Our KCSM Documentary Film celebrating 60-years of Broadcast Excellence is premiering at the SF Indie Film Festival at the Roxy Theater House 1 in San Francisco. Filmmakers Incurrent Media will be in attendance! Afterparty at The Rite Spot! (Click the headline for more information and to get your tickets)

On November 26, 2024 KCSM's own Jesse "Chuy" Varela hosted the Oaktown Jazz Workshops 30th Anniversary celebration at Yoshi's at Jack London Square in Oakland. Founded in 1994 by Khalil Shaheed to educate and illuminate young people to jazz music, the event featured the John Santos Sextet, Richard Howell, the OJW Alumni Band and the current OJW Performance Ensemble. Much love goes out to OJW Executive Director Ravi Abcarian and photographer David De Hart for the photos. (click the headline for more photos of the celebration)

In November 2024, KCSM's own Pete Fallico, Jazz Oasis co-host was at Howard University to receive a Benny Goldson Jazz Masters Award for 2024 on behalf of the Jazz Organ Fellowship.

"Snap Crackle: Roy Haynes @100" part 2 continues our celebration of the great drummer’s centennial. Roy was born in Roxbury, MA on March 13, 1925, and died in Nassau County, NY on November 12, 2024, at 99. We’ll cover the years 1960-1963, and hear Roy with Ray Charles, Eric Dolphy, Oliver Nelson, Stan Getz, Roland Kirk, Booker Ervin, and John Coltrane.

Guitarist Pasquale Grasso grew up in the small Italian village or Ariano Irpino with two very hip, music-loving parents who played classical and jazz recordings for Pasquale and his brother Luigi throughout their young lives and took them to concerts and jazz festivals. Pasquale says that rather than put the boys in front of the TV, they would all listen to a Chet Baker record. Pasquale’s focus on musicians other than jazz guitarists has contributed to his unique sound. Combining his love for bebop, his classical guitar studies and his limitless passion for playing has made Pasquale Grasso one of the busiest, most interesting talents on the scene today.

Chess Records, Part 1 - Aristocrat Records. This week begins a behemoth, multi-part series on Chess Records. The Chicago record label, founded by 2 Polish immigrant brothers, Leonard and Phil Chess, proved to be one of the most influential and important labels in not only Blues, but also Rhythm & Blues and its contribution to the birth of Rock n' Roll. Chess was the musical home of Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, The Moonglows, The Flamingos and countless other giants of 20th Century music. In part 1, We’re introduced to Leonard and Phil and their foray into the entertainment business, beginning with liquor clubs, nightclubs and eventually a record company. Leonard got a deep education of African-American culture while growing up, living and working on Chicago South Side. The jukebox in his liquor joint was jammed with the down-home Delta Blues that newly-arrived transplants from the South were craving. This set the stage for Leonard's involvement with the fledgling Aristocrat Record Label. He originally bought into the label to help with distribution and promotion, but as the Blues became more popular, his involvement with the label grew. During the Aristocrat days, local talent from The 5 Blazes, Tom Archia and Andrew Tibbs was beginning to sell outside of Chicago. Tibbs' song "Bilbo Is Dead" became a minor hit and was banned in parts of the South for its sarcastic tone towards recently deceased segregationist Senator Bilbo. Muddy Waters had only recently begun recording for the label, but in late 1948, he scored a national hit with "Feel Like Going Home" b/w "I Can't Be Satisfied." By the end of '49, Leonard had bought out the other partners and brought in his brother Phil to help. Soon, Aristocrat would get a name-change to Chess and the brothers would be off and running. This week in part 1, we'll look at where it all began on the Aristocrat of Records.

A conversation with Wynton Marsalis (UPDATED). Host Christian McBride sits down with trumpeter and composer Wynton Marsalis to explore his powerful studio recordings that confront injustice. Together, they discuss the role of music in speaking truth to power and its lasting impact.

This episode includes a long track in memory of Joe Britt (Highway QCs), more selections from gospel reissue packages that came out in 2024, and music from artists such as Irma Thomas, Biblical Gospel Singers, Jo Ann Blackman, and the Friendly Brothers.

The Inner-City Theater Group of Houston, Texas is featured this week.

Dr. Mtangulizi Sanyika, (pictured) retired scholar, activist presents “Beyond the Dream, A Scholars Reflection of Dr. Martin Luther King’s last Sunday sermon delivered on March 31, 1968 at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.” Also, featured are excerpts from Dr. King’s sermon, “The Drum Major Instinct.”

April Ramee shares her journey from working as an accountant to becoming a herbalist and muse. April describes her approach to medicine as Psychedelic Herbalism. Slightly different from standard clinical herbalism, she takes clients on a journey of self-discovery and helps them understand truths about themselves. She shares her personal journey overcoming alcohol addiction, and how plant medicines played a role in her healing. April describes a muse as an outside force that comes in and gives information, an inspiring force. A muse could be an angel or other ethereal force, but also a human being. ● April defines medicine as a way to create homeostasis in our body and allow it to heal itself. Herbs can be helpful in navigating external changes and stress that may arise from personal growth and psychedelic experiences. ● Psychedelics can break down blocks, open the mind, and challenge our perceptions, facilitating transformative experiences. ● April believes that addiction is a very normal part of life, and perhaps we need to shift how we look at it: "Addiction is a form of passion that wants to be lived out." We often blame our addictions for aspects of ourselves we don't like.