Archive for August 2005

Shows

August 6, 2005

Jazz Studio 5 and 6: Ralph Burns and David Amram

This week on Night Lights we’ll feature the fifth and sixth volumes of Decca’s 1950s Jazz Studio series–the label’s West Coast-influenced answer to Norman Granz’s Verve jam session releases. V. 5, led by pianist and arranger Ralph Burns, includes trumpeter Joe Newman and little-known alto saxophonist Dave Schildkraut, who was once mistaken…

Alexandria the Great

This week on Night Lights it’s “Alexandria the Great,” a program devoted to the late 1950s and early 1960s recordings of the little-known singer Lorez Alexandria, who left a Chicago gospel background behind for the world of jazz, recording with Ramsey Lewis, Wynton Kelly, and others. Often compared to Sarah Vaughan and Carmen McRae, Alexandria also liked to…

Count Basie: The 1950 Octet And Combo

We'll hear collaborations with former Basie big-band singers Billie Holiday and Helen Humes, as well as a live version of some bop anthems.

At the Birth of Bop

BirdDiz Several years ago an amazing audio find came to light–a June 1945 Town Hall concert in New York City featuring Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Max Roach–the rising stars of the then-revolutionary new music bebop–accompanied by Al Haig on piano and Curley Russell on bass. The performance, captured in sound that’s stellar by the era’s standards…