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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
  • Lots of holiday cheer to be had in the mix Saturday from 1-4 on The Beat. David will have swinging sounds for the season from Roy Hargrove, Anita Baker, Etienne Charles and the great pairings of Sinatra and Crosby and Bing with the Andrews Sisters!!!
  • This Saturday from 1-4 on The Beat, David Nicholas rings in December with more holiday jazz plus great tracks from Art Pepper, Keith Jarrett, Joe Henderson and Horace Silver!
  • Saturday afternoons from 1-4 bring the mix for your gig on The Beat! David Nicholas has some classic jazz to share along with the first holiday jazz of the season!!!
  • From the Dukes of Dixieland to Helen Humes to Howard Alden, the mix for your gig is on The Beat, Saturday, 1-4 on WCMU. David has all this, plus the great piano work of Gene Harris, recorded live at the Fujitsu-Concord Jazz Fest!
  • Coming up this week on The Beat, the 1989 Portraits recordings of pianist Randy Weston; music by Ellington, Monk, and Weston himself. Join David Nicholas Saturday from 1-4 on WCMU!
  • Coming up Saturday from 1-4 on The Beat, David Nicholas has the mix for your gig, including classic vocals from Billy Eckstine, Johnny Hartman, Dinah Washington and Ella Fitzgerald, great hard bop from Art Blakey, and some big band swing from Harry Connick, Jr.!
  • Coming up Saturday from 1-4 on The Beat, David Nicholas will stir the mix in the cauldron for your Halloween! The potion includes Howlin' Wolf, Nina Simone, Dinah Washington, Jeff Beck, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Spooky Tooth!!!
  • Trio jazz from Bobby Timmons, blues from Champion Jack Dupree and Shameka Copeland and big band classics from Maynard Ferguson! Join David Nicholas Saturday from 1-4 for the mix for your gig on WCMU!
  • Another mix for your gig coming up Saturday from 1-4 on The Beat! David Nicholas brings you more from last week's debuts, classic jazz and blues, including Bobby Bland, Mel Torme and Herb Jeffries, and a VERY rare session from Herbie Hancock !
  • Coming up Saturday from 1-4 on The Beat, join David Nicholas for new releases from Susan Reed, Eric Jacobson, and Eliane Elias. Plus, classics from The Crusaders, live at the Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach, CA -- 1966 & 1968!