Jazz Update From WBEZ
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Malatia describes current ‘BEZ music programming as “attempting to please everybody at some time somewhere,” with a schedule that offers “everything short of chain-saw rock ‘n’ roll.” He wants to “unify and concentrate” the programming, choosing one or two styles of music for a format that’s not duplicated in Chicago and keeping it consistent over seven days instead of just five. “That’s part of our mission, to produce a service to the public-radio listener that’s unique,” he says.
Many, of course, would argue that jazz programming is a unique service. “There’s not a lot on the air,” says WBEZ jazz host Neil Tesser. He quickly dismisses WNUA–“WNUA thinks they do jazz all the time, but they don’t really do jazz any of the time.” That leaves Harvey station WBEE as the only full-time jazz station, with a signal audible only on the south side. As for the part-time jazz programming at College of DuPage station WDCB, Tesser says “they aren’t good at” mixing new releases with older recordings and giving a sense of the music’s evolution. Fellow WBEZ jazz host Dick Buckley agrees, and champions his classic-jazz listeners. Stations like WDCB, he says, “sometimes seem so interested to play the new releases, I wonder if they really listen to what they’re playing. ‘Course, I’m an old curmudgeon. If they want to hear mainstream jazz, what I play, then there’s really nowhere else.”
“I think the box office was erring on the side of concern for potential customers,” said Bandle. Gray, she said, was part of a small (three-show) series with minuscule subscriber cancellations. “They don’t want hordes and hordes of people to come down….They don’t want you to get mad by endorsing your coming down and trying to get a ticket [unsuccessfully].”
