The Music of Hoagy Carmichael, part 2

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This is the second hour dedicated to the music of Hoagy Carmichael, the most jazz oriented of all the American songwriters.

His output was remarkably varied, and without a signature style that characterized the theater composers like Jerome Kern or Cole Porter. Carmichael composed several hundred songs, including 50 that achieved hit record status.

Hoagy Carmichael began his musical life as a jazz musician in Indiana. In the early 1920s he met and played with the legendary cornetist Bix Beiderbecke. One of Carmichael's most famous tunes, "Skylark" was based on a Bix Beiderbecke cornet improvisation, with Johnny Mercer providing the lyrics.

"The Nearness of You" is another famous Carmichael ballad beloved by jazz musicians, along with "I Get Along Without You Very Well," "Body and Soul" and "In The Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening"

Featued artists include Nancy Wilson, Harry Allen, Gretchen Parlato, Stan Getz, Kurt Elling, Johnny Hodges, and Frank Sinatra.

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