Jazz It Up! Episode 4 Features Phil Woods, Stanley Jordan, Oscar Peterson and More

New York, NY -- The fourth episode of Season 2 of Jazz it Up! features alto sax legend Phil Woods in performance with the William Paterson Jazz Orchestra (conducted by David Dempsey), as well as a powerful trio led by the innovative guitarist Stanley Jordan, who plays piano and guitar simultaneously on a song. As with all featured performers on Jazz it Up!, viewers witness behind-the-scenes interviews with Woods and Jordan during the second of two featured songs by each artist. Jordan discusses his activities previous to the release of his latest recording, State of Nature, and Woods relates insights about the role of the big band in his storied career.

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VINTAGE: The Oscar Peterson Trio swings an up-tempo rendition of Leonard Bernstein's Tonight in the Jazz it Up! vintage segment. The lightening quick reflexes of pianist Peterson, bassist Ray Brown and drummer Ed Thigpen clearly demonstrate why they are considered one of the best trios in jazz history.

JAZZ INSIDER: The founder of the Jazz Gallery, Dale Fitzgerald, discusses the mission of his New York City venue, as the woodwind ensemble Imani Winds performs with special guest, pianist Jason Moran.

JAZZ CAMEOS: Nefertari Bey, Mark Whitfield, Roy Hargrove, Vanessa Rubin, and Mariam Adam make brief appearances urging viewers to Keep Swingin'!

JAZZ NEWS: The music of Duke Ellington as performed live by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra is the backdrop of a celebratory recital by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (under the leadership of artistic director Judith Jamison) in honor of its 50th year. By turns dramatic and vigorous or cool, sultry, and sophisticated, the dance movements to Ellington's harmonious reveries light up the viewing screen, as Ailey dancer Hope Boykin explains the connection of Alvin Ailey to Ellington and jazz, and the import of the collaboration with Wynton Marsalis and the JALC Orchestra.

In more jazz news, Jazz it Up! reports on the momentous occasion of jazz piano great Hank Jones receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2009 Grammy Awards.

Jazz it Up! dedicates this episode to the jazz legacy of David "Fathead" Newman, Blossom Dearie, Hank Crawford, and Louie Bellson, each honored in the In Memory Of segment.

Next on Jazz it Up!

The two featured artists are vibraphonist Dave Samuels, who leads his Latin Grammy Award winning ensemble, The Caribbean Jazz Project in a magnetic outdoor performance, and drummer Lewis Nash, fronting an exhilarating quintet. Our JazzNique segment features Stanley Jordan explaining his touch-tapping guitar technique. For jazz news, Chuck Stewart discusses his photographic exhibit of jazz artists at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Plus, there's news of the United States Mint releasing a coin bearing the image of Duke Ellington! Last but not least, Nina Simone blesses us with her unique voice in the Vintage segment.

About Jazz it Up!

Jazz it Up!, a production of BrownStone Digital, Inc., contains live performances, news, and discussions by artists who play the array of styles that make jazz. Program segments are designed to engage viewers through different angles of insight into the art form. Our editing style appeals to a younger demographic while maintaining the class mature viewers expect. This is the only online music series that incorporates: streaming interactive video; mp4 sound technology; banner and video ads; features for sharing and feedback, with a distribution model exploiting the low-cost viral nature of email. Any user of Apple's iPhone can view our half-hour episodes.

Hosted by jazz writer and broadcast journalist Greg Thomas, the first season of Jazz it Up! was seen by 1,000,000 people in 15 countries. Nearly 500,000 people have watched the first four episodes of season 2. In fall 2008 TiVo's Video-on-Demand service added Jazz it Up! to the roster of shows available to its 4 million subscribers. In October 2008, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Consumer Electronics Association nominated Jazz it Up! for a Global Media Award in the Outstanding Long Form Entertainment category.

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