Afterglow Jazz and American Song with host David Brent Johnson

Singer Thelma Carpenter’s career stretched from the swing era to “The Wiz” and “The Cosby Show,” and she counted songwriter Alec Wilder among her champions, but she never really gained wider fame, leading her to joke in later years that she was “the best-known unknown in show business.”

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Pianist George Shearing signed with Capitol Records in 1955, partly because he wanted to branch out beyond the quintet format and make albums with singers. In the next few years he’d record with Nancy Wilson, Peggy Lee, Dakota Staton, and Nat King Cole.

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This week on Afterglow I’ll feature new music from two performers from different ends of the generational spectrum—26-year-old singer Kat Edmonson and 91-year-old bandleader Gerald Wilson–as well as an interview with pianist Ben Neuman and music from his debut CD “Introductions.”

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Love songs progressing from discovery and longing to settled intimacy, for the Valentine’s Day weekend.

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Popular song is out on the town this week on Afterglow.

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