Jazz Break at Noon - November 2025

November 3 -7

Woody Shaw
This week on The Jazz Break at Noon, we celebrate the legacy of trumpeter, composer, bandleader, and educator, Woody Shaw. Born Woody Herman Shaw Jr. on December 24, 1944, in North Carolina and raised in Newark, New Jersey, his career was marked by intense originality and profound innovation until his untimely passing on May 10, 1989, at the age of 44. His brilliance as a composer and improviser extended directly into his work as a highly recognized educator, influencing generations of musicians.

We will trace his musical journey, starting with his groundbreaking early performances as a sideman with innovators like Eric Dolphy, Horace Silver, and Larry Young. We will focus on his most significant and prolific period as a bandleader and composer: the 1970s and 1980s. This era produced a string of seminal albums for the Muse and Columbia record labels, including classics like The Moontrane and the Grammy-nominated Rosewood. These recordings showcase his fiery, distinctive tone and his visionary compositions, propelling jazz trumpet and improvisation forward, advancing new possibilities for the instrument and inspiring generations of artists who followed in his footsteps. Join us as we explore the essential work of a true trumpet original, the one and only, Woody Shaw.

November 10 – 14

Freedom Sound: The Jazz Crusaders
This week on The Jazz Break at Noon, we celebrate The Jazz Crusaders in a special program we're calling Freedom Sound. Founded by Nesbert "Stix" Hooper, Joe Sample, Wayne Henderson, and Wilton Felder in Houston, Texas, the band began playing their unique brand of Bop-driven, soul-drenched, bluesy jazz in the 1950s while still in high school. By 1958, the band had outgrown their hometown and headed to California, arriving during the Cool Jazz boom. After recording under several monikers, the group committed to The Jazz Crusaders just in time for their 1961 Pacific Jazz debut, Freedom Sound. 

This week's feature is a sonic journey through their nearly decade-long tenure at the label, where they solidified their "Gulf Coast sound" and became a signature West Coast group, leaning heavily into the blues and hard bop. Join us as we explore their entire classic studio catalog, culminating in their final recordings for Pacific Jazz including their legendary live performances from The Lighthouse. It's sure to be a soulful, funky good time, this week on the Jazz Break at Noon. Join us.

November 17 – 21

Jazz Passport: A Global Celebration for International Education Week
Almost immediately after jazz sprouted from American soil, the sounds were pollinated across the globe. From the Caribbean, to West Africa, to Japan, to India and beyond, jazz has continually evolved through global dialogue. This International Education Week, host Bria Woods celebrates this worldwide exchange with a specially curated playlist featuring musicians from around the globe. Each day she will be joined by different guests from Trinity’s Center for International Engagement and students who have broadened their perspectives through study-abroad experiences.

At Trinity, global engagement is more than a value—it’s a lived reality. Thirty-five percent of students participate in study-abroad programs in countries such as Japan, Mexico, Spain, China, South Korea, and Taiwan, many of which offer faculty-led study and research opportunities. The campus community is enriched even further by students representing more than 60 countries worldwide.

Established in 2000 as a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education, International Education Week highlights the importance of global learning, cultural exchange, and international understanding.

Tune in this week Monday through Friday from 12pm to 1pm CST  to experience jazz as a global language—and discover how international voices continue to shape its sound. You can listen on the dial at 91.7FM, online at krtu.org or on our free mobile app. 

November 24 - 28

Jazz Live! A Thanksgiving Concert Series
This week on The Jazz Break at Noon, we celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with Jazz Live!, a special Jazz Break series transporting you to some of the most iconic venues and performances in jazz history. There is a unique magic captured when jazz is performed in front of an audience. The energy, the risk-taking and improvisation, and the spontaneous ‘call and response’, all become part of the music itself. A live jazz concert is a collective experience.

We will feature a wide spectrum of legendary live recordings from Dave Brubeck, Sonny Rollins, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, and more. The week culminates on Thanksgiving Day with a special feature of the historic November 1957 Carnegie Hall benefit concert, Thanksgiving Jazz, featuring Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane, a lost treasure that documents two jazz masters sharing the stage for an unforgettable holiday performance. Gather around the radio, grab a front row seat, and join us for a week of electrifying live jazz, only on The Jazz Break at Noon. Hosted by JJ Lopez.