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This Thursday, February 11, two preserved episodes of Stars of Jazz, the award winning ABC TV series from 1956-1958, will be shown via a collaboration between the UCLA Film & Television Archive and Eventbrite. Registration for viewing is free. https://tinyurl.com/y27fz2qu Both episodes are from 1958 when the series enjoyed a brief stint on the national ABC schedule. Prior to April 1958 the series was viewable only to local Los Angeles television audiences. Segments of both programs have been uploaded by fans to YouTube, but these are poor quality and do not do justice to the series. Both episodes feature restored sound. May 19, 1958 The Lighthouse All Star regulars (in 1958): Howard Rumsey (b), Frank Rosolino (tb), Bob Cooper (ts), Victor Feldman (p, vib, cga), and Stan Levey (d). Special guests for this episode (former members of the All Stars): Shorty Rogers (flhrn) and Bud Shank (as). Vocal segment: Julie London (vcl) - lip sync to Liberty Record recording October 6, 1958 The Max Roach Quintet: Max Roach (d), Ray Draper (tu), George Coleman (ts), Booker Little (tp), and Art Davis (b). Vocal segment: Mary Ann McCall (vcl), Lou Levy (p), Herb Ellis (g), Art Davis (b), and Max Roach (d). Jim

This week on Night Lights it's "The Lighthouse All-Stars." In 1949 former Stan Kenton bassist Howard Rumsey began a series of Sunday afternoon performances at the Lighthouse Cafe in Hermosa Beach, California, a club that had formerly catered mostly to merchant marines and other sailors. These jam sessions eventually spawned the collective known as the Lighthouse All-Stars, featuring many of the 1950s' best West Coast jazz musicians--Bud Shank, Bob Cooper, Shorty Rogers, Shelly Manne, and others. The group made a number of albums for the Contemporary label, and we'll hear selections from those, including "Witch Doctor," "Blue Sands," "Topsy," and many more. "The Lighthouse All-Stars" airs at 11:05 p.m. EST Saturday, June 10 on WFIU and at 9 p.m. Central Time on WNIN-Evansville; western Michigan listeners in the Lower Peninsula can hear it at 10 p.m. EST Sunday evening on Blue Lake Public Radio, FM 90.3 and 88.8. You can read more about the Lighthouse Cafe and its jazz history on this page. The program will be posted Monday afternoon in the Night Lights archives. Next week on WFIU: "Jazz Cameos." Next week on WNIN and Blue Lake: "The Man Before Miles: Freddie Webster."