WDCB 90.9 FM

I thought I had it made in Boston with WGBH, even though their jazz selection was minuscule and only played at night. Probably my favorite thing about the Chicago suburbs is WDCB. I love jazz and I hate commercials. And Bruce Oscar is a great DJ, as corny as he is sometimes.
The shows are varied and interesting. If there’s one you don’t like, I’m sure there are at least two that you do.

A truly great radio station if you love Jazz. For me WDCB is what Public Radio should be – not all talk all day like WBEZ, but alternative music that’s unavailable on commercial radio: Progressive Jazz, Fusion, Blues, Folk, Celtic. Plus there is some public affairs programming… in my opinion, just enough.
The daytime, evening and weekend DJs are the best in the business. The graveyard shift DJ is extremely annoying — so much so that I no longer listen in the wee hours — but even with him the play list is always great.

WDCB is a Great radio station! It has the strongest signal of the remaining ‘independent’ stations in Chicagoland, and a varied and wonderful programming schedule.
During Steve Cushing’s Blues Before Sunrise, you can hear classic Blues, and Rhythm & Blues from the 1890s to the 1970s (the older ones originating from cylinders). I’m not kidding about the years; he plays some of the oldest recordings I’ve ever heard.
WDCB’s other shows are equally unique, so give them all a try.
Visit WDCB’s website to see their full schedule, and listen to every show at least once. They are each worth hearing.(The previous three sentences in lieu of me commenting on WDCB’s entire schedule).
Don’t ever miss Fridays at 2pm if you can help it (just after the news update; If I do have a gripe with WDCB, I’d say: Less ‘news’ and more music please). But, 2pm Fridays is when Barry Winograd and Bruce Oscar play «Hymn To Friday» by Oscar Brown Jr and start the weekend…

Yeah, no problem giving these guys 5 Stars. Like jazz? Then you LOVE WDCB. John Burnette, Bruce Oscar and Barry Winograd are the best. I don’t necessarily like all of the genre’s of jazz that they play but I can REALLY appreciate that they are DEDICATED to jazz.
But, what I really love is Bill O’Connell’s New Vintage on Sunday’s at 5:00PM. There is nothing like Big Band played at high volume to the point that your hair is blowing back (remember the old Maxwell cassette tape magazine ads). I love listening to Maynard, Woody, The Count and other Big Band greats on Sundays.
Jazz radio in Chicago IS WDCB (period)

I thought I had perhaps tapped into an underground pirated station when I first tapped into WDCB. I couldn’t believe what they were playing! After all of these years, how the hell did I not know about this station?
First and foremost, easily one of the best radio stations here in Chicago… and not because it’s one of the only true jazz stations, but because it continues to deliver day-​in and day-​out. Ever since I found it, i’ve kept my radio dialed in.
Awesome jazz. They play stuff you will NEVER hear anywhere else on the radio. I love their weekend night line ups, too. The Saturday night blues show is downright amazing… following it is Reggae Explosion… making for a killer Saturday night line-​up. This is real radio!

Probably the best station on the radio.

It’s getting so I can’t stand commercial radio anymore. Because of the… commercials. And I find that especially in the car, I am tuning to this great jazz station. Almost anytime or night they are playing great music, and without the increasingly frequent and obnoxious commercial messages of a WXRT, for example. The schlocky get-​you-​out-​debt ones, and other Boring Boomer directed ads.
Speaking of XRT, they have Barry Winegrad here at WDCB, as well as a couple other DJ’s I like, but whose names escape me. One is a British chap who graces us with that lovely accent, and then finishes his show with «Hip, hip, Cheerio!»
The other announcer has this deep, testosterone-​marinated, alto saxophone voice which is SO perfect for a Jazz station. I can’t imagine that he could be anything but a jazz station DJ. He can play anything. I just really like his voice.
While I am not a fan of all varieties of jazz music, I find WDCB to be very pleasing. And how lucky we are just to have a good jazz station. They have my support and my pledge, too. Now Number One on my pre-​sets. Take that WBEZ and WXRT!

Chicagoans cried when Chicago Public Radio stopped playing jazz all day. Not to worry! WDCB, broadcasting from the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, has jazz all day! Well, at least until Bruce Oscar signs off at 6pm with his warm «And please today, tell somebody you love ‘em…bye bye.»
The DJs are top-​notch experts on jazz. Barry Winograd (also a WXRT Jazz Transfusion Deejay) is great as well. The mix of jazz is great too, I’m constantly learning by leaving the dial set here in the afternoons.
I don’t listen much during the weekends, but have heard reggae and dub and community programming as well. They have students doing the weather, which I always think is a nice college touch. Kudos, WDCB! I love you. Bye bye!

If you like jazz, you’ll LOVE WDCB. I’ve been a fan for over a decade. And now that WNUA is off the air (the «smooth jazz» format station), WDCB is the only station I know of that is devoted to jazz.
But if you really liked that smooth jazz format, you might disappointed. WDCB plays mainly progressive, improvisational and fusion jazz.
The weekends are a little more varied, with swing, big band, blues, and even bluegrass/​folk music. I think they also run an «old-​time» radio program.
The best news of all is that if you live in the city and have trouble tuning in (as I used to when I was in Chicago), you can listen over the Internet! Sweet…

Um, I know I should tell you this more often. And you probably already know… but, um, I just wanted to let you know.
I Love you– you are perfect.
Love,
Mark

This is probably my favourite radio station. I can’t handle that sugary, cottoncandy crap medley of «smoooooth jazz» coughed up by WNUA (I’m sorry, Kenny G is not jazz. He just isn’t). So to be able to listen to the greats from every era is a god-​send. Ella, Louis, Dave Brubeck, Miles Davis oh the list goes on and on. I like the early morning programming during the week (all things jazz with John Burnett, your British American buddy), as well as the Swing Shift which is on Saturdays between 11−1PM. Oh and Midwest Ballroom on Saturdays at 5PM is also great. If you are not familiar with jazz this is the place to fall in love with it.

One of my absolute favorite radio stations — they play awesome jazz music all day, and blues and other world type music at night. One of my favorite features is the «Beale Street Caravan», a syndicated program live from Beale Street on Thursday nights; if you love the blues this is a must hear. Don’t let the college radio stigma fool you; jazz musicians are the deejays, and it is a profesionally run, public radio station.

Sometimes I have a little trouble getting this station, but when I can tune in, I always enjoy it. I like good music, and they have it. Always something unusual, or the higher-​quality familiar programming. Heavy emphasis on jazz and worldbeat (is that a genre?) and some excellent folk, rock and blues shows. The DJs really know their shit.