Jackie Paris, who died last month at the age of 79, was a favorite of Charles Mingus, Charlie Parker, and Lenny Bruce, but he remained in semi-obscurity for most of his career. He recorded the first-ever vocal version of Thelonious Monk's "Round Midnight" in 1949, collaborated several times with Mingus, and made LPs for Brunswick ( Skylark) and Impulse ( The Song Is Paris) that became collector's items in subsequent decades. All of those recordings and more are featured in this edition of Night Lights.
New website update, 12/29/07: check out jazz blogger Marc Myers' fantastic two-part series on Paris and Raymond de Felitta, who has directed 'Tis Autumn: the Search for Jackie Paris, a documentary about Paris' life and career.