WJCT Public Media’s 89.9 WJCT-FM Jacksonville FL has launched “Jazz Radio” on its HD4 subchannel and digital platforms.
The launch is timed with the Jacksonville Jazz Festival weekend. The station is promoting features as including “Classic Jazz Hits and Deep Cuts”, “Contemporary Innovators and Local Stars”, and “Spotlight segments on Jacksonville’s vibrant jazz scene”.
Program Director David Luckin said, “Our city has deep jazz roots, and this new station is a tribute to that legacy and to the vibrant future of the genre. We’re excited to bring listeners a curated mix of the best in jazz, whether they’re discovering it for the first time or returning to a lifelong passion.”
The station will also feature a new show “Bop City” hosted by jazz saxophonist and director of Jacksonville’s historic Friday Musicale Daniel Stark focusing on Bebop. Bop City will also air on Public News/Talk 89.9 WJCT on Saturdays at 7pm.
Stark said, “The first episode is a banger! It opens with a cut from the new Sullivan Fortner record, goes through some Max Roach and Mingus, and has a track from a South African pianist named Nduduzo Makhathini, and more artists throughout the hour-long show. It sets the stakes for the rest of the series, in terms of who and what gets counted as bebop legacy.Listeners will hear Art Blakey, Max Roach, Roy Haynes, but the show will cover Ed Blackwell and Roy Brooks too. It will be entertaining for bebop fans and those looking for fresh sounds.”
Jazz Radio replaces AAA “The Independent” on WJCT-HD4. The channel is part of WJCT’s “Jacksonville Music Experience” suite along with Classical music on WJCT-HD2 and Oldies “Anthology” on WJCT-HD3.
