Jazz and Blues Lounge

Tuning into Jazz in Chicago

by balaspa on February 17th, 2008

I admit, again, that I am cheating a bit here.  I have written before about the struggles jazz fans in the Chicago area have when it comes to listening to jazz music.  Sure, there are always iPods and CDs and such, but there is something about being able to listen to an actual radio station.  You can hear things you wouldn’t normally hear.  You can discover new things.  You can find out about the music and the musicians involved thanks to the DJs.

Here in Chicago, your options are limited.  This may be the case in most cities.  Commercial jazz radio just isn’t a viable genre.  Most cities, if they are big enough, have jazz radio stations buried at far ends of the FM or AM band, or they have Smooth Jazz radio stations.  I am not much of a fan of Smooth Jazz.  Finding goog classic jazz is tough.

In Chicago, for a time, the local NPR radio station, WBEZ, played classic jazz during the evening and overnight hours.  It was cool stuff to listen to, but it wasn’t attracting an audience.  A couple of years ago WBEZ made the decision to stop the all night jazz and the jazz fans in Chicago had a fit.  However, there were not enough jazz fans to make them change their minds.

So, where can you go?  Well, thankfully, there are several options, and the other good news is that they are all available online, so those of you in Chicago can listen to them as well.

POSTED IN: Bands, Chicago, Radio, jazz