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Jazz

Growing up, I played saxophone in a few bands throughout my junior high and high school years. One of the things that has stayed with me from that is a love of jazz. It's a style of music that has sadly been pushed to the sidelines as not being "commercial" enough.

Unfortunately, it's not easy to find a good source of jazz on the radio these days...while it's easy to find crap (or whatever is passing for "Pop" music these days). And no, easy listening stations playing endless Kenny G CD's doesn't cut it, either.

There used to be a few good sources around. Two of the best were provided by the CBC :

  • After Hours. Originally hosted by Ross Porter, this show had Andy Sheppard at the helm. It aired weeknights on CBC Radio Two, and provided two hours of grat jazz, showcasing both new artists and old favorites. The show has spawned a number of CD's showcasing many of the artists, and are a great way to try out different styles of jazz (the opening track to the After Hours, Blue Note Collection Vol II CD, "Cry Me a River" by Julie London, is one of my favorites).

  • Jazz Beat. Hosted by Katie Malloch, this show aired Sunday nights for two hours on CBC Radio One and Two. Unlike After Hours, Jazz Beat tends to focus more on lesser known Canadian artists. Hopefully, some of their recordings will, someday, be released on CD. Like the After Hours CD's, those would be great to own.
Unfortunately, CBC decided to end both shows in March 2007...it's a great loss.

Luckily, they've replaced it with Tonic, which airs weeknights on CBC Radio. Katie Malloch and Tim Tamashiro hosted it until April 2012, when Katie stepped down. While a huge loss for her follwers, she's earned the right to step back and hand the reins over to someone else. The show givs you a great introduction to the world of jazz...just keep a pen and paper handy to jot down the names of artists you like.

I don't have satellite radio, so I have no idea what's there. However, some other sources are

Digital TV

Radio (Internet or otherwise)

(Hopefully the streaming content on some of those sites will be available to more than just Internet Explorer and the Windows Media format...us Linux users would like to listen, too!)

And, if at all possible, support your local jazz scene, or get out to a festival (like the one here in Ottawa).


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