KJAZZ 88.1 FM

This is a response to Eric G who said:
«As to Michael O’s review, all I can say is you’re one ignorant, negative person.
Your statement: „Blues = the black version of country music! AKA garbage!“ is one of the dumbest statements ever made.»
Really? the dumbest statements ever made? You mean that in the last 5000 years since the cavemen and all that happened until now THIS is the dumbest statement? (you did say «ever made») Your statement that my statement is dumb is dumb (not sure if you can follow).
I confirm and repeat that in my view Country music IS indeed garbage and I know A LOT of people who share that sentiment. And Blues is just depressing. Blues is the black version of Country music where something bad happened (wife left, dog dies, truck broken or whatever redneck complaint of). As for The Rolling Stones (I assume that is what you meant by «the Stones») there are a few songs I like but I like The Beatles more. Jimmy Hendrix I HATE: DO NOT RIP. Purple, Pink Floyd, Santana: Why do you mention them? It is not Blues it’s Rock ‘N Roll. «Without blues there would have been no Rock & Roll» Says you. And even if true it doesn’t change anything: I may hate Blues and not what came later thanks to Blues which is according to you Rock ‘n Roll.
Just like I can dislike a «worm”-like insect but not the butterfly that comes later. I may dislike the raw meat as sold in the market but not the meat as it is once cooked. I may hate the bold fat father but not his lovely daughter. Should I continue? I must like Blues because years later Rock ‘n Roll was born? And you tell me I make dumb statement? HA!
Beside my comments (both of them) received positive responses: cool funny helpful
yours didn’t not receive even one response.
Don’t you get it that it is a matter of taste? You like what I hate. Fine. What should I expect from a dog-​owner?
I have no intention to start a debate with you; you’re not worth my time. Go use your Cannabis (for medical reason. of course… of course).

Great station with a great mix of jazz (and blues on the weekends). DJs tell great anecdotes about songs & musicians. I’m not sure why there is a Kenny G photo here since I’ve never heard him being played on KJAZZ.
As to Michael O’s review, all I can say is you’re one ignorant, negative person.
Your statement: «Blues = the black version of country music! AKA garbage!» is one of the dumbest statements ever made. Without blues there would have been no Rock & Roll. Why don’t you ask The Stones, Clapton, Hendrix (RIP), Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, Santana etc. what they think of the blues.

Used to love this jazz station. Would do anything to listen to it back in the day. Then Sam Fields and the great Chuck Niles die. They fired James Janice and, perhaps the greatest on-​air jazz educator of all time, Scott Willis. Helen Borgers, while truly knowledgable of all things jazz, is really quite a bore once she opens her mouthpiece. KKJZ offers an unpleasant mix of contemporary jazz and real jazz. I once tuned in only to hear the greatest anathema to jazz, Kenny G, presenting a jazz show. Sacrilege! Very, very weak signal out my way in vomitville. Look for other options!

88.1 is my go-​to radio station for Jazz music. I was recently a listener of 94.7 The Wave until they changed from their Smooth Jazz format to all R&B. That’s right, no more Jazz on 94.7 The Wave. Their new programmer changed the format to strictly R&B to try to compete with another local Los Angeles radio station.

I love jazz and we’re very lucky to have a jazz radio station in SoCal. I especially love the old school greats, like Dexter Gordon and Charlie Parker and Dave Brubeck, because I like sax and trumpet sounds. Unfortunately, KJAZZ don’t play enough of these old classics.
They play a lot of bass oriented jazz and modern jazz, like Hancock, Diana Krall, Wynton Marsalis and a lot of Latin Jazz or bossa nova, all of which is okay but if you’re like me and prefer the legends, like Billie Holiday and Tommy Dorsey, then you’ll have a love/​hate relationship with this radio station.

The station obviously wants to kill the Sat & Sun morning swing format, and has now reduced it from 4 to 3 hours, forsaking swing evergreens and playing mostly crud that does not swing!

This is my GO TO radio station.
I am not a heavy jazz fan — but no matter when I turn it on, it is always 100% free of advertising. Most of the time I get t listen to music that doesn’t offend, and tends to brighten up my day. Just the Blues and old Jazz/​Popular music is restricted to the weekends.
I quit smoking in 1989 — and to this day I miss it. However this station is the best placebo available for me. Who knows I might become a jazz fan. The Wag man always has something soothing in his play list.

Whenever and wherever I’m driving, I listen to KJAZZ about 99% of the time, So at the last fund drive, KJAZZ was offering two «free tickets to the Wynston Marsalis, Jazz at Lincoln center concert that occurred last night at the Valley performing arts center in Northridge. I went to will call not knowing what seats that had been reserved for me I was thinking maybe the cheaper «nosebleed» seats in the back was a distinct possibility and that was OK.
When I got the seats they turned out to be «orchestra center section, in front of the sound board, what a score !
The folks around me had spent $ 65 for a seat and I scored 2 tickets for my single contribution of $ 88 and helped keep the station to boot !
Of course the concert was beyond any of my wildest imagination and the acoustics
at the center were impeccable. Duke Ellington, Count Basie were performed flawlessly. and Wynston Marsalis is a wonder maestro and renowned musicologist.
There were people around me who decided to contribute more to kJazz upon hearing my story and that’s all good too !
Thanks Kjazz, may you «live long and prosper» !

I was reading about it so I decided to see what this 88.1 sounded like. To me, it came off as very snobby. Nose up in the air talking down at people who they seem to consider lesser than them. I just couldn’t get past that. The music isn’t a big part of my rating although it came off as kind of classical old man jazz,
I wouldn’t bother returning.

Don’t get me wrong, I love 88.1 KJZZ! Heck, I’m even a member. I don’t even mind the annoying phoneathons. That’s where I became a member, after all! :-)
I have one small pet peeve, however. The station bills itself as a Jazz AND Blues, hence the website
. So why is it that I have to wait until Saturday and Sunday to hear the Blues? Even then, I have to wait until the afternoon, from 2 pm to 7 pm to be exact. Maybe the station should change to «Jazz and, you know, some Blues with a little bit of big band /​swing and Latin Jazz thrown in for good measure? (Latin Jazz played Sat & Sunday from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM and Swing from 6:00 AM to 10:00 AM on Sat /​Sun).
Despite my one little annoyance, the station is truly five star quality. Since I’m the only one giving less than four stars, I think they are safe! :-)
Keep up the good work KJZZ!

KKJZ 88.1 is the only fm station that plays true jazz/​blues. I grew up listening to KKGO with Chuck Niles in the late 60’s and 70’s. As a teen I listened to Eddie Harris «Cold Duck Time», Herbie Mann «Memphis Underground». The Jazz Crusaders Lighthouse 68 and Wes Montgomery played a great version of «Eleanor Rigby». Also, Sergio Mendes and Brasil 66 «Mas que Nada». Back to KKJZ, I really appreciate the personalites knowledge and history of the artist they play. Helen Borgers amazes me with the information she shares, You can tell she really loves doing what she does, and she does it well. I always look forward to the weekends for «Nothin’ but the Blues». Jazz on the latin side with Jose Rizo is a pleasure to listen to. Especially, Poncho Sanchez ! Thank You KKJZ, the only radio station I will listen to. Cannot forget Gary «the Wagman» Wagner, and all the DJ’s. Thank You all !

This has been a treasure of Long Beach as long as I can remember. In a radio dial that’s filled with Top 40 regurgitation, annoying DJs, and wall-​to-​wall ads, K-​Jazz (formerly KLON) serves up a steady rotation of jazz and blues along with NPR news updates. It’s a hybrid of a college station and a public radio station, which is usually a good thing, and only occasionally makes things complicated.
It was a great day in SoCal when they upgraded their transmitter a few years ago, allowing people to get reception much farther than previously — all over SoCal instead of within about 10 miles of LB. Now of course you can also listen online, which is great too.
The only downside to K-​Jazz is, of course, the quarterly beg-​a-​thons which make the listening experience nearly intolerable for the whole duration. So pony up that membership money if you listen — the quicker they get their needs met, the quicker they can get back to playing commercial-​free jazz, blues, and world music.

Skip 94.7 The WAVE and listen to this during my morning traffic jams.

By far the best radio station I’ve heard in forever. At first I thought It’s even better than when the father of great modern jazz DJs, Bubba Jackson, was on KADX in Denver in the 1970’s. Then I realized Bubba Jackson is on this station but I didn’t know it and hadn’t heard him until I saw the web site!
Check it out.

*** many say that breakfast is perhaps the most important meal … ***
so why not have «Breakfast with Bubba» during your a.m. commute?
i’ve gotta trek down to OC to my office sometimes … so when i do,
i always try to take the time to fill-​up on a well-​balanced meal of
jazz classics. it puts me in the right mood to approach the day.
this morning it was the 6am program of DJ Bubba Jackson.
in sales, attitude is most important. Bubba’s gotta great one.
he sold me long ago. he makes my 1-​hour commute a breeze.
today the first piece i heard was dominated by a xylophone.
that’s vintage. it was followed by a trombone piece … then
female vocalist Tierney Sutton sang «Fever», oh yeah, now
i’m ready for my 9am presentation. i’m in a mellow state.
and on the weekends, KKJZ rocks with the blues all day.
i gotta get my blues fix too, so i happily donate $ to KKJZ.
(KKJZ is a member supported radio station under CSU.)
*** «Breakfast with Bubba» … the most important meal of the day. ***

Long Beach Blues Festival Review (posted here because KJAZZ is one of the organizers)
I’m a big blues fan, but yesterday was a first. I finally made it to the Long Beach Blues Festival. I’ve been hearing about this for probably 15 years. Living in San Pedro makes it a hop, skip and a jump to Long Beach. I’m not big on all day out door events, so I had put it off for a long time. But a good friend suggested that we go on Sunday. She really wanted to hear Taj Mahal, so off we went.
The venue has moved this year from the campus of Cal State Long Beach to Rainbow Lagoon Park, maybe 10 miles as the crow flies, but a world of difference in climate. Rainbow Lagoon Park is practically on the ocean and it was so much cooler there.
While the festival started at 2:00, we didn’t get there until about 5:00. Parking was great, and it was a pleasant walk from the car to the park as we could hear the music from the stage all the way to the parking lot. It was lawn seating, so getting there that late meant our seating choices were somewhat restricted, but we found a decent spot and settled in. We could carry food in, but no beverages. We also took sand chairs in. The rules said that lawn chairs were not allowed, but someone obviously forgot to tell the staff. Oh well. There was lots to eat and drink inside. We brought cheese, crackers, grapes and salads. We ate everything but the salads. We purchased beer, sausage sandwiches, and garlic fries.
Now on to the music. We heard Eddie Floyd, Charlie Musselwhite, Booker T Jones and, of course, Taj Mahal. They were all great. Most of these artists I had never hear live. Eddie Floyd played a number of his hits from Stax records. Charlie Musselwhite had one of the tightest bands there, his music really spoke to me. Booker T was most excellent. Yes, he is of the Booker T and MG’s fame. Last, but not least, Taj Mahal was in fine form. His trio plays a variety of instruemtnal and non-​instrumental selections. As I’m writing this, I checking out their discography to add to my collection. I wish I had taken some notes so that I tell you exactly the songs that I heard, but I didn’t. I just sat there and enjoyed the music in the moment.
KJAZZ (88.1FM) is the organizer of the festival. They play jazz and blues and are a local music icon here. This was the 29^th year of this festival and I have no doubt that I could have met people who have gone all 29 years. Now that I’ve gone, I’ll go back again. It was that good.

I’m no jazz expert BUT, I definitely started listening and KJAZZ (88.1 fm) located at Cal State Long Beach. After a long and stressful day at work this station is easy listening as I drive along PCH.
Highly recommended for a relaxing ride in the car or a hip feel while cooking in the kitchen. Actually, whenever, wherever!

KJAZZ (KKJZ): It’s 88.1 FM on the Long Beach dial, but also accessible anywhere in the Milky Way at
… … … …
The old-​school Jupiterians tune in and jazz out after a long day of microwaving the rarinans off of all the fpellededers. The new-​schoolers tune in too, but they have laser pointers that do the same thing with less mess. And on Saturn, they’re shooting the buzz to the Caffeinists in their booths tapping away to wrap up the month-​end upper-​management vision vis-​a-​vis an excel jack ass pie graph. KJAZZ is playing this whole time. The jokees start yakking it up, trying to make the gal whatevs laugh. And the Neptunians look forward to the weekends just as we do — Every Saturday and Sunday morning starts off with Chuck Cecil’s Swingin’ Years (which began its broadcast in the mid 50s.)
I wish I was in my bedroom right now,
playing, the phones turned off, blinds slanting upward lazily to catch the last of the twilight dusk, my mind shutting down and drifting along.
And the next morning, I’m brewing up the stimulus package, opening up the bay windows, and letting in the tweets and chirps of the birds and the groaning of garbage trucks marching down each street to pick up all the waste we accumulate year after year. They crunch it down and build another suburban development on top. Okay, go back to the birds chirping, singing Good Morning.
On KJAZZ, tomorrow’s contemporary artists are today’s future classic artists with a heavy nod to yesterday’s great artists. Tune it in sharply.

KJAZZ formerly KLON, is a great station. Great blues music block on the weekends. 10 hours of blues 2−7pm every Sat and Sun. It takes me back to the days of my dad and I working on someone’s house with BB King, Bobby Blue Bland and Robert Cray blaring in the background. The Blues festival at Long Beach State hosted by the station is also the largest west of the Mississippi, There have been great artists who’ve performed here– Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker, Etta James, Koko Taylor and Albert King. Always a great way to spend Labor Day weekend.
I remembered as a youngster, I hated this music that dad would play every weekend. Dammmn how many times do I have to hear «my woman left me… my woman cheated on me. I lost my job… my house burned down. etc » But now as an adult, this music speaks to me.
Thanks again Dad. Just another example of how eventually our parents know more than us.
Thank you Dad for introducing me to the blues. And thank you for introducing me to this station. Just one more reason that I’ll always love you. Thanks Dad.

I love KJAZZ. Sadly, they broadcast out of Long Beach and their signal doesn’t carry everywhere in the San Fernando Valley, so I can’t always pick up their soothing notes on my car audio.
Come on, KJAZZ… I’m stuck in the Valley… That’s punishment enough. Can you at least give me penance by boosting your signal a teeny little bit to make my commute more bearable?