Series produced by WFIU
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... Show full description
Additional Files
- David Brent Johnson, host (johnson_davidbrent_bw.jpg)
- Night Lights Program Clock (night-lights-program-clock.pdf)
225 Pieces
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NL 24-08: Charles Mingus and Debut Records, 2/19/2024
From: WFIU
Series: Night Lights
In 1952, bassist Charles Mingus and drummer Max Roach formed their own record company in an attempt to assert creative and entrepreneural control o...
- Added: Feb 15, 2024
- Length: 58:48
NL 24-07: Suite History: Jazz Composers and the African-American Odyssey, 2/12/2024
From: WFIU
Series: Night Lights
From the 1940s to the 1990s, several jazz composers undertook several large-scale orchestral compositions that portrayed the journey of black peopl...
- Added: Feb 08, 2024
- Length: 59:03
NL 24-06: The Teacher: Billy Taylor, 2/5/2024
From: WFIU
Series: Night Lights
Billy Taylor was a jazz pianist, educator, broadcaster, composer of a civil rights anthem, and the man who dubbed jazz “America’s classical music.”...
- Added: Feb 01, 2024
- Length: 59:02
NL 24-05: Mel Powell, 1/29/2024
From: WFIU
Series: Night Lights
Mel Powell was still a teenager when he hit the jazz scene in the early 1940s as the pianist in Benny Goodman’s popular big band. This tribute expl...
- Added: Jan 28, 2024
- Length: 59:00
NL 24-04: Four And More: The Year In Jazz 1964, 1/22/2024
From: WFIU
Series: Night Lights
Lee Morgan's hardbop hit "The Sidewinder," the avant-garde October Revolution movement, and the impact of the Beatles are some of the highlights we...
- Added: Jan 18, 2024
- Length: 59:01
NL 24-03: A Brief History of J.J. Johnson, 1/15/2024
From: WFIU
Series: Night Lights
A centennial celebration of Indiana trombonist J.J. Johnson as both composer and innovative instrumentalist.
- Added: Jan 14, 2024
- Length: 59:04
NL 24-02: It's Time! Max Roach In The 1960s, 1/8/2024
From: WFIU
Series: Night Lights
A centennial tribute to Max Roach, who set the pace for modern jazz drumming and became an outspoken activist for civil rights.
- Added: Jan 07, 2024
- Length: 59:00
NL 24-01: From Spirituals To Swing, 1/1/2024
From: WFIU
Series: Night Lights
A look at the historic 1938 Carnegie Hall concert and its 1939 follow up, featuring performances by Count Basie, Benny Goodman, and others.
- Added: Dec 20, 2023
- Length: 59:02
NL 23-53: Nica’s Tempo: More Hipsters, Flipsters, And On-The-Scenesters, 12/25/2023
From: WFIU
Series: Night Lights
Pannonica de Koenigswarter, aka Nica or “The Jazz Baroness,” was a friend to Thelonious Monk and other jazz artists and inspired a slew of musical ...
- Added: Dec 20, 2023
- Length: 59:01
NL 23-52: Santa-O: A Very Hip Christmas, 12/18/2023
From: WFIU
Series: Night Lights
Swinging round the yule log with music from Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, violinist Eddie South, pianist Charles Brown, singer June Christy, and ot...
- Added: Dec 15, 2023
- Length: 59:02
NL 23-51: McCoy Tyner: The Blue Note Years, 12/11/2023
From: WFIU
Series: Night Lights
After leaving John Coltrane’s group at the end of 1965, pianist McCoy Tyner made an ambitious run of albums for the Blue Note label in the late 196...
- Added: Dec 10, 2023
- Length: 59:00
NL 23-50: Fats Navarro: A Centennial Tribute, 12/4/2023
From: WFIU
Series: Night Lights
Trumper Fats Navarro was one of the leading lights of the emerging 1940s bebop movement before dying at the age of 26. We’ll hear some of the most ...
- Added: Dec 03, 2023
- Length: 59:01
NL 23-49: Birth of the Cool, Birth of the School: Indiana and the Rise of Jazz Education, 11/27/2023
From: WFIU
Series: Night Lights
An exploration of Indiana jazz artists in the 1950s cool and West Coast jazz scene, and a look at the pioneering role of David Baker and Jamey Aebe...
- Added: Nov 20, 2023
- Length: 59:01
NL 23-48: A National Road of Song: Hoagy Carmichael, Cole Porter, the Ink Spots, and the Four Freshmen, 11/20/2023
From: WFIU
Series: Night Lights
How two Indiana songwriters and two singing groups influenced the direction of American popular music.
- Added: Nov 17, 2023
- Length: 59:02
NL 23-47: A Winning Season of Jazz: Columbia Records in the Late 1970s, 11/13/2023
From: WFIU
Series: Night Lights
In the late 1970s the Columbia label was home to an array of talented jazz musicians, including Woody Shaw, Arthur Blythe, Dexter Gordon, and Weath...
- Added: Nov 12, 2023
- Length: 59:04
NL 23-46: Big Band Bird: Charlie Parker With The Big Bands, 11/6/2023
From: WFIU
Series: Night Lights
Saxophonist Charlie Parker is renowned for his small-group recordings, but he also was captured a number of times in large-ensemble settings. This ...
- Added: Nov 02, 2023
- Length: 59:00
NL 23-45: 1961: New Jazz Frontier, 10/30/2023
From: WFIU
Series: Night Lights
Night Lights takes another long leap back to the year in jazz, featuring music from John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy’s controversial quintet, George R...
- Added: Oct 29, 2023
- Length: 59:02
NL 23-44: Heard It on the TV: Jazz Takes on Television Themes, 10/23/2023
From: WFIU
Series: Night Lights
Music for television shows has often been created or recorded by jazz musicians, including Oliver Nelson, Neal Hefti, Shelly Manne, Vince Guaraldi,...
- Added: Oct 20, 2023
- Length: 59:02
NL 23-43: Jazz Women Of The 1980s, 10/16/2023
From: WFIU
Series: Night Lights
In the 1980s a new generation of women jazz musicians emerged who expanded their predecessors' push against the patriarchal boundaries of the jazz ...
- Added: Oct 13, 2023
- Length: 59:02
NL 23-42: Indiana Avenue: Black Boulevard of Jazz, 10/9/2023
From: WFIU
Series: Night Lights
Indianapolis' Indiana Avenue neighborhood produced several of the most influential jazz artists to appear on the post-World War II jazz scene, incl...
- Added: Oct 06, 2023
- Length: 59:01
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Series Subscription Information
New episodes are published weekly, 1 episode a week.
Each episode is made up of 5 segments totalling between 00:58:30 and 00:59:05 in length.
Monday: 12:00 AM
Production Notes:
Night Lights is available by an annual carriage fee of $1000. For more information please contact LuAnn Johnson, Syndication Manager at lujohnso@indiana.edu, 812-855-2019.
Playlists That Feature This Series:
- Peter Monaghan's Favorites
- Night Lights
- PROGRAMMING - TSPR's PRX programming list
