Phil Schaap

Early in his career he managed the Basie alumni band, The Countsmen (featuring alto saxophonist Earle Warren and trombonist Dicky Wells) and doing sound for various Jazz events including George Wein's Newport Jazz Festival. For 17 years Schaap ran the Jazz at The West End jazz room on Broadway at 114th St in New York City, booking on a nightly basis such prominent swing-band alumni as Russell Procope's Ellingtonia, The Countsmen, Franc Williams, George Kelly, Eddie Barefield, Sonny Greer, Benny Waters, "Papa" Jo Jones, Buddy Tate, Vic Dickenson, Harold Ashby, Big Nick Nicholas, Ronnie Cole, Eddie Durham and "Doc" Cheatham, more modern jazz artists such as Lee Konitz and Joe Albany, and blues artists such as Percy France and Big Joe Turner.

The 2015 feature film Miles Ahead contains a scene in which Miles Davis, played by Don Cheadle, calls up WKCR Radio and talks to Phil Schaap on air about Schaap's selection and commentary on Davis's music.

Schaap played a radio announcer in the 2009 Kurt Vonnegut/Dave Soldier "radio opera" A Soldier's Story.

The May 19, 2008 issue of The New Yorker includes a nine-page article about Schaap by David Remnick. The article is a tribute to Schaap's unique, vast knowledge of jazz history and the unusual story of his lifelong friendships with many of jazz's greatest players.

In addition to his liner notes, Schaap contributed to the 2005 book by Wynton Marsalis, Jazz ABZ: An A to Z Collection of Jazz Portraits.

Schaap appears prominently in Ken Burns' PBS 2001 documentary Jazz.

He is the inspiration for Woody Allen's on-screen character in Allen's 1999 film Sweet and Lowdown.

Schaap lives in New York City. In 1997 he married schoolteacher Ellen LaFurn.

From 1984 to 1991, Schaap was the archivist for the Savoy Jazz label. Schaap has been involved with the re-release of many archival recordings on CD, releases of artists including Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Billie Holiday, Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong, Machito and the Afro-Cubans and Duke Ellington. For his efforts in engineering, production, and liner notes, Schaap has been nominated for eleven Grammy awards and has won seven, including three for producing, three for historical writing, and one for audio engineering.

Schaap currently hosts two shows on WKCR, both of which began in 1981: the morning show Bird Flight, which is broadcast from 8:20 to 9:30 AM on weekdays and is devoted to the music of Charlie Parker, and Traditions In Swing, which is broadcast on Saturday evenings from 6 to 9 PM.

Schaap attended Columbia University. On February 2, 1970, his freshman year, he began broadcasting jazz on the Columbia University radio station, WKCR-FM, and he has been a radio broadcaster ever since.

Phil Schaap (born April 6, 1951) is an American jazz disc jockey, historian, archivist and producer. He has hosted jazz shows on the Columbia University WKCR since 1970; he currently hosts two, Bird Flight and Traditions In Swing, both since 1981.