Four tracks from BBC Introducing bands picked by Gilles Peterson, Kevin Le Gendre and Jez Nelson to play at the 2012 Manchester Jazz Festival.

BBC Introducing at Manchester Jazz Festival [2012]

Telling the stories behind the recordings; getting to the heart of the music we love.

Interviews & Features

Extracts and full-length pieces from Jazz on 3's live recordings and sessions.

Exclusive Tracks

100 years to the day since Britain declared war on Germany, Jazz on 3 broadcasts 'Picardie', Kate and Mike Westbrook's reflection on the First World War.

Scored for jazz ensemble and chamber orchestra, the piece weaves together texts by British and French poets, which Kate and Mike introduce here.

Listen to the full piece on Monday 4 August on BBC Radio 3 from 11pm, or on iPlayer for 28 days afterwards: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04cfb60

More about the piece and the lyrics is at http://www.westbrookjazz.co.uk/picardie/index.shtml

Kate & Mike Westbrook introduce 'Picardie' [04.08.14]

US pianist Marc Cary has recorded with everyone from Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu to Abbey Lincoln and Dizzy Gillespie. At this year's Jazzahead showcase in Bremen, Jez Nelson spoke to him about some of his influences, including the go-go beat of his native Washington DC.

You can hear the rest of the interview, plus live music from Marc Cary's Focus Trio and other highlights from Jazzahead, on Jazz on 3, on BBC Radio 3 at 11pm on Monday 25th August, or for 7 days after broadcast: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04f8p0f

Marc Cary on the origins of go-go [25.08.14]

'I knew nothing - I mean NOTHING' - pianist Paul Bley, a giant of avant-garde music himself, remembers being roasted by new musical partners Ornette Coleman and Don Cherry when they played together on the Live at Hillcrest recording in 1958.

Listen to the full Ornette Coleman tribute programme on Jazz on 3 on BBC Radio 3 on Monday 22 June 2015 at 11pm BST, or online for 30 days after broadcast here http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b060psvn

Paul Bley on being upstaged by Ornette Coleman [22.06.15]

Dee Dee Bridgewater tries to get her head round the vocal gymnastics of Swiss singer Andreas Schaerer.

Dee Dee curated a vocal highlights show of live music taken from the Jazz on 3 archives, featuring Gregory Porter, Kurt Elling, Cassandra Wilson and some more leftfield selections, including Andreas.

Listen to the programme on BBC Radio 3 on Monday 29th June at 11pm BST or for 30 days after broadcast here http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b060z9vt

'He can make his tongue go really fast': Dee Dee Bridgewater on Andreas Schaerer [29.06.15]

In the latest in her series, trombonist Sarah Gail Brand talks to British improvising drummer Steve Noble about his music.

Originally broadcast on Jazz on 3 on BBC Radio 3 on Monday 27 July 2015, available online for 30 days after broadcast http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b063dh36

Unsung heroes: Steve Noble [27.07.15]

Saxophonist Kamasi Washington has been one of the big new names to emerge in 2015, from one of the US's least-covered jazz scenes - Los Angeles. Alongside his album launch gig on Jazz on 3, Kamasi attempts to pin down what it is about the LA sound that makes it distinctive.

To hear more of Kamasi in conversation with Jez Nelson, and over an hour of his all-guns-blazing performance, listen to Jazz on 3 on BBC Radio 3 on Monday 7 September 2015, also available online for 30 days after broadcast: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00lqbxn

Kamasi Washington on the sound of the LA scene [07.09.15]

Russian jazz musician Arkady Schilkloper is a man of many horns - including the alphorn. Jez Nelson met him backstage at the Jazzahead event earlier this year for a chat and a demo.

For much more from this year's Jazzahead, including a performance by Arkady with pianist Vadim Neselovskyi, tune in to Jazz on 3 on BBC Radio 3 on Monday 14 September 2015 or listen online internationally for 30 days after broadcast http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b069x6kw

Jez encounters an alp horn [14.09.15]

Pianist Liam Noble is the latest victim of our MP3 shuffle - putting his listening playlist on random and talking about whatever comes up. Here, the Japanese traditional music of Ensemble Nipponia sparks a conversation about jazz's relationship to other musics.

To hear the full shuffle, tune in to Jazz on 3 on BBC Radio 3 at 11pm on Monday 26th October or stream/download for 30 days after broadcast: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06kb0fb

Liam Noble's MP3 Shuffle [26.10.15]

'I want to create a womb of experience, a sensory womb of experience that is comfortable but also uncomfortable.' 

Matana Roberts' latest installment of her epic Coin Coin project layers electronics, found sounds, voice and saxophone. She talks here about how family photos, the diary of a ship captain and ghosts and spirits come together in this immersive experience.

To hear her session for Jazz on 3, tune in to BBC Radio 3 on Monday 26 October at 11pm or stream/download for 30 days after broadcast http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06kb0fb


Photo copyright Jason Fulford

Matana Roberts introduces Coin Coin Chapter 3 [26.10.15]

'It sounded like I had dropped my tray of drinks': a rocky start, but Bonnie Greer's first experience of avant-garde music collective the AACM (the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians)got better...

Jazz on 3's AACM 50th anniversary celebration is available for 30 days here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06mf1j3

Photo: copyright Jacky LePage www.jackylepage.com

Bonnie Greer on how the AACM changed her life [02.11.15]

From internal Becca Stevens monologues over breakfast, to headbanging to Wayne Shorter on the A1 - pianist Tom Cawley shares his audio diary of a typical day of musical encounters. 

Tom's trio Curios performs with saxophonist Iain Ballamy on Jazz on 3 on Monday 30 November, available stream for 30 days or download via the iPlayer Radio app. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06qjzx0

Tom Cawley: My Day in Music [30.11.15]

Abakuá: a secret Afro-Cuban society that has inspired David Virelles' brilliant Mboko project. The band's percussionist, Román Diaz, is a paid-up member and tells Kevin Le Gendre what it's all about - including an impromptu performance!

Listen to David Virelles' performance on Jazz on 3 on BBC Radio 3, at 11pm on Monday 14 December or for 30 days after broadcast here http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06rwlym

Román Diaz and David Virelles on the Afro-Cuban Abakuá tradition [14.12.15]

Audio treats from the team behind BBC Radio 3's Jazz on 3.

Playlists by BBC Jazz on 3