"Full Nelson" tonight on Night Lights

[ghost of miles]

This week on Night Lights it's "Full Nelson," a program devoted to the 1960s studio big-band recordings of saxophonist, arranger, and composer Oliver Nelson. Nelson is best-known in the jazz world for his small-group Impulse LP Blues and the Abstract Truth; outside of that world he's been heard by many more people who don't even know of him, through the scoring he did for 1960s and 1970s television shows such as The Six Million Dollar Man. Nelson died young, at the age of 43 in 1975, and many of his 1960s big-band records, which demonstrate the wide scope of his writing abilities, have been out of print. This program will draw on a recent Mosaic Records collection of those albums, including tracks from Full Nelson, Jazzhattan Suite, and Leonard Feather's Encyclopedia of Jazz All Stars, as well as Nelson's collaborations with artists such as Pee Wee Russell, Jimmy Smith, and Ray Brown and Milt Jackson. "Full Nelson" airs Saturday, April 22 at 11:05 p.m. on WFIU and at 9 p.m. Central Time on WNIN-Evansville. It will be posted to the Night Lights archives Monday afternoon.

Note: Nelson's 1961 Prestige LP Afro-American Sketches will be included in a forthcoming program. For more of Nelson's big-band work with Jimmy Smith and guitarist Wes Montgomery, you can listen to the June 17, 2005 "Jimmy and Wes" program in WFIU's Big Bands archives. The January 14, 2006 Night Lights program, "Dear Martin," includes several selections from Nelson's Martin Luther King tribute album Black, Brown, and Beautiful; it can be heard in the Night Lights archives.

Edited January 26, 2008 by ghost of miles

[alocispepraluger102]

This week on Night Lights it's "Full Nelson," a program devoted to the 1960s studio big-band recordings of saxophonist, arranger, and composer Oliver Nelson. Nelson is best-known in the jazz world for his small-group Impulse LP Blues and the Abstract Truth; outside of that world he's been heard by many more people who don't even know of him, through the scoring he did for 1960s and 1970s television shows such as The Six Million Dollar Man. Nelson died young, at the age of 43 in 1975, and many of his 1960s big-band records, which demonstrate the wide scope of his writing abilities, have been out of print. This program will draw on a recent Mosaic Records collection of those albums, including tracks from Full Nelson, Jazzhattan Suite, and Leonard Feather's Encyclopedia of Jazz All Stars, as well as Nelson's collaborations with artists such as Pee Wee Russell, Jimmy Smith, and Ray Brown and Milt Jackson. "Full Nelson" airs Saturday, April 22 at 11:05 p.m. on WFIU and at 9 p.m. Central Time on WNIN-Evansville. It will be posted to the Night Lights archives Monday afternoon.

Note: Nelson's 1961 Prestige LP Afro-American Sketches will be included in a forthcoming program. For more of Nelson's big-band work with Jimmy Smith and guitarist Wes Montgomery, you can listen to the June 17, 2005 "Jimmy and Wes" program in WFIU's Big Bands archives. The January 14, 2006 Night Lights program, "Dear Martin," includes several selections from Nelson's Martin Luther King tribute album Black, Brown, and Beautiful; it can be heard in the Night Lights archives.

not really on topic, but have you heard his old live flying dutchman effort, live sunrise on magic mountain, with leon thomas, with blistering recordings of here comes de honey man and cousin mary?

have you considered nightlighting a one song program?

this morning while listening to 'i let a song go out of my heart', and 'one morning in may' i thought these and many other songs transcend generations and perhaps, would make interesting listening.

Edited April 22, 2006 by alocispepraluger102

[sidewinder]

Fantastic - for this program. I haven't got the Mosaic set yet (incredible self-discipline required) but this will be a good taster before the guys at 'Zwei' get it in stock.

[ghost of miles]

This program is now archived.

A102, I have very little of ON's Flying Dutchman material, but I really like what I've heard. Calling Mosaic?

Edited January 26, 2008 by ghost of miles

[alocispepraluger102]

This program is now archived.

A102, I have very little of ON's Flying Dutchman material, but I really like what I've heard. Calling Mosaic?

oliver, gorgeous. herbie, gorgeous. ...knowing i am sounding like a broken record, but those shows are so very beautiful....

[alocispepraluger102]

This program is now archived.

A102, I have very little of ON's Flying Dutchman material, but I really like what I've heard. Calling Mosaic?

oliver, gorgeous. herbie, gorgeous. ...knowing i am sounding like a broken record, but those shows are so very beautiful....

wishing night lights could someday highlight a very important little known recording by nina simone titled 'nina simone and piano', a truly transcendental work.

you have a fair idea of my taste. this would make a truly beautiful show.

[ghost of miles]

Aloc, a couple of the cuts did show up on the Nina Simone "Here Comes the Sun" Night Lights show.

"Full Nelson" up for rebroadcast this Saturday evening at 11:05 EST on WFIU, at 9 p.m. Central Time on WNIN-Evansville, and at 10 p.m. EST Sunday evening on Michigan's Blue Lake Public Radio, in honor of what would've been Nelson's 75th birthday (Monday, June 4). The program is already archived for online listening under the date of April 22, 2006.

Next week: "Andrew!"

Edited January 26, 2008 by ghost of miles

[Lazaro Vega]

With the Rodney Whitaker band on live last night, and Anthony Braxton's birthday, we held off on Oliver's birthday celebration until tonight, June 5th, after 10 p.m. www.bluelake.org

[Tom 1960]

I finally got around to listening to the Oliver Nelson program in it's entirety. Loved it! Thank goodness for the archives. While I don't presently have the cash to purchase the Mosaic set, the show convinced me enough it would be a wise purchase down the road.