Every other week Midnight Sun Jazz takes the listener on a musical exploration of the diverse sounds, known fondly, as the music of the Americas or as Dr. Billy Talor puts it, “America’s classical music.” A body of musical styles and improvised performances known as swing, bebop, hard bop, Latin jazz, salsa, jazz-rock fusion, to name a few. Midnight Sun Jazz presents the finest recorded performances by international, national, regional and local improvising musical artists committed to keeping the music of the Americas sounding throughout the world.
The show’s opening and closing theme music, Midnight Sun, was composed by jazz vibraphonist and big band leader Lionel Hampton. Original performances of the theme, as performed by a wide variety of artists, are featured each week. Ed Ulman, your host, studied jazz at the Lionel Hampton School of Music in addition to performing, recording, and producing jazz concerts professionally.