"We Shall Overcome: Civil-Rights Jazz" on Night Lights

[ghost of miles]

This week on Night Lights it’s “We Shall Overcome: Civil-Rights Jazz.” There was a strong relationship between jazz and civil rights in 20th-century America; musicians and many critics as well were advocates for equal rights for African-Americans, and jazz provided a cultural bridge between blacks and whites that helped to work as a force for integration. In the post-World War II era black musicians began to speak up, directly and indirectly, against racial injustice, and they also began to record works with titles or lyrics that referred explicitly to the struggle for equality. This program includes music from Nina Simone (her take on the legendary anti-lynching song “Strange Fruit”), Sonny Rollins (his instrumental version of “The House I Live In,” first sung by Frank Sinatra in 1945, and co-written by Abel Meeropol, who also wrote “Strange Fruit”), John Coltrane (a live and complete performance of “Alabama” taken from Ralph Gleason’s Jazz Casual TV show), and Max Roach’s powerful “Prayer/Protest/Peace” from the 1960 album We Insist! Freedom Now Suite.

We Shall Overcome: Civil-Rights Jazz airs at 11:05 p.m. EST Saturday, February 3 on WFIU and at 9 p.m. Central Time on WNIN-Evansville. It also airs Sunday evening at 10 EST on Michigan's Blue Lake Public Radio. The program will be posted Monday afternoon in the Night Lights archives.

Next week: "Soulful Days: the Cal Massey Songbook."

Edited February 3, 2008 by ghost of miles

[ghost of miles]

This program is now archived.

Edited February 3, 2008 by ghost of miles

[ghost of miles]

KXOT-Tacoma, WA just licensed this through PRX last night and is broadcasting it right now... kinda psyched, because I love the Pacific Northwest (almost moved to the Tacoma area 9 or 10 years ago). Night Lights greetings to Bill Barton, Johnny E, and all other Big O Pacific Northwesters!

[Guest Bill Barton]

Greetings, ghost, thanks for the tip... I'm still trying to figure out the time difference from when you posted this. I'm listening to the KXOT stream right now (1:25 p.m. Pacific Time) and it is a different program (a documentary on business ventures in Ghana that sounds like it was produced in Canada.)

Oh, and come on over! But don't move to Tacoma, please, check out Seattle

Edited February 3, 2008 by Bill Barton

[ghost of miles]

Bill, it was on from noon-1 PST...sorry, should've put that in my post. For anybody interested in the show, it's still posted for online listening: We Shall Overcome: Civil-Rights Jazz

I know there are some issues with Tacoma--but it sounded cheaper than Seattle, plus Dash Hammett used to live there. (OK, silly reason... biggest motive was that Borders, where I worked at the time, had a store there and would've paid all of my transfer/moving expenses.) The area I love the most out there is the whole Olympic Mountains range.

[Guest Bill Barton]

Bill, it was on from noon-1 PST...sorry, should've put that in my post. For anybody interested in the show, it's still posted for online listening: We Shall Overcome: Civil-Rights Jazz

I know there are some issues with Tacoma--but it sounded cheaper than Seattle, plus Dash Hammett used to live there. (OK, silly reason... biggest motive was that Borders, where I worked at the time, had a store there and would've paid all of my transfer/moving expenses.) The area I love the most out there is the whole Olympic Mountains range.

That's okay, no problem. I'll try to catch it in the archives. And what I heard of that documentary was pretty good too, so no "time lost."

Yeah, Tacoma and the surrounding area are much cheaper than Seattle, no question about it. It's definitely a city in the process of redefining itself (the fabled "aroma of Tacoma" is much less rank these days now that the wood pulp processing is history).

I don't think Cornish, NH has a Borders but J. D. Salinger still lives there and I'm sure that you would thoroughly enjoy the winters .