Afterglow

Series produced by WFIU

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Afterglow is a weekly, one-hour program of vocal jazz and popular song from the Great American Songbook, hosted by Mark Chilla.

Ella, Frank, Billie, Duke -- WFIU's Afterglow has them all.

Afterglow highlights the best of vocal jazz and popular song from the 1930s to today. Each episode explores a new topic about the greatest jazz singers. Whether it's the unlikely friendship between Frank Sinatra and songwriter Jimmy Van Heusen, the times trumpeter Clifford Brown worked with vocalists, or songs all about love, Afterglow tells the stories of the Great American Songbook.

Afterglow first aired on WFIU sometime in the late 1970s, hosted by a man named Dick Bishop, who gave the show its elegance, passion, laid-back expertise, congenial charm, and that "martini-moon" quality. After Bishop's retirement in 2005, the show was hosted by David Brent Johnson. In February 2015, Mark Chilla took the helm, continuing to bring an hour of the Great American Songbook to the airwaves in a high-quality production available every week.

For syndication information, please contact LuAnn Johnson at lujohnso@indiana.edu.

For help subscribing please email prxhelp@prx.org.

Find us at http://indianapublicmedia.org/afterglow/.

Afterglow is a production of WFIU at Indiana University in Bloomington. Hide full description

Ella, Frank, Billie, Duke -- WFIU's Afterglow has them all. Afterglow highlights the best of vocal jazz and popular song from the 1930s to today. Each episode explores a new topic about the greatest jazz singers. Whether it's the unlikely friendship between Frank Sinatra and songwriter Jimmy Van Heusen, the times trumpeter Clifford Brown worked with vocalists, or songs all about love, Afterglow tells the stories of the Great American Songbook. Afterglow first aired on WFIU sometime in the late 1970s, hosted by a man named Dick Bishop, who gave the show its elegance, passion, laid-back expertise, congenial charm, and that "martini-moon" quality. After Bishop's retirement in 2005, the show was hosted by David Brent Johnson. In February 2015, Mark Chilla took the helm, continuing to... Show full description


Additional Files

112 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
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We continue our 100th birthday celebration of the great Judy Garland this month with a closer look at her singing work on film, from The Wizard of ...

  • Added: Jun 09, 2022
  • Length: 59:00
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It’s Afterglow’s semi-annual check-in with the latest in vocal jazz and traditional pop singers, exploring what’s new from favorites like Cecile Mc...

  • Added: May 31, 2022
  • Length: 59:00
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This week on Afterglow, we're celebrating Sir Paul McCartney's 80th birthday by exploring the jazz side of the fab four. We'll hear jazz versions o...

  • Added: May 19, 2022
  • Length: 59:00
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This week, we celebrate singer and film star Judy Garland on what would have been her 100th birthday. We’ll chronicle her music career and feature ...

  • Added: May 18, 2022
  • Length: 59:00
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Disney. The soundtrack of our childhood. This week on Afterglow, I’ll explore the jazz side of Disney songs, including classic and modern interpret...

  • Added: May 11, 2022
  • Length: 59:00
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We’re living life among the jet set this week on Afterglow, as we explore songs about traveling from the Great American Songbook, including “Come F...

  • Added: May 06, 2022
  • Length: 59:00
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This week on Afterglow, our spotlight is on one of the most prolific songwriters in jazz, composer Jimmy McHugh—who wrote many early jazz standards...

  • Added: May 03, 2022
  • Length: 59:00
Caption: The Platters
Jazz standards like “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” and “A Sunday Kind of Love” are not just for singers like Frank Sinatra. This week, we’ll hear the Gr...

  • Added: Apr 28, 2022
  • Length: 59:00
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This week on Afterglow, our spotlight is on Miss Peggy Lee, with a closer look at the 1960s, a time when her music and persona became more sleek, r...

  • Added: Apr 18, 2022
  • Length: 59:00
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Put on your dancing shoes as we cut a rug with the American Songbook. This week, I’ll be featuring jazz standards meant for dancing, including “I C...

  • Added: Apr 13, 2022
  • Length: 59:00
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In the early 1950s, singer June Christy broke away from Stan Kenton’s Orchestra to record solo, helping to establish the “vocal cool” style of jazz...

  • Added: Mar 31, 2022
  • Length: 59:00
Caption: Nat King Cole's 1948 album "St. Louis Blues"
In 1958, a 39-year-old Nat King Cole had the most remarkable year, recording seven LPs, dozens of singles, and working on two films. We’ll explore ...

  • Added: Mar 21, 2022
  • Length: 59:00
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To mark the 60th anniversary of the release of the groundbreaking Ray Charles album “Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music,” this week I’ll ex...

  • Added: Mar 11, 2022
  • Length: 59:00
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Doris Day was a pop star and a film star, but this week on Afterglow, I’ll highlight the often overlooked aspect of her career: a jazz singer. We’l...

  • Added: Feb 28, 2022
  • Length: 59:00
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It’s Afterglow’s annual preview of Grammy nominees in the Vocal Jazz and Traditional Pop categories, ahead of the postponed award ceremony, now sch...

  • Added: Feb 22, 2022
  • Length: 59:00
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It’s been 30 years since Natalie Cole swept the Grammy Awards with the album Unforgettable… With Love. This week on Afterglow, we pay tribute to Co...

  • Added: Feb 16, 2022
  • Length: 59:00
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This week, we explore the musical partnership of Betty Comden and Adolph Green, two songwriters who contributed gems like “Just In Time” and “The P...

  • Added: Feb 14, 2022
  • Length: 59:00
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The Great American Songbook is chockablock with antiquated notions of gender roles, but a few songs flip the script. This week, we explore songs of...

  • Added: Feb 08, 2022
  • Length: 59:00
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Carmen McRae was one of the most respected jazz singers in the business for four decades. This week, we’ll explore her early recordings for the Dec...

  • Added: Feb 07, 2022
  • Length: 59:00
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We usually think of Billie Holiday as a small-group singer, but she also worked with several big bands. This week on Afterglow, we’ll hear Holiday’...

  • Added: Jan 28, 2022
  • Length: 59:00