Riverwalk Jazz
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Riverwalk JazzEvery week, Riverwalk Jazz tellsl the story of jazz in America. The Jim Cullum Jazz Band's music covers the genre's early years — from turn-of-the-century blues and cakewalks, to the small swing ensembles of the 1920s and '30s. Hosted by the award-winning storyteller David Holt and bandleader Jim Cullum, "Riverwalk Jazz" features The Jim Cullum Jazz Band and special guest artists.

Airs:  Saturdays at 7 p.m. on KSTX 89.1 FM and KTXI 90.1 FM
Website:  www.riverwalkjazz.org

About Jim Cullum - Co-Host

In the 1950s, when everyone else his age was listening to Elvis Presley, Jim Cullum locked onto the sounds of early jazz greats Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, Bix Beiderbecke, and Jelly Roll Morton. He discovered his father's record collection of 78's, and spent one whole summer spellbound in his bedroom at home in San Antonio, spinning these scratchy discs and memorizing solos note for note.

The next summer, enlisted in the family grocery business, Cullum's job was to guard the soda pop and candy bars in the delivery truck while the driver delivered the goods. Tantalized by a shiny brass horn glimmering in the sunlit window of a pawn shop across the street, the 14-year-old abandoned his post and set off to negotiate for his first cornet. It was a 1920 C. Bruno & Sons cornet; the sale price $7 plus $1 for a booklet. "How To Play The Cornet."

From Carnegie Hall in New York to home-base at The Landing on the Paseo del Rio in San Antonio, Jim Cullum has been recognized as a leading figure in the jazz world for almost 35 years. He has spent his adult life researching, performing, and presenting repertoire from an often overlooked but increasingly popluar era of American music — jazz and popular song from the 1920s and '30s.

The Jim Cullum Jazz Band, an outstanding all-acoustic septet, offers a superb combination of individual musicianship, sophisticated arrangements and high energy ensemble playing which is the product of their many years performing nightly at The Landing.

About David Holt - Co-Host

Grammy award-winning host David Holt is a musician, storyteller, historian, television host, and entertainer, dedicated to performing, preserving, and promoting traditional American music and storytelling. In addition to hosting Riverwalk Jazz, Holt is well known for his television and radio series. He served as host of the Nashville Network's "Fire on the Mountain," "Celebration Express" and "American Music Shop," and PBS' "Folkways." He was also a frequent guest on "Hee Haw," "Nashville Now" and "The Grand Ole Opry." Holt says, "Television can help keep traditional music alive in the modern world by reminding people what a wonderful treasure this lore is." In 1997 and 1998, Holt also hosts a new series of North Carolina Public Television's "Folkways."

Holt plays 10 acoustic instruments and has released numerous recordings of traditional mountain music and southern folktales. His most recent music recording, "I Got A Bullfrog: Folksongs for the Fun of It," features great American folksongs that he has collected over the last 20 years and has garnered many awards.

David Holt is recognized as one of the nation's foremost storytellers. He won a 1997 Grammy award in the "Spoken Word for Children" category for his recording of the best-selling children's book, "Stellaluna." Competing in the same category were such notables as Robin Williams for "Jumanji," Carl Reiner for "The Prince and the Pauper" and Michael York for "Treasure Island."

A High Windy Audio recording, "Stellaluna" has received the American Library Association's highest recognition, the ALA NOTABLE, and the Parents' Choice Award.