Night Lights

Series produced by WFIU

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Night Lights, is a weekly thematic one-hour jazz radio program hosted by jazz aficionado David Brent Johnson, focusing on jazz from the 1945-1990 era.

Night Lights, is a weekly one-hour jazz radio program hosted by David Brent Johnson, focusing on jazz from the 1945-1990 era—a timespan that, as Johnson notes, “weirdly parallels Miles Davis on record and the Cold War.”

Covering artists such as Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, and Nina Simone, and themes ranging from jazz in the movies and television to the music’s connection to the civil-rights movement, Night Lights also features many lesser-known talents of post-1945 jazz. “Night Lights is a program of jazz in sound, story, and song,” says Johnson. “I try to make each show a sort of cultural narrative about whatever artist or theme I’m highlighting. It’s great music and interesting history, and I want the program to reflect that.”

"Each week, David sheds light on jazz artists and little-known corners of jazz history through smart research and interviews, dramatic narration and thoughtfully selected recordings. The result is an indispensable educational resource that is engaging and illuminating. Through David’s soothing and intelligent voice, Night Lights provides a rewarding gateway to the music for curious listeners unfamiliar with jazz as well as those who are seasoned jazz fans. I’ve listened to David for years and always learn something new."—Marc Myers, a Wall Street Journal contributor, JazzWax.com founder and author of Why Jazz Happened and Anatomy of a Song

“One of public radio's real multi-platform pioneers.”—Patrick Jarenwattananon, NPR’s A Blog Supreme

“In an era of uninformed radio presenters and borderline music, David Brent Johnson’s well-researched and delightfully eclectic Night Lights program stands out.”—Jazz writer and producer Chris Albertson

“David Brent Johnson is a bright light of American cultural life.”—Loren Schoenberg, author of The NPR Curious Listener’s Guide To Jazz and founding director of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem.

Night Lights made its debut on WFIU in July 2004 and can now be heard on stations across the country.

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/nightlights/.

Click here to watch and download our video teaser for Night Lights.

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

Night Lights, is a weekly one-hour jazz radio program hosted by David Brent Johnson, focusing on jazz from the 1945-1990 era—a timespan that, as Johnson notes, “weirdly parallels Miles Davis on record and the Cold War.” Covering artists such as Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, and Nina Simone, and themes ranging from jazz in the movies and television to the music’s connection to the civil-rights movement, Night Lights also features many lesser-known talents of post-1945 jazz. “Night Lights is a program of jazz in sound, story, and song,” says Johnson. “I try to make each show a sort of cultural narrative about whatever artist or theme I’m highlighting. It’s great music and interesting history, and I want the program to reflect that.” "Each week, David sheds light on jazz artists and... Show full description


Additional Files

227 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
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Ellington kept his orchestra together in a changing economic landscape, continuing to create memorable music and expanding his compositional horizons.

  • Added: Jun 08, 2023
  • Length: 59:01
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Nat King Cole’s short-lived 1956-57 variety show was canceled for lack of advertisers, but it made an invaluable cultural contribution and blazed a...

  • Added: Jun 01, 2023
  • Length: 58:58
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In the last decade of his life Art Blakey continued to mentor new talent in his Jazz Messengers group, helping to elevate musicians such as Wynton ...

  • Added: May 09, 2023
  • Length: 59:02
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Recordings that pianist Bill Evans made as a sideman and as a leader in the year following his bassist Scott La Faro’s death in an automobile accid...

  • Added: May 09, 2023
  • Length: 59:03
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Music of the Terre Haute, Indiana, big-band leader whose 1940s orchestra helped pave the way for cool jazz.

  • Added: May 09, 2023
  • Length: 59:03
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Carla Bley is renowned today for her big-band writing, but it was small-group recordings of her work in the 1960s that introduced her to the jazz w...

  • Added: May 07, 2023
  • Length: 59:01
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An overview of the pianist and composer's career--one of the longest-running and most creative in the history of American jazz. We'll hear music fr...

  • Added: Apr 27, 2023
  • Length: 59:00
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In light of Ahmad Jamal's passing on April 16, 2023, we're highlighting the pianist’s frequently-overlooked late 1960s/early 70s stretch on the Imp...

  • Added: Apr 20, 2023
  • Length: 59:00
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Mark Stryker, author of the new book Jazz From Detroit, joins us again to discuss the city’s jazz legacy.

  • Added: Apr 17, 2023
  • Length: 59:01
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Bloomington native and longtime Detroit Free Press music writer Mark Stryker joins us to talk about his new book Jazz From Detroit and the musician...

  • Added: Apr 06, 2023
  • Length: 59:01
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In the early 1970s trumpeter Freddie Hubbard made a series of records for the CTI label that combined hardbop, funk, modality, and 70s groove.

  • Added: Mar 31, 2023
  • Length: 59:01
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Described by Charles Mingus as "Bartok with valves for a pencil guided by God,” trumpeter and bandleader Thad Jones became one of the most respecte...

  • Added: Mar 23, 2023
  • Length: 59:00
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In the 1960s, tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter composed a torrent of music for Art Blakey, Miles Davis, and his own albums as a leader on the Blue N...

  • Added: Mar 10, 2023
  • Length: 59:01
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One of the world's most successful music producers got his start as a jazz trumpeter, arranger, and bandleader. We'll hear recordings he made in th...

  • Added: Mar 03, 2023
  • Length: 59:03
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Wes Montgomery was one of the most influential jazz guitarists of his generation. In recent years newly-discovered live recordings have surfaced, a...

  • Added: Feb 23, 2023
  • Length: 59:00
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Exploring tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon’s triumphant return to the United States in the mid-1970s and the last years of his career.

  • Added: Feb 19, 2023
  • Length: 59:01
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In late 1966 the fiercely individualistic singer and pianist Nina Simone signed with RCA Records and continued her genre-bending explorations of ja...

  • Added: Feb 09, 2023
  • Length: 59:02
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Pianist Don Shirley combined classical, jazz, and spiritual influences on the many recordings he made in the 1950s and 60s. A forgotten figure in ...

  • Added: Feb 02, 2023
  • Length: 59:02
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The first in a recurring series of shows explores Duke Ellington’s music for the 1959 film Anatomy Of A Murder and John Lewis’ score for Odds Again...

  • Added: Jan 20, 2023
  • Length: 59:02
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In 1969, Manfred Eicher founded what would become one of the world’s most successful and influential jazz record labels. We’ll hear recordings from...

  • Added: Jan 19, 2023
  • Length: 59:01