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America in the 1920s: Wall Street was on the rise, cops were on the take, jazz was in the air, and alcohol had been banished—but it certainly hadn’t vanished. Read More »
Exploring the musical history of the "pianist of his own genre" depicted in the movie GREEN BOOK.
The past year gave us notable reissues and previously-unreleased recordings from John Coltrane, Nat King Cole, Stan Getz, Wes Montgomery, Eric Dolphy, Art Pepper and others.
Jazz fans are known for their religious-like zeal, but in the 1960s jazz sometimes became a PART of religion, providing the soundtrack for masses and other church ceremonies.
Come along for a jazz sleigh ride this week on Night Lights, with music from Shirley Horn, Paul Bley, Duke Ellington, Wes Montgomery, and more.
In 1929 two future jazz piano greats were born thousands of miles but just days apart. Both would go on to develop their art under the influence of Bud Powell.
In 1969 the 26-year-old German musician Manfred Eicher began what would become one of the world’s longest-running and most influential jazz labels, with a signature production approach that emphasized space and a roster of artists that included Keith Jarrett, Paul Motian, Chick Corea, and Gary Burton.
Sauter's innovative and challenging arrangements gave the big-band sound an artistic sophistication that anticipated the rise of the Third Stream.
Hoagy Carmichael was already a successful songwriter when he moved to Hollywood in 1936, but it was the movies that made him a familiar face to millions,
"Serious jazz musicians are into their music like it's a religion," says Sisto.
Jazz critic Nate Chinen talks about his recent book "Playing Changes: Jazz For The New Century," and we hear music from some of the artists discussed as well.
Some Night Lights recommendations for reading about one of jazz's greatest figures, as well as some programs featuring his music.
Chronicling a West Coast record label of the 1940s.
Before he became a world-renowned saxophonist, Michael Brecker attended Indiana University for a year and a half in the late 1960s. We'll hear some Brecker recordings from that period as well as commentary from jazz scholar David Demsey, who is organizing the archive of Brecker materials that was given to William Paterson University after Brecker's death in 2007.
An interview with Rachel Berenson Perry about her new study of an often-overlooked painter.
The future king of Pop Art and the maestro of American jazz: a fleeting and lighthearted intersection of their work on a summer 1955 TV variety program.
David Brent Johnson hosts the weekly WFIU historical jazz program Night Lights and Afterglow as well. Learn more »
