KZSM — Iconic jazz every Tuesday
Community radio provides freedom and variety of content not available on commercial radio. At KZSM.org, our programming expresses the range of interests in our diverse, vibrant community. On “No Words—Jazz” (Tuesdays 10-11 a.m.), host Jeff Jones celebrates “the greatest era of music in America” — the late 1950s and early 1960s.
“No Words—Jazz” features renowned artists such as Cannonball Adderley, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Bill Evans, and Horace Silver, along with a mixture of less well-known performers. According to Jones, the musicians’ interactions with each other created the power and magic of the era: “There was lots of overlap — Miles and Cannonball worked together, for instance. The musicians all had a lot of respect for each other.” And they inspired each other, he continues. “They felt like they were on the edge of their talents and capabilities and the capabilities of the instruments they had to work with.” They took their sound to edge of possibility and sometimes over that edge, he explains.
Lyrics were superfluous, because “they feel like the music itself has a sweet story — their own story.” The show’s name — “No Words—Jazz” — celebrates that absence of lyrics in favor of the music’s own story. In the present “time of division,” lyrics might be “all over the place,” but music itself can reach everyone without judgment or controversy.
The music Jones plays was not created for commercial radio, where two or three minute songs leave plenty of time for advertising. For example, “Cannonball Adderley’s ‘Autumn Leaves’ is eleven minutes long — that’s cutting out a lot of commercial time.” Jones believes that the musicians of thatera “had no idea or illusion that people on the radio would pick up on their music. People listened to the music live or bought it and took it home.”
Jones became interested in jazz relatively late in life, after a co-worker gave him a copy of the Miles Davis classic “Kind of Blue.” “It was different from the 70s and 80s country and pop I grew up with,” he recalls. He’s now amassed an extensive collection, but keeps looking for new discoveries. “There’s so much out there; there’s always something that didn’t get played.”
Listeners are encouraged to contribute. If you have a favorite track, email us at KZSMSanMarcos@gmail.com or comment on our KZSM.org True Community Radio Facebook page, and Jones will find and feature your selection.
