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It was a special Valentine's Day here at KCSM with Tiffany Austin turning the day into a celebration of everything you love about Jazz. Listeners turned their donations into "Jazz Love Notes" - dedicating their gift in honor of someone special and shared short notes about what jazz or their favorite artists meant to them. It was a fun, funny and inspiring day!

George Goldner, Part 3 - Gone & End Records. It's the final installment of our 3-part series on record man, George Goldner. He is said to have had the "golden ear" for hit records and songwriter Jerry Leiber even complimented his talent for picking hit songs by saying that Goldner had, "the musical taste of a fourteen-year-old-girl." Born to Jewish immigrants in 1919, Goldner's first love was Latino dance music and he began his career by opening night clubs and starting Tico Records, a Latino label in 1948. By 1953, he was interested in Rhythm & Blues and began releasing records under the Rama subsidiary. In early 1954, he set up Gee Records and scored a huge hit in early '56 with The Teenagers, "Why Do Fools Fall In Love." By mid-'57, due to his gambling debts, Goldner sold Tico, Rama and Gee to alleged mobster Morris Levy. This week, we will take a close look at Goldner's last R&B labels that he would run independently: Gone & End Records. Both new labels did well with Gone scoring hits with NY vocal group, the Dubs and Goldner-arranged instrumental "7-11 (Mambo No. 5)" by the Gone All Stars featuring Buddy Lucas on tenor sax. End soon followed with million-sellers from The Chantels, The Imperials and The Flamingos. Both labels proved that Goldner still had the magic ear for picking the music teenagers wanted to hear and buy, but eventually both labels would face the same fate as Goldner's early record companies. You'll get the full story of Gone and End Records and the finale of George Goldner.

Two rising stars: vocalist Tyreek McDole and trumpeter Milena Casado. Both grew up far from major jazz hubs, one in St. Cloud, Florida, the other in a small village in Spain. Neither comes from a musical family. Yet sometimes a calling in life overrides everything else. We meet them at a pivotal moment in their nascent careers, as each releases a debut recording as a featured artist.

Part 2 of Duke Ellington: Reminiscing In Tempo: Suites & Other Extended Works. This week we present classic 1950s and 60s extended compositions from the pen of America's greatest composer. Including "A Tone Parallel To Harlem", plus excerpts from Such Sweet Thunder, The Queen's Suite, Suite Thursday, Afro-Bossa, and Far East Suite.

Nicole Zuraitis Two. Singer/songwriter/pianist, Nicole Zuraitis has a big heart and a big voice to match. She leans into both to spread her love and art around, always hoping to make the world a better place. Nicole first appeared on Jazz Inspired to discuss her CD How Love Begins, which went on to win a Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album. She won a second Grammy the following year, along with her husband, drummer Dan Pugach. Now, Live at Vic’s Las Vegas, her first recorded live, has two Grammy Nominations. I was curious how this recognition has changed her life and what she’s discovered from the experience.

Northeast Ohio based guitarist Tim Mirth specializes in adventurous and diverse compositions that speak to a desire to create, explore and bring energy to the world, whether he is performing with Night Terrors, Stellar Regions or leading his own touring trio. Saxophonist Justin Tibbs specializes in straight ahead power jazz designed to bring both noise and funk in both his own JT’s Electrik Blackout and as a member of the Acid Cats. This performance features the best of the two as both players combine to produce a sound that is both progressive and accessible. Featuring Tim Mirth on Guitar, Justin Tibbs on Saxophone, Bryan Thomas on Bass and Tony Kazel on Drums, and from a July 27th, 2025 performance, Daniel Peck is your host for the Tim Mirth Quartet, Featuring Justin Tibbs…Live at the Bop Stop.

We feature the lead vocal work of living legends Dianne Williams and Michele Brown of the Cosmopolitan Church of Prayer "Warriors," plus selections from Sallie Martin & her Singers of Joy (pictured), Sammy Lewis, Southern Faith Singers, and others.

Liz Warmerdam is the President of the Alameda Backyard Growers. In 2025, their Project Pick program donated over 15,000 pounds of produce to the Alameda Food Bank. Host Scott Piehler talks with Liz about ABG, their services to local gardeners, including growing and pruning advice, resources to introduce children to gardening, and their Free Seed Libraries.

Tim Madigan, The Burning: The Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, Part 2. The conclusion of Tim Madigan’s interview facilitated by Dr. Jean Moore. With chilling details, humanity, and the narrative thrust of compelling fiction, The Burning will recreate the town of Greenwood at the height of its prosperity, explore the currents of hatred, racism, and mistrust between its black residents and neighboring Tulsa's white population, narrate events leading up to and including Greenwood's annihilation, and document the subsequent silence that surrounded the tragedy.