You're in for a treat when a renowned artist and an announcer with vast music programming experience join forces on the radio. Such was the case on WNUA's former program, "Jazz, Ramsey And Yvonne." During a trip to Chicago on May 26, 1990, I tuned in and heard an evening of excellent, well-programmed jazz. Hearing legendary musician Ramsey Lewis and longtime Chicago DJ and programmer Yvonne Daniels combine their talents that night makes me wish that online streaming had been around then. This was part of their show intro that night:
Yvonne: ...We have some great surprises for you, some nice stuff planned...
Ramsey: We have to warn 'em now...that we're also going to play some stuff we brought from home. Sometimes, I feel sort of guilty because of the cracks and pops (in the records), but I think the music is well worth the things we bring from home.
Yvonne: And again, I remind you that we have records all over the floor...
Ramsey: That's right--literally.
Yvonne: ...All up against the wall, and sometimes, I want to play two at a time, you know, 'cause we do have so many that we want to get in. The first one that we're going to show off is Quincy Jones again, but this is quite different for Quincy...
...With that, the show's first selection, "Tell Me A Bedtime Story," began playing. A strong radio program, in my opinion, should mimic a good used record store. There should be a tasteful blend of obscure and familiar music, with a good helping of tunes that build on a listener's knowledge base. When the hosts know their music well and share their knowledge and good taste with the audience, that enthusiasm should rub off on the listeners--and hopefully, result in increased sales for artists whose work deserves more recognition.
There can never be enough shows in the style of "Jazz, Ramsey And Yvonne"--on the radio or the Internet.
