Monday, March 18
Night Train marks birthdays of guitarist Bill Frisell (including his appearance on Hal Willner’s Amarcord Nino Rota project and a concert performance from the Savannah Music Festival in hour two of the show), steel drum player Andy Narell, and vibes player Joe Locke. Plus concert previews and music from March featured artist Nat ‘King’ Cole.
Global Village and Strange Currency also feature music from Frisell tonight, 7 to 10 p.m., and Global Village also highlights some of the world jazz work of Andy Narell.
Tuesday, March 19
More music from March featured artist Nat Cole tonight, including a classic, an early transcription recording, and a rarity as part of the Metronome All Stars. We’ll also hear from brother Freddy Cole with his classic tune, “I’m Not My Brother, I’m Me.” Also on tap birthday salutes to Brazilian singer, pianist and composer Eliane Elias, singer and actor Bill Henderson, pianist and former Dizzy Gillespie Musical Director Mike Longo, and Chris Brubeck, son of Dave and part of the Brubeck Brothers group with sibling Dan Brubeck. And there’s new music from singer Catherine Russell, Django inspired guitarist Stephane Wrembel, pianist Harold Mabern and more.
Wednesday, March 20
Night Train teams up with Global Village and Strange Currency to celebrate the first day of Spring, with new and classic spring songs from Pat Metheny with Jim Hall, Larry Coryell with Philip Catherine, Billie Holiday, Bennie Golson, Abbey Lincoln, Betty Carter, Clifford Brown and more. And a birthday salute to pianist, singer and painter Meredith D’Ambrosio, who nearly always includes a song about spring on all of her albums.
Thursday, March 21
It’s World Poetry Day (following a 1999 UNESCO declaration) and Night Train celebrates with a program devoted to the intersection of jazz and poetry. We’ll hear works inspired by Elizabeth Bishop, ee cummings, Theodore Roethke, Margaret Atwood, and others done by Kurt Elling, Luciana Souza, Patricia Barber, Benjamin Boone with Pulitzer Prize winning poet Philip Levine, Jack Kerouac with Steve Allen, and also Word Jazz master Ken Nordine, who passed away in February. We’ll hear some of Nordine’s work in hour one, and in a special in hour two celebrating his Word Jazz and highlighting other jazz poetry pieces.
