Marsalis, Lincoln & Airstream Dominate PBS & More

HOLLYWOOD –More great PBS programming to watch for this month:

Live From Lincoln Center “Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra present all-time favorites and jazz standards from their national tour, March 26, 8-9 p.m. Enjoy jazz standards by Ellington, Gillespie, Goodman, Mingus and soon-to-be favorites by members of the band.

Gershwin at One Symphony Place features the Nashville Symphony led by its newly named music director, Giancarlo Guerrero performing an all-Gershwin program featuring guest pianist Kevin Cole.  Program includes the Cuban Overture, Concerto for Piano in F Major, An American in Paris and Rhapsody in Blue. Airs March 26, 10-11 p.m.

History Detectives Episode #604.   A WWII Marine’s jacket with stitched inscriptions; a vintage Airstream that may have made a historic journey; and sheet music bearing Abraham Lincoln’s signature. Airs March 27, 10-11 p.m.

Host Gwen Wright travels to Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles to investigate the story of the China Marines, a regiment that worked under extreme circumstances to keep the peace and protect American interests during the perilous ramp up to World War II.

A woman in Portland, Oregon, owns a bound volume of 19^th-century sheet music.  The book contains several Abraham Lincoln signatures on random pages.  At the end of one of the compositions, a handwritten notarized inscription claims the music is a gift from President Lincoln’s widow, Mary Todd Lincoln, to Lincoln’s former coachman, William P. Brown, in 1866. Could the sheet music really be from Lincoln’s personal library? Host Wes Cowan travels to Chicago and Springfield, Illinois to explore the origins of these curious documents.

A couple in Southern California owns a classic Airstream trailer that may lay claim to an illustrious past.  The trailer’s fading numbers and logo indicate that it is an early member of the elite Wally Byam Caravan Club International.  In the mid-20^th century, members of this adventure club followed legendary leader and Airstream founder Wally Byam all over the world.  Host Tukufu Zuberi heads to Denver and Southern California to explore one man’s wanderlust at the birth of American leisure travel and, ultimately, to a spectacular 221-day, 14,307-mile trek from the tip of Africa to the pyramids of Ancient Egypt.

At one time in their lives, my mom and step dad shared many fun adventures during the caravan trips they took in their Airstream. They thought it was a wonderful and comfortable way to travel and even today, Mom still enjoys sharing tales about all the interesting places they traveled to and all the new friends they made along the way.

LOS ANGELES – There’s someone out there in cyberspace who thinks President Obama may have some Mexican roots – at least as evidenced by these photos that have been circulating on the Internet.  They are amazing and methinks this young fellow is getting a lot of attention and enjoying it lots.

NEXT POST: Coming soon – stay tuned.