Posted in WFIU Jazz Shows & Specials on Oct 9th, 2008
Composer Johnny Green wrote the music for several songs that went on to become staples of the jazz-and-popular-song canon, including “Body and Soul,” “Out of Nowhere,” and “I Cover the Waterfront.” Born in New York City on October 10, 1908, he went to Harvard at the age of 15, did some early arranging work for Guy Lombardo, and notched his first hit with “Coquette.” After an unhappy turn as a stockbroker, Green abandoned Wall Street…
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Posted in Shows on Jan 21st, 2008
Many listeners know Peggy Lee as a great jazz singer, but she was also a prolific writer of songs—composing or co-composing nearly 200 of them, including hits such as “I Don’t Know Enough About You” and…
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Posted in Jazz Notes on Dec 31st, 2007
Take with the usual grain/caveat of subjectivity–that said, here are some titles from a year-for-the-ear in review…
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Posted in Videos on Dec 23rd, 2007
Season’s greetings from Night Lights via holiday ambassador Mr. Cole:
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Posted in Shows on Nov 5th, 2007
In 1939 and 1940 Billie Holiday recorded a handful of poignant songs co-written by a good friend of hers, Irene Wilson (later known as Irene Kitchings). Wilson was grieving over the breakup of her marriage to pianist Teddy Wilson, and “Some Other Spring,” in particular, was said to have been inspired by her loss. Before her marriage to Wilson (whom she influenced in many ways, introducing him to classical music and accelerating his development as a piano player), she had worked in Chicago (under the names of Irene Armstrong and Irene Armstrong Eadie) as the leader of an all-female jazz trio called Three Classy Misses…
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Posted in Shows on Mar 10th, 2007
Many listeners know Peggy Lee as a great jazz singer, but she was also a prolific writer of songs—composing or co-composing nearly 200 of them, including hits such as “I Don’t Know Enough About You” and…
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Posted in Shows on Jul 1st, 2006
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A so-called “biopic” of the blues composer W.C. Handy’s life, St. Louis Blues was Cole’s only role as a leading man, and it also included Pearl Bailey, Cab Calloway, and Eartha Kitt in its all-black cast, along with the underrated Juano Hernandez…
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Posted in Shows on Mar 4th, 2006
In 1939 and 1940 Billie Holiday recorded a handful of poignant songs co-written by a good friend of hers, Irene Wilson (later known as Irene Kitchings). Wilson was grieving over the breakup of her marriage to pianist Teddy Wilson, and “Some Other Spring,” in particular, was said to have been inspired by her loss. Before her marriage to Wilson (whom she influenced…
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