Edition #003 - Jorgie's and Peacock Alley

Jazz Mixer #003

In the 1950s and early 1960s, St. Louis' Gaslight Square was the epicenter of the St. Louis arts scene. One of the clubs in that part of town was Jorgie's Jazz Club. On August 19, 1961, guitarist Wes Montgomery performed at Jorgie's; he was joined by his brothers, Buddy (piano, vibes) and Monk (bass) and drummer Billy Hart. During my days at WSIE, I had the pleasure of speaking to Frank Sousan, who recorded the set that's featured on this edition of The Jazz Mixer podcast, which is presented in its entirety. This part of the podcast is a suggestion by Charlie Geer, former operations director at WGNU Granite City, Illinois.

Peacock Alley was another St. Louis Jazz venue; it was located in the MidTown Hotel in the heart of St. Louis' African-American community. Originally The Glass Bar, it opened following a mid-1950s renovation. Miles Davis performed there with his first classic Quintet in July 1956. The performances on July 14 and 21 of 1956 were emceed by Jesse "Spider" Burks, the first African-American DJ west of the Mississippi River, and aired on KXLW (now KSIV), then a 5,000-watt daytime-only station covering St. Louis city and county. Excerpts from both shows are presented.

The performances at Jorgie's and Peacock Alley were released by Soulard Intertainment about 20 years ago. This podcast's listening time is one hour, four minutes and 24 seconds.

Edition #002 - Jazz on the Top 40

Jazz Mixer - Edition 002

While Jazz had its heyday as America's popular music from the 1930s to the early 1950s, Jazz selections continued to cross over to the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts during the Rock Era. This podcast, running 48 minutes and 18 seconds in length, features ten Jazz tracks that crossed over to Top 40 radio since the beginning of the Rock Era in 1955.

The Jazz Mixer Premiere

The Jazz Mixer - Edition 001

This is the very first Jazz Mixer podcast. This edition features the following songs:

"Slick" by Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass
"Cha Cha Cha Mambo" by Tito Puente
"In the Mood" by The Glenn Miller Orchestra
"Whistle Bump" by Eumir Deodato
"Pick-Up Sticks" by The Dave Brubeck Quartet
"Blues for Pablo" by Miles Davis with Gil Evans
"Nightmare in Heaven" by Farshid Etniko
"A Swingin' Safari" by Billy Vaughn
"Breezin'" by George Benson
"Acknowledgment" by John Coltrane

The length of the podcast is 58:56.

Why a Podcast?

Soon, you will be hearing me with my favorite type of music again. For nine years, I played America's own Art Form Music, Jazz, on the radio for listeners in St. Louis and the Metro East. It was the best format I ever did in 22 years on broadcast radio. It's been eight years since I signed off the broadcast airwaves for the last time. This time, I'll be doing a podcast.

Why a podcast, do you ask? The Jazz Mixer was originally conceived in February 2015 as a programming proposal for KDHX (88.1 FM), the community radio station in St. Louis. The station's management really didn't want me to do a show similar to the one I did at WSIE (88.7 FM), first on Friday nights and later on weekday mornings. A podcast, in my honest view, is the best and most cost-effective way to present various styles of Jazz to the widest possible audience. It would also give me unlimited freedom to select the music I would play and allow me to control the length of each podcast. Setting up my own Internet radio station is extremely cost-prohibitive, and has limited audience potential. I learned about the limited reach of Internet radio by working at the student-run radio station at Southern Illinois University, Web Radio. Broadcast radio is definitely out; radio station purchase prices are overinflated, too few air slots are available in the St. Louis area due to corporate restrictions, and while I would love to return to WSIE, I think the students deserve the chance more than I do. The only other alternative would have been to buy air time on shortwave radio stations like WBCQ in Monticello, Maine, WWCR in Nashville, Tennessee or WTWW in Lebanon, Tennessee. That would also not be cost-effective at this point.

Why Jazz? I am not interested in celebrity gossip, nor am I interested in politics (like former 89.5 The Wave colleague Mark Bland). From 2000 to 2009, I played Jazz as a way to pay my college tuition and make a semblance of a living. I'm most closely associated with this format, so it's a natural for me. I just can't see myself doing a talk show as a podcast.

This podcast is only intended for the listener's consumption; it is not created to air on any radio station, terrestrial, satellite or Internet. I am not comfortable with having my productions sent out over the broadcast airwaves right now. Make sure you watch this blog for the release of the premiere of The Jazz Mixer podcast.