On Saturday, September 1st Dick and Kathleen will bring out the music of famous jazz piano players for us. Your favorites are surely among top jazz piano names: Herbie Hancock, George Shearing, Dave Brubeck, Horace Silver, Count Basie, Bud Powell, Duke Elington, John Coltrane, on & on !

Our good luck is that we have no shortage of material. There are plenty of great tunes to listen to and history to hear about.

So, join Dick Conte and Kathleen Lawton on Saturday, September 1st, from 2 – 6 PM while they feature our famous jazz piano players on the Jazz In The Afternoon.

Keith Hines and Clifford Brown Jr. will commemorate the Clifford Brown – Max Roach Quintet for us on the American Jazz Countdown, Sunday September 2nd. Horn player Clifford Brown, Delaware-born in 1930 and Max Roach, drummer from North Carolina, 1924 changed the face of jazz with their famous 1954 album, “Clifford Brown & Max Roach”.

While Clifford passed away early, Max went on for a long and influential career. Their music widely influenced the mid-century jazz, and you deserve to hear some of the samples..

So, join Keith and Richard on Sunday, September 2nd, from 10AM to 2PM while they feature Clifford Brown and Max Roach on the American Jazz Countdown.

Join Jesse ‘Chuy’ Varela and Chris Cortez on Sunday September 2nd on the Latin Jazz Show as they honor the people and music of Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico, America’s very own Latin region had music & jazz heritage reaching back through multiple source nations and diaspora.  Puerto Rico, a cultural melting pot in it’s own right has powerful musical strains running to us all in the present day. Jose Feliciano, shown here on the right is one of their many artists famous to us.

Known as the Isla Del Encanto – The Island of Enchantment – its picturesque beaches and landscapes were devastated by Hurricane Maria a year ago. But nothing can stop the resilience of the Puerto Rican people from restoring their island back to its glory.

So, join Chuy and Chris on Sunday, September 2nd, from 2-6PM as they honor Puerto Rico – its music and its people – on the Latin Jazz Show

In the best of jazz tradition stand Cannonball Adderly, Stan Getz, Clifford Brown and Max Roach. Labor Day weekend gives Sonny Buxton and Melanie Berzon a chance to showcase these players.

Alto sax player Julian “Cannonball” Adderly took on the NY jazz scene when he sat in on a session with Oscar Pettiford. Soon after Miles Davis picked him for his sextet that recorded Milestones and Kind of Blue. Cannonball went on to create several groups and is know for playing with his brother Nat Adderly.

Stan Getz, a tenor sax player, started his professional career at the age of 16 by joining Jack Teegarden’s big band in 1943. He played a lot of cool jazz with Horace Silver, Johnny Smith and Oscar Peterson in the 50s while living in Scandanavia. He returned in 1961 and helped kick off the Bossa Nova craze. The most well known track from this period is his recording of The Girl from Ipanema. Stan was an artist in residence at the local Stanford Jazz Workshop in his later years.

Trumpet player Clifford Brown had a short but critically acclaimed career. He teamed up with drummer Max Roach to form the Clifford Brown and Max Roach quintet which played hard bop jazz. His son, Clifford Brown Jr, is a noted KCSM host and his grandson Clifford Brown III is a Bay Area trumpet player.

Drummer Max Roach was part of the original bebop musicians in New York in the 1940s. Max was the drummer for all the bebop greats like Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonius Monk, Coleman Hawkins and Miles Davis. He later went on to form several percussion based groups and is know for his solo concerts on the drums and percussion. He was active politically and his Freedom Now Suite was written to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation.

With a group like this Sonny and Mel will have a great time showcasing these artists. Please tune in.

It has been 50 years since Tower of Power was formed in 1968. Their first gig was a the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton. They have gone on to be one of the oldest Soul R&B Funk bands still playing. Through the years they have had numerous hits like Down to the Nightclub, What is Hip?, Soul Vaccination, You’re Still a Young Man and So Very Hard to Go.  Their hits go from solid soul funk to beautiful ballads.

On top of all this their 5 piece horn section has been on albums and concerts for artists like Chaka Khan, Graham Central Station, Elton John, John Lee Hooker, Peter Frampton, Bonnie Rait and many more. They are a group that stands on their own with a signature sound.

They are back on Mack Ave records with a new recording Soul Side of Town. The album is classic Tower of Power funk and ballads. It was listed as number one on Billboard’s Jazz and Contemporary Jazz Albums charts.

Tune in Fri afternoon from 2pm-6pm to hear Jesse ‘Chuy’ Varella and Harry Duncan celebrate Tower of Power.

Hi! Starting with Labor Day weekend we will be featuring special programming for 3 weekends in September. Here is our lineup for Labor Day weekend:

Tower of Power’s 50th Anniversary      

     Fri, 8/31, 2-6PM with Chuy & Harry                      

Cannonball Adderly, Stan Getz, Clifford Brown and Max   Roach

     Sat, 9/1, 10AM-2PM with Sonny & Mel                 

Jazz Piano Players!

      Sat, 9/1, 2-6PM with Dick & Kathleen                   

Clifford Brown and Max Roach

      Sun, 9/2,10AM-2PM with Keith & Clifford             

Hail Puerto Rico!

     Sun, 9/2, 2-6PM with Chuy & Chris                       

We will come back for the second weekend with:

Sam Cooke: The King of Soul

     Fri, 9/7, 2-6PM with Chuy & Mel                             

Buddy Guy: The Blues is Alive and Well

     Fri, 9/7, 9PM-MIDNIGHT with Kathleen & Harry    

Tony Bennett: 92 and still singin

     Sat, 9/8, 10AM-6PM with Sonny, Dick & Mel 

Sam Cook: The King of Soul

     Sun, 9/9,10AM-2PM with Keith & Mel                     

For our last weekend:

Celebrating the 92nd Anniversary of John Coltrane’s Birth

     Fri, 9/14, 2-6PM with Chuy & Mel                        

The Count, The Duke and the Royal Singers

     Sat, 9/15, 10AM-6PM with Sonny, Dick & Mel      

Looking for live music? Perhaps something family friendly and during the day? Or something to truly enjoy that summer vibe? Here in the Bay Area, if you’re a San Franciscan, you can escape the foggy summer by heading south to the Stanford Jazz Festival.  Or if you live out of the “fog belt” you can simply enjoy the lush Stanford campus during one of its less populated times.

The Stanford Jazz Festival  is up and rolling from June 23 until August 4th with a calendar of diverse musical offerings. Think your young one might be the next Maria Schneider or Donny McCaslin? Check out Jim Nadel and the Zookeepers Saturday July 7 at 10 AM. There is something for everyone at this festival: world music, duos, string-led groups to big bands and the hard bop alto sax of Charles McPherson. Plus many of the student groups (who also will be performing) attend these concerts making for a lively environment: Imagine a 52nd Street of the future on the bucolic Stanford campus, mingling with mentors while listening, learning and taking home new sounds. Enjoy! and let us know how you found it!

T: @stanfordjazz

It’s the gift that keeps giving. KCSM’s “Crazy About the Blues” host Kathleen Lawton gave her longtime partner Dick Conte the ultimate Christmas present in 2003: she set up a jazz piano scholarship fund in his name at the California Jazz Conservatory.

For fourteen years, Dick has celebrated his birthday by awarding a scholarship to further a gifted pianist’s study at the CJC.

Join Dick and his quartet for a great evening of jazz and cake. It’ll be a sweet way to spend your evening, culminating with the  announcement of the scholarship recipient and their performance with the group.

Dick Conte’s Quartet features saxophonist Steve Heckman, bassist Steve Webber, and drummer Akira Tana. The evening’s performance will be dedicated to the memory of Dick’s longtime drummer and friend, Bill Moody.

When? June 16, Saturday at 8 pm. $20.00

Where? California Jazz Conservatory 2087 Addison St.
Berkeley CA 94704

More Info and tickets Here

Jayn Pettingill (photo by Bob Lake)

Think of this post as an introduction of sorts, much like one of those name tags we’ve all been handed at mixers or conferences of one kind or another. Many of you are already familiar with me as we start our early morning Mondays, and thus the week, together. And to those of you who may not be, please consider these words you are reading as a Hail and Hardy greeting to you, from a fellow jazz lover.

Like you, I love this music we call jazz. As a part of the KCSM announcer staff, my work consists mainly of programming the music I am passionate about. Being in proximity to the great announcers here has been, for me, a dream come true. And as you are well aware, the San Francisco Bay Area has quite a “deep bench” when it comes to talent, radio-wise, music-wise, and all kinds of -wise. More importantly, KCSM  has you, some of the most devoted listeners anywhere, making our slogan “The Bay Area’s Community Supported Jazz Station” ring proud and true.

And like you, I am very curious about what is going on, who’s where and what’s what, and even what is the story behind that? So you’ll be hearing from me, in a different guise: the written word. More to come…and I hope you’ll be joining me in the conversation!