:11

Polish Jazz Titans Assemble in London

September 8, 2025

Why put on the first-ever Polish Jazz Festival in London, and why now? After all, London is already well supplied with fine British-Polish jazzers like the guitarist Artie Zaitz and saxophonist Emma Rawicz. Not only that, but the West London venue Jazz Cafe Posk��based in the Polish cultural centre��has been running jazz gigs for years.

Why Is Japan a Jazz Paradise? Part 2��From Sake to Soul: Jazz Musicians and Their Love for Japan

by Atzko Kohashi
August 6, 2025

Part 1 | Part 2 In May 2025 Japan welcomed an estimated 3.693 million visitors, marking a surge in global fascination with the country--up 125% (more than double!) compared to a decade ago. Many come for the exquisite Japanese cuisine, the tranquil atmosphere of temples and shrines, the ultra-modern buzz of Tokyo, or the ...

New Music From Gillece, Thompson, Crotty And More

by Bob Osborne
July 3, 2025

On this show a selection of the best in brand new releases plus reissued material from Billy Harper, Cecil Taylor & Tony Oxley, and Ivo Perelman. To close two tracks from the legendary Ornette Coleman.Playlist Behn Gillece “Haymaker" from Pivot Point (Posi-tone Records) 00:00 Mike Thompson “May (feat. Mike Caudill, Mark Shilansky & Dan ...

Omar Thomas, Mark Masters, Billy Strayhorn

by David Brown
June 19, 2025

This week showcases large band music from composer/arrangers Omar Thomas, Gerry Mulligan and Maria Schneider. Bandleader Mark Masters is next with a pair of new albums. With Sam Rivers 100, Masters honors the centenary of the avant-garde jazz pioneer, while on Dance, Eternal Spirits, Dance! Masters explores the music of spiritual jazz legend Billy Harper. Bird ...

Mark Masters Ensemble: Sam Rivers 100

by Dan McClenaghan
May 26, 2025

The Mark Masters Ensemble released Porgy and Bess Redefined! (Capri Records) in 2005. The music was taken from the George Gershwin/DuBose Heyward English-language opera, which was first performed in 1935. Masters' take on the classic was brilliantly expressed by the ensemble, who dug into his adventurous charts with freedom mixed with respect for the familiar and ...