Ken Kimery of the Smithsonian on Jazz, History and more in the MCG Jazz Spotlight

Ken Kimery

Ken Kimery is Executive Director of the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra and Jazz Oral History Program at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington. Ken joins Marty Ashby for an exploration of jazz influences and innovators.

Ken Kimery

Ken Kimery oversees the Jazz Oral History Project at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, and has a special affinity for Pittsburgh and its jazz legacy and traditions. He is also a talented drummer and concert producer.

On this edition of the MCG Jazz Spotlight, Ken Kimery and Marty Ashby visit over great sounds and stories of jazz innovators.

Hear Miles Davis with a 1964 rendition of Seven Steps to Heaven; Al Jarreau and his jaw-dropping spin on Take Five.

Plus, sounds from Weather Report, Keith Jarrett, and Duke Ellington. Ken and Marty also feature sounds with a Pittsburgh flair - the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra recorded at MCG Jazz, and the hard-driving Blues March from Pittsburgh Native Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers.

The MCG Jazz Spotlight Hour - Friday and Sunday night at 6, Saturday afternoon at 1 on WZUM!

Duke Ellington 1946 Howard Theater, William P Gottlieb Collection, Library of Congress

Art Blakey, Benny Golson, Bobby Timmons, Lee Morgan, Jymie Merritt, Blue Note Records