mahjongg's blog

The Bumper Jacksons will be stopping by WXDU on Sunday August 17 at 2pm to talk about their new CD Sweet Mama, Sweet Daddy, Come In. They'll be fresh off a live performance at Triangle Swing Dance Society on Saturday the 16th. 

When a song becomes an evergreen, it can be sung again and again over the decades and sound fresh every time. On this week's Divaville Lounge we'll take 15 classic songs and compare the earliest recording with the version we now consider definitive. "Georgia on My Mind" by Hoagy Carmichael and Ray Charles; "Night and Day" by Fred Astaire and Frank Sinatra; "Blue Moon" by Mel Torme and the Marcels, and many more. Tune in this Sunday from 2-4 pm for two takes on the standards!

 Funk Disco Dance Friday on September 13th from 6-8 pm will feature Funk/Soul Divas: women of early 70s funk like Marva Whitney, Lyn Collins, Betty Davis and Ann Sexton, plus new artists like Sharon Jones and Alice Russell. In the first hour we'll also talk with Kirsten Sherk of Ipas about Retro Rock for Reproductive Rights, a benefit concert Saturday night featuring funk artists Yo Mama's Big Fat Booty Band. We'll hear new music from the Booty Band's upcoming album Onward! and talk about Ipas's work promoting access to reproductive health care.

On Sunday 5/19 from 2-3 pm, Divaville Lounge will host an in-studio interview with Durham's swing orchestra, the Mint Julep Jazz Band. Bandleader and trombonist Lucian Cobb and singer Laura Windley will talk about performing live swing music in the modern era, play songs from their new CD "Durham on Saturday Night," and play some of their favorite classic songs from the 1930s and 40s. Tune in for a swinging afternoon!

In tribute to Clarence Clemons who died yesterday, today's Divaville Lounge will celebrate the saxophone. We'll hear saxophone legends like Sidney Bechet, Ben Webster, Charlie Parker, Coleman Hawkins, Illinois Jacquet, Woody Herman, Johnny Hodges, Lester Young, John Coltrane and many more. Tune in for two hours of Sax Heroes.

Step into the Divaville Lounge on Sunday, March 27 as we pay tribute to the divine Sarah Vaughan! Vaughan's powerful voice and distinctive phrasing made her one of the most important jazz singers of the 20th century. In this tribute program, guest hosted by DJ Georg, we'll hear two hours of Sassy beginning with her very first recording in 1944, and ending with a track from her last full-length album in 1987. Along the way we'll hear Vaughan performing with Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Clifford Brown, Count Basie, Quincy Jones, Sergio Mendes and Milton Nascimento. Tune in for an afternoon of Sassy!

December 12 is Frank Sinatra's birthday, and Divaville Lounge will feature a 2-hour tribute co-hosted by Georg and Sarah. By any measure Sinatra was one of the most important singers of the 20th century. We'll play classics from every era of Sinatra's career, including his early years with the Harry James and Tommy Dorsey big bands; the Concepts series at Capitol; the Rat Pack years; songs from his decades-long movie career; live performances; radio and television appearances; plus some rare finds like an unreleased theme song to "The Man with the Golden Arm," and a duet with Groucho Marx (really! and it's not horrible!). The Voice, Ol' Blue Eyes, the Chairman of the Board -- whatever you call him, we'll be spinning two hours of Sinatra on Sunday afternoon. Check it out!

Step into the Divaville Lounge on Sunday, September 26 for a birthday tribute to George Gershwin! One of the most important popular composers in American history, Gershwin sold his first song on Tin Pan Alley when he was only 17 years old and went on to write for Broadway, Hollywood, classical works, opera and ballet in a career that spanned just 20 short years before his untimely death in 1937. Tune in for two hours of the George Gershwin music that has come to define the Great American Songbook, performed by the greats and by Gershwin himself.

Step into the Divaville Lounge on Sunday, July 4 as we celebrate Independence Day! In this special four hour program from 12-4 pm, we'll hear a song for each of the United States. We'll hear classics like "Georgia On My Mind" and "Pennsylvania Polka," and rare tunes you might not have heard before. Every state will have its time to shine. And DC too!

Remember to tune in at noon, 2 hours early for this celebration of the United States in song!