Program details life of legendary Jazz host.By KIOS
Omaha, Nebraska – "Willis Conover did more to crumble the Berlin wall and bring about the collapse of the Soviet empire than all the Cold War presidents put together", jazz writer Gene Lees once said.
The life and career of Willis Conover will be examined in detail on a special program, Conover's Coming Over: Willis Conover and Jazz at the Voice of America, airing at 8pm Thursday night on KIOS.
Working for decades as a broadcaster for the Voice of America, Conover was perhaps the most influential and widely heard jazz DJ of the 20th century. He brought the music into eastern Europe and other areas where jazz was either repressed or commercially unavailable. The program features an interview with Conover biographer Terence Ripmaster, author of Willis Conover: Broadcasting Jazz To The World, and we'll hear some of Conover's broadcasts, as well as artists that Conover promoted or inspired.
Conover's Coming Over: Willis Conover and Jazz at the Voice of America will air at 8pm Thursday night on KIOS.