Now playing:
First channel
The 'Harmful Little Armful': The Incomparable Fats Waller

He called himself “the harmful little armful” but there was nothing “little” about Fats Waller.  He had a high voltage personality—to say nothing of his 285-pound body. The Jim Cullum Jazz Band and guests remember Fats Waller with a selection of signature Waller tunes guaranteed to put a smile on your face and a bounce in your step.

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Now playing:
Second channel
Jazz Goes to the Movies: A Look at Jazz Music and Musicians in Film

The curtain is about to go up on Hollywood movies with high level jazz performances. The 1947 New Orleans pairs Billie Holiday with Louis Armstrong and offer a magnificent performance of "Do You Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans?"

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Tune in to Riverwalk Jazz

Now you can tune in around the clock to two continuous streams of Riverwalk Jazz radio shows from the archive. Enjoy one of two streams now in progress.

Due to copyright restrictions, we are unable to provide a jukebox-style program stream where the user selects individual radio shows. It’s like a box of chocolates. Drop in and discover what’s on the air.

You will find the radio broadcasts thematically programmed by category in sets of three shows on topics such as:  Harlem Renaissance, New Orleans, Paris in the 30s, Birth of Swing, Blues Queens, Tunesmiths, Jazz & Civil Rights, and so forth.

The incomparable Riverwalk Jazz archive of live recordings features performances by The Jim Cullum Jazz Band and outstanding guest artists. Singular musical arrangements created by band members, including leader Jim Cullum and pianist John Sheridan, enhance the classical forms of jazz the Band embraces. Co-host David Holt interviews guests and presents scene-setting narratives embedded with historical recordings and rare archival interviews. Original scripts based on oral histories illumine the stories behind the music and bring to life key figures in early jazz.  

Programs are enriched by associated materials: illustrated essays, profiles on guest artists and band members, complete listings of radio shows and songs, supplementary recordings and stories by Jim Cullum about his life in jazz.

The Riverwalk Jazz radio series has been telling the story of early jazz and blues as it evolved in the first half of the 20th century on public radio stations for more than two decades.