Tonight on Visions, I continue exploring women in jazz. This episode travels around the world more than usual, featuring artists from Australia, Chile, Japan, Brazil, and Britain, spanning six decades.

You hear classics from Joanne Brackeen (the first and only woman to be hired for Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers), Astrud Gilberto, and Kathy Stobart. I play more recent releases from Luciana García, Jenny Scheinman, Noriko Ueda, Melissa Aldana, The DIVA Jazz Orchestra (an all-female big band), Mary Halvorson, and many more.

There’s been some great new music discovery for me this week, and I hope you find new artists too! Happy listening.

Check out the playlist below and listen to the episode on-demand for two weeks after it airs using the media player above.

Visions Playlist for March 23, 2026

• ” ボヘミア・アフター・ダーク ” – Noriko Ueda
• “Resilience” – Nicole Glover
• “Night Shift” – Mary Halvorson
• “Inka Dinka Doo (Live)” – The DIVA Jazz Orchestra
• “Blues in the Closet” – Kathy Stobart & Joe Temperley
• “Photograph” – Astrud Gilberto
• “Invocaciones (feat. Charlotte Lang, Jonathan Shillingford, David Macchione, & Julian Miltenberger)” – Luciana García
• “Never Late, Not Ever” – Flora Carbo, MAGNIFY
• “Utopia” – Chihiro Yamanaka
• “Bamako Chicago” – Nicole Mitchell & Ballaké Sissoko
• “I Adore You” – Esperanza Spalding & Leo Genovese
• “Aries” – Geri Allen* & The Mary Lou Williams Collective
• “Ornette Goes Home (feat. Bill Frisell & Carmen Staaf)” – Jenny Scheinman
• “Never Will I Marry” – Renee Rosnes & Bill Charlap
• “Little Church” – Melissa Aldana
• “Old Devil Moon (feat. Cecil McBee & Billy Hart)” – Joanne Brackeen

* indicates a Detroit artist

This week on Visions, I continue showcasing women in jazz and improvised music for Women’s History Month. All but two selections are led by women and while a majority of the episode focuses on newer releases, I still get a few classics in the mix.

I play quintessential cuts from Shirley Scott, Jessica Williams, Marian McPartland, Carmen McRae, and Amina Claudine Myers. I play brand new music from Caroline Davis, Ella Grace, Irreversible Entanglements, and Sylvie Courvoisier. I fill it all out with music from Sasha Berliner, Milena Casado, Linda May Han Oh, Patricia Brennan, Allison Miller, Esthesis Quartet, and more.

Check out the playlist below and listen to the episode on-demand for two weeks after it airs using the media player above.

Visions Playlist for March 16, 2026

• “UMMG (feat. Taylor Eigsti)” – Sasha Berliner
• “Yet I Can See” – Milena Casado
• “Éclats – for Ornette (Live in Europe)” – Sylvie Courvoisier Trio
• “Elbow Room (Live)” – Jessica Williams
• “Lawns” – Walter Smith III
• “Vibrate Higher (feat. Motherboard)” – Irreversible Entanglements
• “Make Someone Happy” – Shirley Scott Trio
• “Cherry Blossoms in the Rain // Sailing Through a Cloud (feat. Julia Danielle, Garrett Munz, Aval Stanley, Marion Mallard & Jayden Richardson)” – Ella Grace
• “It’s Over Now” – Carmen McRae
• “The 23”- Nels Cline
• “Portal (feat. Ambrose Akinmusire & Tyshawn Sorey)” – Linda May Han Oh
• “Aquarius” – Patricia Brennan
• “Doozy” – Marian McPartland
• “Of Two Rivers (Part 2)” – Allison Miller
• “3/4 of 4/4” – Amina Claudine Myers
• “Springtails” – Caroline Davis
• “Character” – Yuhan Su
• “Hollywood” – Esthesis Quartet

This month marks a milestone at WDET as the Don Was Motor City Playlist celebrates five years on air.  

Don Was and co-host Ann Delisi have delivered crate after crate of deep cuts and hits since 2021, helping listeners discover new favorite tracks and providing  stories about Detroit’s cultural history every Friday night.  

The show is a love letter to Detroit artists and a hub for all genres and musicians.  

Personal history of our hosts

Was and Delisi got to know each other while working on the Concert of Colors and cultivated a relationship that made them well-prepared for this powerhouse program. Delisi’s 35+ years of insights and experience as a broadcaster, combined with Was’ storytelling and internal archive of tunes, make this segment one of the most unique Detroit has to offer. 

Was, the six-time Grammy Award-winning Detroit native has done it all; quite frankly, there may be no music-related task too Herculean a feat for him to dip his hand in.  

He began his creative endeavors at Oak Park High School where formed his first band, The Saturns. But it wasn’t until he partnered with David Weiss to form Was (Not Was) that his talents were fully realized by the public with hits like “Walk the Dinosaur.”  

Following the band’s hiatus, Was became a successful producer, working with The Rolling Stones, Elton John, Willie Nelson and more. In 1995, he even received the Grammy for Producer of the Year.  

Delisi’s also a force to be reckoned with. She’s hosted Ann Delisi’s Essential Music program since 2009, focusing on creating a platform for local artists and spotlighting musical gems, both old and new.  

Delisi has interviewed a plethora of the greats, from David Bowie to Iggy Pop—she always keeps us on our toes with our ears pressed to the speakers.  

She’s also hosted Backstage Pass, a Detroit Public Television show about arts and culture in the city. In 2023, Delisi was presented with the Spirit of Detroit for her work in uplifting artists.  

Now, Was and Delisi combine their knowledge and lived experiences into one of Detroit’s funkiest radio shows. We couldn’t be prouder to host it here on WDET.

Here’s to five wonderful years of the Don Was Motor City Playlist! 

A$AP Rocky has always pushed against the edges of hip-hop. After spending time focused on fatherhood and acting, he returns with something different again, leaning into psychedelic textures, alt-rock energy and post-punk attitude.

Some critics are connecting it to a broader movement of Black artists exploring indie rock spaces, sometimes called afro-grunge. 

Whatever name you give it, the mood is hypnotic, experimental and bold. Rocky lets the atmosphere breathe while he floats across it. Here’s “PUNK ROCKY.” My Pick of the Week.

That was A$AP Rocky with “PUNK ROCKY.” If you appreciate when artists color outside the lines, join us every Saturday evening at 6 p.m. on 101.9 WDET and wdet.org for multi-genre journeys.

For The Progressive Underground, I’m Chris Campbell. We’ll see you next time. Peace.

Detroit’s own Zo! and Tall Black Guy are getting ready to release a brand new album titled “Expansions.” It follows the acclaim of their 2021 project “Abstractions,” a record that fused soul, jazz, hip hop and electronic textures and had the industry buzzing. Now they are back with the lead single, and once again they call on frequent collaborator Sy Smith, who recently released her album “Until We Meet Again,” also shaped by this production team. 

If this new track is any sign of what is ahead, expect a love letter to classic soul and dance culture. You can hear flashes of the Mary Jane Girls, Parliament-Funkadelic, Slave, those joints that used to light up the roller rink and keep the floor packed all night. Let’s get into “Keep Him Satisfied.” My Pick of the Week. 

Zo! and Tall Black Guy featuring Sy Smith with “Keep Him Satisfied,” the first single from the forthcoming album “Expansions.”

If grooves like that are your thing, join us every Saturday evening at 6 p.m. on 101.9 WDET and wdet.org, where we live in future soul, deep house, nu-jazz, b-sides and rare grooves.

For The Progressive Underground, I’m Chris Campbell. See you next time. 

This episode of Visions is my third installment of Black History Month celebrations. This time I play a limited selection of classics from the 1950’s-1980’s.

You hear from Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Grant Green, Nancy Wilson, John Lee Hooker, The Quintet (Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Charles Mingus, Max Roach), Steve Lacy, Vi Redd, Henry Threadgill, Clifford Jordan, Walter Bishop, Jr., plus Detroit’s Yusef Lateef, Dorothy Ashby, and Barry Harris.

This episode celebrates blues, big band, vocalists, ballads, and jazz standards, all by black jazz musicians. Enjoy the episode!

Check out the playlist below and listen to the episode on-demand for two weeks after it airs using the media player above.

Visions Playlist for Feb. 16, 2026

• “Speak Low” – Grant Green
• “Bouncing with Bud” – Bud Powell
• “Since I Fell For You” – Nancy Wilson
• “Bermuda Blues” – Henry Threadgill
• “Born in Mississippi, Raised Up in Tennessee” – John Lee Hooker
• “John Coltrane” – Clifford Jordan
• “Salty Papa Blues” – Vi Redd
• “Evidence” – Steve Lacy with Don Cherry
• “Airmail Special (Live At The Newport Jazz Festival, 1957)” – Ella Fitzgerald
• “Corner Pocket (Live)” – Count Basie
• “Freedom Suite” – Walter Bishop, Jr.
• “Attica” – The Descendants of Mike and Phoebe & Bill Lee
• “Hot House (Live)” – The Quintet (Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Charles Mingus, Max Roach)
• “The Dreamer” – Yusef Lateef*
• “Round Midnight” – Dorothy Ashby*
• “Body and Soul” – Barry Harris*
• “You Don’t Know What Love Is” – John Coltrane

* indicates Detroit artists