Bud's Corner

Bud shares his knowledge and expansive music collection to uncover the life and music of Johnny Hodges.

Cornelius "Johnny" Hodges (July 25, 1907 – May 11, 1970) was an American alto saxophonist, best known for solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years. Hodges was also featured on soprano saxophone, but refused to play soprano after 1946. He is considered one of the definitive alto saxophone players of the big band era (along with Benny Carter).

After beginning his career as a teenager in Boston, Hodges began to travel to New York and played with Lloyd Scott, Sidney Bechet, Luckey Roberts and Chick Webb. When Ellington wanted to expand his band in 1928, Ellington's clarinet player Barney Bigard recommended Hodges. His playing became one of the identifying voices of the Ellington orchestra. From 1951 to 1955, Hodges left the Duke to lead his own band, but returned shortly before Ellington's triumphant return to prominence – the orchestra's performance at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival.

What is Bud's Corner?

Bud's Corner was a Jazz radio show, running continuously Sunday evenings from 1983 to 1993 on Prairie Public Radio in Bismarck, ND. In each episode, Robert "Bud" Lundberg shares the life and music of a musician through his deep knowledge and personally curated music collection. Throughout his lifetime Bud meticulously brought to life the history of Jazz. He attended many now-famous jazz festivals, scoured record stores across America for obscure recordings, and developed a jazz appreciation society for the people of North Dakota.

Robert Lundberg made personal recordings of each radio show and these recordings are the only archive remaining of his decade-long passion for his music. They are presented in this podcast exactly as he recorded them almost 40 years ago.