This year, KCSM is proud to partner with NorCal MLK 2026 Music and the Movement. The MLK2026 Celebration Program will feature a celebration of music and the civil rights and social justice movements. We will celebrate the 60th anniversary of KCSM Radio, with a documentary screening and a historic conversation with KCSM media personalities, Clifford Brown, Jr., Jesse 'Chuy' Varela, Dr. Robert A. Franklin, Miranda Wilson, and award-winning music artist Tiffany Austin. For more information: https://norcalmlkfoundation.org/mlkcelebration/mlk2026/the-mlk2026-celebration-program-music-and-the-movement/

Hundreds of listeners gathered last week to start their holiday celebrations and the festive season with KCSM. It was an evening of good friends, good food and great live jazz! A Special thank you to everyone who brought a new, unwrapped toy for the Toys for Tots toy drive. Lots of local kids will have a happier holiday because of your generosity. (click story headline for more photo)

Sonoma Valley resident Kathleen Lawton was part of the lucky audience when soulful vocalist Allan Harris and guitarist Bruce Forman performed an extraordinary set at the Sebastiani Theater in Sonoma on Sunday December 7. The concert, dedicated to the music of Nat King Cole, was sponsored by the Sonoma Valley Jazz Society. (click header for more)

Don Bowman and Dewey Terry never scored a national hit record, but together as the 1950s duo Don & Dewey, they remain one of R&B and early Rock n' Roll's best kept secrets. They grew up as friends in Pasadena, CA, joining fellow students at John Muir High School to form The Squires. In 1955, the group scored a local Los Angeles hit with "Sindy," which has since become a vocal group classic, but when no follow-up hits materialized, Don & Dewey were persuaded to go off on their own by local manager John Criner. After a few sides for local labels Spot and Shade tanked, Criner sold their contract off to Art Rupe, owner of the much larger Specialty Records in LA. Rupe and his A&R man, Bumps Blackwell worked with Don (who was now known as Don Harris) & Dewey, trying to turn their frantic brand of up-tempo jump blues into something, but it never really caught on. Don & Dewey remarkably wrote most of their own material, which was not a standard practice back in the '50s and though they couldn't score hits with their own recordings, other artists were able to. Dale and Grace took Don & Dewey's "I'm Leaving It All Up To You" to the top of the pop chart (#6 R&B) in '63 and the Righteous Brothers cracked the pop chart with their version of "Justine" in '65. The Olympics made a hit out of "Big Boy Pete" in '60, while The Premiers entered the top 20 with "Farmer John" in '64. This week reveals the story of one of early Rock's craziest duos as the ol' Rockola Juke is loaded with their jumpin', jivin' sides.

A wild ride through Hiromi's music. Hiromi has been pushing musical boundaries for over two decades, fusing classical, jazz, rock, and pure imagination. In this episode of Jazz Night in America, the pianist looks back on her career through 10 tracks from 10 different bands she’s led or been part of. From early trio recordings to duets with Chick Corea, a Star Wars surprise, and her latest band Sonicwonder, this is Hiromi in her own words and sound.

Jaco Pastorius: World's Greatest Bass Player, Part 2. Featuring the 20th Century musical giant on his recordings with Weather Report, plus on tracks with Herbie Hancock. With commentary by Joe Zawinul.

In his most recent book, Dangerous Rhythms, Jazz and the Underworld, author T.J. English explores the symbiotic relationship between jazz musicians and the mob during the first half of the 20th Century, and how that mutually beneficial partnership helped the music flourish but kept the deeply racist attitudes of the day solidly in place. I talked with T.J. English in August 2023.

Bill Ransom Generations. internationally acclaimed drummer and percussionist Bill Ransom, Aretha Franklin, Marion Meadows, Cecil Bridgewater, Diane Reeves, Mary Wilson, and James Newton. This performance features selections from his album Generations, along with some jazz standards. From January 25th, 2025 and featuring Ken LeeGrand on Winds, Kip Reed on Bass, Bill Ransom on Drums and the final Bop Stop appearance from the late, great Phillip K Jones II on Piano, Daniel Peck is your host for Bill Ransom – Generations Revisited…Live at the Bop Stop.

This episode includes music by Ernestine Washington & Washington Temple Choir, Thomas A. Dorsey & Mahalia Jackson, Staple Singers, Faith Temple Church Choir (pictured), Supreme Angels, Gospel Silhouettes, and others.

Henry Awayan is the Owner of Whisk Cake Creations and the author of “The Ube Baking Book: Decadent and Delicious Recipes with Filipino Purple Yam.” Chef Henry talks with host Scott Piehler about a love affair with baking that started at age 10, and continued through stints with iconic Alameda ice cream shop Tuckers, an appearance on The Food Network, and that time that a viral toilet paper cake turned out to be the hero of the pandemic. Now, with his new book, Chef Henry details how a common Filipino ingredient is currently enjoying its moment in the American culinary spotlight.

Frances Sanders. On this week’s program, Frances Sanders, the mother of Johnathan Sanders, describes details of the death of her son on July 8th 2013 in Stonewall, Mississippi. The deadly encounter in Stonewall, Mississippi captured national attention. Witnesses said the 39-year-old man had words with Officer Herrington at a gas station around 10 pm. Witnesses said Sanders struggled to escape the choke hold and said he couldn't breathe. He died on the scene. Sanders was exercising one of his horses on the night of July 8 when he had a brief verbal exchange with Herrington at a gas station in Stonewall. Herrington later stopped Sanders and an altercation ensued. During the struggle, Herrington applied a chokehold to Sanders, who later died. A Clarke County grand jury declined to indict white Stonewall police officer Kevin Herrington for the death of an African American man named Jonathan Sanders in July 2015. The grand jury report states that Sanders’ death was the result of “manual asphyxia associated with acute cocaine toxicity.” It also found that Herrington’s stop of Sanders was legal because the officer suspected Sanders was involved in drug activity.