Slam Stewart and Eddie Durham: Forgotten Innovators

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Since its inception, jazz musicians have attempted to bring something new to the music. We all know the major innovators: Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane. In this hour, we'll hear from two creative musicians who've been largely forgotten—bassist Slam Stewart and guitarist Eddie Durham.

Both came of age during the '30s and '40s but continued to perform well into the '70s and '80s.

Slam Stewart developed a unique style of playing that involved bowing his bass, while humming an octave above. Stewart's humming and bowing technique was his calling card for most of his career, but he was also a serious bassist who worked with many of the legendary jazz artists of the swing and bebop eras

Eddie Durham had a much greater impact on jazz, though he is probably less well known. The jazz historian Phil Schaap called Durham "the most neglected musical genius of the 20th Century." Durham is probably best remembered as the first jazz artist to play, and develop, the sound of the amplified guitar in big bands

In this hour, you'll learn about their careers, and hear a selection of their best recordings.

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