Night Lights Classic Jazz
In the 1940s Woody Herman led three big bands that grew progressively in musicianship and excitement.
The swing era may have been the age of the big bands, but bandleaders often found it worth their while to break small groups out of their larger orchestras.
His music is loved by millions of people around the world—forever associated with the TV version of a popular comic strip. Who was the man behind that music?
John Coltrane revolutionized the sound of modern jazz and wrote a number of compositions that have become jazz standards.
The Beatles’ explosive arrival on the American music scene in 1964 shook up the jazz world just as much as it did the rest of America—perhaps even more so.
Many of Horace Silver's compositions, such as “Opus de Funk,” “The Preacher,” “Nica’s Dream,” and “Peace” have become jazz standards heard frequently today.
As the buzz about the Woody Herman big band grew, its leader told Philips producer Jack Tracy, "Don't give this one a number. Just call it 'the Swingin' Herd.'"
Pete Candoli, a trumpeter whose Superman-caped solos with the Woody Herman orchestra captured the exuberance of the swing era, has passed away at the age of 84.
As expected, many more Oscar Peterson articles and tributes have appeared in the past two days. Here are a few of them:Lots of love and spirited dissension in this Organissimo discussion…
Trumpeter Sonny Berman died at the age of 21 in 1947, leaving behind only a few brilliant solos, most of them recorded with Woody Herman's big band.
David Brent Johnson hosts the weekly WFIU historical jazz program Night Lights and Afterglow as well. Learn more »
In 1964 Dean Martin recorded a laidback martini-at-the-fireside album that included the original version of a song that would soon become his signature tune.
Afterglow is WFIU's weekly program of jazz and American popular song hosted by David Brent Johnson.
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