Night Lights

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 Jackie McLean, Charles Mingus, and Nina Simone and themes ranging from jazz recordings of spirituals to avant-garde interpretations of the Great American Songbook, Night Lights also features many lesser-known talents of post-1945 jazz, such as saxophonist J.R. Monterose, trumpeter Freddie Webster, and piano/singer duo Dick and Kiz Harp.

Upcoming Programs

Previous Programs

Jul 29th: Electrifying: Charlie Christian

Music from one of the 20th century's most influential guitarists, heard with Benny Goodman and others.

Jul 22nd: Late Art: Art Blakey in the 1980s

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 and Branford Marsalis, Terence Blanchard, and Mulgrew Miller.

Jul 15th: After The All-Stars: Live at the Lighthouse 1960-1972

Live recordings made at the nightclub in Hermosa Beach, California, featuring Joe Henderson, Elvin Jones, and others.