Echoes of Indiana Avenue

This week on Echoes of Indiana Avenue, we’ll observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day, by listening to songs of peace, protest and remembrance from the Avenue. We’ll also hear memories from Claudia Polley, she heard Dr. King speak at Indiana Avenue’s Fall Creek YMCA in 1959. Tune in for an hour of music featuring David Baker, Phil Ranelin, Mari Evans, Amnesty, Big Maybelle, Killer Ray Appleton and more....

This week on Echoes of Indiana Avenue, we’ll continue our exploration of the early musical history of the Walker Theatre. We’ll focus on entertainers who performed during the Walker’s 1929 season - including Sammy Davis Jr., Whistlin' Rufus, Irene Scrigss, Ida Cox and more. 

This week on Echoes of Indiana Avenue explore, the early musical history of the Madam Walker Theatre. The Walker opened on Monday, December 26th of 1927 and has been an anchor of the Indiana Avenue neighborhood for over 90 years.  On this week’s show we’ll share classic recordings from performers who appeared at the Walker in 1928 - the theater’s first year of business. Tune in for an hour of musi...

The Sunset Terrace is a legendary Indiana Avenue nightclub opened by Denver Ferguson in 1938. This week we’ll celebrate Christmas at the Sunset Terrace, by listening to classic holiday music from artists who performed at the club. Denver Ferguson, and his brother Sea, were prominent figures in the Avenue neighborhood. Today, the Ferguson brothers are best remembered for their work in music. 

This week on Echoes of Indiana Avenue we’ll explore the Indianapolis Recorder’s midnight Christmas benefit concerts at the Walker Theatre. We’ll be featuring interviews with several Indianapolis musicians who performed at the Christmas benefit shows, including Henry Hinch, Josephine Cheatham Manns, Reggie Gammon, and the late Joe Trotter. We’ll also talk with Eunice Trotter, the former owner of th...

Celebrate the music of Orville “Hoppy” Jones, a founding member of the Ink Spots. Hoppy played bass fiddle, but he was best known for his “talking bass” parts - a spoken-word recitation that was frequently utilized in Ink Spots recordings. Hoppy's talking “bass style” was immensely popular with music fans, and you might say Hoppy was the original rapper.

Naptown music legend Rodney Stepp joins us to share memories of growing up on the Avenue and returning to the Walker Theatre this month for a special holiday concert.  Stepp came to prominence as a teenager during the 1960s, playing keyboards in local bands. In the mid 1970s, Stepp joined the world-famous Spinners, touring with the group across the globe. 

This week we’ll continue our exploration of the Avenue’s contribution to the influential jazz record label Blue Note Records. Along with iconic names like Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock, the musicians of Indiana Avenue also made significant contributions to Blue Note. Enjoy an hour of classic Naptown jazz from Freddie Hubbard, James Spaulding and Larry Ridley. 

Among jazz fans, Blue Note Records is considered one of the most important and influential labels, releasing music by the biggest names in jazz, including Miles Davis and John Coltrane. The musicians of Indiana Avenue also made significant contributions to Blue Note Records. For the next two weeks we’ll celebrate Blue Note recordings featuring Indianapolis musicians.

This week's show is all about the numbers, an illegal lottery game that thrived on the Avenue. During the 20th Century, the numbers game was played in working class neighborhoods around the United States. The game was known by many names, including the policy and the pea shake. Here in Indianapolis, Isaac "Tuffy" Mitchell was known as the "king of the numbers."

Did you know Blacula was a Hoosier? Did you know "Dawn of the Dead" star Ken Foree grew up in the Lockefield Gardens apartments on Indiana Avenue? This hour we'll celebrate Halloween on the Avenue. Enjoy vintage radio commercials featuring some of the classic horror films that were shown at the Walker Theatre and frightening music from Wes Montgomery, Freddie Hubbard, J.J. Johnson and more.

This week we pay tribute to the legendary jazz saxophonist Pharoah Sanders. Throughout his career, Sanders recorded with the jazz masters of Indiana Avenue, including Virgil Jones, James Spaulding, "Killer" Ray Appleton, Slide Hampton, Freddie Hubbard, and Phil Ranelin. Sanders also performed on the Avenue at least once during his career, appearing at the Madame Walker Theatre in 1994.

Celebrate the life and work of the Grammy-winning Indianapolis folklorist, musician, painter and academic Art Rosenbaum, who passed away last month at the age of 83. Rosenbaum came to prominence during the early 1960s with his field recordings that documented the "Indianapolis school" of blues music, and captured the sound of Avenue blues artists like Scrapper Blackwell, Yank Rachell, and more. 

This week we continue our conversation with legendary jazz vocalist Everett Greene. On this episode, Greene shares his thoughts on the demise of Indiana Avenue, and his latest album, "You're Gonne Hear From Me", a collaboration with pianist Steve Allee.

This week we'll share the first part of our interview with Everett Greene, the legendary jazz vocalist. Greene has been performing in Indianapolis since the mid-1950s and has worked with jazz legends like Wes Montgomery and David Baker and gospel greats like Beatrice Brown, Dennis Freeman, and The Jordan-Aires. In recent years, Greene has toured the world as a vocalist for the Count Basie band. 

Indiana Avenue has become synonymous with jazz music, but the neighborhood's arts and culture scene extended far beyond jazz. The neighborhood was overflowing with blues, gospel, rock and roll, and classical music. This week, we'll celebrate several classical musical pioneers of the Avenue, including Carol Brice, David Baker, Todd Duncan and Henry Hart. 

John Coltrane is among the most influential and highly regarded musicians in the history of American music. This week we’ll celebrate the September birthday of John Coltrane, by looking back at his connections to the Avenue. From his earliest professional work, to his final recordings, Avenue musicians played a significant role in Coltrane’s life and music.

Creed Taylor recorded music by some of the biggest stars in jazz, including many legends of the Avenue. This week we continue our tribute to Taylor by sharing his work with the Indianapolis jazz legends Freddie Hubbard, and J.J. Johnson. We’ll be joined by music legends Herbie Hancock and Herb Alpert. They'll share their memories of working with Freddie Huabbrd and Creed Taylor during the 1960s. 

Meet the Avenue guitarists that influenced guitar legend Wes Montgomery. Over 50 years after his death, jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery remains one of Indianapolis' greatest music icons. Montgomery shot to fame in the late 1950s with his innovative style, but he didn’t develop his sound in a vacuum - there were many important guitarists working on Indiana Avenue that influenced his style and sound. 

This week we'll continue our ongoing series looking back at the forgotten legends of Indiana Avenue. The Avenue music scene produced many bright stars. Some of those artists remain well known today, like Wes Montgomery and Slide Hampton. But many legendary Avenue performers have faded from our memories. Enjoy an hour of music from artists including Beryl Steiner, The Chromatics and more. 

Hear the second part of our tribute to the legendary Indianapolis jazz pianist Carl Perkins. Carl Perkins was a major force on the Avenue music scene during the late 1940s. In the early 50s, Perkins left Naptown for California and thrived in the West Coast cool jazz scene. Sadly, Perkins died of a drug overdose in 1958 at just 29 years old. He made a big impact during his short career, performing...

For the next two weeks we’ll pay tribute to the legendary Indianapolis jazz pianist Carl Perkins. A star on the Avenue music scene during the late 40s and early ‘50s, Perkins left Naptown for California, becoming a significant player in the West Coast cool jazz scene. Perkins died tragically young, but he made dozens of recordings during his short life, and appeared on sessions with jazz greats. 

This week we'll celebrate the August birthday of the legendary Naptown musician Sarah McLawler. An Indianapolis Native, McLawler studied music at Crispus Attucks High School, and the Jordan Conservatory. During her extraordinary career, McLawler had success as a vocalist, and jazz organist. In fact, McLawler was among the first wave of jazz musicians to perform on the organ.