Recent Shows
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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One of the most successful producers in the history of commercial music began as a jazz artist.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Night Lights Blog
David Brent Johnson remembers Indiana writer Dan Wakefield.
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Two of the late singer's children stopped by WFIU to discuss their mother's life and music.
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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.
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More classic jazz sets on the way from Mosaic Records.
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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.
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... 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.
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Night Lights' annual roundup of notable archival releases and reissues.
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