We're celebrating our nation's 246th birthday on WRTI! Join us on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday for a fun and festive Independence Day weekend.
On the jazz side, tune in for a weekend road trip through the United States, brought to you by your favorite jazz artists. Nat “King” Cole will take us down “Route 66,” Sarah Vaughan will join us in “Key Largo,” and J.J. Johnson will help us navigate “El Camino Real.”
Tune in during regular jazz hours over the holiday weekend to join the fun. Ms. Blue kicks it off on Friday, July 1st at 6 PM, Bobbi Booker takes a mainstream approach to the theme for Jukebox Jazz on Saturday, July 2nd at 6 PM, and BP will continue during his Sunday Jazz Brunch on July 3rd starting at 9 AM.
On July 4th we have special jazz programming! At 6 PM it's Freedom Jazz, offering an hour-long, uniquely jazzy tribute to the spirit of liberty and America, featuring music by Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Jackie McLean, Ray Charles and more.
At 7 PM, it's An All-American Road Trip: A Fourth of July Special, with an exploration of jazz and pop standards from different states, including "Moonlight In Vermont," "Georgia On My Mind," and more.
At 8 PM, It's Our World...Sometimes. This program looks at the special concerns of the extraordinary women who juggled family demands and battled gender discrimination while steadfastly mastering their craft. Interviews with Abbey Lincoln, Anita O'Day, Nancy Wilson, Carol Sloan, Nneena Freelon, and others.
Ms. Blue will continue on the road trip from 9 PM until midnight.
On the classical side, we're celebrating Independence Day with a parade of music by a diverse range of American composers and performers.
To get you into the holiday spirit, we’re airing two special Independence Day programs from 4 to 6 PM on Saturday, July 2nd.
At 4 PM, KCME’s Michael Campion hosts American Landscapes, a program that celebrates the uniquely American musical styles honed in the 20th century by William Grant Still, Lukas Foss, Henry Cowell, and Morton Gould.
At 5 PM, KQAC’s Edmund Stone hosts The Score, celebrating America’s birthday with film music favorites by American composers, including John Williams, George M. Cohan, Elmer Bernstein, and David Arnold.
Throughout the day on Monday, July 4th, John Scherch, Michael Bolton, and Josh Jackson will share patriotic anthems by John Philip Sousa, Charles Ives, and Aaron Copland; well-loved showpieces by Leonard Bernstein, George Gershwin, Edward MacDowell, and Antonin Dvorak; and heartfelt evocations of the American experience by Florence Price, Amy Beach, William Grant Still, Jennifer Higdon, and Samuel Barber. George Frideric Handel and Claude Debussy even join in on the fun with their own musical fireworks!
Have a safe and happy holiday weekend from all of your friends at WRTI.