Hey Dad, can I borrow the saxophone keys? Night Lights crosses the generational divide this week with an exploration of father-and-son teams in jazz:
- How did Duke Ellington come to use his son Mercer as a songwriter?
- What father-and-son record date prompted a young jazz reviewer named Studs Terkel to proclaim it "an ear opener for jazz bigots and cultists?"
- What famous saxophonist used his 10-year-old son as a drummer on a recording date for a renowned jazz label?
- Which two regionally-known jazz veterans gained some well-deserved limelight as a result of their sons' rise to fame in the jazz world?
Find out all of this and more on "Daddy-O: Father-and-Son Teams in Jazz" on this Night Lights Father's Day special.
More about father-and-son teams in jazz:
- The New York Times in 1981 on Von and Chico Freeman
- The Washington Post in 2010 on the Marsalises
Watch Von and Chico Freeman on stage together at Montreux in 1982:
Watch Ellis Marsalis and three of his sons (Wynton, Branford, and Jason) performing together:
Watch Dave Brubeck with three of his sons during the "Two Generations of Brubeck" era:
Special thanks to Chuck Nessa, Rod Stasick, and John Shelton.