When asked if I wanted to produce a jazz program for the start-up jazz station WETF in South Bend, Indiana, I didn’t have to think twice before I agreed. One of the most satisfying work I ever did was produce for NPR’s Jazz Profiles. The series, hosted by Nancy Wilson, ran from 1995 to 2002, winning a Peabody Award in 2002.

I created 15 Profiles, some of which I suggested and some I was asked to do. They were mostly on vocalists - including Carmen McRae, Sarah Vaughan, Anita O’Day, Rosemary Clooney, Etta Jones, Ernestine Anderson, Freddy Cole, Al Hibbler, and Johnny Hartman.

For WETF, I suggested a program called The Vocalists (now called The Great American Songbook) to be produced at home. My first program was on October 6, 2019. The station gave me carte blanche, which I greatly appreciate.

People asked me how they could hear the programs. And, although the station does live streaming, the show times didn’t always work out for people, so I decided to include them on my website, adding historical context. The result is an introduction to the musical genre Jazz Singing and its repertory, The Great American Songbook, during its development roughly 1920 to 1960.

I hope you enjoy delving into the work of these outstanding artists who together created what is, in my opinion, the best of America’s popular music.

Joan Merrill

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