Jazz Programmes

Weekday Programmes

  • The Jazz Lounge: Early evening, sunset type jazz that is generally light and easy on the ear. It is laid-back in mood, featuring all types of ensambles, playing a wide rnage of jazz styles, from post 40’s to present big band, light bebop, minimal fusion and SA jazz. Feast on jazz vocalists and much standard type material and venture occasionally into a challenging track or two.
  • Blues at the Table: “Blues is the roots, everything else is the fruits” is a quote attributed to Willie Dixon, who was called the poet laureate of the blues. Blues at the Table – the name is a reference to the mother city, and it features not only traditional through modern styles of the music, but also highlights those whose music was based on blues such as Elvis Presley. It also highlights fine musicianship and those influenced and inspired by other blues musicians. The programme has featured a number of centurions in the blues: Sunnyland Slim, Sonny Boy Williamson, Elmore James, T-Bone Walker, Henry Johnson, Robert Nighthawk, Pink Anderson, Howlin’ Wolf to name a few. Monday nights from 10pm to midnight.
  • Jazz through the Night: Jazz in a wide range of styles, but often cutting edge, with brilliant improvising quality. A showcase of bebop and the classic jazz sessions in the history of music, with homage paid to many of the renowned jazz stars of yesteryear.
  • Jazz Connection:  A showcase of the modern jazz stars, the 1950s to contemporary generations who have and are operating in the straight ahead genre. Often a particular style or theme is selected for each programme pay attention to its specificities, for example instrumentation, vocalists etc.
  • World Cafe: World Café is brought to you by a crew of intrepid musical globetrotters: an Eastern European artist, potter and opera singer,  an electronic tango and bandoneon musician, an erudite ethnomusicologist, a media academic, an astronomy nut, and world music aficionados. Relish eclectic sounds from anywhere and everywhere in the world for two hours each Wednesday night from 10pm to midnight. You never know what you might find hidden amongst this potpourri programme of peculiar exotic delights.
  • Evening Jazz  with Martin Philips
  • Homeground
  • The Nightbeat

Weekend Jazz

Saturday

  • Saturday Scene: Light, easy listening jazz of an eclectic variety. The style however remains with the straight ahead genre where the emphasis is on quality music rather than contemporary or pop sounding jazz.
  • Just Jazz: This one hour jazz programme covers the entire period from the beginnings of jazz up until the present day, with particular emphasis on middle-of-the-road jazz. Most programmes have a theme, either one or more of the featured artists/styles/featured musical instruments – with an occasional “mixed bag” compilation. Traditionally the last Saturday of the month has become a concert programme, using live recordings in concert halls, restaurants, and clubs.
  • Sing, Swing, and all that Jazz: Feel-good, often nostalgic jazz from the Swing and Classic eras, particularly featuring big bands and small groups.
  • Jazz Sanctuary:  The emphasis of this programme is mainstream jazz with a particular penchant for instrumental. A window for the post-modern and contemporary stars of music, with big name performers in addition to bygone-era stars are featured.
  • The Jazz Odyssey:  this is a programme that is presented every Saturday evening by Saan Mahomed, between 10pm and 12 midnight.  The dictionary describes an ODYSSEY as: an extended adventurous voyage or trip; an intellectual or spiritual quest: an odyssey of discovery. And that is exactly what is envisaged to be achieved by the end of the show; to have taken the listener on an incredible journey through the world of JAZZ, and provide information regarding the artists played. The first hour is dedicated to international artists, including Miles Davis, Chris Botti, Billie Holliday, and so on. The second hour specifically highlights South African Jazz, including the likes of Abdullah Ibrahim, Hugh Masekela, Jonathan Butler, Miriam Makeba, amongst others.

Sunday

  • Sunday Scene:  A programme of musical diversity both instrumental and vocal from the world of theatre, cinema, jazz and nostalgia, plus a touch of humour and a musical quiz in the form identifying a  mystery voice or show.
  • Jazz Brunch: Straight ahead Jazz that is accessible, easy on the ear; yet of a progressive nature. Nothing in the avant-garde or complex music arena, but instead Jazz from the modern era up to the present.
  • Songcatcher: This programme expresses Folk music from various genre’s namely Traditional/Protest Songs from the Civil Rights era and love ballads , a fruit of the sixties hippydom. The music is of a very high calibre and seldom heard on radio other than FMR where we allow for alternative fine forms of music such as World Music etc. The program retuned after a successful season largely due to listeners requesting it be reinstated.
  • Continuum: This programme by no means postures itself as a purist jazz show, but instead is true to the heart of improvisation. The golden thread that binds the programme’s various pieces is swing! The programme is divided and presented in the order of the modern big band, bebop, hard bop, post bop and beyond. Each of the categories feature artists who have mastered this idioms and who subscribe to the highest levels of improvisational excellence.
  • The Sunday Soul Session