An MTSU faculty member recently shared his musical knowledge with a wider audience on the “MTSU On the Record” radio program.

Dr. Bill Levine

Host Gina Logue’s interview with Dr. Bill Levine, a professor in the university’s Department of English, first aired Oct. 2 on WMOT-FM Roots Radio 89.5 and online at www.wmot.org. You can listen to their conversation above.

National Public Radio’s “Jazz Night in America” with host Christian McBride interviewed Levine about the history of jazz played and recorded in Nashville for the Aug. 23 show. (You can preview that program here.)

Levine is also working on a book about jazz in Nashville.

Among the interesting facts Levine brings to light are the sessions John Coltrane recorded in Nashville, a Ferlin Husky album that featured some Cannonball Adderley tunes, and Chet Atkins’ mentorship of jazz guitarist Lenny Breau.

Levine said that, while Nashville always has had jazz clubs and jazz players among its session musicians, the city’s focus on country music tends to overshadow other genres for some outside the recording industry.

“I think tourists probably are looking for what they believe is ‘authentic Nashville’ in the honky-tonks on lower Broadway or in the Grand Ole Opry out in the suburbs,” Levine said. “Maybe it really takes some effort to see that second and third dimension of what musicians do.”

To hear previous “MTSU On the Record” programs, visit the searchable “Audio Clips” archives at www.mtsunews.com.

For more information about “MTSU On the Record,” contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.

Jazz legend John Coltrane is believed to have played tenor saxophone on this 1952 Nashville recording of “Gotta Stop Loving You” by Gay Cross and the Good Humor Six. MTSU English professor and jazz expert Bill Levine will discuss Coltrane’s Nashville recordings and other important moments in Nashville’s jazz history in his Oct. 2 and Oct. 7 appearances on “MTSU On the Record” on WMOT-FM Roots Radio 89.5.