2011 Special Programs

Jazz of the Civil Rights Movement in Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Freedom Rides
May 16 at 4:00 pm

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Freedom Riders is the powerful harrowing and ultimately inspirational story of six months in 1961 that changed America forever. From May until November 1961, more than 400 black and white Americans risked their lives—and many endured savage beatings and imprisonment—for simply traveling together on buses and trains as they journeyed through the Deep South. 

Night Lights Jazz - Blues for Moody: A Musical Remembrance of James Moody
April 24 at 8:00 pm

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An hour-long program of classic jazz, featuring career-spanning performances of saxophonist and flutist James Moody, who passed away in December 2010. In the early 1940s Moody served in a segregated unit of the Air Force and met Dizzy Gillespie at a military-base concert, where he was invited to audition for Gillespie's big band after his discharge. Steeped in the influences of mid-1940s bebop, Moody would forge one of the most significant musical partnerships of his career when he finally joined Gillespie's orchestra in 1946.

Afterglow: Jazz and American Popular Song
April 17 at 8:00 pm

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Singer and actress Thelma Carpenter had a long and successful career in the entertainment field, but she never really gained wider fame, leading her to joke in later years that she was “the best-known unknown in show business.”

Night Lights Jazz - Jazzing the Cool
April 10 at 8:00 pm

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For many decades jazz was an arbiter of cool in 20th-century American culture. And while it's never been cool to talk about coolness (true cool subscribes very much to the Taoist edict that "those who know do not speak"), certain artists, albums and movements have become such iconic talismans of cool that a prominent jazz historian has now written a book about them. Ted Gioia, author of The History of Jazz and West Coast Jazz, argues that what many think of as cool, the attitude, sound, look, and way of life, came about in large part because of jazz and that notion of cool has now been co-opted and commodified in a way that's nearly drained the term of its meaning. 

Sisters in Pain
March 17 at 7:00 pm

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When a battered woman resorts to violence against her abuser, is she guilty of a crime? Or do her actions qualify as justifiable self-defense?

In the Peabody Award-winning documentary Sisters in Pain, three formerly battered women share their riveting, intimate and honest stories of abuse, arrest, imprisonment, and, finally, freedom.

Hearing Voices - Her Stories
March 3 at 7:00 pm

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Join us for a 1 hour special of short stories to celebrate Women's History Month, hosted by Dmae Roberts.

• The Kitchen Sisters at Tupperware® parties.
• A supermarket checker checks out her life.
• Jenafir's sound diary of her Peace Corps years.
• A collage of and about sisters by Dmae Roberts.
• Photographer Anna Lee deals with breast cancer.
• Susan Stone's tale of Ruby and her husbands.
• Poems by Sonia Sanchez, Tracie Morris, Jill Battson and Meryn Cadell.

Say It Loud, Say It Plain
February 24 at 7:00 pm

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Public speech making has played a powerful role in the long struggle by African Americans for equal rights. This collection, for the ear and the eye, highlights speeches by an eclectic mix of black leaders. Their impassioned, eloquent words continue to affect the ideas of a nation and the direction of history.

My Soul Looks Back: Dr. Maya Angelou
February 17 at 7:00 pm

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Maya Angelou's Black History Month Special from the African American Public Radio Consortium. Storied poet, author, educator, and activist debuts this February on public radio. In her first-ever public radio program, Maya Angelou presents intimate conversations illuminating African Americans.

State of Siege: Mississippi Whites and the Civil Rights Movement
February 10 at 7:00 pm

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Mississippi led the South in an extraordinary battle to maintain racial segregation. Whites set up powerful citizens groups and state angencies to fight the civil rights movement. Their tactics were fierce and, for a time, very effective. The mid-1960s in Mississippi were filled with racial violence and turmoil. But slowly, the wall of segregation would crack.

With Good Reason Radio: Jazz & Civil Rights
February 3 at 7:30 pm

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Antonio Garcia (Virginia Commonwealth University) says that the personal and professional lives of musicians such as Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane cannot be divorced from the struggle for racial equality—they contributed in significant ways to interracial understanding and social progress.  Also featured, the composers of the Civil Rights anthem “Lift Every Voice and Sing” also created musical theater at the turn of the century, transforming the image of African American characters and performers.

Jazz Loft Project Radio Series
January 9, 16, 23, 30 at 8:00 pm

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Part One: Introduction
Part Two: The Tapes
Part Three: The Images
Part Four: Hall Overton

Seeking Peace on Earth: A Peace Talks Radio Special 2010
January 6 at 7:00 pm

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Compelling highlights from Peace Talks Radio, the series on peacemaking and nonviolent conflict resolution. Conversations with leading thinkers and researchers in conflict resolution as well as with people working for peace, in their own varied ways, around the globe.

The Life and Music of Wayne Shorter
April 28 at 7:00 pm

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An hour-long documentary on the music of Wayne Shorter featuring Herbie Hancock, Dave Holland, Joe Zawinul and Shorter himself. Wayne Shorter is one of the icons of modern jazz. This special documentary edition of Perspectives on Jazz looks at his music from the early days with Art Blakey, through his work with Miles Davis and later Weather Report, and down to today.

Backstory with the American History Guys - From Whales to Wind: A History of Energy
April 21 at 7:00 pm

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Three decades after Jimmy Carter donned his famous cardigan and asked us to go on an energy diet, the US is consuming more than ever. In this episode, BackStory takes on big oil (and big whales, trees and water)!  Historian David Nye discusses the origins of our gluttony for energy, and historian Anne Norton Greene explains why the “Age of Steam” was also the Age of Horses.  Join us on our power trip!

Miles Davis: Bitches Brew
April 15, 2011 at 7:00 pm

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Interviews include Bitches Brew band members Lenny White, Benny Maupin, John McLaughlin, Harvey Brooks and more.  Music also features the rare live recordings from the deluxe editions.  Produced by Joyride Media.

Ellis Marsalis on "The Song is You" with Bonnie Grice
April 7 at 7:00

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He may be the father of two of the most famous players in Jazz today, Wynton and Branford, but he’s also widely considered to be the father of an entire generation of Jazz players, given his 30+ years in music education and performance.  The famed elder of the Marsalis clan sits down for a thoughtful hour of some of his favorites, including Oscar Peterson, Thelonious Monk and another New Orleans favorite son, Fats Domino.

Philosophy Talk
March 10 at 7:00 pm

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Nothing stirs up controversy like abortion. To some, it carries the steep moral cost of destroying human life, while to others, it represents an inviolable bastion of women's rights over their own bodies. Despite the polarizing nature of the debate, it covers broad philosophical ground, and touches on religious, political, social, and moral considerations. Ken and John seek a dispassionate and rational discussion of abortion with UC Berkeley journalism professor, Cynthia Gorney. She is the author of Articles of Faith: a Frontline Hitory of the Abortion Wars.

Nights Light: Jazz Tributes to Martin Luther King Jr.
February 27 at 8:00 pm

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Dear Martin is a program of jazz tributes to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. King was a jazz fan, and eloquently expressed his admiration for the music in his opening remarks to the 1964 Berlin Jazz Festival. The program features music from Oliver Nelson's 1969 album Black, Brown and Beautiful; Nina Simone's performances of "Sunday in Savannah" and "Mississippi Goddam," from a concert taped just three days after King's death in 1968.

Nights Light: The Wrong Place for the Right People
February 20 at  8:00 pm

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An hourlong program of jazz, exploring the first integrated New York City nightclub, a place where jazz musicians, intellectuals, and political activists all gathered in the turbulent years just before and during World War II.

Nights Light: Jazz Spiritually Speaking
February 13 at 8:00 pm

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Spirituals were African American religious folksongs that grew out of the slavery experience and the introduction of Christianity into slaves' lives. Rooted in African musical tradition as well, they reflected life in a strange and terribly oppressive new world. In this program, we'll hear jazz interpretations of spirituals by John Coltrane, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and more.

Nights Light: Portraits of Harlem
February 6 at 8:00 pm

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For decades, Harlem was the capital of African-American culture in the United States.In Portraits of Harlem, David Brent Johnson talks with jazz scholar John Howland, author of the recent book Ellington Uptown: Duke Ellington, James P. Johnson, and the Birth of Concert Jazz. Howland discusses the ways in which Ellington and Johnson sought to portray Harlem through long-form musical compositions.

Making Contact: Redefining Black Power in the Age of Obama
February 3 at 7:00 pm

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Does a black president equal bl Does a black president equal black power? Will Obama’s presidency create lasting change for African-Americans? Or will anything change at all? On this edition, we present a round table discussion, featuring three African-American community leaders, about how Obama’s election, and presidency, has changed their perspective on what black power is…and what it isn’t.

Seeking Civility in Political Discourse
January 13 at 7:00 pm

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A journalist and two political scientists talk about the often uncivil tone of political discourse, throughout history and in recent years.

The Jazz Loft Project Interview with Sam Stephenson and Ronnie Free
January 5 at 7:00 pm

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In the mid-1950s, W. Eugene Smith left the best photography job in the country, shooting for Life Magazine, and moved into an abandoned loft in Manhattan. The loft became a popular destination for jazz icons and underground jazz musicians. Author and documentarian Sam Stephenson and frequent loft denizen and jazz drummer Ronnie Free join host Frank Stasio on The State of Things to tell the story of the Jazz Loft Project.

2010 Special Programs

Toast of the Nation New Year's Eve Special
December 31 at 8:00 pm

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Count down, sing along, and dance to live music all night long. Travel from coast to coast with four celebrations of midnight from time zone to time zone. It's the perfect holiday special for any New Year's Eve party! Raise a glass with listeners coast to coast and revelers at five live-jazz locations across the continent. Rhonda Hamilton anchors all night from Party Central, NPR in Washington, D.C.  

Jazz Piano Christmas XXI
December 24 at 3:00 pm

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NPR Music is onstage again at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for another live incarnation of one of our most popular programs. This year's Jazz Piano Christmas features jazz greats Helio Alves, Freedy Cole, Renee Rosnes, and Jessica Williams. Felix Contreas hosts.

Tinsel Tales: NPR Christmas Favorites
December 23 at 7:00 pm

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This program features stories from the NPR archives that touch on the meaning of Christmas. David Sedaris, Bailey White, John Henry Faulk -- these and other NPR voices, past and present, tell stories of the season. Hosted by Lynn Neary. It may be you'll remember these tales fondly, or it may be you'll fall in love with them for the first time.

Hearing Voices: Shopping for Santa
December 16 at 7:00 pm

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Holiday spirits and communal consumption, including three stories, "City X," "Tis the Season," and "And a Happy New You."

LiveHopeLove for AIDS Awareness
December 2 at 7:00 pm

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LiveHopeLove looks at the universal problems faced by people with HIV/AIDS, through the specific lens of Jamaica, where almost no one is unaffected by the disease. What are the unique realities of this small island state that set its HIV/AIDS sufferers apart from those in the rest of the world? Poet and writer Kwame Dawes travels to Jamaica to explore the experience of people living with HIV/AIDS and to examine how the disease has shaped their lives.

Massasoit's Peace Pact with the Pilgrims
November 18 at 7:00 pm

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Massasoit was the leader of the Wampanoag Confederacy when English settlers landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620.  He and his people kept the Pilgrims from starving in the early years of their settlement, attended the first Thanksgiving and forged a peace treaty with the English that lasted 40 years.

Halloween Special: The Scary Plan
October 28 at 7:30 pm

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Here's the Plan: This week it's ghouls, ghosts, and gore. A half-hour of scary stories ...

A Season's Griot 2010
December 30 at 7:00 pm

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A one-hour Kwanzaa celebration in story and song, hosted by acclaimed storyteller and Wilmington, NC native, Madafo Lloyd Wilson. This year's program features a retrospective from the past 17 years and captures the tales and traditions of African American and African peoples.

A Jazz Christmas with Dianne Reeves
December 24 at 11:00 am

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Join the Colorado Symphony Orchestra (CSO) and vocalist Dianne Reeves for this very special holiday homecoming. Marvin Hamlisch will conduct and selections include "Sleighride," "A Child is Born," "Little Drummer Boy," and others.

Christmas with Morehouse and Spelman Glee Clubs
December 19 at 8:00 am

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The choirs of two of the most prestigious historically black institutions in the nation join together to present a spine-tingling concert program. In a Christmas celebration of the schools' tradition of singing excellence, the Morehouse and Spelman Glee Clubs perform spirituals, carols and sacred texts from the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga.

Dave Brubeck: Legacy of a Legend
December 9 at 7:00 pm

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For well over 60 years, pianist Dave Brubeck has been creating a sound that combines what he hears in the world around him with experimentation, playfulness, and a lot of serious musicianship. His music - from Camptown Races to Take Five - are some of the most recognizable and influential pieces in jazz history.

Debts of Gratitude
November 25 at 7:00 pm

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Celebrate Thanksgiving with a variety of light hearted conversations and a retelling of experiences about the way we say thank you and why sometimes we don't say it at all.  

State of the Re: Union Veterans Day Special
November 11 at 7:00 pm

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The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are sending our veterans home with wounds and obstacles not always clearly visible to the rest of the country. In this episode, State of the Re:Union explores how veterans are serving each other after they come back home from serving the country.