October 18, 2024
Dancing In The Dark: The Songs of Schwartz and Dietz
They may not be as well known as Rodgers and Hammerstein, but the songwriting duo of Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz nevertheless made significant contributions to the American Songbook, like “That’s Entertainment” and “You And The Night And The Music.”
October 11, 2024
Song Confusions
Was “Heat Wave” an Irving Berlin song or a Motown song? Was “In The Still of the Night” a Cole Porter song or a doo-wop song? This week, we explore common confusions in the Great American Songbook.
October 4, 2024
The Bob Dylan Songbook
This week, vocal jazz interpretations of Bob Dylan songs, including Dylan covers by Nina Simone, Kurt Elling, Madeleine Peyroux and more.
September 27, 2024
Songs Of The Season: Autumn
The leaves are changing from green to red, the air outside is brisk and cool, and that means it’s time to look at autumn songs from the Great American Songbook.
September 13, 2024
The Great American Songbook’s One-Hit Wonders
Not every composer had the extensive catalog of George Gershwin or Irving Berlin. This week, we’ll explore songwriters like Ann Ronell, Brooks Bowman, and Erroll Garner whose songbooks contain only one hit song.
September 6, 2024
The Artistry Of Stephen Sondheim
This week, we remember the artistry of American songwriter Stephen Sondheim, and his many contributions to the American songbook, like “Small World,” “Send In The Clowns,” and more. Sondheim passed away last November at age 91.
August 30, 2024
Miss D On Mercury
A look at singer Dinah Washington, and her years recording for the Mercury record label in the 1940s and 50s.
August 23, 2024
Live Ella!
Beginning in the 1950s, Ella Fitzgerald became known around the world as one of the most renowned live performers in jazz. This week, we’ll sample from some of her best live sets in places like Berlin, Juan-Les-Pins, and the Hollywood Bowl.
August 16, 2024
Lucky To Be Me: The Songs Comden and Green
We explore the musical partnership of Betty Comden and Adolph Green, two songwriters who contributed gems like “Just In Time” and “The Party’s Over” to the American Songbook.
August 9, 2024
If I Loved You: Conditional Love Songs
The “conditional love song” became a staple of musical theater in its golden age, and this week, we’ll listen to jazz interpretations of these songs, as well as other songs with “if” in the title and more “hypothetical” tunes.
August 2, 2024
A Jazz Date With Chris Connor
This week, we celebrate the smoky voice of jazz singer Chris Connor, who got her start with Claude Thornhill’s band in the 1940s, and went on to record some of the best cool jazz vocal records of the 1950s.
July 26, 2024
The Songs Of Donaldson And Kahn
Before Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, there was Walter Donaldson and Gus Kahn. This week, we’ll explore the songs of these early songwriters, including “Makin’ Whoopee,” “My Baby Just Cares For Me,” and “Yes Sir, That’s My Baby.”
July 19, 2024
Come Dance With Me: Songs About Dancing
Put on your dancing shoes as we cut a rug with the American Songbook. On this episode, we look at jazz standards meant for dancing, including “I Could Have Danced All Night” and “Cheek To Cheek.”
July 12, 2024
Songs In The French Style
This week on Afterglow, we turn to the music of Paris, and hear songs written "dans la mode française" performed by Madeleine Peyroux, Dean Martin, Blossom Dearie, and more.
July 5, 2024
An All-American Road Trip
A road trip to different U.S. states, with songs like "Georgia On My Mind," "I Been Down In Texas," "Mississippi Mud," and "Massachusetts."
