WKCR is very excited to announce our 24-hour annual birthday broadcast for jazz great Roy Eldridge, “Little Jazz,” this January 30, 2025. We will preempt all regularly scheduled programming to bring you a full day of the music of this influential player of the swing era. Eldridge was born in Pittsburgh in 1911, to a wagon teamster and a gifted pianist. At the age of five, Eldridge was already playing blues on the piano. He dedicated himself to the trumpet, at the advice of his older brother Joe, at age 11. In his early years, Eldridge played with small traveling bands; Count Basie caught him one night and was duly impressed. Eldridge moved to New York City in 1930, where saxophonist Otto Hardwick dubbed him “Little Jazz,” and soon began playing with Teddy Hill. In 1935, he recorded some memorable sides with Billie Holiday. By this time, he was known as one of jazz’s most fiery and capable soloists. In fact, after his gigs had ended for the night, he would travel around New York challenging other players to musical duels––and almost always won. He joined Gene Krupa’s band in 1941, recording the iconic “Let Me Off Uptown” duet with Anita O’Day and an intense, expressive solo on Benny Carter’s arrangement of Hoagy Carmichael’s “Rocking Chair”.

Eldridge joined Norman Granz’s Jazz at the Philharmonic and toured with Benny Goodman; he briefly moved to Paris in 1950. He recorded numerous sessions for Verve with other jazz titans, like Coleman Hawkins. He was inducted into the DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame in 1971. He suffered a stroke in 1980 that prevented him from playing the trumpet, but, a true musician, he continued to play the piano and sing until his death in 1989.

Here at WKCR, Little Jazz lives on. Listeners can tune in to our 24-hour Roy Eldridge Birthday Broadcast on 89.9FM or stream the birthday broadcast live on our website, wkcr.org. Follow WKCR on Instagram (@wkcr) and Twitter (@WKCRFM) for updates about this special broadcast and future events. As always, online listening is available 24/7 at wkcr.org via our web stream.