Echoes of Indiana Avenue

This week we’ll continue our ongoing look at the use of Indiana Avenue music samples in hip-hop. The music of Avenue artists has been sampled by some of the biggest names in rap music, including Kanye West, Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, and others. Through sampling, these artists have introduced the music of the Avenue to new generations of music fans around the globe.  

This week on Echoes of Indiana Avenue we’ll celebrate the music of jazz drummer Edgar Bateman. During the 1950s, Bateman lived and worked in Naptown, performing with legendary Avenue players like Jimmy Coe, Pookie Johnson, Mel Rhyne, Mingo Jones and many others. 

This week on Echoes of Indiana Avenue, we’ll explore the forgotten history of country music on the Avenue. We’ll listen to music from some of Naptown’s Black pioneers of country music - including Lulu Jackson, in 1928, she cut one of the first country music records in Indianapolis; and fiddle player Jame Cole, who led a variety of washboard, and jug bands during the 1930s.

This week on Echoes of Indiana Avenue we'll celebrate the life and music of the Avenue musicians who passed away this year - including Slide Hampton, Joe Trotter of Amnesty, Herb Gibbs of the Fabulous Moonlighters, Leroy Seats of Words of Wisdom and the Truth Revue, and Tony Cheeseborough.

This week we’ll look back at the Indianapolis Recorder’s midnight Christmas benefit shows at the Walker Theatre. Starting in the 1930s, the annual concerts ran from midnight until six in the morning. They featured a line-up of rock and roll bands, jazz musicians, burlesque dancers, and female impersonators - all coming together to raise money for families in need.

The holiday season has arrived in Naptown, and this week we’ll be sharing an hour of classic Avenue Christmas music. Enjoy an hour of holiday music featuring Slide Hampton, James Spaulding, Jimmy Coe, Flo Garvin, Freddie Hubbard, Leroy Carr, Larry Ridley, The Mastersounds and many others. 

Peter Jackson’s eight-hour documentary series “Get Back” has thrust the Beatles back into the spotlight. The Beatles were a big influence on many Avenue musicians. To celebrate the series, this week on Echoes of Indiana Avenue we’ll be featuring an hour of Beatles compositions performed by Avenue musicians like Slide Hampton, Wes Montgomery, Freddie Hubbard, Claude Bartee, Henry Cain, and more.

On this week’s show we’ll explore the music of the late, great Naptown jazz bassist Kent Brinkley. During his career, Brinkley performed with some of the greatest legends of Indiana Avenue jazz, including Freddie Hubbard, David Baker, Monk Montgomery, and Jimmy Coe. Brinkley also recorded with the great South African vocalist Miriam Makeba and appeared on Soul Train with the Crusaders.

Afrofuturism is a cultural movement that uses science fiction and fantasy to reimagine the history of Black people, and to theorize a technologically advanced future where Black people thrive. Afrofuturism has had a major presence in the world of music - from the cosmic jazz of Sun Ra, to the space age funk of Parliament. This week, we’ll pay tribute to Afrofuturist pioneers of Indiana Avenue.

R&B music has gone through many changes over the years - but the soul ballad has remained a timeless form of musical expression. Indianapolis has produced a large catalog of classic soul ballads, and this week we'll be sharing a selection of Naptown slow jams connected to the Avenue scene including songs The Vanguards, Manchild, Ebony Rhythm Funk Campaign, Jimmy Gilford, and others.

This week our guest is soul vocalist Lonnie Williams, one of the unsung legends of Indianapolis music. Lonnie has been performing on the Naptown scene for over 50 years, working with groups like The Diplomats, Jazzie Cazzie, Manchild, Rapture, and the Circle City Band. And Lonnie maintains a presence on the music scene today as a member of the popular R&B group Downstroke Band.

This week, we're featuring an hour of words and music with Phil Ranelin, the legendary Indianapolis jazz trombonist. Ranelin is best known for his work with the Tribe, a radical Detroit jazz collective that mixed music with social justice. But Ranelin's career began in Naptown, performing with local jazz greats like Wes Montgomery, Dave Baker, Larry Ridley, and Melvin Rhyne.

This week we're broadcasting from A.J.’s Lounge. A.J.'s is the oldest Black-owned bar in Indianapolis, and the only remaining nightclub connected to the historic Indiana Avenue neighborhood. We’ll talk with the bar’s owner Gwen Robinson, and listening to music from some of the Avenue musicians that have performed at A.J.’s.

Enjoy an hour of music from keyboardist Melvin Rhyne, one of the greatest musicians to emerge from the Avenue scene. Rhyne is best known for his work with Wes Montgomery during the late 1950s, and he played organ on Montgomery's 1959 debut album. We’ll listen to that session, along with other classic jazz music Rhyne recorded during his legendary career.

Enjoy a unique archival conversation between two important figures in Indianapolis history: basketball legend Jerry Harkness - who died last month at the age of 81; and the late Father Boniface Hardin, the founder of Martin University. Recorded in 1971, Hardin and Harkness discussed the history of Black music in Indianapolis, and the Indiana Avenue renaissance.

On part three of our tribute to the late Naptown guitarist Bill Jennings, we explore his work in jazz music. Jennings recorded with some of the top names in jazz - including Ella Fitzgerald, and Louis Armstrong.  

On part two of our tribute to the late Naptown guitar great Bill Jennings, explore Jennings’ work in early rock and roll, and rhythm and blues music. Enjoy hour of music from one of the most influential musicians to emerge from the Avenue scene.

This week on Echoes of Indiana Avenue sees the start of a three-part series celebrating the life and work of late Naptown guitarist Bill Jennings. One of the most influential artists of his generation, he recorded alongside legends like Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Jordan and Louis Armstrong. Part one features early Jennings recordings from the 1930s and 1940s, featuring Jerry Daniels of the Ink Spots,...

This week on Echoes of Indiana Avenue we look back on the life and music of vocalist Joe Trotter. Trotter is best remembered for his work with the legendary Indianapolis funk band Amnesty. During the 1970s Amnesty shared stages with the greatest stars of American music, including Bill Withers, and The Jackson 5. Today Amnesty’s music is sampled by the biggest stars in hip-hop, like Jay-Z, Snoop Do...

Celebrate the life and music of the late, great Naptown jazz drummer, “Killer” Ray Appleton. "Killer" Ray started his career playing with Avenue jazz greats like Wes Montgomery and David Baker, and he would go on to play on classic jazz albums by artists including Freddie Hubbard and John Coltrane.

This week we’ll explore how the legacy of Indiana Avenue has been passed down through generations of family tradition. Our guests are Josephine Cheatham-Manns and June Rochelle. Josephine was a popular entertainer on Indiana Avenue during the 1960s, and her daughter June has carried on that tradition in the 21st Century.  

We continue our ongoing tribute to the Rock and Roll Women of Indiana Avenue. Here in the Hoosier State, Indiana Avenue was ground zero for rock and roll music, and Black women played an essential role in the genre's development. Still, for many years, their contributions were often overlooked by music journalists and historians. Enjoy music from Lois Blaine, The Stovall Sisters, and more.