KCSM Proudly presents "Celebrating 60 Years of Broadcast Excellence. This documentary chronicles KCSM's history and its commitment to Jazz, told by the dedicated curators and fans who make the station swing.

On November 26, 2024 KCSM's own Jesse "Chuy" Varela hosted the Oaktown Jazz Workshops 30th Anniversary celebration at Yoshi's at Jack London Square in Oakland. Founded in 1994 by Khalil Shaheed to educate and illuminate young people to jazz music, the event featured the John Santos Sextet, Richard Howell, the OJW Alumni Band and the current OJW Performance Ensemble. Much love goes out to OJW Executive Director Ravi Abcarian and photographer David De Hart for the photos. (click the headline for more photos of the celebration)

As part of our 25th anniversary celebration, we re-visit my conversation with the late Blossom Dearie who delighted audiences with her tasty piano playing, hip vocal interpretations and sly humor. Blossom talks about her inspirations and favorite younger musicians.

Jean Fineberg is a saxophonist, flutist and composer with an M.Ed. from Penn State University, and post-graduate study at Indiana University. She has toured and/or recorded with Melba Liston, Cornell Dupree, The Larry Elgart Band, David Bowie, Chic ("Freak Out"), Sister Sledge ("We Are Family"), Laura Nyro, the Montclair Women’s Big band and her own octet, JAZZphoria. Her compositions are included in Terri Lyne Carrington's “New Standards” and have been performed at the Monterey Jazz Festival, the Kennedy Center and the Grammys. Jean is profiled in numerous books, including "Feminists Who Changed America” and “Saxophone Journal”. She has served as composer-in-residence at nine U.S. art centers, and has received grants from Chamber Music America, the San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music, Intermusic SF, the NEA, ASCAP and Meet the Composer.

Chess Records, Pt. 6 - 1955 takes a close look at all the significant Chess and Checker releases from 1955. Little Walter scores another R&B #1 and the biggest record of his career with "My Babe," while the Moonglows show that they have staying power when "Most Of All" makes the R&B top 5. On March 2, 1955, Ellas McDaniel lays down a hambone beat, calls himself Bo Diddley and the Rock n' Roll Revolution is on its way. Then this new music is cemented in July when Chess releases Chuck Berry's first record, "Maybellene" and in August it hits #1 and stays there through the fall.

Myra Melford (ENCORE). Pianist and composer Myra Melford draws inspiration from literature, architecture, and visual art—finding creative sparks in the works of James Joyce, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Joan Miró. This episode explores the many facets of her artistry, from the egalitarian interplay of Trio M (with bassist Mark Dresser and drummer Matt Wilson) to the boundless expression of her Snowy Egret quintet. We’ll also hear Melford in a Big Band setting, joining forces with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.

Aimée Allen is a NYC-based jazz vocalist and songwriter who has released multiple critically acclaimed jazz albums including 2019's Wings Uncaged, which was named one of Downbeat Magazine's best. For this performance, entitled Strings and Chords, she's joined by two exemplary performers, including internationally recognized bassist Francois Moutin and versatile guitarist Tony Romano. From October 22nd, 2021 it's Amiee Allen Trio: Strings and Chords - Live at the Bop Stop.

On this week’s program a musical salute to The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Exposed, Part 1. The first half of a two-part radio documentary from our friends at SF Public Press, “Exposed,” opens a window into the little-known history of the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. The sprawling abandoned naval base, in San Francisco’s southeast waterfront Bayview neighborhood, is currently the site of the city’s largest real estate development project. The base played a key role in the Cold War nuclear era, when it housed a research institution known as the Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory, which studied the human health effects of radiation. We trace the radioactive contamination found in the shipyard soil today back to its origins, with nuclear bomb testing in the Marshall Islands. We also hear from environmental justice advocates, including one who led a health biomonitoring survey revealing that nearby residents have toxic elements stored in body tissues that match the hazardous chemicals of concern identified at the shipyard.

Part 1. Bobby Rush, Grammy Award winner, reflects upon his extraordinary musical career tracing his family roots from enslavement to freedom in the segregated South. He shares stories of perseverance amid set-backs and ultimate musical success as one of the most recognizable names in Blues music today. Part 1 of a two-part series.