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The Beat
Saturdays 1pm - 4pm

'The Beat' is a weekly mix of jazz, blues and much more. Each week, host David Nicholas plays selections from WCMU's extensive record and CD library, and brings in some of his own favorite albums from home. 

Latest Episodes
  • A great mix for your gig on The Beat, Saturday from 1-4 on WCMU! David Nicholas has classics and favorites to share, all with some great stories woven in. He'll also take you along for a musical sojourn to the south!!
  • Jazz "A-Listers" are all over The Beat for this Saturday from 1-4! David Nicholas has Sinatra, Ella Sassy Sarah Vaughn, Ellington with Betty Roche and Ellington and Basie together, plus Dizzy Gillespie's primo big band from 1961!
  • All kinds of great sounds on The Beat this Saturday from 1-4 on WCMU. David Nicholas mixes incredible ballads from Sarah Vaughan, George Benson and Nina Simone plus an epic performance by Chick Corea and the brilliant piano of McCoy Tyner!!!
  • Coming up Saturday from 1-4 on The Beat, David Nicholas has some classics from June Christy, Chris Connor, Miles Davis' band from the late 1960s, and some great new releases, including guitarist Mimi Fox!
  • Coming up tomorrow from 1-4 on The Beat, a great mix for your Saturday afternoon gig as we ring out January (already?)...tracks from Michigan guitarist Randy Napoleon, Detroit's Straight Ahead and the Motor City's own, Donald Byrd!!!
  • There are lists and debates about the greatest jazz guitarist of all time. Coming up Saturday from 1-4 on The Beat, David Nicholas will put a name into the mix that maybe you don't know, but he's one that fellow musicians always gave a nod to as one of the best, Pat Martino!
  • Another mix for your Saturday from 1-4 on The Beat! David Nicholas has guitarist Grant Green and pianist Sonny Clark! They've got their versions of two Broadway tunes from Richard Rogers from Rogers' work with Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein!!!
  • Ahead on Saturday from 1-4, the mix for your gig on The Beat. Music from Brubeck, Rollins, Ellington and Taj Mahal! Join David Nicholas here on WCMU!!!
  • Coming up Saturday from 1-4 on The Beat, David Nicholas serves up some tasty stuff to ring out 2022, including classic Jackie McLean, classic Duke Ellington and Debra Mann singing Joni Mitchell!
  • A full 3 hours of holiday jazz and blues from 1-4 tomorrow on The Beat! David will bring you favorites from A Charlie Brown Christmas, the soulful gospel of the spirit for the season, and the annual visit from Santa Satchmo...Louis Armstrong reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas!"