Historical Jazz Archives
Found this all over again by scrolling through my "On This Day" on Facebook. I'd posted it up several years ago. Looking back through the list of show titles and descriptions has got me real excited to dig back into a few of them.
Some examples:
After the Vanguard: the Return of Bill Evans. The story and music of the pianist’s return to recording after the tragic death of his bassist, Scott LaFaro, in 1961.
Jazz and Jack Kerouac. A musical and spoken-word exploration of Beat and bop. (See also a show about the only movie–so far–based on a Kerouac novel, The Subterraneans.)
1959: Jazz’s Vintage Year. Milestone records from Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, John Coltrane, Dave Brubeck, Bill Evans, and Ornette Coleman.
Resolution: Jazz From Rehab. Early-1960s albums by Joe Pass and Elmo Hope, inspired by recovery programs that reached out to jazz musicians.
Even if you're only a mild fan of jazz, I imagine some of these stories and the accompanying music would keep your interest. There are more programs available at the link below, as well as in the site archives (a separate link near the top of the site).
http://indianapublicmedia.org/nightlights/night-lights-facebook/
Shit, what a gem. I love stories that accompany the music...