KCSM Proudly presents "Celebrating 60 Years of Broadcast Excellence. This documentary chronicles KCSM's history and its commitment to Jazz, told by the dedicated curators and fans who make the station swing.

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.

Chess Records, Pt. 6 - 1955 takes a close look at all the significant Chess and Checker releases from 1955. Little Walter scores another R&B #1 and the biggest record of his career with "My Babe," while the Moonglows show that they have staying power when "Most Of All" makes the R&B top 5. On March 2, 1955, Ellas McDaniel lays down a hambone beat, calls himself Bo Diddley and the Rock n' Roll Revolution is on its way. Then this new music is cemented in July when Chess releases Chuck Berry's first record, "Maybellene" and in August it hits #1 and stays there through the fall.

Myra Melford (ENCORE). Pianist and composer Myra Melford draws inspiration from literature, architecture, and visual art—finding creative sparks in the works of James Joyce, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Joan Miró. This episode explores the many facets of her artistry, from the egalitarian interplay of Trio M (with bassist Mark Dresser and drummer Matt Wilson) to the boundless expression of her Snowy Egret quintet. We’ll also hear Melford in a Big Band setting, joining forces with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.

On Part 3 of a 3 part special, Making Records with Shirley Horn, we tell the story of the albums the great vocalist-pianist made for Verve between 1987 and 1998. And on this episode we’ll feature the Grammy-nominated albums “Light Out Of Darkness”, “The Main Ingredient” and “Loving You’’. And the Grammy-winning “I Remember Miles”.

Anne Seidlitz has been a writer in documentary film for almost two decades. She has also written journalism, including for the New York Times, Village Voice, Tricycle Magazine, and Brooklyn Bridge Magazine. Her special career focus has been on Black American social, political, and cultural history. Anne's latest broadcast project is “The Disappearance of Miss Scott”, a documentary about the pianist and activist Hazel Scott, which premiered on PBS’ American Masters series in February 2025. She also was the writer on the noted documentary program on Frederick Douglass, Becoming Frederick Douglass, which aired on PBS in 2022 and is still streaming. With a lifelong engagement with and enthusiasm for jazz music, Anne is currently writing a cultural biography of the pianist Hampton Hawes, in the context of some of the underrecognized histories and contributions of that generation of musicians mid-century. It will be her first non-fiction book.

Aimée Allen is a NYC-based jazz vocalist and songwriter who has released multiple critically acclaimed jazz albums including 2019's Wings Uncaged, which was named one of Downbeat Magazine's best. For this performance, entitled Strings and Chords, she's joined by two exemplary performers, including internationally recognized bassist Francois Moutin and versatile guitarist Tony Romano. From October 22nd, 2021 it's Amiee Allen Trio: Strings and Chords - Live at the Bop Stop.

On this week’s program a musical salute to The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Exposed, Part 1. The first half of a two-part radio documentary from our friends at SF Public Press, “Exposed,” opens a window into the little-known history of the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. The sprawling abandoned naval base, in San Francisco’s southeast waterfront Bayview neighborhood, is currently the site of the city’s largest real estate development project. The base played a key role in the Cold War nuclear era, when it housed a research institution known as the Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory, which studied the human health effects of radiation. We trace the radioactive contamination found in the shipyard soil today back to its origins, with nuclear bomb testing in the Marshall Islands. We also hear from environmental justice advocates, including one who led a health biomonitoring survey revealing that nearby residents have toxic elements stored in body tissues that match the hazardous chemicals of concern identified at the shipyard.

Part 1. Bobby Rush, Grammy Award winner, reflects upon his extraordinary musical career tracing his family roots from enslavement to freedom in the segregated South. He shares stories of perseverance amid set-backs and ultimate musical success as one of the most recognizable names in Blues music today. Part 1 of a two-part series.