Jazz and Blues take a major hit in Buffalo

[Ed S]

The last bastion of jazz programming in Buffalo - WBFO 88.7 - is dropping a huge chunk of jazz programming and replacing it with more NPR programs. 6 hours of additional NPR programming will force the daily 10AM-2PM jazz show off the air and push evening jazz to 10PM (from 8PM). On the weekends, 3 hours of blues programming is being replaced by NPR shows.

Sign of the times, I suppose . Bummer.

[Hardbopjazz]

That sucks, regardless of where the radio station is. Jazz always has it a rough time in the states with air time.

[Ed S]

I should have mentioned that this is my local station. I remember back in the day - that WBFO had jazz on from 9AM-5PM daily and all kinds of jazz and blues stuff on the weekends. Jazz programming does still continue all night.

We were lucky enough in Buffalo - during my formative years - to have a second station doing jazz - every evening and night from 8PM - 6AM. That station (WEBR)switched away from jazz at some point in the early 90s, I think. It was very nice to have that variety. I remember the host of the overnight jazz show on WEBR - Prez Freeland -"Your communicator and navigator" played some excellent stuff.

Edited January 21, 2010 by Ed Swinnich

[Neal Pomea]

The same thing happened in Washington DC with the station that played more bluegrass weekly than any other station in the country, WAMU. Demand was for more talk shows, the stuff you could get anywhere, while they relegated the unique stuff to HD radio. Strangely, one of the only music shows they kept was Hot Jazz Saturday Night (more of a big band era pop music show than a hot jazz thing anyway). Music is getting squeezed out everywhere.

[Ted O'Reilly]

Music is getting squeezed out everywhere.

Well, what I would call 'good' music is, but "music"? I dunno. There's an all-sports station in Toronto which starts each segment with rock/pop music exerpts that they let roll on and on. Then, the hosts seems to talk more about that piece of music than the sports topic of the day.

The entertainment sections of newspapers seem to be 75% music-referenced. Rock/pop music is at the core of most people's experiences, and the common denominator of society it would seem. iPods have taken over public interactions, and I assume they're all pumping out music rather than poetry readings.

I should have mentioned that this is my local station. I remember back in the day - that WBFO had jazz on from 9AM-5PM daily and all kinds of jazz and blues stuff on the weekends. Jazz programming does still continue all night.

We were lucky enough in Buffalo - during my formative years - to have a second station doing jazz - every evening and night from 8PM - 6AM. That station (WEBR)switched away from jazz at some point in the early 90s, I think. It was very nice to have that variety. I remember the host of the overnight jazz show on WEBR - Prez Freeland -"Your communicator and navigator" played some excellent stuff.

Buffalo used to be a great jazz radio town. I go back to hearing guys like Joe Rico (for whom Kenton did "Jump For Joe", and Jacquet did "Port Of Rico") and Carroll Hardy.

[Guest Bill Barton]

Sad news...

A familiar story these days. Last August, KBCS Bellevue-Seattle made a very similar program change, dumping morning drive-time jazz in favor of talk, talk, talk - none of it locally generated. What really sucks is that hardly any notice was taken in the Seattle jazz community. The same round of program changes axed a long-running folk show in the afternoon and the folk music community was (and still is) very vocally teed off.

Over twenty years ago my old friend and former colleague Steve Robinson (now Executive Vice President for Radio and Project Development at the WFMT Radio Network in Chicago) made the prediction that before long all public radio would be news and public affairs, with no music, not even "mainstream" classical. It's taking a bit longer than he envisioned but it's definitely the trend.

[David Gitin]

I should have mentioned that this is my local station. I remember back in the day - that WBFO had jazz on from 9AM-5PM daily and all kinds of jazz and blues stuff on the weekends. Jazz programming does still continue all night.

We were lucky enough in Buffalo - during my formative years - to have a second station doing jazz - every evening and night from 8PM - 6AM. That station (WEBR)switched away from jazz at some point in the early 90s, I think. It was very nice to have that variety. I remember the host of the overnight jazz show on WEBR - Prez Freeland -"Your communicator and navigator" played some excellent stuff.

When I was a kid in Buffalo there was only Joe Rico (bop primarily). Sometime in the early '60s Carroll Hardy (souljazz) was around. I took a shot on WUFO introducing Buffalo airwares to Ornette, Cecil, and so on...

[Tom 1960]

Over twenty years ago my old friend and former colleague Steve Robinson (now Executive Vice President for Radio and Project Development at the WFMT Radio Network in Chicago) made the prediction that before long all public radio would be news and public affairs, with no music, not even "mainstream" classical. It's taking a bit longer than he envisioned but it's definitely the trend.

Yeah wonderful. Who wants to listen to music anyways?

[Stonewall15]

Sad news...

A familiar story these days. Last August, KBCS Bellevue-Seattle made a very similar program change, dumping morning drive-time jazz in favor of talk, talk, talk - none of it locally generated. What really sucks is that hardly any notice was taken in the Seattle jazz community. The same round of program changes axed a long-running folk show in the afternoon and the folk music community was (and still is) very vocally teed off.

Over twenty years ago my old friend and former colleague Steve Robinson (now Executive Vice President for Radio and Project Development at the WFMT Radio Network in Chicago) made the prediction that before long all public radio would be news and public affairs, with no music, not even "mainstream" classical. It's taking a bit longer than he envisioned but it's definitely the trend.

Orlando has a terrific Jazz radio station- WUCF-FM. It is available via the internet. WUCF features straight-ahead jazz with live disc jockeys from 6AM to 6PM. The disc jockeys will answer questions and take requests over the telephone- 407-823-3689. From 6PM to 6AM WUCF plays recorded jazz- mainly Bob Parlocha. For those of you losing your local radio jazz broadcasts give WUCF a try.

[Brad]

That's a bummer. At least you can listen to other stations through the internet. However, if you want to listen in the car, that option is now foreclosed.