The Music of Hoagy Carmichael, Part 1

Hoagy Carmichael's career as one of America's great songwriters is unlike any of his peers. Carmichael, like George Gershwin, Cole Porter and Irving Berlin, was born at the tail end of the 19th century, but he was never a Broadway composer, and he wasn't from New York. He was a midwesterner from Indiana, drawn more to jazz than to the musical theater.

His early compositions were jazz instrumentals, and he was greatly influenced by the brilliant cornetist Bix Beiderbecke His most famous tunes, "Stardust," "Georgia on My Mind " and "The Nearness of You," are firmly established as part of Americana, and as jazz standards.

Hoagy Carmichael's trademark was writing wistful songs of home, but the rest of his output was remarkably varied, and without a signature style that characterized the theater composers like Jerome Kern or Cole Porter.

In Part I of "The Music of Hoagy Carmichael," you'll hear jazz interpretations of his early tunes. Featured musicians include Evan Christopher, Billie Holiday, Ben Webster, Samara Joy and Zoot Sims.