Jackie Paris, who died last month at the age of 79, was a favorite of Charles Mingus, Charlie Parker, and Lenny Bruce, but he remained in semi-obscurity for most of his career. He recorded the first-ever vocal version of Thelonious Monk's "Round Midnight" in 1949, collaborated several times with Mingus, and made LPs for Brunswick (Skylark) and Impulse (The Song Is Paris) that became collector's items in subsequent decades. All of those recordings and more are featured in this edition of Night Lights.

New website update, 12/29/07: check out jazz blogger Marc Myers' fantastic two-part series on Paris and Raymond de Felitta, who has directed 'Tis Autumn: the Search for Jackie Paris, a documentary about Paris' life and career.