In an era when the leadership of the United States all but ignores culture as a diplomatic tool and downgrades the Voice Of America, an hour with Willis Conover has a sharp poignancy. Conover, the VOA’s great jazz broadcaster for more than four decades, is the subject of a program airing tonight (November 17) at 11:05 EST on WFIU, 103.7 FM, in Bloomington, Indiana and tomorrow night at 10:00 EST on Michigan’s Blue Lake Public Radio. More important to Rifftides readers around the world, the program is permanently archived for online streaming.
Host and producer David Brent Johnson has been at work on the show for months. His meticulous research, knowledgeable music selection, canny interviewing and smooth production result in a valuable document of a man who for decades was the United States’ most valuable cultural diplomat.
Willis Conover
You can hear Conover’s Coming Over: Willis Conover and Jazz at the Voice of America by going here. The page carrying the streaming player also links to several Rifftides pieces about Conover.