107.5 WJZZ Smooth Jazz in Atlanta no more

This just discovered , and as I said before, support local music in your area, and jazz music. 107.5 WJZZ is scheduled to switch formats before the end of January. As most of us jazz fans know, finding  a good outlet to hear jazz music, be it radio or live can sometimes be challenging. In Atlanta that’s not so much the case but if you live in a smaller city, I know it’s problematic.

Given commercial radio is all about the advertising dollar and not about the art of music, commercial jazz radio is usually not even considered when starting a new radio station. Existing stations are always on the bubble. There will be a bit of a void with this station gone, as I know many people who enjoyed the station.  Here in Atlanta we’re lucky. We have jazz 91.9 WCLK- Clark Atlanta still here to listen too, but only because they are a non-commercial station. Thank God for the Internet!!! As always be easy.

CW

Here are some articles about the closing.
http://radioinsight.com/index.php?s=wjzz

http://www.radioandrecords.com/RRWebSite/NewsStoryPage.aspx?ContentID=J6×2ECjltf8%3D&

http://news.radio-online.com/cgi-bin/$rol.exe/headline_id=n18840

http://www.radio-info.com/sections/2-breaking-news/news_items/4383-another-smooth-jazz-station-bites-the-dust-wjzz-atlanta

My Meeting with a Legend

I know this posting has little to do about music, but I felt it necessary to show my excitement for meeting what is to me an audio legend. Someone who is in my personal pantheon of audio gods who changed the face of music. I had the opportunity to meet Dr. James West. A name not familiar to most but if you work in the media you are affected by his contribution daily. Dr James West is the patent holder and inventor of what known as the electret microphone. This microphone type is used 90% of all microphones built today, and if you work in the music industry, audio engineering, video production, acoustics, etc you know this type of microphone is indispensable. So in effect this posting is reverent because all that is heard on the site, is in part due to his work. And I am extra proud that Dr. West is an African American inventor. Thank you Dr. West.

http://inventors.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.invent.org/hall_of_fame/150.html

http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blwest.htm

http://www.black-inventor.com/James-E-West.asp

Me and Dr. James West

Standards Reinvented

I usually don’t blog about without showing video but I decided to do something different today. The other night a got a chance to see the Clayton State University Jazz Combo play at their Fall recital in Spivey Hall. The 9 piece band started off a little slow, but right before the intermission they seem to be hitting their stride and for the rest of the night they played a number of pieces that kept my head nodding for the rest of the night. Noted numbers were “Till There Was You” a Meredith Wilson tune, “Big Bertha” a Duke Pearson tune, and “Autumn In New York” by Vernon Duke. If you have a chance the Clayton State Community Big Band will be performing in Spivey Hall on Monday, December 1st. I’ll try to have video next time.