Night Lights Classic Jazz Radio Program and Jazz Blog with David Brent Johnson

Night Lights is a weekly one-hour radio program of classic jazz hosted by David Brent Johnson and produced by WFIU Public Radio. Night Lights airs on WFIU HD1 Saturday at 11:05 p.m.

September 10, 2005

The Man Before Miles: Freddie Webster

By David Brent Johnson

Trumpeter Freddie Webster is one of the great lost-legend stories of jazz, significant because he influenced both Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie, little-known because he recorded only a few scattered solos and because he died at the age of 30 in 1947. We’ll hear the most significant ones, including an anthemic “Yesterdays” with the Jimmie Lunceford Big Band, two sides apiece from sessions with Sarah Vaughan and Bud Powell, “I Fell for You” with Miss Rhapsody, recordings done with Louis Jordan’s Tympani Five, the last and rarely-heard solo that Webster ever recorded (“Perdido”), and many more.

Cleveland jazz historian Joe Mosbrook has produced a mini-documentary about Webster. Special thanks to Mr. Mosbrook for his assistance with this Night Lights program.

Photo from Dan Miller’s Freddie Webster page.

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big bands

Bud Powell

Freddie Webster

Sarah Vaughan

brad goode

David,

This show was truly inspirational. Thanks for turning me on to the version of "Yesterdays'.

Loren Schoenberg

What a great show! Thanks for shedding light on this neglected player, David. Keep up the good work.

Loren Schoenberg

Dave Alderson

Great job!! So nice to have this stuff available and out to the general public. I teach junior high school band and jazz and (as you probably already know) these kids have so little knowledge about the cultural time-frame of American music. As a trumpet player this stuff really touches my heart. I'll be passing it along, too.
Beautiful, man!

Dave

Arne Neegaard

An amazing trumpeter, indeeed!
And finally I got a chance to listen to "Yesterdays".
Thanks for giving us these wonderful and educational series of radio shows.

From chilly Norway,
Arne

David Brent Johnson

Randy, thanks much--this show was very much a labor of love. Yes, please do let me know if you come through town. Joe Bourne and I are both big fans of your work.

randy sandke

Hi David,
Great show and great work hunting down all these obscure sides. I haven't been back to Bloomington since my misspent student days at Wilkie Quad. I'd love to visit again some time, and I'll be sure to let you know.

All the best, and keep up the wonderful work!
Randy Sandke