We had been stranded in Las Vegas over 9-11.  If you’re thinking that might have been the best place to be at a time of disaster and uncertainty, you’d be right to some extent.  There were lots of ways to distract ourselves.  But Las Vegas feels different when you want to leave it but can’t.  And the Las Vegas of 9-11 was not the same as what we were used to.

By the afternoon of 9-11, when it was apparent what had really happened, casinos along the Strip began shutting down their electronic billboards or replacing the images with that of an American flag.  We walked out onto Las Vegas Boulevard that afternoon, and there was Old Glory on one billboard after another, as far as the eye could see, in both directions.   That was a neat sight.

We learned that all major shows and entertainment were canceled indefinitely.  Some casinos took the unprecedented step of halting any gambling for awhile that day.  At the Mirage, where we were staying, the mood on the gaming floor was completely subdued.   Piped-in music, as ubiquitous in Las Vegas casinos as secondhand smoke, had been turned off entirely.  There was very little action at the table games, and the usual din of the slot machines was gone.  Dealers, pit bosses and cocktail waitresses were mostly standing around in shock.  Everyone in the casino, from the employees to the gamblers, was caught in the same haze of uncertainty.  I noticed people were sitting down at the tables not as much to gamble but to be able chat with the dealers and other players.  There was great comfort in knowing you weren’t alone in the anxiety you were feeling.

Since all commercial flights were grounded, there was a mad rush for transportation out of Las Vegas.  All rental cars in Las Vegas were gone within a couple days.  Greyhound and Amtrak announced on the local news that they had no tickets left, and they couldn’t even offer a guess as to when they would have any more.  Lori and I weren’t scheduled to fly home until Thursday, the 13^th.  Surely, we thought, planes would be in the air again by then.  We were wrong.

It wasn’t until the following Tuesday, the 18^th, that United resumed their normal flight schedule and we were able to leave.  Thankfully the Mirage, like most other hotels in town, came up with a special room rate (most of them called it their “God Bless America” rate) that allowed us—and thousands of other stranded tourists—to add extra days to our stay without having to pay the regular rate.   

My first day back at the station was Wednesday, the 19^th.  Between the elation and the relief of finally being back, that day flew by.  I hardly remember it.  The one thing I do remember is sitting in my boss’ office that day when he announced that Richard Elliot was going through with his concert at the Chicago Theatre that Friday night, the 21^st.  And, when he came out on stage that night, Richard said what was going through the minds of all of us:  “I think this is what we all need.”  I would have to say that our collective healing process began at that moment.

Fast forward to 2010, and we find that gaping hole in the Smooth Jazz category of Christmas music has been filled—and then some.  There are just too many holiday collections to pick from, and it’s impossible to know which recordings are worth your time and money.  That’s where my annual list of recommended holiday recordings comes in.

With the 2010 edition of the list in your hands (or up on your computer screen), you’ll see the best of the best.  These are the CDs that have proven to be evergreens.  They’re favorites at my house as well as on the air every holiday season, and listeners tell me over and over how much they’ve enjoyed them, too.

The list is free for the asking.  Just drop me a note via email to Rick@WLFM877.com, and let me know if you’d like your copy as a Word document or PDF.  If you prefer the list be sent to you by conventional mail, include your name and address and drop a line to Rick O’Dell, WLFM-LP, 540 Frontage Road, Suite 2000, Northfield, IL 60093-1297.

In my opening remarks before a capacity crowd at the DuSable Museum Friday night I referred to the last time an awards show in Smooth Jazz took place in Chicago (March 3, 2001) as “something those of us who were there have never stopped talking about.”  I went onto say that I felt Friday night held the same promise, that we were in for something special.  Turns out, we were.

The 2010 American Smooth Jazz Awards will go down as a night of exceptional all-around entertainment.  The music was scintillating, the performers and presenters cordial and upbeat, the crowd enthusiastic and the mood electric throughout the evening.

Event organizer, the indefatigable Bernie Scott, mentioned to me that they had had to turn away over a hundred people who showed up at DuSable hoping to buy tickets at the door Friday night.  With every seat spoken for, when the program began at 8:00 pm and Nick Colionne hit the stage to begin his opening number, it was standing room only.  There’s nothing like a packed house and this crowd, I could tell, was ready to rock—smoothly, of course.  For the next 3 ½ hours there were countless laughs and plenty of magical moments.  Off the top of my head, let me share with you a few of them:

The Canadian group Four80East, led by Tony Grace, were the first of the nominees to perform.  They chose to play their 2009 hit, “Roll On,” which turned out to be the ideal tone-setter for the evening, with its sprightly, positive beat.  Jeff Kashiwa deftly handled the melody on flute.

Trumpeter Cindy Bradley led a riveting impromptu jam session by rising stars, the “Up and Comers,” as they called themselves.  Joining Cindy in the band were saxophonist Kyle Wolverton, Valparaiso native Bryan Lubeck, Chicago’s Gerey Johnson and Michael Manson, keyboardist Nate Harasim and (very impressive) drummer Hannah Ford.  They, along with “Best International Male Artist” nominee Anders Holst, gave me a hopeful feeling about the future of Smooth Jazz.

Also, Cindy related to me after the show that her mother had been diagnosed with kidney cancer a year ago.  This past August, when she got the word that she was cancer free, she declared to the family, “Now I can book tickets for the Awards!”  She and her husband flew in from Buffalo and ended up seeing their daughter win the “Best New Artist” award.  Cindy acknowledged her parents in a touching and heartfelt acceptance speech.

Mike Scott, of TheMikeScottJazzShow.com out of Toledo, Ohio, couldn’t contain his astonishment upon learning he was named “Broadcaster of the Year – Internet.”  In an acceptance speech filled with moments of hilarity, he went on and on for over ten minutes.

The evening’s most touching moments came during Regina Tisdale’s introduction of the Humanitarian Award named in her husband Wayman’s honor.  Overcoming a case of stage fright and explaining that “Wayman would have wanted me up here to do this,” she reminded us of Wayman’s total devotion to Smooth Jazz and the fans he made as a musician.   He’d rather be remembered as a musician than a basketball player, she revealed.

Steve Cole, Kim Waters and Jeff Kashiwa—as The Sax Pack–kept the mood light, clowning around on stage while, at the same time, treating us to some heavy-duty playing.  They got one of the biggest hands of the night with their recent hit, “Can’t Help Myself.”

Dave Koz couldn’t make the Awards.  He was on the first leg of his Asian tour, performing in China this weekend.  Longtime Koz band director Brian Simpson accepted both of Dave’s awards for him.  I had the pleasure of meeting Brian’s two daughters who were there, rooting on their dad, a nominee in the keyboardist category.

It took stagehands five minutes to roll a grand piano out on stage.  Then, David Benoit sat down and, in three numbers, proved once again why he’s the finest Smooth Jazz pianist ever–treating us to his signature pieces “Freedom at Midnight,” “Kei’s Song” and “Beat Street.” Once the applause finally died down, he graciously accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award from Bernie Scott, who announced the award would be renamed the “David Benoit Lifetime Achievement Award.”

Smooth Jazz’s old guard acquitted itself well, with Boney James’ and Richard Elliot’s sharing the “Brass/Woodwinds Artist of the Year” award, Peter White’s taking home three awards (the most by any artist), and David Benoit’s Lifetime Achievement award.   For his live number, Richard Elliot chose to perform his first Smooth Jazz hit, “When a Man Loves a Woman,” with all the flourish and the wonderful fat notes that made his rendition a standard during the early years of the genre.

The night’s finale was appropriately grand, with Nick Colionne and his supergroup led by David Benoit, Michael Manson, Richard Elliot, Peter White, Marc Antoine, Jackiem Joyner and Joey Sommerville playing a spirited extended rendition of “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now” in memory of Wayman Tisdale.  Each musician in the 11-piece band got to do a solo.  It was also a rare opportunity to see Marc Antoine play something other than his customary acoustic guitar.  There weren’t enough acoustic guitars to go around, so Marc had to borrow Gerey Johnson’s electric axe, forcing Gerey to sit out during the final number.

Chicago’s Khari Parker, Dave Hiltebrand and Gerey Johnson were the core of a house band that showed its mettle all night, deftly backing up each of the acts as comfortably as though they’d been together for years.

Before the show started, the packed-to-the-gills lobby was the site of a massive meet-and-greet, with fans exchanging handshakes and hugs with musicians and presenters.  I renewed acquaintances with a number of former WNUA listeners going back nearly two decades.  We could have spent all night catching up!  As I was meeting saxophonist Darren Rahn for the first time, a gentleman came up and asked Darren if he knew where keyboardist Nate Harasim might be.  Darren disappeared into one of the upstairs projection areas at DuSable that had been turned into a makeshift green room and returned a minute later with Nate.  The gentleman reached into his bag and produced a custom made lampshade that he had decorated with amazingly accurate likenesses of his favorite artists.  I noticed that one of them was Bobby Lyle, who had placed his autograph next to his portrait on the lampshade some time back.  The space next to Bobby’s was a likeness of Nate Harasim.  Nate’s reaction was priceless.  He had never seen anything like it; nor had I.  This was a truly unique and remarkable keepsake, which Nate eagerly signed and then snapped a photo of.

Incidentally, if anyone doubts the power and popularity of Facebook, they should have been to the Awards.  Facebook was one of the most popular topics of conversation all evening, on and off stage.  Much to my delight, I got to meet Margie Fischer, part of a group of 87.7 listeners who frequently take part in my daily quiz on vintage Smooth Jazz tracks which I put up on the station’s Facebook page.  Margie was there with her husband, Jim.  She had won front row tickets to the Awards through a contest we ran two weeks ago on Facebook.  Margie had created a colorful poster listing the names of everyone in this Facebook group.  She and I stood next to each other holding the poster, while Jim took a picture of us.  By Sunday morning Margie had posted the photo on her page.

As things were winding down, around 11:45 pm, I overheard someone say, “This was as much fun as a Smooth Jazz cruise.”  I’d have to say that was an apt comparison.

Here are the 2010 Smooth Jazz Awards winners in the order they were announced:

Broadcaster of the Year – Terrestrial (Presenters:  Ken & Robin Levinson and Dorine Wright):  Dave Koz

Journalist of the Year (Presenters:  the Levinsons and Dorine Wright):  Melanie Maxwell (Smooth Jazz News)

Broadcaster of the Year – Internet (Presenter:  Carmen Kennedy):  Mike Scott

Gospel Jazz Artist of the Year (Presenter:  Carmen Kennedy):  Kirk Whalum

International Male Vocalist of the Year (Presenters:  Rob Tardik and Joey Sommerville):  Michael Buble’

International Female Vocalist of the Year (Presenters:  Tardik and Sommerville):  Diana Krall

International Artist of the Year (Presenters:  Tardik and Sommerville):  Marc Antoine

International Group of the Year (Presenters:  Tardik and Sommerville):  Incognito

Female Vocalist of the Year (Presenter:  Pat Kelley):  Norah Jones

Keyboardist of the Year (Presenter:  Pat Kelley):  Brian Culbertson

Guitarist of the Year (Presenter:  Pat Kelley):  Peter White

Percussionist of the Year (Presenter:  Rick O’Dell):  Harvey Mason

Male Vocalist of the Year (Presenter:  Rick O’Dell):  George Benson

New Artist of the Year (Presenters:  Marissa Caliguire, Joy Hall, Kim Giles):  Cindy Bradley

Brass/Woodwind Artist of the Year (Presenters:  Randy Bennett and Mike Scott): Richard Elliot

Group of the Year (Presenters:  Bennett & Scott):  Fourplay

Wayman Tisdale Humanitarian Award (Presenters:  Bernie Scott, Regina Tisdale):  Nick Colionne, Brian O’Neal

Lifetime Achievement Award (Presenter:  Bernie Scott):  David Benoit (the award will henceforth be known as the Dave Benoit Lifetime Achievement Award)

Song of the Year (Presenters:  Jim Peterik and Lisa McClowry):  “Bright” by Peter White

Album of the Year (Presenter:  Jason Polansky, American Airlines):  Good Day by Peter White.

Entertainer of the Year (Presenters:  Bernie Scott, Pat Kelley):  Dave Koz

An event like this always brings out listeners I’m getting to meet for the first time, even after all these years on the air.  There’s definitely a special joy to that.

At various times over the weekend at our booth I also met visitors from Germany, France, Canada, Mexico and Great Britain.  Most had been in town all week, most on vacation.  They raved about how beautiful the city was and how much fun it was to attend a festival that offered so much free music.  A fresh pair of eyes are just what I need to remind me of how great a city I live in.

Even though the main stage (Petrillo) had more people both nights, the crowd at the Jazz and Heritage Stage was every bit as passionate about the performers they got to hear.  (The size of our crowd was nothing to sneeze at, either.  I’m guessing we had 2,000+ both nights.)  And take a tip from me:  if you want to hear great sounds and have a ball doing it, there’s no doubt as to which stage you’ll want to be at next year.

They really need to do something about the food vendors at the Jazz Festival.  For someone who wanted to avoid fried food and the blandest of fare, you had to leave the jazz fest grounds and go across Michigan Avenue.  And who wants to do that when there’s so much live music to see?

A printed schedule of performers ought to be something organizers should seriously consider for the 2011 fest.  More people asked me about that than where the porta-potties were.

I always marvel at the global village that Smooth Jazz fans are.  If you want to see Chicago’s glorious diversity in a truly harmonious setting, look around at the crowd at a Smooth Jazz concert.  Music, as always, is the great unifier.

And then there was this, in Monday’s Chicago Tribune, from Howard Reich, commenting on singer Rene Marie’s Saturday night performance on the main stage:

“Unfortunately, this year the nearby Jazz and Heritage Stage ran concurrently with the Petrillo Music Shell (in the past, all the other stages shut down for the Petrillo main event).  So while Rene Marie sang ballads, listeners had to endure the sounds of other bands, in other tunes, in other keys.  Whose idea was that, anyway?”

Howard, if you’re unhappy there was a Smooth Jazz presence at the festival, just come right out and say so (at least you were upfront about that in your online chat—more on that in a moment).  To couch it in a complaint about overlapping sounds from another stage is reaching. For one thing, the Jazz and Heritage Stage isn’t really “nearby.”  In fact, it and the Young Jazz Lions’ stage are the two farthest from Petrillo on the festival grounds.  Furthermore, I spent some time myself at Petrillo, Sunday night during the Kurt Elling performance, which featured as many quiet moments as any other.  The sounds coming from the Jazz and Heritage Stage, with Nick Colionne playing, were barely audible.  I couldn’t make out “other tunes,” let alone “other keys.”

And, speaking of Mr. Reich’s online chat, in case you missed it, here’s his unedited response to a question about a Smooth Jazz stage at this year’s jazz festival:

“There isn’t really a smooth-jazz stage this year … but two smooth-jazz entities (Close Up 2 jazz club and 87.7 FM) are booking some acts on one of the stages. This is not an encouraging development. Many years ago, the Chicago Jazz Festival booked Spyro Gyra, under the auspices of WNUA. That was an artistic disaster.”

I was at that one, too, but I don’t recall anything remotely disastrous about it.  It was the 1992 festival, back when the event featured three nights of main stage music.  The first night, which was Friday, September 4, was co-sponsored by WNUA and GRP Records.  Spyro Gyra’s performance was hardly what you’d call an artistic disaster.  (There were 15,000+ people in the seats that night and, if the lack of any booing was any indication,  I don’t remember a single person being traumatized by the end of their set.)  Mr. Reich also left out the fact that the station’s partnership with GRP also allowed WNUA to add to the night’s lineup the highly respected Cuban trumpeter Arturo Sandoval and vocalist Diane Schuur, winner of two Grammy awards in the jazz category.  Add in opening acts Mike Smith and Bobby Broom, and “artistic disaster” would be the last phrase anyone (but Howard) would use to describe what I thought was a very pleasant and entertaining opening night of the ’92 fest.

Whether or not you were at this year’s festival, I leave you with this thought, having just come from two magical nights in Grant Park.  There are lots of people putting their energies into keeping the music alive, from recording artists and their management to radio stations, club owners and sponsors.  Combined with the support and passion that are still in the hearts of listeners and fans, you can be hopeful about the future of Smooth Jazz.

In my nearly 20 years at WNUA I can recall only two instances where an on-air host didn’t show up for their shift without an explanation.  (That’s significant, if you think about it:  five shifts a day, 365 days a year—doing the math, that’s 36,500 shifts in 20 years, and only two were left uncovered.)  Both cases, however, involved the same person, and that person ended up with one of the shortest reigns of any full-time announcer I worked with on 95.5.  I am positive this wasn’t a coincidence.  I also had the misfortune of doing the shift immediately before this announcer’s, and I ended up having to cover most of their shift myself both times.

That final point is the reason why this rule is so sacred.  Radio stations have no one waiting in the wings to take over in a pinch.  Most part-time and vacation relief announcers hold full-time jobs elsewhere.  Whenever you heard a Scott Adams or Domingo Castillo filling in for someone else on WNUA, for example, realize that they had to make their own arrangements to take time off their other jobs to fill in as a substitute announcer on 95.5.  They couldn’t just drop what they were doing and come in. In other words, leave your shift uncovered without a replacement, and you set off a mad scramble (and a string of frantic phone calls) on the part of your boss, the program director, a person who definitely has better things to do with their time.  In my experience, that’s something the typical PD has a long memory for.

Miss a shift without explanation once, and it’s likely to end up in your personal file.  Miss a shift more than once, and they’re starting to work on your severance papers.  Going AWOL in radio does come with a very harsh penalty.  Thankfully, in an era of cell phones, you’d really have to try hard to mess this one up.

I’ll let Mr. Verta pick it up from here:  “Saul was this little old Jewish man who lived in an apartment down the hall from me, back in the days when I was struggling to get by as a musician, looking for my first break.  [Those] were lean times; things were tough and I was living in this tiny little apartment, and yet whenever I would see Saul—through the open door to his apartment or on his way to get the mail, laundry, etc.—he’d be doing this little half dance, half shuffle as he walked, with the most content, knowing smile on his face.  Saul had a groove, and nothing in life could faze him.  I admired that and drew a lot of strength from it.  And he always made me laugh.  So when I finally got my first record deal, I decided Saul’s groove needed its own track on the record—a sort of ‘thank you’ for giving me peace and perspective.  That it was the most popular track on the record is fitting, I think.”

What a wonderful story!  Something that gives us a glimpse into not only the creative process but also the lifestyle of the aspiring musician.

J. Michael Verta is an interesting story in himself.  A Chicagoland native and 1990 graduate of New Trier High School, he released his first CD, The Phoenix, as a 23-year-old in 1995.  “Saul Steps Out” came from that CD and became a hit on WNUA.  In 1995 he recorded his second and final CD, Time Line.  Since then, he’s been active in Hollywood as Mike Verta, composing numerous scores and themes as well as working in mixing, engineering and sound design for film and TV.  Maybe the coolest nugget I discovered about him is that last March he married his longtime girlfriend, actress Danica McKellar, who played Winnie Cooper on the show “The Wonder Years.”

You can find out more about J. Michael Verta at his site, www.MikeVerta.com.

There was a time when the place was the hottest concert venue in town.  Back in high school seeing a group such as Chicago playing the Arie Crown was the ultimate downtown adventure for a group of teenagers from the western suburbs. The Arie Crown still had the sheen of newness back then, having reopened in 1972.  For my friends and me, it was exciting seeing performers we loved at a classy, adult venue frequented by our parents.

As a grown-up, however, I came to see the Arie Crown in a much different light.  For openers, I never felt the sound was very good there.  Seated in the center of the theater halfway back, I thought it was acceptable.  Anywhere else—especially in the wings—and it was terrible.

The smooth jazz shows we did at the Arie Crown never seemed to have the spark of shows we did at other venues, either.  Boney James at the Arie Crown on March 22, 2002, was a typical example.  I introduced Boney from the stage that night, but what I remember most about the night was what went on an hour before the show.  As I was walking through the lobby I spotted Boney standing by himself in a hallway near a side entrance to the stage.  I remember thinking how cold and sterile the place felt—quiet as a morgue, too.  There might have been a dozen people around but, in that wide, expansive lobby, Boney and I felt like we were alone.  We stood around and talked for about 15 minutes, and not a single soul came up to either of us the entire time.  Contrast that with the typical scene at the Chicago Theatre before a show—the crowded lobby, buzzing with excitement and anticipation.

Being out at McCormick Place didn’t help the Arie Crown, either.  There were no restaurants nearby.  If you wanted to dine before or after a show, you had to park your car twice—at the Arie Crown and at wherever you decided to eat.  It was both an inconvenient and expensive proposition.

Over the years we’ve hosted concerts at just about all the downtown venues.  None of them is perfect.  But the Arie Crown was the most imperfect of all.  I’m glad we did only a handful of shows there.  And, after each one, listeners told me in no uncertain terms I wasn’t the only one who felt that way.

So, what’s a radio station to do with all those extra titles that would still sound good on the air but for which it has no more room?  Sadly, no matter what the format, these titles usually get relegated to what we call an “icebox” category, never to see the light of day again.

That’s always bothered me, because the Smooth Jazz genre is filled with some wonderfully distinctive music that we never put on the air anymore.  By folks such as Dan Siegel,  Shakatak,  Dancing Fantasy and  Rodney Franklin, for instance.  Songs and artists that would make you go, “Wow—I haven’t heard that in ages.”

For a long time I’ve been wrestling with the idea of finding a way to resurrect these gems and give them some airplay in the proper context, and here’s what I’ve come up with:  a new feature on my show, called “Rick O’Dell Remembers.”   Starting next Monday, February 1, I’ll be going deep into the Smooth Jazz vault and selecting one vintage track to play every day at 11:00 a.m.

I know we can have some fun with this feature, jogging your memory a bit each day.  And, along the way, I’ll be open to requests.  Feel free to suggest a favorite ol’ tune or two you haven’t heard in a long time, and I’ll see what I can do.  Email me at:  Rick@WLFM877.com or post your requests in the In Box at the station website.

My interest in All My Children was always in cast members I’d recognize from other shows.  David Canary, for instance, has played Adam Chandler for 25 years on AMC.  But, for six years back in the ‘70s, I knew him as Candy on Bonanza.  Lee Meriwether co-starred on Barnaby Jones and Mission Impossible long before she became Ruth Martin.  Add to the list Marj Dusay, Vanessa Cortlandt, who guest starred in some of my favorite ‘60s and ‘70s shows (Mannix, Get Smart, Cannon and Hawaii Five-0, for instance) before signing on with AMC.

And then there was the involvement in the show of two Smooth Jazzers. Keyboardist Billy Barber, one of the founding members of the contemporary jazz band Flim and the BBs, wrote the first theme song to All My Children.  In 1999, for AMC’s 30^th anniversary, another musician familiar to Smooth Jazz fans, David Benoit was asked to compose a new theme.  He came up with a typical Benoit composition, full of warmth and grace and featuring lead piano and strings.  That theme lasted for two seasons before the producers went back to the original Barber piece, which can still be heard today whenever the show comes on here in Chicago at noon.

Soap operas are an endangered species these days.  I just hope All My Children has a little more life left in it.  For me and especially for my wife, it’s always been a cut above the rest of the daytime dramas.

For me, that all changed on January 20, 2009. With the attention of most of Chicago focused on a new president’s getting ready to take his historic oath of office, several of us at WNUA were quietly shown the door: Pat Kelley, Danae Alexander and I. Collectively, the three of us had more than 50 years of service to Smooth Jazz.

The other shoe dropped on May 22 when, at 9:55 that Friday morning, Clear Channel, the owners of WNUA, flipped the format to Spanish Pop. Loyal station employees such as Ramsey Lewis, Karen Williams, Bill Cochran, Scott Adams and Domingo Castillo, who had survived the staff cuts in January, were all let go that day.

Rumors of an impending format change at WNUA had been swirling around the Chicago media for months, so none of us in the industry was too surprised by what happened on May 22. In fact, a couple of enterprising individuals had been preparing to launch their own Smooth Jazz-based radio projects, waiting for the exact moment that Clear Channel would open up a hole in the Chicago market for Smooth Jazz by abandoning the format at 95.5.

Kurt Hanson, CEO of Chicago-based internet radio firm AccuRadio.com, and former WNUA Sales Manager Pat Kelley had been waiting for news of the format change. When it came, they both unveiled their respective plans. Mr. Hanson brought me onboard to help launch www.ChiTownSmoothJazz.com, a series of Smooth Jazz internet radio channels targeted to the Chicago market. At the same time, Mr. Kelley debuted WLFM, “The L,” a low-powered FM station featuring a Smooth Jazz format, at 87.7.

The summer and fall of 2009 proved to be periods of fast growth for both projects. Reflecting the hunger Chicagoans still had for the format, ChiTownSmoothJazz.com boasted audience growth in excess of  5900% in six months, while WLFM reached 540,000 listeners in November. Attendance at Smooth Jazz concerts remained strong in the summer and fall, as well.

In December, Pat Kelley initiated the next phase in his plan to grow WLFM: feature more locally-originated programming and add local air personalities to the 87.7 lineup. In the process, he made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. He would hire me as Program Director and host of middays and the Smooth Jazz Sunday Brunch. I was only too happy to accept the opportunity to help Smooth Jazz take advantage of a second chance in Chicago.

My first day at WLFM was December 21. As for returning to the midday show, I am anticipating that my first day on the air will be either January 11 or 18. By then, construction on the station’s brand new air studio should be complete.

Pat and I are looking forward to the New Year as a time of significant improvements—especially on the air—at WLFM. We aim to preserve what loyal listeners liked best about WNUA while introducing exciting and innovative new features and station events that will whet the appetite of Smooth Jazz fans throughout the Chicago area. And we are counting on input from those fans throughout the coming year to let us know we are on the right track. I welcome your comments anytime through this site, the station site (www.877ChicagosSmoothJazz.com) and by private email (Rick@WLFM877.com).

Happy New Year! May 2010 bring us good news, good fortune and good music.