Latest Episodes from Phantom Dancer

Phantom Dancer :: 12:00pm 5th Mar 2024

Art Tatum was an American jazz pianist who is widely regarded as one of the greatest ever. From early in his career, fellow musicians acclaimed Tatum's technical ability as extraordinary. Tatum also extended jazz piano's vocabulary and boundaries far beyond his initial stride influences, and established new ground through innovative use of reharmonization, voicing, and bitonality. He is this week's Phantom Dancer feature artist. Read More

Phantom Dancer :: 12:00pm 13th Feb 2024

Rhapsody in Blue is a 1924 musical composition written by George Gershwin for solo piano and jazz band. It premiered at Aeolian Hall NYC on 12 February 1924, 100 years and one day ago today, and for that reason its your Phantom Dancer feature this week. Commissioned by bandleader Paul Whiteman, the famous opening clarinet glissando has become as instantly recognizable to concert audiences as the opening of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. Listen... Read More

Phantom Dancer :: 12:00pm 6th Feb 2024

The Eskimo Pie Orchestra is one of a number of US orchestras named for commercial products in the 1920s. These include the B. F. Goodrich Silvertown Tyre Orchestra, The Ipana Troubadours, Michelin Tyre Orchestra, and The Studebaker Champions. The Eskimo Pie Orchestra is your Phantom Dancer feature artist this week. Listen... Read More

Phantom Dancer :: 12:00pm 30th Jan 2024

Billie Holiday was an American singer. Around 1927 she first heard the records of Louis Armstrong and she cited his "West End Blues" as an influence, saying the scat vocal duet with the clarinet was her favorite part. You can hear Louis Armstrong performing 'West End Blues' for her and dedicating 'Kiss to Build a Dream On' to her in a 1952 KCBS San Francisco broadcast in one of the videos on this page. Billie Holiday is your Phantom Dancer feature artist this week. Read More