[348] Acclaimed Beegie Adair radio show begins rebroadcasting Feb. 9 on WMOT-FM 89

MURFREESBORO — Middle Tennessee Public Radio, WMOT-FM 89.5, will rebroadcast the beloved radio talk/music show “Improvised Thoughts” with jazz piano legend Beegie Adair beginning Sunday, Feb. 9, in its original 7 p.m. weekly time slot.

“Improvised Thoughts” is hosted and co-produced by jazz piano legend Beegie Adair and jazz radio veteran Greg Lee. Recorded at WMOT-FM from 1991 to 1997, the popular program featured local and international jazz artists, including such greats as Tony Bennett, Joe Williams, Marian McPartland, Benny Golson and Helen Merrill.

Most shows will air as they were originally heard in the 1990s with updated information available on the station’s website, http://www.wmot.org.

“Improvised Thoughts” will replace “Music City Roots,” which has been airing in the 7 p.m. Sunday time slot on the 100,000-watt FM public radio station at Middle Tennessee State University. You can listen live to “Improvised Thoughts” each Sunday night over the air at 89.5 FM or online at http://www.wmot.org beginning Feb. 9.

“The WMOT audience and fans of Beegie Adair will enjoy ‘Improvised Thoughts,’” said Lee, who is program director for WMOT. “Ms. Adair is an accomplished musician, loved by fans worldwide, and is a terrific interviewer.

“Good music and conversation about good music by the people who make it is a delight to hear. To have such an influential musical figure at the helm, interviewing some of jazz’s most iconic players, along with those who were then rising-stars, is well worth a visit to WMOT on Sunday nights at 7. Many will remember the series when it was in production in the ’90s, but an entirely new listenership should have the opportunity to hear it, too.”

Adair added that she’s “incredibly pleased that ‘Improvised Thoughts’ is about to be rebroadcast with all the wonderful musicians and singers I was privileged to interview back then. I'm very proud of this project.”

“Improvised Thoughts” will be formatted for radio, live streaming and on-demand for fans worldwide at http://www.wmot.org, where a complete list of programs and more details can be found. More information on Adair can be found at http://www.beegieadair.com.

Adair, a Steinway Artist who lives in Franklin, Tenn., cites George Shearing, Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson and Erroll Garner among her influences. She has recorded and appeared on more than 100 CDs — including 35 recorded with her million-selling Beegie Adair Trio — ranging from Cole Porter standards to Frank Sinatra classics to romantic World War II ballads. Her six-CD Centennial Composers Collection of tunes by Rodgers, Gershwin, Kern, Ellington, Carmichael and Berlin became an instant collectible classic.

WMOT-FM, founded in 1969, is a listener-supported, educational and public service of MTSU. Its 100,000-watt signal reaches the entire Metropolitan Nashville area, and it is the flagship station for the Blue Raiders athletics network.

For more information, to listen live anytime and anywhere, and to support the station’s programming and mission, visit http://www.wmot.org or call WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.