Jazz with Bob Perkins-logo

Jazz with Bob Perkins

WRTI

Lovingly known as “BP with the GM” (Bob Perkins with the Good Music), BP brings you that good music just in time for dinner during your work week. His selections are like a familiar hug from Jazz Land featuring your favorite standards and vocalists such as Sarah, Ella, and Nat, some Big Band legends including the Duke and the Count, and the giants of the instrumentals like Lee Morgan, Hank Crawford, Miles, and Coltrane. Take a listen to "Ol' BP" as he calls himself...you'll be back again and again. Take a look at this photo album of Mr. Perkins through the years. Scroll down to see recent playlists.

Lovingly known as “BP with the GM” (Bob Perkins with the Good Music), BP brings you that good music just in time for dinner during your work week. His selections are like a familiar hug from Jazz Land featuring your favorite standards and vocalists such as Sarah, Ella, and Nat, some Big Band legends including the Duke and the Count, and the giants of the instrumentals like Lee Morgan, Hank Crawford, Miles, and Coltrane. Take a listen to "Ol' BP" as he calls himself...you'll be back again and again. Take a look at this photo album of Mr. Perkins through the years. Scroll down to see recent playlists.

Location:

Philadelphia, PA

Networks:

WRTI

Description:

Lovingly known as “BP with the GM” (Bob Perkins with the Good Music), BP brings you that good music just in time for dinner during your work week. His selections are like a familiar hug from Jazz Land featuring your favorite standards and vocalists such as Sarah, Ella, and Nat, some Big Band legends including the Duke and the Count, and the giants of the instrumentals like Lee Morgan, Hank Crawford, Miles, and Coltrane. Take a listen to "Ol' BP" as he calls himself...you'll be back again and again. Take a look at this photo album of Mr. Perkins through the years. Scroll down to see recent playlists.

Language:

English

Contact:

WRTI-FM 1509 Cecil B. Moore Avenue, 3rd Floor Philadelphia, PA 19121

Episodes

The Story Behind "My Favorite Things," from The Sound of Music to Enduring Jazz Standard

2/15/2021
The legendary Broadway musical writing team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II produced their final show together, The Sound of Music , nine months before Hammerstein passed away of cancer. Yet throughout all the songs of the show, there’s a great sense of hope and optimism.

Duration:00:01:48

Digging Deeper Into The Life of Duke Ellington with Biographer, Terry Teachout

2/5/2021
It's Black History Month, and on WRTI we're looking closely at bandleader, composer, and pianist Duke Ellington , who wrote over 1,700 songs, as well as longer orchestral suites and film scores. In this interview from 2013, WRTI's Susan Lewis speaks with biographer and blogger Terry Teachout , author of Duke, A Life of Duke Ellington.

Duration:00:01:34

Bob Perkins Talks About Dave Brubeck's Legacy Back in 2012

11/29/2020
WRTI's own jazz legend Bob Perkins sat down with Kile Smith in December, 2012 for a wide-ranging interview about Dave Brubeck —the man, his music, and his legacy. This interview took place just after Brubeck's death at age 91.

Duration:00:15:05

Dave Brubeck's Secret Revealed

10/12/2020
December 6th is Dave Brubeck ’s birthday, and WRTI’s Kile Smith looks at the secret behind the legacy of this giant of jazz. Along with leading his Quartet for decades, 1959 ’ s Time Out was the first jazz album to sell a million copies, and from that, Paul Desmond’s “Take Five” was not only their biggest hit, it is still the biggest jazz single in history. But what about Dave Brubeck’s playing?

Duration:00:01:29

The Story About How "Bird" Once Had a Nest In Philadelphia

8/24/2020
Have you ever discovered that a famous person once lived very close to you? And all the while, you weren't aware of it—until that person moved away, and the world let you know about the celebrity who had been in your midst. WRTI's Bob Perkins remembers when jazz great Charlie Parker lived in Philadelphia for a time.

Duration:00:03:07

Listen to Highlights from Acknowledgement: How Music Responds on WRTI 90.1

6/2/2020
On Tuesday, June 2nd at 6 PM, WRTI presented a special live program addressing Black Music as a form of social engagement.

Duration:00:03:42

Remembering Jymie Merritt, Gentleman and Innovator of Jazz

4/11/2020
Pioneering bassist and composer Jymie Merritt was born in Philadelphia in 1926. He died on Friday, April 10th, 2020 at age 93. No cause was given by his son, who posted the sad news on social media.

Duration:00:01:54

Legendary Jazz Pianist McCoy Tyner Has Died at Age 81

3/6/2020
WRTI mourns the loss of jazz pianist extraordinaire McCoy Tyner who has died at age 81. The announcement of Mr. Tyner's passing was posted on his Facebook page: It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of jazz legend, Alfred “McCoy” Tyner. McCoy was an inspired musician who devoted his life to his art, his family and his spirituality.

Duration:00:01:43

John Coltrane, Johnny Hartman, and a Song for the Ages

2/16/2020
Two Englishmen, Guy Wood and Robert Mellin, slipped it into the Great American Songbook just before it closed, just as rock rolled over sophistication. It begins from below, a slowly twisting Roman candle of a tune, and explodes in the top range of the singer, as the eyes of onlookers reflect the glory of what songs once were.

Duration:00:01:29

The National Jazz Festival for High School Students Is Launching In Philadelphia

2/7/2020
WRTI's Susan Lewis talks with Joe Bonjiovi, founder and executive director of the National Jazz Festival about why jazz is so important for young people. Young jazz musicians from 11 states and Puerto Rico are coming to Philadelphia for the 2020 festival on February 15th, which features 63 ensembles of high school-age musicians in different categories.

Duration:00:01:56

Watch and Listen: Sacred Music by Duke Ellington Ahead of Bucks County Choral Society Concerts

5/30/2019
Live from the WRTI Performance Studio, we heard moving selections from Duke Ellington’s Sacred Concerts , performed by musicians who will be appearing with the Bucks County Choral Society in Ellington’s historic work. WRTI's Bob Perkins and Debra Lew Harder host.

Duration:00:34:56

Dave Brubeck's Time Out: Why Is It So Great?

4/6/2019
(Originally published in 2015) . In Jailhouse Rock , Elvis plays an ex-con rube hoping to make it in the music business. He’s dragged to a swanky party, where he’s wedged between society snobs who try to look intellectual and hip by discussing modern music. They toss around lingo like “dissonance” and “atonality,” and the names of some musicians, including that of Dave Brubeck. Elvis’s increasing discomfort wells up when the hostess asks his opinion. Rather than revealing his ignorance, he...

Duration:00:08:10

Watch: Vocalists from DivaNation Philly SING and SWING! Live from the WRTI 90.1 Performance Studio

3/6/2019
The delightful ladies of DivaNation Philly have been singing together for over five years throughout the Philadelphia region. Several members of the collective recently joined Jazz Host J. Michael Harrison live in the WRTI 90.1 Performance Studio to present a preview of "Vibing for Spring"—their upcoming March 9th performance at the Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz & Performing Arts. https://youtu.be/SZcT0saY3zY

Duration:00:29:53

The Story Behind the Mummers' Theme Song, "Oh, Dem Golden Slippers"

12/31/2018
Music, spectacular costumes, and strutting down Broad Street? It must be New Year's Day in Philadelphia with the Mummers Parade!

Duration:00:01:49

A Dave Brubeck Memorial By Bob Perkins

12/5/2018
Bob Perkins remembered the iconic jazz pianist and composer Dave Brubeck, when he died on December 5, 2012 at age 91—one day shy of his 92nd birthday.

Duration:00:01:59

Watch and Listen: The Daniel Bennett Group Live from the WRTI 90.1 Performance Studio

7/25/2018
Saxophonist and composer Daniel Bennett first showed interest in his instrument when his sister brought him to see a high school jazz ensemble when he was nine years old. Now he's an active performer on the New York jazz scene; his ensemble the Daniel Bennett Group was recently voted “Best New Jazz Group” at the New York Hot House Awards.

Duration:00:28:19

The Beloved Ella Fitzgerald: First Lady of Song

4/24/2018
The great Ella Fitzgerald was born on April 25th, 1917, and died in 1996. As WRTI’s Susan Lewis reports, "The Queen of Jazz" - also called "The First Lady of Song," left a lasting legacy on American song and jazz.

Duration:00:01:47

How Ella Fitzgerald Found Her Voice

4/24/2018
Though she was blessed with impeccable intonation, a distinctive sound, and a superb sense of timing, Ella Fitzgerald was hindered in her early years by the limitations of the repertoire she sang. It took some time, determination, and visionary collaboration for Ella to find her voice.

Duration:00:01:46

The Surprising Influence of J.S. Bach on Jazz Great Bill Evans

3/18/2018
Thinking about the legacy of jazz pianist Bill Evans, you might be surprised to know that some cool cats named Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Igor Stravinsky, Arnold Schoenberg, and— especially— Johann Sebastian Bach helped shape his sound.

Duration:00:01:42

A Must-Hear Jazz Version of Fly, Eagles, Fly that Will Knock Your Socks Off!

2/8/2018
Wow! Listen to this jazzed-up rendition of "Fly, Eagles, Fly" and you'll be soaring all day long with your Birds!

Duration:00:01:48

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