KCSM Jazz On The Hill is a finalist for Metro Silicon Valley's annual "Best Of" Guide. Winners get serious bragging rights and street cred (and maybe some new underwriters and sponsors) 🙂

Enter for a chance to win a one (1) Pair of Tickets to see Herbie Hancock at Davies Symphony Hall on Monday, August 17 at 7:30pm. One entry per person.

KCSM's Fall Fund Drive is just around the corner, and we're looking for local restaurants, cafés, bakeries, and food businesses to help keep our staff and volunteers fueled and focused. (more)

If you were in Sonoma this past Sunday, (6/28/2026) you might have run into KCSM's very own Kathleen Lawton at a free Concert at Sonoma Plaza presented by Music in Place. It was a wonderful sunny day with Alabama Mike and the Mighty Revelators who tore it up! Bama even kindly gave KCSM a shout out! Another fabulous Bay Area talents!

Parrot Records. This week focuses on a tiny Chicago R&B record label with a big sound; Parrot Records. The label was started by Chicago DJ Al Benson in late 1952 and it closed its doors in 1956. During its period of operation, Parrot recorded some smokin' R&B with Willie Mabon, Mabel Scott and J.B. Lenoir and smooth vocal group sounds from The Flamingos, the 5 Thrills and the Orchids. Tune in for highlights of both the hits and misses and the story behind the story on this often-forgotten R&B label.

Nate Smith and Kinfolk with strings. This Newport Jazz Festival weekend, we're spotlighting newly named Artistic Director Nate Smith — hear his sextet Kinfolk join forces with members of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra for a one-of-a-kind concert at the Crosstown Theater in Memphis.

Saxophonist Javon Jackson’s resumé reads like a who’s who of jazz collaborations. Part of the 1980s generation of young musicians who re-invigorated jazz by wearing suits and ties on stage and digging into acoustic hard bop, Jackson cut his eye teeth as a member a of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. Since then, he’s ascended as a leader and now chair of the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz at the University of Hartford (Connecticut). His latest recordings pay tribute to the music of Bob Dylan and poetess Nikki Giovanni. Javon Jackson joins Jesse “Chuy” Varela on Tuesday August 4 @ 3:00pm to talk about the group he will lead at this year’s San Jose Jazz Summer Fest with Charles McPherson and Nnenna Freelon that he calls “Birds of a Feather”. They perform Saturday, August 8 @ 4pm on the main stage.

Tony Bennett @100: The Jazz Sides, 1955 - 2015, Part 2. In celebration of his Centennial, we present the beloved vocalist in some of his most jazz-oriented recordings with Wynton Marsalis, Marian McPartland, Bill Charlap, Diana Krall, Norah Jones, and more.

Aanya Sengupta. One of the rising stars of jazz, New Delhi native Aanya Sengupta heads off to Julliard but not before a Northeast Ohio farewell performance. The two-time DownBeat Student Award winner finished 2025 as the vocalist chair for the Oberlin College Sonny Rollins Jazz Ensemble. Featuring Aanya on Vocals, Wilson Woods on Piano, Ahmed McLemore on Bass and Paul Samuels on Drums, and from June 8th, 2025 Daniel Peck is your host for the Aanya Sengupta Quartet…Live at the Bop Stop.

This episode is all about hymns that were published in the 1875 songbook Gospel Hymns & Sacred Songs and recorded by gospel artists such as the Roberta Martin Singers (pictured), Ward Singers, Aretha Franklin, Bells of Joy, Greater Harvest B.C. Church of Chicago, Fordhamaires, Mary Johnson Davis Singers, and others.

Mike Stevens is the owner of Island Savoy Market. Opened in 2022, Island Savoy is a true Community Market, featuring a selection of some of the Bay Area’s finest local foods. Island Savoy also features a café, and a deli that serves traditional sandwiches with a gourmet twist. More than just a grocery store, Island Savoy is an anchor in what has become a hidden gem for foodies: Bay Station, which also features previous Alameda Connection guests Forbidden Island and Whisk Cake Creations.

Like It Is host, Dr. Robert Franklin and Melba Moore reconnect after a previous interview in 1996 in Houston, Texas, where they discussed Melba's gospel musical "Mama, I'm Sorry" and her song "Songs My Mother Taught Me." (more)