
Jazz Unlimited ended on December 29, 2019 with host Dennis Owsley's retirement. The weekly radio show covered the continuum of jazz from Louis Armstrong to Lester Bowie. Each show was scripted and based on a theme to provide the broadest coverage of the music.
Host Dennis Owsley has been a jazz album collector, aficionado, and historian since 1958 and has seen most of the major artists in jazz in live performance. April 2018 marks his 35th anniversary presenting jazz on St. Louis Public Radio. He celebrated his 25th anniversary with a mayoral proclamation of a Dennis Owsley Day on January 24, 2008. He received the Millard S. Cohen Lifetime Achievement Award from St. Louis Public Radio in 2010 and was named a Jazz Hero of St. Louis by the Jazz Journalists Association. Jazz Unlimited won the Riverfront Times' Best of St. Louis Award in the "Best Jazz Show" category six times.
Nearly all the music heard on Jazz Unlimited is from Owsley's personal collection. He has an international reputation as a photographer of jazz musicians as well. >> See his photographs.
Owsley wrote an award-winning book, City of Gabriels—The Jazz History of St. Louis 1895-1973.
He produced a radio documentary in 1986 that led to that book. That documentary was produced again and expanded in 2013, the second-longest music documentary in radio history. >> Listen to all of the interviews.
Listen to the most recent two episodes of Jazz Unlimited:
View playlists from past episodes of Jazz Unlimited:
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Jazz Unlimited for March 17, 2019will be “The Career of Paul Chambers.” In his short career, bassist Paul Chambers was known for his accurate intonation,…
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Jazz Unlimited for March 10, 2019 will present “Current Women in Jazz.” Google the phrase, “Female Jazz Artist” and you will find references to mostly…
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Jazz Unlimited for March 3, 2019, will be “The Compositions and Arrangements of Oliver Nelson.” Born in St. Louis in 1932, Oliver Nelson began music…
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Jazz Unlimited for February 24, 2019, will present “The Keys and Strings Hour Plus New Music.” The “Keys and Strings Hour” or jazz without horns will…
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Jazz Unlimited for February 17, 2019, will be “The Music of Freddie Hubbard.” Born in Indianapolis, IN in 1938, trumpeter Freddie Hubbard became a…
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Jazz Unlimited for Sunday, February 10, 2019 will be “The Music of Buck Clayton.” Born in Parsons, Kansas, trumpeter Buck Clayton spent the first two…
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Jazz Unlimited for February 3, 2019, will be “Musicians Named Redman.” We will present 88 years of jazz with saxophonists Don Redman, his nephew Dewey…
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Jazz Unlimited for January 27, 2019 will be “The Keys and Strings Hour Plus New Music.” The first hour will feature a number of great drummers playing in…
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Tenor saxophonist “Zoot” Sims was known for his swinging style and innovative use of harmony in his solos. He was best known for his associations with…