Night Lights Classic Jazz
It was 1961, and America had a new, young president...the Cold War turned up a notch…and jazz continued to evolve in ear-opening ways.
More jazz with a Western theme, this time from Grant Green, Dexter Gordon, Ornette Coleman, and others.
Charlie Parker was only 34 when he died in 1955, but he'd already changed the sound of jazz forever. Fans and fellow musicians were determined to celebrate him.
A special online fund-drive show featuring classic sides from the Prestige label. You can enjoy some great jazz and help us make our goal at the same time!
Sonny Clark was a young pianist with an already-impressive jazz legacy when he began a year-long string of classic hardbop recordings that ended with his death.
John Coltrane revolutionized the sound of modern jazz and wrote a number of compositions that have become jazz standards.
Although Johnny Green is best remembered for composing significant standards, he actually spent the bulk of his career working in the movie industry.
Handy talks about early encounters with Dexter Gordon and Art Tatum, why he came to favor the alto saxophone, and the legendary young bassist Albert Stinson.
Our annual invocation of holiday jazz this year calls upon the talents of Fats Navarro (”A Bebop Carol”), hipster vocalist Babs Gonzales, tenor saxophonist Gene Ammons, trumpeter Donald Byrd, guitarist Joe Pass, and many other propagators of classic jazz, blowing joyous tidings unto you all. Happy holidays from all of us at Night Lights and WFIU–may you find many great books, movies, CDs, and other “items of interest” under your holiday tree.
The Connection was a groundbreaking 1959 off-Broadway play that cast jazz musicians as heroin addicts waiting for a score.
David Brent Johnson hosts the weekly WFIU historical jazz program Night Lights and Afterglow as well. Learn more »
Johnny Hartman, Blossom Dearie, Dean Martin and others help us pay tribute to the Indiana songwriter.
Afterglow is WFIU's weekly program of jazz and American popular song hosted by David Brent Johnson.
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