Straight Ahead
June 2018 saw the start of a great partnership between Solar Radio show 'Straight Ahead' hosted by David Lewis and the 606 Club.
Known for its high quality, soul-related music, Solar Radio's roots started in the early 80's quickly becoming one of the leading soul pirate radio stations of the time. Those affiliated with the station campaigned to be recognised as a legal entity. Finally in 1998 the station was officially launched on Satellite, broadcasting soul, funk and jazz across Europe.
The 606 Club and David Lewis bring you Straight Ahead live every Wednesday evening between 10pm-midnight. The show is all about great jazz from the halcyon days of Blue Note in the 50’s, a little big band swing and also focuses on upcoming artists that will be appearing at the Club.
You can tune in to the show on a Wednesday evening between midnight to 2am (please note the new time slot!) via the Solar Radio website, their free apps for Apple and Android or through Sky Channel 129. Missed it this week? You can listen to the most recent show below, or why not have a look at the archive here!
Contact host David Lewis.
11 June: This week's 'Straight Ahead' radio programme hosted by David Lewis features another world class guitarist, Jim Mullen. As David puts it, "Well, they don’t get much larger than this week's guest on our interview series Keeping Musicians Live....the legendary Jim Mullen. We talk about his music, Luther Vandross, playing bass on a tea chest and Rudy Van Gelder. Not surprisingly, it’s a guitar special this week with music from Rob Luft, Wes Montgomery & Kenny Burrell as well as plenty of Jims music too of course". A reminder that the show now airs on Solar Radio from midnight to 2am - but can also be heard on catchup via Mixcloud (and a number of other podcast sources, such as Podbean, Apple and more)...
3 June: Back to our signature series of interviews Keeping Musicians Live, this week's 'Straight Ahead' programme features the multi award-winning guitarist & BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist Rob Luft and his album "Life Is A Dancer". We’ll also hear from Manchester Blue Note recording artists GoGo Penguin, Quentin Collins, Kurt Elling & Paul Desmond with A Theme From MASH. Please note the show now airs on Solar Radio from midnight to 2am.
27 May: On this last Wednesday of the month host David Lewis is joined once again by singer Jo Harrop as well as guitarist Jamie McCredie, following the release of their new duo album, "Weathering The Storm". In addition to tracks from their album, you'll hear music from Kenny Burrell, June Christy, Lauren Bush, Tom Cawley & China Moses.
20 May: Host David Lewis of Solar Radio interviews Emily Dankworth talking about her musical memories, future plans and life on the road! We hear from greats both new and old too such as Jacky Terrasson, Kyle Eastwood, Kamasi Washington, Gregory Porter, Elvin Jones and Horace Silver. Part of our "Keeping Musicians Live" series promoting the UK jazz scene.
13 May: In our "Keeping Musicians Live" series of interviews this week presenter David Lewis features composer, band leader & educator Gabriel Latchin talking about cancelled gigs and the differences between pianos! We also heard from Sara Dowling along with Gabriel, Freddie Hubbard, Paul Desmond, Jazzmeia Horn & José James too.
6 May: This week host David Lewis is joined by ace trumpet virtuoso Quentin Collins in his interview series, "Keeping Musicians Live". They talk about battling COVID-19, producing albums & Quentin's future plans. In a more contemporary show than usual, David also plays music by Allison Neale, Kamasi Washington, Lizz Wright, Kandace Springs, Christian McBride, Gregory Porter, Jamie Cullum, Robert Glasper & Kurt Elling.
29 April: This week, singer Jo Harrop joined host David Lewis on the Club's own "Straight Ahead' radio programme. David says, "We'll have a lovely natter about everything and play some great music too from the likes of Claire Martin, Rob Luft, Polly Gibbons, Esther Bennett, Jamie McCredie and plenty more besides".
22 April: In our Keeping Musicians Live series of interviews hosted by David Lewis, our guest this week is Claire Martin OBE. Described as “…the outstanding voice of her generation”, Claire is a multi-award-winning, internationally acclaimed artist with no less than eight British Jazz Awards and more than 20 albums, including numerous “Best Album” choices, to her name. The rest of the show is a Brit Special - all that is great and good about our vibrant jazz scene with numbers from Tony Kofi, Nigel Price, Vasilis Xenopolous, Jim Mullen & Gabriel Latchin.
15 April 2020: This week, the Club's own "Straight Ahead' radio programme hosted by David Lewis features Sara Dowling, as part of a series of interviews now dubbed "Keeping Musicians Live". A mesmerising performer and a regular at the Six, Sara talks about how she is spending the this period of lockdown. We play numbers from Horace Parlan, Dexter Gordon, Jo Harrop and next week's guest Claire Martin. Hear the show live from 10pm on Solar Radio or on catchup via Mixcloud.
8 April 2020: This week’s guest as part of the new “Keeping Musicians Live” series of interviews is Purdy. A regular at the club with a very loyal following, Purdy launched her latest album "Both Sides of the Clown" at the Six last February. Plus we have numbers from Ella, Jamie Cullum and next week’s guest Sara Dowling.