Night Lights Classic Jazz

Jazz Women Of The 1990s

We’ll hear some of the artists such as Cassandra Wilson, Maria Schneider, Renee Rosnes, and Diana Krall who rose to prominence during the decade, as well as a trio of veterans who enjoyed a late-career renaissance, including Abbey Lincoln, Shirley Horn, and Betty Carter. Read More »

Recent Shows

Pittsburgh Soul Connection: Horace Parlan And Stanley Turrentine

Pittsburgh has produced many great jazz artists, and at the beginning of the 1960s two of them teamed up to make a notable series of albums for the Blue Note label.

Celebrate America’s Independence Day with a legacy of swing from Duke Ellington, Mary Lou Williams, Glenn Miller, Machito, and other iconic American artists and ensembles.

Steve Allen is remembered today as the founder of “The Tonight Show” and a lasting influence on late-night television. But he was also an important advocate for jazz in the 1950s.

In 1945, as World War II wound down in Europe and the U.S. ramped up for an invasion of Japan, Duke Ellington undertook a weekly broadcast on behalf of the war effort, playing music and encouraging civilians to buy war bonds.

The singing icon was also a master pianist whose rhythms and harmonic language made him an influential jazz modernist.

student activists holding signs and marching

As the 1960s neared to a close, the jazz world continued to absorb the cultural upheavals of a volatile decade.

Thomas Merton was one of the most influential spiritual writers of the 20th century-and he was also a passionate jazz fan.

Six albums as a leader. Sideman appearances with John Coltrane, Bud Powell, and Jimmy Smith. The story of trombonist Curtis Fuller's first year on record.

Older stories »

Night Lights Blog

Wakefield's Way: Dan Wakefield, 1932-2024

David Brent Johnson remembers Indiana writer Dan Wakefield.

Two of the late singer's children stopped by WFIU to discuss their mother's life and music.

A musical and conversational remembrance of Bloomington singer Janiece Jaffe, who passed away on November 23, 2022 at 64. Jaffe friends and collaborators Dave Bruker, Peter Lerner, and David Miller discuss her life and legacy, and we hear some of Jaffe's concert and studio recordings as well.

More classic jazz sets on the way from Mosaic Records.

Michael Bourne became a global name in the jazz community after starting his on-air job at WBGO-Newark at the end of 1984. This tribute celebrates his beginnings at WFIU-Bloomington, Indiana in the 1970s and early 80s, with remembrances from friends and fans, interview excerpts, and a rollicking 1976 performance at Bloomington's Bluebird nightclub with Michael on lead vocals.

... OK, that should be "interview." A virtual conversation, using a very analog-era practice, in which I chat with the Duke about his work on the film score for ANATOMY OF A MURDER.

John Coltrane A Love Supreme Live In Seattle

Night Lights' annual roundup of notable archival releases and reissues.

Indiana University jazz studies head Tom Walsh and vocalists Rachel Caswell and Janiece Jaffe joined David Brent Johnson on WFIU's "Just You And Me" to discuss Dominic Spera, the trumpeter and former IU jazz educator who passed away on Saturday, October 23 at the age of 89. Spera's music is featured as well.

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Noon Edition

Jazz Women Of The 1990s

Recent Shows

Pittsburgh Soul Connection: Horace Parlan And Stanley Turrentine

A Big Band Fourth of July

Jazz Tonight With Steve Allen

The Duke Is On The Air: Duke Ellington's Summer 1945 Treasury Department Shows

Nat King Cole, Jazz Pianist

1968, Riot: The Year In Jazz

The Jazz Monk: Thomas Merton

Rookie Of The Year: Curtis Fuller '57

Night Lights Blog

Wakefield's Way: Dan Wakefield, 1932-2024

A Family Tribute To Janiece Jaffe

A Tribute To Janiece Jaffe 1958-2022

New And Forthcoming From Mosaic: Freddie Hubbard, Sonny Clark, Jazz At The Philharmonic

Anon, Anon: Michael Bourne, 1946-2022

My Interview With Duke Ellington

Best Historical Releases 2021

A Tribute To Dominic Spera

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