Saturday, February 24th at 8:00pm

Gulf Coast Blues: The Clarence Williams Story

Born in the Mississippi Delta in the late 1890s, pianist Clarence Williams was Creole and Choctaw Indian. As an adult, he produced and performed on thousands of recordings with artists who became legends — Bessie Smith, Fats Waller, Sidney Bechet, Louis Armstrong and more — but he took credit for composing a long list of jazz standards.      Hosted by David Holt and starring The Jim Cullum Jazz Band and special guests Vernel Bagneris and Topsy Chapman, "Gulf Coast Blues: The Clarence Williams Story" chronicles Williams' life with all of its contradictions. Was he a prolific composer or just a hustler and occasional song thief? "Gulf Coast Blues" reveals that, like the story of New Orleans itself, Clarence Williams is a study in opposites.

Saturday, February 24th at 9:00pm

W.C. Handy's Blues

William Christopher (better known as "W.C.") Handy didn't invent the blues, but he heard them in a deep, comprehending way. He figured out how they worked, wrote down and arranged them, and brought them to the world.      Hosted by Dr. Ysaye Maria Barnwell, "W.C. Handy's Blues" is chock full of Handy's timeless music, including "St. Louis Blues," one of the world's most recorded songs. As the program reveals, Handy was one of the first African American composers to retain the rights to his music, publishing his own work and that of other black composers. His Handy Brothers Music Company is still in business on Broadway.      "W.C. Handy's Blues" features interviews with the legendary composer; his grandson, Dr. Carlos Handy; Ellis Marsalis, Richard Johnson and other musicians; Dan Morgenstern, Rutgers University director of the Institute of Jazz Studies, historians and others.      "W.C. Handy's Blues" — celebrating the life and legacy of the Father of the Blues.

Louis Armstrong, W.C. Handy, George Avakian, Aug 1954.
Courtesy G. Avakian