PRX - Pieces for Format: Special

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Caption: Muggsy Spanier, Credit: photo by Charles Peterson
The origin of his nickname is disputed. Regardless of the reasons, Francis Joseph Julian Spanier was simply known as Muggsy. Before Bix Beiderbeck...

  • Added: Jul 12, 2012
  • Length: 58:59
Caption: Omer Simeon-front row, 3rd from left
Born in New Orleans in 1902, Omer Simeon is the least known of the early clarinetist of the 1920s. He was apparently very quite and reserved, didn...

  • Added: Jul 06, 2012
  • Length: 58:58
Caption: Superman by Random House, Credit: Jacket design by David Stevenson
Legions of fans from Boston to Buenos Aires can recite the story of the child born Kal-El, scion of the doomed planet Krypton, who was rocketed to ...

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Jul 03, 2012
  • Length: 19:58
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Leonardo da Vinci's flying machine
America loves innovation and the can-do spirit that made this country what it is-a world leader in self-government, industry and technology, and po...

  • Added: Jul 02, 2012
  • Length: 14:41
Caption: Matti Friedman
In an age when physical books matter less and less, here is a THRILLING story about a book that meant everything. A thousand years ago the most per...

  • Added: Jul 02, 2012
  • Length: 29:00
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Who were the mysterious Maya? Their predecessors were nomadic hunters. They followed game animals across the Bering Land Bridge, and populated the ...

  • Added: Jun 18, 2012
  • Length: 27:00
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Here is one of the overlooked jazz pianists who, if he's lived beyond his 30-years, would rank with Early Hines and Count Basie. Very little is kn...

  • Added: Jun 09, 2012
  • Length: 01:01:02
Caption: Mohandas Gandhi, Credit: Orbis Book cover Roberta Savage
The Father of India was dead. Killed by a man he’d known for years. The year was 1948, the dawn of India’s independence from Great Britain. In his...

  • Added: Jun 05, 2012
  • Length: 28:52
Caption: Apollo Theater, Chicago, 1920s
It’s Windy Hear! But, in the late 1920s and early ‘40s, much of that wind was coming from the great horns of musicians like Ruben Reeves and Louis...

Bought by WDCB


  • Added: Jun 01, 2012
  • Length: 58:59
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Sophie Tucker in 1927
The use of the term Red Hot Mama’s supposedly emerged in the early 1920s. In 1929, songsters Jack Yellen and Milton Ager wrote, I’m the Last of the...

Bought by WNMU-FM


  • Added: May 24, 2012
  • Length: 58:59
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: John Held Jr.
Whenever bandleader Ed Kirkeby wanted his band to record for another label, he’d tag them with another name. Hence: The Golden Gate Orchestra. An...

  • Added: May 18, 2012
  • Length: 58:56
Caption: Mr. Jones on the course, Credit: Mason Sand
A collection of sounds and voices from William Devine Golf course, one of America's oldest public courses, located in inner-city Boston in the hear...

  • Added: May 16, 2012
  • Length: 01:55
Caption: Cheese & Culture
Behind every traditional type of cheese there is a fascinating story. By examining the role of the cheese-maker throughout world history and by und...

Bought by KVMR


  • Added: May 16, 2012
  • Length: 17:10
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Mathew Barrett Gross
In the past dozen years, from Y2K to 2012, apocalyptic anticipation in America has leapt from the cultish to the mainstream. Today, nearly 60 perce...

  • Added: May 14, 2012
  • Length: 28:59
Caption: Eddie Condon
New Orleans, Chicago and New York were the primary hubs for jazz by the mid 1920s. The influences from each location enriched the result. Musicians...

Bought by WDCB


  • Added: May 10, 2012
  • Length: 58:59
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Frankie Teschmacher
When Kansas City born Frankie Teschmacher joined the Austin High Gang in the mid-1920s, his instrument of choice was alto saxophone. But, in his yo...

  • Added: Apr 26, 2012
  • Length: 58:57
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A dramatic musical based on "The Diary of Anne Frank," with music by Michael Cohen and libretto by Enid Futterman. Perfect for scheduling in April ...

Bought by KPVL and KENW


  • Added: Apr 22, 2012
  • Length: 58:01
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: London of the 1920s
Jazz Historian Albert McCarthy writes in his book, Big Band Jazz (Exeter Books, NY 1974), “When jazz and dance music began to dominate American pop...

  • Added: Apr 20, 2012
  • Length: 58:57
Caption: Harry Warren
In 1922 composer Harry Warren created his first hit, "Rose of the Rio Grande," with lyrics by Edgar Leslie. From that successful launch came a prod...

  • Added: Apr 12, 2012
  • Length: 58:59
Caption: Louis Armstrong
There are three audible stages in the career of Louis Armstrong: The years prior to recording when he performed with Fate Marable, Oscar Celestin a...

  • Added: Apr 06, 2012
  • Length: 59:01
Caption: Ted Lewis & his ubiquitous silk hat
He has one foot in vaudeville and one foot in jazz, and he was a show unto himself. Ted Lewis was the only popular bandleader who could show up wit...

  • Added: Mar 22, 2012
  • Length: 59:01
Caption: The Mound City Blue Blowers
This segment on the early years of jazz is devoted to the small group session between 1924 and 1930. Oh, yes, we also drift over to 1945.

  • Added: Mar 14, 2012
  • Length: 58:58
Caption: Coconut Grove nightclub, Credit: soulsafari wordpress
In 1921, the Coconut Grove nightclub was the place to see and be seen. Hollywood stars frequently the club located in a peaceful rural setting sur...

  • Added: Mar 09, 2012
  • Length: 58:57
Caption: Istock Photo
Two legendary figures in early jazz: Johnny Dodds and Tiny Parham. They were at the center of the evolving new music of the 1920s, and contributed ...

  • Added: Mar 03, 2012
  • Length: 59:00
Caption: Josephine Baker
Sidney Bechet and Josephine Baker were the most recognizable expatriates on the Parisian seen in the 1920s. If you've seen the movie "Midnight in P...

  • Added: Feb 02, 2012
  • Length: 58:59