Jazz – Arts and Music

The Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra and conductor David Bowden welcome "Five By Design" for their upcoming performance of "Club Swing." Bowden spoke to George Walker about the way the orchestra turns itself into a big band, how the Terre Haute strings swing and just how the comedy of Spike Jones fits into the whole show.

This weekend the Jacobs School of Music Jazz Faculty will perform in a legendary setting--the West Baden Springs Hotel. WFIU's David Brent Johnson spoke with bassist Jeremy Allen about the upcoming performance.

Singer Steve Lippia, whose performance in "Ol' Blue Eyes" was a sell-out, returns to Columbus, Indiana for a concert that will include music of Indiana natives Hoagy Carmichael and Cole Porter. George Walker has more on this concert with the Columbus (Indiana) Philharmonic.

In 2008, Reprise records released 21 vintage Sinatra tracks - plus a newly completed alternate rendition of "Body and Soul." Creator of WFIU's "Afterglow," Dick Bishop, comments on these unique recordings and Frank's influences.

Latest jazz interviews, reviews and features from WFIU Public Media from Indiana University.

A new jazz CD is taking a shot at the holiday market this year, and it comes from pianist and Hoosier transplant, Monika Herzig.

David Amram is a modern day Renaissance man. He’s written and performed jazz, classical and movie music and has explored world and folk genres as well. He has authored two memoirs and is a sub-culture icon for having pioneered the art of jazz poetry with Jack Kerouac.  At 77, he’s still upbeat, energetic and on the road, both literally and philosophically. And, as WFIU’s David Brent Johnson found out, that road leads all the way back to his childhood in Pennsylvania where he was highly influenced by seeing the legendary early 1940′s Duke Ellington Orchestra. Amram is currently working with Angela’s Ashes author Frank McCourt on a new work for narrator, chorus and orchestera titled “Missa Manhattan.” The work will celebrate the many cultures that have immigrated to New York City over the past three hundred years, including the Native Americans who were there to greet them.

There's plenty of live jazz in Bloomington, Indiana on any given night. And if you're in the audience, there's a good chance one local musician is either playing or promoting that music you're hearing. That figure is trumpeter and veteran of the local Bloomington jazz scene, David Miller. Miller spoke with WFIU's David Brent Johnson about his experiences since coming to Bloomington in the mid-1960s.