[JPL] Re; Five Peace Band, etc.

[Bill Barton]

Jae's original post was definitely thought-provoking and one of the more
succinct takes on this whole issue that I've seen on this list.  I can't
comment on the CD in question because I haven't heard it yet, but the
follow-up posts by Bob Rogers and Ricky Schultz struck a responsive chord
with me.

Bob Rogers:

"...It's way past time to bury the whole notion of station playlists. Let
each program host decide what to play and let the playlist evolve into a
report  of what happened rather than a blueprint for what is supposed to
happen.  I know the prime directive of management is to manage.  But when
you're devising and enforcing playlists you are probably doing your station,
your audience and the music more harm than good because you're managing the
wrong things.  In the current context of music radio, you're truly
rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic..."

That last line sums it up for me.  This has been discussed before here, but
Bob puts it all in perspective.  Obviously Bob and Mitchell at taintradio
retain that kind of artistic control, as do many of us hosting shows at
community stations.  As a listener, to me, the majority of programming heard
on public radio concentrates way too much on a few primary colors in the
jazz spectrum.  The consultant-driven programming bores the heck out of me.
On the other side of the coin, I have no complaints about the quality of the
music that's being played, it's just that there is so much more out there -
old and new - that falls between the cracks.  In the Seattle market, KPLU
sounds best when programmers like Jim Wilke and Ken Wiley (who obviously
design their own shows) are on-the-air; in fact, "Jazz After Hours," "The
Art of Jazz" and Jim's program featuring live recordings made around the
area are the only shows that retain any measure of artistic credibility (for
me.)  And these are "specialty programs."  Their "NPR News and All That
Jazz" positioning statement should be - in reality - "NPR News and Some of
That Jazz."  It strikes me as rather ironic that their weekend blues
programming blows the jazz stuff out of the water.

Now, don't get me wrong, I don't intend to use KPLU as a whipping boy.  I
certainly appreciate the fact that they're still here and still playing jazz
in one form or another for the vast majority of their air-time.  The Seattle
area is lucky - taking into consideration our relatively small population
compared to NYC, LA or other urban hubs - to have a full-time jazz station.
What they do they do well.  But I do think that, as Bob put it, they're
"rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic."


Ricky Schultz:

"...there were some great sounding stations when hosts had more freedom to
program their shows of this freedom music... taking away more of the ability
of the host to improvise their presentation of this music of improvisation
hasnt necessarily created better (jazz) radio."

Amen to that!  And it's particularly interesting that this comment comes
from Ricky, who is a veteran in "another side" of the music business.