Here’s a comment from a recent posting I made, which I would like to use to start a new conversation:
I would like to hear more CAM Jazz on the station, and ECM. I would like to have a formal mechanism for listeners to recommend discs that are not getting air time. Here’s my first one: “What Now?”, Kenny Wheeler, CAM Jazz. I would like to have a specific time slot every week for edgier material of all stripes: 60’s and 70’s dark fusion, noisy New York Zorn and Frisell type stuff, Threadgill and late Coltrane avant garde, wiggy ECM a la Garbarek, ethnic stuff like Anour Brahem and Rabih Abou-Kahlil, etc. Thanks.
This is a tough one. We all know that jazz is at its best when someone pushes the envelope. Miles Davis totally reinvented how we think about jazz, not once but several times.
But, we see an important aspect of our business as inviting new people to experience jazz and making the station as welcoming to untrained ears as well as people who have been listening to jazz all their lives.
It’s a delicate balance to strike, and we know we can never please every one. Edgy jazz shows haven’t really been too much on our radar because frankly, “regular” jazz is edgy enough for most people.
#1 complaint about jazz in general and one we hear about KCCK often? Something to the effect of…. “It’s fine till those saxophones start to honk and there’s no melody.”
But, it’s a big tent, and there are a lot of hours in a week.
So, what do you think? Would you tune in for a show that featured edgy jazz? What time do you think it should be on? Who should host?
We’ll be interested to hear your thoughts.