Night Lights Classic Jazz

Q Is For Jazz: Quincy Jones

One of the most successful producers in the history of commercial music began as a jazz artist. Read More »

Recent Shows

From Naptown To Paris: Wes Montgomery Live

Five decades after Wes Montgomery's death in 1968, newly-discovered live recordings continue to emerge.

In late 1966 the fiercely individualistic singer and pianist Nina Simone signed with RCA Records and continued her genre-bending explorations of jazz, blues, pop, folk, and soul, recording songs such as Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "The Look of Love," Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne," and occasional standards.

Exploring the musical history of the "pianist of his own genre" depicted in the movie GREEN BOOK.

In the mid-20th century Black jazz artists began to make inroads into the movie industry scoring films such as Anatomy Of A Murder and Odds Against Tomorrow.

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.

A look at the productive and creatively diverse first decade of an NEA Jazz Master's career.

This sequel to a previous program of jazz salutes to the civil-rights icon includes music from Bobby Hutcherson, Max Roach, and Herbie Hancock.

Burns' writing built on the advances of arrangers and composers such as Duke Ellington and Eddie Sauter, infusing the 1940s swing-era sound with a rich and often subtle use of musical devices.

Older stories »

Night Lights Blog

A Family Tribute To Janiece Jaffe

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.

"The great chain of witnesses": a poem by Betsy Sholl in the new issue of Brilliant Corners drew its inspiration in part from a Night Lights show.

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Noon Edition

Q Is For Jazz: Quincy Jones

Recent Shows

From Naptown To Paris: Wes Montgomery Live

Here Comes The Sun: Nina Simone On RCA

Jazz Is Not A Noun: Don Shirley, The Extraordinary Pianist

Black Composers In Hollywood: Duke Ellington And John Lewis, 1959

ECM: Birth Of A Label

New Vibes: Gary Burton In The 1960s

Dear Martin, P.S.: More Jazz Tributes To Martin Luther King Jr.

Midcentury Maestros: Ralph Burns

Night Lights Blog

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

"Thomas Merton Experiments with Meditations on Jazz": A Poem And A Night Lights Program

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