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Presents
Afterglow
Ella, the Duke, MJQ, and other greats -- WFIU has them
all. For a couple hours of Jazz and American Popular Song,
join us every Friday night at 10 for a little Afterglow.
Questions? Give us a call at 855-1357, or send e-mail to:
wfiu@indiana.edu
A Portrait of Billy Strayhorn
July 6, 2007
 This
week on Afterglow it’s “A Portrait of Billy
Strayhorn.” For 27 years Billy Strayhorn was the crucial
co-writer in one of the greatest big bands the world has
ever heard—the Duke Ellington Orchestra. Although Ellington
made a point of singling Strayhorn out for praise, Strayhorn
spent most of his career in the shadow of his illustrious
colleague. In recent years two books—David Hadju’s
biography Lush Life and Walter van de Leur’s
musical study Something to Live For—have shed
much light on the life, times, and art of the man who played
such an important part in Duke Ellington’s sound from
1939 on. On this edition of Afterglow we’ll
hear interpretations of Strayhorn’s music by the Ellington
orchestra, Bill Henderson, Ella Fitzgerald, Joe Henderson,
Joya Sherrill, Ben Webster, the Dutch Jazz Orchestra, and
many others, as well as Strayhorn himself singing and playing
“Lush Life,” the classic tune about world-weary
bar life that he wrote when barely out of his teens. We’ll
also hear some music from a new Blue Note compilation, including
Dianne Reeves’ take on “Something to Live For,”
and Elvis Costello singing new words set to Strayhorn’s
penultimate composition “Blood Count.” “A
Portrait of Billy Strayhorn” airs Friday, June 6 at
10:05 p.m. EST on WFIU.
Afterglow airs every Friday evening at 10:05 p.m.
EST on WFIU. Broadcasts are made available for listening
at any time the following week in the Afterglow
archives.
WFIU
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