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MARCH/APRIL 2014
WBGO Program Guide Jazz 88.3 FM www.wbgo.org
WBGO Celebrates 35 Years!
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stationnotes
in the wbgo GALLERY
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he first WBGO Gallery exhibit of 2014 features the paintings, quilts, and mix media work of selftaught artist, Ramsess. The show, Ramsess— A Retrospective—30 Years of Genius, featuring over 60 pieces, focuses on one of the artist’s greatest loves: jazz. Using various mediums including mosaics, acrylics, oils, textiles and etched glass, this ardent fan and lover of blues and jazz music honors the music and the musicians that have defined jazz for the world, including Charlie Parker, Sarah Vaughan, Miles Davis, Celia Cruz, Nina Simone, Wynton Marsalis, Ella Fitzgerald and many others. This exhibit is a rare opportunity to see a large collection by the Los Angeles Ella based artist. Fitzgerald Ramsess began creating works almost 30 years ago, but it Quilt was not until 2010 that he began making quilts. Each work is designed, cut and sewn by the artist using varied shapes, textures and styles of cloth. The “Ella Fitzgerald” quilt, which is part of the exhibit, is one of the artist’s most recent works. This exhibit will be on display through April 3, 2014, with a closing reception on Thursday, April 3, 6–8pm at 54 Park Place in Newark, New Jersey. Don’t miss one of WBGO’s largest exhibits. The WBGO Gallery is wheelchair accessible and open to the public, Monday through Friday, 10am-5pm. For more information, visit wbgo.org/gallery. Don’t wait to see this beautiful tribute to jazz. We are sure you’ll want to visit more than once.
Our next WBGO Board of Trustees meeting will be held on Monday, May 19, 2014 at 6pm. The meeting will be held at WBGO, 54 Park Place, Newark, NJ 07102. This meeting is open to the public.
Vol. XXXVI No. 3 54 Park Place Newark, NJ 07102 Tel: (973) 624-8880 Fax:(973) 824-8888
E-mail: upbeat@wbgo.org Web Page: www.wbgo.org
MEMBER-SUPPORTED Public Radio
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Upbeat March/April 2014
Acting Prs./CEO Amy Niles
VP of Content Josh Jackson
Membership Mgr. Roslyn Turner
Marketing Manager Brandy Wood
Music Director Gary Walker
Design/Layout Penguin Graphics
Upbeat is available in a large print edition upon request. www.wbgo.org
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ourstory
WBGO Turns 35! A History of Shaping the Future of Jazz
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or 35 years, WBGO has been presenting jazz, blues and R&B plus the best presentation of local and national news. We are proud of our rich history and excited about our future, with more people listening than ever before! We are celebrating by continuing to bring you the best of Vintage, Big Band, Latin, World, Classic Soul and Blues, plus the best of today’s jazz, with an eye to the future with our International Jazz Day (April 30) broadcast of student ensembles. We also mark this milestone by revisiting some of the music and moments what make WBGO unique. In this issue, you will read pieces written by two of WBGO’s “taste-makers,” Michael Bourne and Josh Jackson, highlighting some
of their experiences interviewing and recording both iconic and rising artists. We’ve also included a brief history of the station, so our many new listeners can learn about the roots and the direction of WBGO. We hope you will celebrate with us this April, as WBGO turns 35. Tune in and come out to the WBGO Kids Jazz Concert Series, the Gateway 2 free lunch time concerts, the gallery reception and many other celebrations we are planning for April, which is Jazz Appreciation Month. Please visit WBGO.org/events to see where you can connect to WBGO in person this spring and beyond — whether on our trips to Montreal or Newport this summer or a free concert in Central Park, the future is looking good!
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE NATION’S PREMIER JAZZ RADIO STATION
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ounded in April 1979 by an urban think tank in Newark to affect change after the riots there in 1967, WBGO has become the Jazz Source and the world’s premier, publicly-supported, cultural institution that champions jazz and news in its hometown of Newark, throughout the tri-state area and around the world. “WBGO is unique for many reasons,” says Dorthaan Kirk, Community Relations and Special Events Coordinator, and widow of jazz
www.wbgo.org
legend Rahsaan Roland Kirk, who has worked with the station from the beginning. “We’ve got location on our side and we’re in the perfect spot to serve the tri-state area. Most of our programming is done in house with our announcers, and they have their own following. All of them have been here for many years and we’ve stayed consistent, all the time, trying to fine-tune the programming within our original format.” cont’d on next page March/April 2014 Upbeat
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Dr. Billy Taylor was the first to play the piano in the WBGO Performance Studio.
On April 9, 1979, a decade after the Newark riots, Robert G. Ottenhoff, a young Rutgers University communications specialist and jazz fan, launched the station on the 88.3 FM frequency from the fourth floor of Central High School in Newark, the educational entity that had broadcast school lessons from that signal since 1949. “It was a terrible waste of a frequency,” Mr. Ottenhoff told the New York Times in 2004. “Here you had a station on the air school days only, school hours only. If it was a Friday in June, it would go off the air until September. Yet it reached 20 million people.” After Ottenhoff and his associates acquired the station from the city and secured a broadcasting license from the federal government, they moved the fledging jazz station to its present location, at that time an abandoned furniture store; first, on the top floor, and eventually occupying the entire building. In 1980, the station started broadcasting 24 hours. The next two decades were a period of exceptional growth for the station. “During my tenure,” says former General Manager Anna Kosof. “My purpose was to develop the station into a jazz institution. During that time, we had the one-and-only NEA Million Dollar Challenge Grant, which we matched, and it enabled us to create an endowment. We also became very involved with NPR; produced the New Year’s Eve Coast to Coast broadcast, and developed the partnership between the station and Jazz at Lincoln Center during that period. We
Upbeat during the nineties.
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L–R: Peter Bernstein, WBGO's Monifa Brown, Dr. Lonnie Smith
created a superb on-air jazz presence, and many of the stellar on-air staff is still there.” WBGO has the most accomplished communicators in the business, including weekdays with Gary Walker (Morning Jazz), Rhonda Hamilton (Mid-Day Jazz), Michael Bourne (Afternoon Jazz, Singers Unlimited, The Blues Hour), Awilda Rivera (Evening Jazz, The Latin Jazz Cruise), Brian Delp, (Jazz After Hours), Bill Daughtry (Fridays: Afternoon Jazz, The Blues Hour) and Josh Jackson (The Checkout), plus weekends with Bob Porter (Portraits in Blue, The Saturday Morning Function), Felix Hernandez (Rhythm Revue), Monifa Brown (Saturday Afternoon Jazz), Rob Crocker (Evening Jazz/Sunday Afternoon Jazz), Daniel Karcher (Sunday Morning Harmony), Sheila Anderson (Weekend Jazz After Hours), Bill Daughtry (Late Night Jazz) and Eulis Cathey (Sunday Night Music Mix). Rhonda Hamilton, the first on-air announcer hired by WBGO in 1979, was a model for the station’s on-air hosts. “We try to represent the music in all of its forms and varieties,” she says. “We use the phrase, ‘the best of what’s classic, and the best of what’s new.’ We make it possible for people to learn what jazz is and about the continuum of this music. I think that’s one of the things that makes WBGO special. And listeners appreciate what we do so much. It’s a wonderful thing and it’s very encouraging.” Josh Jackson, Vice President of Content and host of The Checkout, a one hour, syndicated music magazine, responsible for the station’s overall sound and programming. “We treat our community with professionalism and dignity,” says Jackson, “Our announcers and programming staff are the most experienced media presenters of jazz anywhere. WBGO respects the continuity of the present creators and the historical foundations of the music. We serve our audience and embrace the technology to reach them wherever they are. We are committed to outreach and education and connecting jazz to people. Because this is people music.” Along with its top-notch announcers, WBGO has also produced a staggering array of awardwinning, syndicated shows and concerts over www.wbgo.org
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L–R: WBGO’s Dorthaan Kirk with Wayne Shorter
the years. In 1987, the station co-produced Classical Jazz at Lincoln Center; a series of summer concerts hosted by Wynton Marsalis, which later became Jazz at Lincoln Center Radio. And in 1999, the station co-produced and syndicated the 13-part Duke Ellington Centennial Radio Project. For twenty years, the station has produced JazzSet, hosted since 2003 by Dee Dee Bridgewater, and previously hosted by Branford Marsalis. Some of their most notable current productions include Toast of the Nation, WBGO’s all night, multi-time zone New Year’s Eve celebration, carried on more than 150 stations; Rhythm Revue, WBGO is the original home of Felix Hernandez’s classic soul show; Bob Porter’s in depth look at the artists who shaped the blues, Portraits in Blue; The Checkout, which brings one-of-a-kind performances to listeners and Playdate with Matt Wilson, launched in 2014, which focuses on 20 years of WBGO’s incredible archival live recordings. The station also produces, co-presents and broadcasts over 100 concerts, including its Kids Jazz Concert Series, now in its 21st season; The Checkout: Live at Berklee; monthly free concerts at the Gateway complex in Newark; and the national broadcast of the Newport Jazz Festival, in partnership with NPR. The station’s news division is just as impressive as its music programming, as evidenced by hundreds of national and regional awards for breaking news and in-depth stories. Now headed by Doug Doyle, News Director, Morning News Anchor, host of SportsJam and Co-Host of The WBGO Journal, WBGO is a leading source for news and information in and beyond Newark. The News team includes Andrew Meyer (Assistant News Director, Anchor and CoHost/Producer of The WBGO Journal and Host of Newark Today), Allan Wolper (Conversations with Allan Wolper) as well as a dedicated group of contributors. When Cephas Bowles joined WBGO as President and CEO in 1993, the station began producing the Kids Jazz Concert Series and later began hosting quarterly receptions in its art gallery, featuring original works by local, regional and national artists, often on the theme of jazz. www.wbgo.org
Rob Crocker, during the early days
In 1996, the station became one of the first to stream its programming on the Internet, and in 2011, a new transmitter and antenna were launched atop 4 Times Square in New York City, improving the signal throughout the metro area. Bowles said, “The signal enhancement project was part of WBGOs comprehensive programming strategy and vision to expand the jazz audience. Along with improving the terrestrial signal, we also enhanced our infrastructure with a new digital channel focused on new and emerging artists and we developed a dynamic travel and events program. This way, we cater to audiences over the airwaves, digitally and in person.” Reignited in 2013, WBGO Travel is a cultural concierge service that provides jazz trips to festivals and events across the nation and around the world. The all-inclusive packages provide behind-the-scenes experiences that only WBGO can deliver. Destinations include the Umbria Jazz Winter Festival in Orvieto, Italy, the Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island, Jazz on the Mountain at Mohonk Mountain House, and the Montreal Jazz Festival. Named by The New Jersey State Council on the Arts as a Major Impact Arts Organization for nearly 20 years, and a two-time winner of the Jazz Station of Year Award from The Gavin Report, WBGO today is a thriving 501(c)3 organization that employs more than 50 full and parttime staff. It’s funded by more than 17,000 annual members, as well as corporations, business, foundations, and governmental grants. The station is governed by a Board of Trustees, broadcasts to over 400,000 weekly listeners in the tri-state area, and attributes much of its lasting success to its primary focus on serving its audience. “I always suggest that new staff and board members take a turn answering phones during the fund drive and speak directly with our members—to speak directly with those who support us and hear why they chose to do so,” says Amy Niles, Acting President and CEO. “They learn quickly that for so many, we are such an important part of so people’s lives. No matter what cont’d on page 14 March/April 2014 Upbeat
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wbgobroadcast
WBGO’s Student Broadcast Festival
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s well as being WBGO’s birthday month, April is Jazz Appreciation Month. In celebration, WBGO will once again bring bright, new jazz talent to its airwaves with the annual student jazz ensemble live broadcast event. This year, to coincide with International Jazz Day on April 30, WBGO will present a special four hour broadcast of the best of the best student ensembles, recorded throughout the month here in the WBGO Performance Studio. WBGO listeners will get a glimpse into the future, as ensembles from schools such as Berklee College of Music, The New School, William Paterson and more, bring their “A game” to the ’BGO airwaves. Tune in Wednesday, April 30 from 10am–2pm. For updated information, visit www.wbgo.org/jams.
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www.wbgo.org
Cover Art: Brandy Wood
programs at a glance
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programguide March/April 2014 SUNDAYS 6:00AM SUNDAY MORNING HARMONY with Dan Karcher 10:00AM SINGERS UNLIMITED with Michael Bourne Singers Unlimited is four hours of new and classic singers singing ballads and bossas, blues and be-bop. For more than 25 years, WBGO’s Michael Bourne has turned the spotlight on jazz vocalists with live in-studio performances, interviews and more. 6:00PM JAZZSET WITH DEE DEE BRIDGEWATER RE-BROADCASTS ON WEDNESDAYS AT 6:30pm March 2 Dr. Lonnie Smith Recently, the 71-year-old Smith reminisced with NPR’s Arun Rath of All Things Considered about early dreams of the now iconic Hammond B-3 organ, Blue Note recording sessions, and—years later— receiving mysterious residuals checks when hip hop artists sampled his music. Jonathan Kreisberg, guitar; Jamire Williams, drums. March 9 The Late Mulgrew Miller’s Trio at the Kennedy Center See sidebar. March 16 Lionel Loueke Mark Schramm writes, “Loueke often opens his songs with his voice expanded in harmony, as he plays a single line on his guitar and then fans out from that. Everything is part of a curve. The music grows, as the band revels in itself and then slims back down. No hurry.” Michael Olatuja, bass; Mark Guiliana, drums. March 23 Two Skirts and A Shirt at The Kennedy Center "Do you remember when it was not unusual for jazz composers to write about social issues? What happened?" asks Rene Marie, onstage with Carla Cook and Allan Harris. They raise their voices in anthems like "Compared to What," "Tryin' Times," and Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah."
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March 30 Jane Bunnett and Hilario Duran at The Kennedy Center Saxophonist Bunnett traveled regularly from Toronto to Cuba for years, toting instruments and music for students there and bringing back the spirit of Havana. She and Duran sample their album Cuban Rhapsody. The great conguero Candido has a cameo moment, to audience delight. 7:00 PM SUNDAY NIGHT MUSIC MIX Grammy® nominated record producer Eulis Cathey plays an eclectic mixture of jazz, contemporary jazz, fusion, jazz/funk, Latin, classic R&B and so much more. From Grover Washington, Jr. to Weather Report; from James Brown to Eddie Palmieri; from Charles Earland to Incognito, the Sunday Night Music Mix has something for everyone. 11:00PM JAZZ FROM THE ARCHIVES MONDAYS 6:30PM JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER WITH WENDELL PIERCE March 3 New Kings of the Crescent City Louis Armstrong. Sidney Bechet. Jelly Roll Morton. King Oliver. Immortals who directed and defined the development of jazz into the body of work that’s celebrated across the globe. Victor Goines, a son of the Crescent City, leads a stellar line up of musicians in JAZZSET
March 9
The Late Mulgrew Miller’s Trio at the Kennedy Center From Greenwood, MS, Miller (1955–2013) played piano with Mercer Ellington, Betty Carter, Art Blakey, Tony Williams. All bands sounded better with Mulgrew. Loren Schoenberg writes “he could levitate a bandstand.” His death in Spring 2013 leaves the art form and community shaken. Ivan Taylor, bass; Rodney Green, drums. www.wbgo.org
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All programs subject to change. celebration of the names that made New Orleans a latter day Atlantis of music. With Marcus Printup, Kenny Rampton, Chris Crenshaw, Don Vappie, Dan Nimmer, and more. March 10 Afro-Cuban Fiesta Danzones and "sons montunos" spill into the streets as maestro Paquito D'Rivera leads a journey through the music of his native Cuba. Sonero and guitarist David Oquendo, Las Hermanas Marquez and percussionist Candido Camero join in this Afro-Cuban Fiesta. March 17 Luciana Souza Trio Toast of the Brazilian jazz scene Luciana Souza offers up her trademark style of gentle but adventurous vocal explorations. With four Grammy® nominations for Best Jazz Vocal under her belt, Souza lights up the Allen Room with a panache reserved for veterans twice her age. March 24 Abyssinian Mass Wynton Marsalis was commissioned in 2008 to write a piece for the bicentennial of the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem. This incarnation of the opus that emerged embraces a celebration of life, humanity, and love, uniting musical traditions from across centuries and continents. Performed with the 70 piece Chorale de Chateau and the Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra, the Abyssinian Mass must be experienced to be believed. March 31 Ethel Waters: Blues, Broadway, and Jazz See sidebar. 7:30 PM NJ CAPITOL REPORT Emmy Award-winning anchors Steve Adubato and Rafael Pi Roman host New Jersey Capitol Report which examines New Jersey’s most pressing public and policy issues. The program looks at political, social, and cultural issues affecting the people of New Jersey through in-depth conversations with the state’s top legislative leaders, political pundits, and “movers and shakers.” www.wbgo.org
JALC
March 31
Ethel Waters: Blues, Broadway, and Jazz Michael Feinstein leads a trio of vocals in tribute to the woman who marked her career defying cultural boundaries—black and white, jazz and Broadway, secular and gospel. Ethel Waters’ legacy lives on in this hour of show stopping numbers. Adriane Lenox, Catherine Russell, and Tracie Thoms light up the Allen Room with song.
TUESDAYS 6:30PM PLAYDATE WITH MATT WILSON (in March) For almost 35 years, WBGO has been the source for live jazz from stages nationwide and around the world. Hear highlights from WBGO’s archives dating 1980–2000 on Playdate with host Matt Wilson. Specific program information available at WBGO.org/Playdate. 6:30 PM THE CHECKOUT (in April) This hour-long music magazine, hosted by Josh Jackson, is also available as a podcast, which can be found at the show’s website WBGO.org/thecheckout. The multimedia show features what’s new in the New York jazz scene, including featured new music selections, sessions from the WBGO performance studio, as well as interviews. April 1 Jason Moran & Robert Glasper, Caravan Palace and more April 22 Brian Blade at the Village Vanguard Blade performs music from his latest recording (release date April 29). March/April 2014 Upbeat
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programguide March/April 2014 April 29 International Jazz Day Special WBGO’s Monica Miller reports from Ethiopia on the jazz scene. 7:30PM CONVERSATIONS WITH ALLAN WOLPER Conversations with Allan Wolper features guests whose ideas are on the cutting edge. Wolper, known as a “journalist’s journalist,” is an interviewer, reporter, documentary producer and ethics columnist, who has been honored by every journalism medium, winning over 50 awards. 8:00PM LATIN JAZZ CRUISE With Awilda Rivera SONG TRAVELS
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Tierney Sutton Jazz vocalist Tierney Sutton has headlined national venues including Carnegie Hall, The Hollywood Bowl, and the Kennedy Center. And she has earned five Grammy® nominations, including four consecutive nominations for Best Jazz Vocal Album. With her latest project, After Blue, Sutton takes on the genius of Pop & Folk singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell. Alongside her guitarist Serge Merlaud, Sutton performs a set of standards including “Fly Me to the Moon” and “You Must Believe in Spring.”
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WEDNESDAYS 6:30PM JAZZSET WITH DEE DEE BRIDGEWATER Re-broadcast of Sunday’s Program; See Listing 7:30PM SPORTSJAM SportsJam takes a unique peak into the sports scene as WBGO’s News and Sports Director Doug Doyle talks with a wide variety of guests. Bernie Williams, Kareem AbdulJabbar, Jon Faddis, Savion Glover and WBGO host Rhonda Hamilton all agree there’s a strong connection between jazz and sports. SportsJam recently received the Best Sports Award from the New Jersey Associated Press Broadcasters Association. THURSDAYS 6:30PM SONG TRAVELS WITH MICHAEL FEINSTEIN March 6 Tierney Sutton See sidebar. March 13 Peter Yarrow & Noel Paul Stookey Peter, Paul & Mary rode the 1960s folk wave to worldwide acclaim. Yarrow and Stookey, along with the late Mary Travers, performed enduring anthems of social change including “If I Had a Hammer” and Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind,” as well as the lighthearted “Puff, the Magic Dragon.” Yarrow and Stookey continue their remarkable fiftyplus-year career together and continue to sound the clarion call to social change. March 20 Rumer Singer/songwriter Rumer (Sarah Joyce) was raised in England and Pakistan, and her sound reveals a deep connection to the ’70s singer/songwriter era, along with shades of Broadway, ’30s Jazz, and Gospel. Her debut album, Seasons of My Soul, reached #3 on the UK charts and was certified platinum. Rumer joins Feinstein to talk about Judy Garland, Burt Bacharach, and old Hollywood,
www.wbgo.org
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All programs subject to change. and performs a set including “I Loves You, Porgy,” “That’s All,” and her own song, “Come To Me High.” March 27 Ann Hampton Callaway Tony nominated actress, vocalist, and Platinum Award-winning songwriter Ann Hampton Callaway has sung with top orchestras and Big Bands the world over, including performances before President Bill Clinton in Washington, DC and Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev in Moscow. As a songwriter, she has penned tunes for Barbara Streisand and wrote and sang the theme to the hit sitcom The Nanny. 7:30PM PEOPLE’S PHARMACY This program examines current issues in medicine, mental health, nutrition and fitness. FRIDAYS 6:30PM PORTRAITS IN BLUE Re-broadcast of previous Saturday’s Program; See Listing. 7:30PM WBGO JOURNAL This program, produced by the multi-award winning WBGO team, covers issues of importance to the Newark/NY metro area. SATURDAYS 6:00AM LATINO USA with Maria Hinojosa Multi award-winning Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only nationally distributed English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective. This program covers the social, cultural and political issues facing today’s Latino community. Maria Hinojosa, host of Latino USA, is also urban affairs correspondent for CNN and a former NPR News reporter. In addition to being a broadcaster, Hinojosa is an author, and a frequent lecturer on college campuses. She has received the Robert F. Kennedy Award, an Associated Press award and the National Council of La Raza’s 1999 Ruben Salazar Award.
www.wbgo.org
7:00AM PORTRAITS IN BLUE RE-BROADCASTS ON FRIDAYS AT 6:30 March 1 Jimmy Reed, Vol. 5 March 8 Little Richard, Vol. 2 March 15 Big Joe Turner - Albums, Vol. 2 March 22 Chuck Berry, Vol. 7 March 29 Jimmy McCracklin, Vol. 3 April 5 Dinah Washington— From the Beginning, Vol. 9 April 12 Sam Taylor, Vol. 6 April 19 Johnny Rawls, Vol. 3 April 26 The Phantom Blues Band 8:00AM SATURDAY MORNING FUNCTION WBGO’s Bob Porter plays blues, R&B and classic soul, with an emphasis on the early 1950s to the late 1960s. New artists who perform these styles are also featured. 10:00AM RHYTHM REVUE with Felix Hernandez Rhythm Revue’s blend of classic soul and R&B received the A.I.R. (Achievement in Radio) Award for the Best Weekend Program in New York, and was named Best Radio Show by New York Magazine and the Village Voice. WBGO is the original home of Rhythm Revue. March 1 Birthday tribute to Rhythm Revue friend & Philly soul songwriter/producer Bobby Eli March 8 Soul Hits of 1973 Mach 15 Birthday tribute to Sly Stone March 22 Birthday tribute to Aretha Franklin March 29 Birthday tributes to Gil Scott-Heron & Marvin Gaye April 5 Countdown Top 10 soul this date in 1966, 1969, 1970 and 1973 April 12 Birthday tribute to Al Green April 19 Request Show April 26 An hour of early soul (1959-63)
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he WBGO Kids Jazz Concert Series continues this Spring with performances in various cities in Essex County, New Jersey. These interactive, hourlong programs give young people opportunities to learn about the distinct qualities of jazz, and why it is a reflection of our community, nation, and world. Top jazz and blues artists produce special programs tailor-made for young people. The audience participates in Q&A sessions with the artists, and the children are eligible for a prize drawing, plus all young people will receive a small gift. All concerts are free, adults must be accompanied by a child.
CONCERT SCHEDULE March 29 New Jersey Historical Society April 5 Montclair Art Museum April 12 NJPAC
April 26 Newark Symphony Hall May 3 Luna Stage
Dates and locations are subject to change. All concerts are held on Saturdays and begin at 12:30 P.M. Visit WBGO.org/kids for updates on the locations and performers in this series, as well as other news for jazzy kids! Special thanks to our sponsors, Agnes Varis Trust, PNC Foundation, Investors Bank, Turrell Fund, NJPAC’s Wachovia Jazz for Teens and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.
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WBGO NEWS DEPARTMENT MEMORABLE WBGO STUDIO SESSIONS
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BGO’s hometown of Newark is gearing up for a Mayoral election. All four candidates will appear in conversation with Dr. Clement Price of Rutgers-Newark, at NJPAC. WBGO will carry a live web stream of WBGO’s New Voices for Newark: The Mayoral Candidates in Conversation with Dr. Clement Price at www.wbgo.org. Log on at 7pm on the following dates to hear the candidate listed: March 31: April 7: April 14: April 21:
Darrin Sharif Anibal Ramos Shavar Jeffries Ras Baraka
WBGO News will also air the one-hour conversations the following Sunday mornings at 9am on WBGO, The Jazz Source (88.3 FM). The Sunday airings are as follows from 9am to 10am: April 6: April 13: April 20: April 27:
Darrin Sharif Anibal Ramon Shavar Jeffries Ras Baraka
The broadcasts at NJPAC will be hosted by WBGO’s News Director Doug Doyle, who told Upbeat, “We are excited to once again partner with NJPAC and our great friend Dr. Clement Price of RutgersNewark to provide an in-depth look into the Newark Mayoral Race. The talks will be engaging and informative, allowing voters in Brick City to make up their own minds about who they want as their next leader.” www.wbgo.org
BGO’s Vice President of Content, Josh Jackson, has brought many artists to the WBGO Performance Studio to do live and recorded sessions. This is one of the many ways in which the station brings listeners musical experiences that no one else can. For this 35th Anniversary issue of Upbeat, Josh provided a list of some of the standouts, commenting, “Each session was a different experience. I like these . . .” Avishai Cohen and Triveni Nir Felder The Fellowship Band Aaron Parks Quartet Robert Glasper Trio Gary Burton and Julian Lage Miguel Zenon Esta Plena Jazz Composers Collective Jonathan Batiste Solo Linda Oh Trio
To hear them, visit: WBGO.org/blog/memorable-wbgo-studio-sessions
Robert Glasper in the WBGO Performance Studio
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Gary’ s Plays MUSIC DIRECTOR GARY WALKER’S TOP CDS + RE-ISSUES
Top Tunes Harold Mabern Right on Time (Smoke Sessions) Jed Levy Quartet The Italian Suite (Steeplechase) Catherine Russell Bring It Back (Jazz Village) Craig Handy Craig Handy & 2nd Line Smith (Okeh) Helen Sung Anthem for a New Day (Concord) Dianne Reeves Beautiful Life (Concord) Anton Schwartz Flash Mob (Antonjazz.com) Danilo Perez Panama 500 (Mack Avenue) Steve Davis For Real (Positone) Rudy Royston 303 (Greenleaf Music)
WBGO HISTORY
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kind of a day they have had, the music brings them back to a special place. To hear how much this means to our members, is wonderfully gratifying. I never for a moment take what we do for granted.” “I think it’s significant that we’ve been around for 35 years,” says Midday Jazz host Rhonda Hamilton. “The fact that we’re a listener-supported radio station, and we’ve been on the air for this long, is a great achievement, and a testament to our audience, and their appreciation of what they have in a radio station like WBGO.” Niles reflects, “As an anchor institution in Newark for more than three decades, WBGO is deeply committed to this city and all that happens in the state. We are proud to be Newark’s beacon of jazz and news, and we look forward to continuing to shine the light around the world for many decades to come.”
Reissues Woody Shaw The Complete Muse Sessions (mosaicrecords.com) Stan Getz Quartet Live At Montreux 1972 (Eagle Eye Media)
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Michael Bourne’s Favorite Interviews
Leading up to WBGO’s 35th birthday, Upbeat asked Afternoon Jazz, Blues Hour and Singers Unlimited host, Michael Bourne, to reminisce about some of his favorite interviews in his nearly 30 years at the station. Here is his response: ’ve interviewed countless musicians and others through my going-on-30 years as a jock on WBGO. Maybe a thousand? Maybe two thousand — if you count the 25a-day I’ve sometimes talked with at conferences or festivals we’ve broadcast from. I’ve loved especially broadcasting from my favorite festival, Festival International de Jazz de Montreal. This year being FIJM’s 35th and WBGO’s 35th, you can expect great things when the world’s best jazz festival (sez me) and the world’s best jazz radio station (sez everybody) celebrate together. Who’ve been my favorite interviews on WBGO? So many of my favorite artists: Dave Brubeck, Tony Bennett, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Paquito D’Rivera, Dizzy Gillespie, Joe Williams, Cleo Laine & John Dankworth, Claire Martin & Ian Shaw, Diana Krall, New York Voices,
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Manhattan Transfer, Robert Klein, Barbara Carroll. And in the Blues Hour: Little Milton, Gatemouth Brown, Marcia Ball, Susan Tedeschi & Derek Trucks. What’s been especially cool is that in recent years so many of our interviews and concert broadcasts have been archived and can be heard on the WBGO blog. [Listen to some of the interviews cited in this article at WBGO.org/blog/Michael-Bournes-favoriteinterviews). Several generations of jazz artists have come along in the years since WBGO came on the air. We’re still (and always will be) playing Ella and Sarah, Dizzy and Miles, but in this last 35 years, along came some new one-nameonly singers and players, Kurt and Cassandra, Wynton and Branford — and they’re now an older generation. Our annual JAM-fest (Jazz Appreciation Month Festival) in April is a spotlight on the newest generation, some of the best and brightest newcomers from schools in NJ, NY, and down from Boston. When you hear them playing live on WBGO, you’re hearing the future of jazz . . . and of the station. March/April 2014 Upbeat
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