Night Lights Classic Jazz

After Brubeck: Paul Desmond In The 1970s

At the end of 1967 one of the most popular groups in jazz, the Dave Brubeck Quartet, disbanded. What did its star alto saxophonist Paul Desmond do next? Desmond biographer Doug Ramsey joins us to discuss the musician's last decade. Read More »

Recent Shows

Snap, Crackle And Swing: Young Roy Haynes

Drummer Roy Haynes' career reads like a roll-call of jazz history. Hear him with Lester Young, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, and others.

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

Mel Powell was still a teenager when he joined one of America’s most popular big bands on the cusp of World War II, launching a brief but notable jazz career as a pianist, composer and arranger, before going on to devote most of his life to classical music.

Night Lights in the key of screeeech: stalking monsters, roadweary Draculas, and the true tale of the jazz-loving New Orleans Mysterious Axman are all part of this week's Halloween celebration.

Jimmy Heath was off the jazz scene for much of the 1950s, but he returned to make a string of albums that cemented his reputation as a composer and a player.

In the 1940s the young singer Anita O’Day became a sensation on the big-band scene, performing one of jazz’s first racially-integrated duets and courting what would become a lifelong reputation as an independent spirit

"The Benny Golson Songbook" features recordings of Golson's work from the late 1950s and early 1960s by Art Blakey, Lee Morgan, Dizzy Gillespie, Milt Jackson, and Golson himself, including several recordings made by his and Art Farmer's group the Jazztet

Struggle, rebirth, and return: Bud Powell biographer Peter Pullman joins us again as we chronicle the final years of pianist Bud Powell.

Older stories »

Night Lights Blog

Quincy Jones Brought Us Together

A Quincy Jones tribute and remembrance.

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.

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After Brubeck: Paul Desmond In The 1970s

Recent Shows

Snap, Crackle And Swing: Young Roy Haynes

Q Is For Jazz: Quincy Jones

Jazz Mission: Mel Powell In The 1940s

Strange Enchantment: Jazz For Halloween

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The Swingin' Jezebel: Anita O'Day In The 1940s

The Benny Golson Songbook

The Scene Changes: The Life And Music Of Bud Powell, Part 2

Night Lights Blog

Quincy Jones Brought Us Together

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

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