The opening hour of Blues Before Sunrise lays out an expansive program of blues, jive, rhythm and blues, religious recordings, […]
House-party blues and a gospel close
Hour 2 of Blues Before Sunrise moves through a wide field of blues and rhythm and blues recordings before ending […]
Georgia Tom Dorsey: secular sides and sacred turns
Hour 3 gives Blues Before Sunrise its defining feature for August 30: an extended Georgia Tom Dorsey program that traces […]
Electric blues in close quarters
Hour 4 brings Blues Before Sunrise into an electric-blues-centered stretch built from short artist groupings, direct contrasts, and a strong […]
After-hours rooms and blues returns
Hour 5 treats the end of Blues Before Sunrise as a place for changing shades rather than one fixed mood. […]
Twilight Variations: Summer’s Last Chorus
The final hour returns to “Summertime” with another set of transformations. Ellington, Parker, and Davis establish orchestral swing, bebop movement, […]
Electric Thunder, Deep Texas Dust
Elmore James begins Hour Four with three intense performances driven by his unmistakable slide guitar. Howling Wolf follows with a […]
Shellac Sparks and Saturday-Night Fire
The third hour reaches into the prewar record shelf and finds music that remains immediate. Pinetop Smith’s driving piano, Sippie […]
From the Racetrack to the Prayer Meeting
Hour Two is a street-level journey through postwar R&B, classic blues, and gospel. Charles Brown starts at the racetrack, Wynonie […]
Heat Haze on a Gershwin Horizon
The opening hour treats “Summertime” as an enduring meeting place rather than a single standard. Ellington gives it orchestral breadth, […]