I've recently completed a one-hour program about Duke Ellington's 1941 satirical, civil-rights-oriented musical, JUMP FOR JOY, which was staged in Los Angeles. A number of Hollywood luminaries floated around the edges of the production, including Orson Welles, Charlie Chaplin, and John Garfield; the musical itself included Ellington classics such as I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good," Rocks in My Bed," and the title song. The program will feature interviews with Patricia Willard, who worked as Ellington's assistant from 1949-74, and who wrote extensively about the musical for a 1988 Smithsonian LP; jazz educator David Baker; Ellington biographer and Smithsonian music curator John Hasse; and cultural historian Michael McGerr. The program will also include a promotional radio medley, a recreation of two Ellington speeches by IU poet Kevin Young, the Soundies version of Bli-blip" with Marie Bryant singing, a portion of comedian Wonderful Smith's monologue, and all of the surviving Victor music recorded by the Blanton-Webster orchestra. It airs on Sunday, Feb. 22 at 9 p.m. on WFIU. (The listen live" option is in the upper lefthand corner.) You can read another brief description here (I got Duke on the cover of our monthly public radio magazine):
Click here, for more information about the program. (see Page 2)
Here's a time-clock for those who live in different timezones. Bloomington, IN (US) is on the same time as Indianapolis: timeclock.
Enjoy!
David Brent Johnson
For more information contact All About Jazz.