Nov 07, 2009
Folk music has been a mainstay on WGBH for as long as I can remember. Acoustic artists are as popular as ever and in some ways even more popular then in days gone by. I don't get it. WGBH should be ashamed of itself...
Today from Steve Schwartz' Facebook page, on the termination of his show after nearly 27 years we read...
You've heard by now: My almost 27 year run on WGBH radio is coming to an end as of September 1st. I will no long be on the radio doing a jazz show. It is a gigantic blow, not only to me but to the jazz community at large. Not only here in Boston but all around the country and the world. We have listeners on line everywhere. It has been an honor and a privilege to be part of this community and I hope still be able to contribute to it in other ways.You can let WGBH Management know how you feel by writing to:phil_redo@wgbh.orgThanks for your support and keep swinging!
also today, on Eric Jackson's Facebook page we read
Changes at WGBH are coming. My evening show is going to be eliminated. I will be on the air Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 9 PM until Midnight. Steve Schwartz will be let go and my position will be scaled back to part time. I am not sure if there will be any change to Bob Parlocha's show.
In 2009-2010 many of us attended community advisory committee meetings, sent letters to senior executives and the board of directors and withdrew support via volunteering and memberships. All to no avail. WGBH management's answer then was, on the advice of "industry experts" there was room in the Boston market for an all-news/talk public radio outlet (the other being WBUR) so it was going "single format" (all news and talk). It appears today WGBH management, with the support of the board of directors and the members who elect them, are holding steady by reducing jazz broadcast hours.
What's next, the complete elimination of jazz and reduction/elimination of "A Celtic Sojourn?" That would be the logical course in keeping with the "single stream" business approach. We chose to use the word "business" as WGBH has become an operation run as a for-profit business, not a not-for-profit rooted in serving the public. Remember the public, it's the operative word of "public radio."
When WGBH management pulled the plug on folk and blues programs, Jim Kweskin provided the following quote:
"I can only assume this has something to do with the almighty dollar. Isn't this supposed to be public radio and aren't we the public. Folk music has been a mainstay on WGBH for as long as I can remember. Acoustic artists are as popular as ever and in some ways even more popular then in days gone by. I don't get it. WGBH should be ashamed of itself. Well, as Ma Joad said, "We're the people and you can't stop us and you can't lick us. We just keep coming, 'cause we're the people."
That was true on November 11, 2009 and, unfortunately, remains true today.
Captured from the WGBH website before the pages are sent down the memory hole:
http://www.wgbh.org/listen/schwartz_steve.cfm
http://www.wgbh.org/listen/schwartz_steve.cfm
Steve Schwartz | Jazz from Studio Four
"There's always new music to discover and old music to rediscover."
Background: Born and raised in Boston. Discovered jazz on the radio as a teenager living in southern California. That freed me from having to listen to Elvis Presley and Pat Boone anymore. I've been at WGBH for 19 years and am looking forward to many more. There's always new music to discover and old music to rediscover.
Nickname(s): The only nickname I ever had was while I was living in California during the late 1950s. Because of where I came from, my schoolmates began calling me "Boston Blackie." My grandchildren call me "Pops."
First album I ever owned: The Jazz Showcase, Introducing the Mastersounds. Bought in Los Angeles in 1959, 50 years ago. This music was just issued on CD for the first time by Fresh Sounds. It's great to hear it without all the surface noise that had accumulated on the original LP.
Five desert island albums: Duke Ellington, Piano in the Foreground (Columbia Records); Charles Mingus, Blues and Roots (Atlantic Records); Bill Evans, Sunday at the Village Vanguard (Riverside Records); Betty Carter, Inside Betty Carter (United Artists/Blue Note Records); The Beatles, The White Album (Capitol Records).
Favorite podcast: Real Time with Bill Maher
Greatest place to see live music: The Village Vanguard in New York City
Most memorable concert: Charles Mingus at Lennie's on the Turnpike in West Peabody, Massachusetts. Or was it John Coltrane's quartet at the Jazz Workshop on Boylston Street in Boston? Or was it...
Favorite movie about music/musician: 'Tis Autumn: The Search for Jackie Paris
Favorite book about music/musician: Chet Baker: As Though I Had Wings, The Lost Memoir
When not listening to jazz, I listen to talk radio (to hear what the world at large is talking about).
Finest moment on the air: Every Friday night 8pm-midnight
Most embarrassing moment on the air: Never had one
If I weren’t a radio host, I’d be a jazz night club owner on the island of Guadaloupe. Or maybe a bicycle mechanic (which I actually was before getting involved in jazz radio full time).
Eric Jackson | Jazz with Eric in the Evening
"Eric Jackson has been the dean of the Boston jazz scene for 25 years."
-Boston Magazine
First album I ever owned: I bought my first three records all on the same day — Chicken and Dumplings by Bobby Timmons, Soul Clinic by Hank Crawford, and Soul Message by Richard Groove Holmes.
Five desert island albums: Anything by Coltrane or Miles
Greatest place to see live music: I love outdoor festivals and concerts.
Favorite book about music/musician: The Music of Black Americans by Eileen Southern
When not listening to Jazz, I listen to Stevie Wonder, Prince
If I wasn’t a radio host, I’d be a psychiatrist.
The best part of my job is hearing lots of new music and meeting lots of people.
89.7 WGBH HOSTS
Jazz on WGBH with Eric Jackson
Each Monday-Thursday, 8pm-12am, and Sunday nights, 10pm-12am, the "dean of Boston jazz radio" Eric Jackson brings listeners the very best jazz on Boston radio's home of jazz, 89.7 WGBH.
Jazz from NPR
June 19, 2012 | NPR ·
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Two hours since Steve's posting, sentiments expressed by friends and fans to his Facebook page:
...and similar sentiments from the first three hours of friend and fan comments to Jackson's Facebook announcement:
Two hours since Steve's posting, sentiments expressed by friends and fans to his Facebook page:
You've heard by now: My almost 27 year run on WGBH radio is coming to an end as of September 1st. I will no long be on the radio doing a jazz show. It is a gigantic blow, not only to me but to the jazz community at large. Not only here in Boston but all around the country and the world. We have listeners on line everywhere. It has been an honor and a privilege to be part of this community and I hope still be able to contribute to it in other ways.
You can let WGBH Management know how you feel by writing to:
phil_redo@wgbh.org
Thanks for your support and keep swinging!
You can let WGBH Management know how you feel by writing to:
phil_redo@wgbh.org
Thanks for your support and keep swinging!
...and similar sentiments from the first three hours of friend and fan comments to Jackson's Facebook announcement:
