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.

Stephane Wrembel. Rightfully noted as one of the world's greatest guitarists, the prolific musician, composer, educator, and musical director has released a steady stream of music since 2002 truly making his mark as one of the most original guitar voices in contemporary music. Whether he's releasing his own compositions, his spectacular live performances, his work interpreting Django Reinhardt with The Django Experiment or with Django New Orleans, or his work on soundtracks such as Midnight in Paris, Mr. Wrembel is simply remarkable.

Chess Records Part 7 finishes up 1955 with a few stragglers and kicks off 1956 with a bang! This was the year of Chuck Berry as he charted 4 singles (5 songs) and we present them in a special Chuck Berry Hits Collage to demonstrate his chart prowess. 1956 was also a solid year for Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf as each released career classics like "Trouble No More" (Muddy) and "Smoke Stack Lighning" (Wolf). We are introduced to future legends, Bobby Charles with "Later, Alligator," Billy Stewart with "Billy's Blues Pt. 2" and the Four Tops' "Could It Be You." The Moonglows continue to surge while the Flamingos finally score their first of many hits after years of trying on other Chicago Labels.

Omar Sosa (ENCORE). Cuban pianist Omar Sosa shares how a life-changing meeting with a Santería high priest set him on a path of spiritual and musical discovery.

Herbie Hancock: V.S.O.P. The Quintet + 2 Trios, Part 2 V.S.O.P. The Quintet was a specially assembled jazz supergroup that recorded several live and one studio album between 1976 and 1979. Most of their recordings were not issued in the U.S. at the time they were recorded so they’re not as well-known as they should be. Members of the band were Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams. On Part 2 of HERBIE HANCOCK: V.S.O.P. THE QUINTET PLUS 2 TRIOS we’ll hear the quintet playing compositions by Herbie and Freddie. And we’ll also hear two trio tracks written by Herbie, and played by Herbie, Ron & Tony.

Stephane Wrembel. Rightfully noted as one of the world's greatest guitarists, the prolific musician, composer, educator, and musical director has released a steady stream of music since 2002 truly making his mark as one of the most original guitar voices in contemporary music. Whether he's releasing his own compositions, his spectacular live performances, his work interpreting Django Reinhardt with The Django Experiment or with Django New Orleans, or his work on soundtracks such as Midnight in Paris, Mr. Wrembel is simply remarkable.

This episode includes tributes to the late Joe Chambers (Chambers Brothers) (pictured), Rev. Dennis Freeman (Christ Missionary BC, Indianapolis), a long set of recordings by unidentified artists, and more.

The Supreme Court Under Trump. Ellie Mystal. During his first term, Trump stacked the Supreme Court with hard right judges creating a 6-3 split that led to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, a stunning ruling in which a human right which was previously granted by law was taken away from the public. This time Trump faces even less resistance and could remake the Supreme Court once again. Ellie Mystal, justice correspondent and columnist for The Nation magazine, joins us to talk about the Supreme Court: what the Democrats could have done under Biden to fix the third branch of government so that we wouldn't now be in such a politically vulnerable position; but also, what we can expect in terms of possible new Supreme Court nominations and what they could mean for our remaining rights.

Dr. Paul Lawrence, former Undersecretary for Benefits at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Dr. Lawrence speaks about his book, Veterans Benefits for You: Get What You Deserve. The book is a commonsense guide to help veterans and their family’s access to a wide range of benefits available to them.