Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major form of musical expression in traditional and popular music. Jazz is characterized by swing and blue notes, complex chords, call and response vocals, polyrhythms and improvisation. Jazz has roots in European harmony and African rhythmic rituals. Charles Mingus, Jr. Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz double bassist, pianist, composer, and bandleader. A major proponent of collective improvisation, he is considered ...

The Jazz Sound is hosted by Rick Petrone who plays mostly Jazz recordings from the ’40s to the present. He also presents interviews with Jazz Artists. A professional musician for 50+ years, Petrone was in charge of Stamford station WJAZ 96.7 from 1980-92. It was a 24/7 Commercial jazz station with all programming by Petrone. Today, Petrone can be heard from every Monday afternoon from 1 to 4 pm. Rick Petrone is a bassist who has been active in jazz since the 1960s. Learn More Listen on Soundcloud

Created by African-Americans in the United States in the late 1800s, the blues is a music genre, a style of music, a way of presenting musical ideas, different musical cultures, and an emotion. Its roots are in African American slave songs such as field hollers, work songs, spirituals, and country string ballads. Rural music that captured the suffering, anguish, and hopes of 300 years of slavery and tenant farming, the blues was typically played by roaming solo musicians on acoustic guitar, piano, or harmonica. Early on, the lyrics and instruments of the blues were improvised, giving rise to the one-stringed diddley bow, the percussive washboard, the jug, the spoons, and ...

A special two-day fundraiser in honor of a special label: WPKN celebrates Blue Note Records all day on October 26 and 27. It was 81 years ago that a German immigrant and passionate Jazz Aficionado, Alfred Lion, produced his first recording session in New York City. The rest is history: Blue Note Records is one of the longest-running Jazz labels in the world. Its contribution to jazz recording is legendary for its breadth, creativity and quality. Current Blue Note president Don Was continues the tradition, in documenting today’s golden age of jazz and beyond. At WPKN we love Jazz, we love innovation, and we love quality. Blue Note has always stood ...