KSDS 88.3 Blog

The San Diego Jazz Community is invited to a celebration of life for Robert Bush. He was a beloved brother, father, uncle, grandfather and an invaluable friend and voice of the jazz and music scene in San Diego and beyond. The event in this Saturday at 3:30PM at the Athenaeum Art Center located at 1955 Julian Ave in San Diego. If you wish to attend please RSVP by e-mailing us at JAZZINSANDIEGO@gmail.com. Also, there is a Go Fund page set up for this event. Kindly search Robert M Bush Celebration of Life.

In our most recent fall pledge drive we partnered with the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance to offer two tickets to either the San Diego Zoo or San Diego Zoo Safari Park to as part of our fundraising efforts.

Congratulations to the lucky winners and thank you to the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance for its support of Jazz 88:

Adrienne Bell, Pietro DiGammarino, Larry Janes, Marta Glena Davila, Jerry Conklin

Feed Your Soul's Need for Swing with Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band

By Matt Silver

Gordon Goodwin (on keys) leads the Big Phat Band in Lviv, Ukraine. Photo courtesy Gordon Goodwin.

Attention Jazz 88ers, especially Jazz Live Ticket Holders:

A friendly reminder that this Tuesday night, Oct. 10, KSDS’s Jazz Live: Best of the West concert series welcomes Gordon Goodwin and the Big Phat Band to the stage at City College’s Saville Theatre. The band hits—and we’ll be broadcasting live-to-air—promptly at 7:30 p.m., so arrive with some time to spare, indulge in some delicious treats from our friends at Blackmarket Bakery, find your seats, and strap in for an unforgettable show.

KSDS/Jazz 88.3's 2023 Fall Membership Drive has concluded! We welcomed many new and renewing members and the music will continue to thrive because of it. If you would like to donate towards the campaign you can do so by clicking here. Here is the Top Ten Artist Poll we conducted for the drive. Please tune in all day tomorrow to hear all these great artists:

1. Louis Armstrong
2. Gilbert Castellanos
3. Art Pepper
4. Duke Ellington
5. Tony Bennett
6. Cal Tjader
7. Count Basie
8. Nat King Cole
9. Herbie Hancock
10. Sonny Rollins

Retirees include: Miles Davis- Fall 2015, John Coltrane- Spring 2016, Frank Sinatra- Fall 2016, Ella Fitzgerald- Spring 2017, Thelonious Monk- Fall 2017, Dave Brubeck- Spring 2018, Stan Getz- Fall 2018, Nina Simone- End of Year 2018, Chet Baker- Spring 2019, Charlie Parker- Fall 2019, Bill Evans- End of Year 2019, Billie Holiday- Fall 2022, Vince Guaraldi- Spring 2023

KSDS Fall Pledge Drives Celebrates Latin Jazz with One-of-a-Kind Membership Gifts 

By Matt Silver

Machito and His Afro-Cubans, Glen Island Casino, New York, N.Y., c. 1947. Photo by William Gottlieb. Courtesy of Library of Congress.

In recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15-Oct. 15), the 2023 KSDS Jazz 88.3 FM Fall Membership Drive (Fri., Sept. 22- Sun., Oct. 1) will celebrate Latin American music’s myriad indispensable contributions to jazz. Over the course of the drive, the station will, per member drive custom, be asking listeners to pledge support by purchasing or renewing memberships to sustain KSDS as a vital cultural resource here in San Diego and in every community around the world where the best in straight-ahead jazz can be streamed. And, per member drive custom, there will be Thank You gifts.

Pero este año con la ñapa. But this year, with a little something extra.

Celebrating One Year of “Jazz Latino” and 103 Years of Charlie Parker

By Matt Silver

Tito Puente played with Machito and his Afro-Cubans before joining his once-boss on the marquee as one of the Palladium Ballroom's 'Big Three' bandleaders.

Jazz will never die because its legends never do. We do our small part to make sure of that here at KSDS, which is why when there’s a birthday or anniversary to celebrate, we do it right.

Want proof?

Tune-in this Sunday afternoon (Aug. 27), from 3 to 5 p.m., when Raul Rico, Jr. celebrates the first anniversary of “Jazz Latino’s” KSDS debut by presenting a program devoted entirely and exclusively to “El Rey,” Tito Puente. That’s two hours of nothing but Tito: the percussionist, vibraphonist, and bandleader who, beginning in the 1940s, brought mambo to the masses at famed dance halls like New York City’s Palladium Ballroom and, over a career spanning six decades, earned a reputation for performing and recording tirelessly, doing so until his death in 2000.

KSDS has teamed up with 32 Bar Blues clothing to brings you an exclusive high-quality Jazz Across America shirt.

Due to the impending storm (Hurricane Hilary) KSDS wants you to know that The California Office of Emergency Services has many resources available to help you plan for power outages and other impacts of severe weather. A comprehensive guide to emergency planning is available here: https://www.listoscalifornia.org/resources/?group=disaster-ready-guide&sort=date.

Friedwald and Feinstein the Perfect Pairing to Celebrate Life and Work of Oscar Levant

By Matt Silver

Oscar Levant stars alongside Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron in An American in Paris (1951).

Calling all Great American Songbook devotees: I urge you in the strongest possible terms to tune-in to “Sing! Sing! Sing!” with Will Friedwald this Saturday at 10 a.m., when Michael Feinstein, renowned vocalist and the foremost living authority on the Songbook, joins the show to celebrate the life and work of Oscar Levant, a polymath of prodigious talents and profound psychological struggles, who at various times in his life was the highest paid classical pianist in the country, a classical music composer and conductor, a memorable popular songwriter who composed music for over 20 movies and acted in several more (including the pretty famous one pictured above), and a pioneering comedic personality in midcentury America. 

On Friday, August 18th, A two-time Grammy-winner and seven-time nominee, Gregory Porter will play at the Epstein Family Ampitheatre at UC San Diego.