Thursday night at 6, repeated Sunday at 5 on “THE SCENE” on WZUM - Summer sounds and more
We talk trumpeter Sean Jones about what he’s been up to lately. Also, a sneak preview of Sunday’s House Concert hosted by Kenia featuring Brazilian pianist Marcos Ariel.
And we revisit our birthday tribute to Pittsburgh native, Duquesne University alum and big band arranging giant, Sammy Nestico
Award-winning documentary filmmaker Diane Estelle Vicari is completing a feature-length film Shadow Man. It tells the story of Sammy Nestico through pictures and sounds, Sammy's own words, and the words of others. When we told Diane about our salutes to Sammy this week, she graciously offered up stories from the film for us to share with Pittsburgh listeners - which we’ve added to our rebroadcast of The Scene for Sunday night at 5pm.
You can read more about the film project at the website. There’s also a Kickstarter page for the project with more details.
Sammy Nestico
Not only have bands fronted by Basie and Quincy Jones relied on Sammy Nestico tunes and arrangements - but so have artists like Sinatra, Phil Collins, Bing Crosby Sarah Vaughan, Toni Tennille, Barbra Streisand and many more.
This week on “The Scene” on WZUM, we highlight some music of Sammy Nestico, including his first full LP with Count Basie in 1968, “Basie Straight Ahead,” plus the latest CD of music with the US Army Jazz Ambassadors, “the Sammy Sessions”
Jim Anderson
Hear Sammy Nestico tell how Pittsburgh’s Grover Mitchell was instrumental in starting Sammy’s long tenure with the Count Basie Orchestra, tales of the Stanley Theater, how Sammy came to start in music at Oliver High School, and his start at WCAE radio when he was just 17.
We also talk with Grammy-winning engineer and producer Jim Anderson about working with Sammy Nestico (Jim’s from Pittsburgh, too!).