Written by Bernie Brink It’s the holiday season, and though Jazz 93.5 has a profusion of swinging holiday tunes both old and new, a perennial favorite of ours is A Charlie Brown Christmas. Over the decades, Vince Guaraldi’s wonderful score to the classic holiday television special has become a jazz and American icon. One of...

November Article Written by Bernie Brink The winds have chilled, the leaves fallen from trees, and the days grow shorter. With the holidays around the corner, it’s a perfect time to huddle up indoors with blankets, hot chocolate, and great jazz records. As we approach the end of the year, we look back on a...

OCTOBER ARTICLE Written by Bernie Brink The month of October graced our world with several influencers in the world of jazz, chief among them Thelonious Sphere Monk (b. Oct. 10, 1917), John “Dizzy” Gillespie (b. Oct. 21, 1917), and Art Blakey (b. Oct. 11, 1919; a.k.a. “Buhaina” or “Bu”). Among the biggest names in the jazz...

September Article Written by Bernie Brink  This month, we are digging the soulful sounds of the Hammond B3 organ on Jazz 93.5. Debuted in 1935, the Hammond organ was developed to offer small community churches an inexpensive alternative to the traditional – and much more costly – pipe organ. But with so many jazz and blues musicians...

AUGUST ARTICLE Written by Bernie Brink While the guitar played an important role in the development of blues and jazz music in the early days of jazz, it wasn’t until the advent of the electric guitar that it was seriously considered as a lead instrument, beginning with Charlie Christian in the 1930s. Since then, dozens...

July Article Written by Bernie Brink Revolutionary musician and vocalist Billie Holiday is both a jazz icon and a tragic figure. A revolutionary musician, she set a template for all jazz vocalists who followed her, rooted in tradition but looking far into the future. A revolutionary activist, she set an example for civil rights advocates as she...

JUNE ARTICLE Written by Bernie Brink This month, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of two iconic recordings by the Bill Evans Trio, Sunday at the Village Vanguard and Waltz for Debby. On Sunday, June 25, 1961, the trio entered the renowned Village Vanguard for the final day of a two-week stand. Then, Sundays were known to feature the same artist all...