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For Anita O'Day's centennial celebration, we explore her groundbreaking jazz recordings for Clef and Verve Records in the 1950s.
E.Y. “Yip” Harburg wrote words to some of the most memorable songs in American culture, including “Over The Rainbow” and “It’s Only A Paper Moon” all while staying true to his beliefs. We’ll explore his catalog this week.
R&B star Marvin Gaye recorded jazz standards more-or-less out of the spotlight for his entire career.
Nancy Wilson was one of the last great voices of the golden age of American popular song.
This week, we explore the songs of Dorothy Fields, a Tin Pan Alley songwriter whose work stretched from the 1920s through the 1970s. We’ll sample her songbook, including “A Fine Romance,” “I Won’t Dance,” and “The Way You Look Tonight.”
A preview of some of the 2021 Grammy Award nominees for Best Jazz Vocal Album and Best Traditional Pop Album.
Connee Boswell, the lead singer of the Boswell Sisters, was one of the first innovators in vocal jazz.
This week, I’ll introduce you to the music of two underrated female singers, revered among jazz aficionados: Lorez Alexandria and Ethel Ennis.
Nat King Cole would have turned 100 years old on March 17, 2019. This week, we chronicle the decade the propelled him to stardom.
Few singers had as much of an influence on the next generation as the baritone “Mr. E” Billy Eckstine. This week, we’ll explore the work of two of his protégés: Arthur Prysock and Johnny Hartman
Songwriter Billy Strayhorn, Duke Ellington's right-hand man, was one of the most gifted composers in jazz history.
“Baltimore Oriole,” “Skylark,” “A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square” and other songs about birds from the Great American Songbook.
Beginning in the late 1930s, many of America’s best songwriters began to work for the Wonderful World of Disney. On this show, we’ll hear jazz interpretations of iconic Disney songs, sung by Louis Armstrong, Peggy Lee, and more.
Singers Lucy Reed and Lucy Ann Polk never had their chance in the spotlight, but recorded some of the finest vocal music in the 1950s.
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.
Ring in the New Year with Afterglow, as we explore songs and standards about new beginnings, including “Let’s Begin,” “Begin The Beguine,” and “I’m Beginning To See The Light.”
Mark Chilla writes and hosts Afterglow and WFIU's weekly music trivia show, Ether Game. Learn more »
