Meet the
WETF Family
What we do
A range of programs for all enthusiasts
WETF founding board member, jazz drummer, co-founder and producer for Merrimans’ Playhouse, South Bend’s only jazz club.
WETF founding board member, jazz bassist and co-founder and producer for Merrimans’ Playhouse. For information on the Playhouse, visit its website at merrimansplayhouse.org.
Programmer, trouble-shooter and key member of the WETF family since the station went on the air a decade ago. Through the years, Adriana has been invaluable as a coordinator willing to handle the deadline pressures of the broadcasting business and to facilitate everyone else’s tasks.
Prominent Chicago-based jazz vocalist and host of “This Is Jazz” originating out of WFMT-Chicago.
Host of “Jazz with David Basse”, began broadcasting career at Kansas University decades ago, creator of NPR comedy/jazz series “Twelfth Street Jump”.
WETF president and program director. founder of the New New Jazz Alliance and the New England Jazz Hall of Fame and host of “Collector’s Choice”, “Big Band Blowout” and “Saturday Night/Last Call”.
Principal researcher for and editor of WETF’s 10 a.m. daily birthday recognitions of outstanding jazz artists, Ed is founder of Berkshires Jazz, Inc., and former president of the New England Jazz Alliance. A lifelong jazz fan and advocate, he was student chairman of the Villanova Intercollegiate Jazz Festival and music director for the school’s student radio station. He has written about cultural matters for national and regional publications and, for ten years, hosted an annual broadcast celebrating the birthday of bandleader Stan Kenton on WAMC, the NPR station in Albany, New York. Ed and his wife Marge, a renowned water colorist, live in New England.
Clarinetist, sax man and leader of “The Wolverines”, one of the nation’s most highly acclaimed exponents of “traditional” jazz; a highly respected researcher and lecturer on the subject and host of “Jazz Focus.” For more on the Wolverines and Clark’s writings, research and podcasts, visit John Clark/New England Traditional Jazz Plus.
Host of “Jazz for Everyone”, pianist/trombonist, leader of the most popular jazz trio in South Bend for decades and director of jazz studies at Notre Dame.
(a.k.a. The Phantom of the Bopera) Jazz tenor man, moved to South Bend from Chicago, member of the WETF board of directors and host of “Collector’s Choice” and “Mornin’ with Mike.”
Host of “Afro-Cuban Latin Jazz”, a jazz-lover steeped in Afro-Cuban music. Taught Cuban Salsa dance professionally for 25 years. A neuroscientist who studies the neural basis of musical rhythm. His appreciation of the music of the African Diaspora was expanded greatly after living in Brazil for seven years.
Award-winning jazz flutist, host of “Reflections on Jazz Styles,” author of America’s most widely used introductions to jazz: “Jazz Styles” and its abridged edition, “Concise Guide to Jazz.” To hear podcasts or read articles by Gridley, go to jazzstyles.net.
Host of “Talking Jazz”, jazz pianist, composer, entrepreneur and author of “David Baker: A Legacy in Music” and “Experiencing Chick Corea: A Listener’s Companion”, leader of international touring group, “The Sheroes” and editor of “Jazz Education in Research and Practice”. Splits her time between Indiana and Austria.” monikaherzig.com
Jazz aficionado, 35-year veteran as a jazz radio broadcaster and host of “This is Jazz” originating out of WFMT Chicago.
During his undergraduate years in New York City in the 1960s, Rob took the opportunity to hear many legendary jazz artists, which deepened his appreciation for the genre. With a passion to share the music with others, he became a jazz radio broadcaster with WQLN, an NPR station in Erie, PA. Five decades later, his enthusiasm is undiminished as you will hear on his Friday noon and Sunday 9 p.m. “Collector’s Choice” and his “Nocturne” show at 11 p.m. Sundays.
Host of “Night Lights” at 10 p.m. Sundays, originating out of WFIU in Bloomington, Indiana and featuring jazz, 1945-90 — a time span that Johnson notes “weirdly parallels Miles Davis’s recording and the Cold War.”
Host of “Research and Development” at 1 p.m. Mondays, Kohlhase is an accomplished baritone saxophone player and band leader based in the Boston area. He has recorded eight CDs with his own bands and has co-led recordings with John Tchicai and Roswell Rudd. He has placed among the leading baritone sax players in both the readers’ and critics’ polls in Downbeat. He also is on the faculty of the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Mass.
Longwell has always had a passion for radio, obtaining an associate’s degree in radio and working at several stations in Geneva, New York. Host of “Jazz Scene”, “Jazz Progressions”, and “Jazz and More.” Jake is blind, able to see only slightly out of one eye, which requires him to produce his shows from his apartment, where he sorts his CDs and reads liner notes just inches from his face.
Host of “The Great American Songbook”, producer of 14 “Jazz Profiles” shows for NPR, representative for major jazz singers, wrote liner notes, produced several records and websites, including carmenmcrae.com, and the documentary film “Say It With Jazz.” She lives in the Seattle area.
Though the days of touring big bands are long gone, there are a good number of regional bands keeping alive this great art form. That is the mission of WETF’s radio program “New Vintage”, hosted by Bill O’Connell. He formed his own big band in 1988, knowing that his calling was playing modern big band arrangements.
Voice of WETF’s morning daily birthday tributes to jazz artists. His interest in jazz began in a country kitchen dancing with his mom to Erroll Garner’s “Concert By The Sea”. Then eagerly awaiting each issue of Down Beat and buying vinyl records. He idolized Boston Jazz deejay Eric Jackson and has spent years as a Jazz deejay in New Orleans. His mission? Honor the musicians and entertain his listeners.
One of the Boston area’s most veteran jazz hosts, whose show “The Jazz Train”, consists of recordings made from years past on the same date as his shows.
Native son of South Bend, jazz percussionist, retired director of jazz studies at the University of Mary in Bismarck, N.D. Host of “Prebys on Jazz” which originated on the “Prairie Public Radio” network.
Historian, author of books and articles on jazz, longtime host of “Jazz a la Mode” which is simulcast out of New England Public Media in Springfield/Amherst, Mass. For a look at Reney’s podcasts and published works, including profiles and obituaries on significant jazz artists, club owners, producers, journalists and broadcasters, search the internet for JazzBeat with Tom Reney.
Clay Ryder, host of “Sound Ideas”, is also a pianist, record collector, and all-around jazz afficionado. He studied music at California State University, Chico in the mid-1980s, and his love for jazz dates back to his earliest years listening to KJAZ and KRE in the San Francisco Bay Area, during which time he also began performing in various ensembles.
Native of northwest Indiana, avid jazz fan since age 5, longtime host of WFMT’s “This Is Jazz.”
Alternate voice of “Jazz a la Mode” from New England Public Media, freelance musician, blogger and podcaster.
Wednesday night host of “Jazz a la Mode” from New England Public Media (Springfield/Amherst, Mass.) Avid record collector with a love of Blue Note Records and the Great American Songbook.
Phil, a retired high school history teacher, has loved jazz from its roots to its modern marvels. He has served the genre as a member of Berkshires Jazz, Inc., as producer of the organization’s local jazz TV series and as host of “Berkshires Jazz”, which originates from WTBR-FM in Pittsfield, Mass., and airs on WETF at 8 p.m. Saturdays.
Friday night hosr of “Jazz a la Mode”, Avery is a bassist/bandleader/recording artist/composer/ educator, whose credits include performances with Archie Shepp, Art Blakey, Dizzy Gillespie, Wynton Marsalis, Yusef Lateef and 20-plus years performing and recording with McCoy Tyner. Educational activities include numerous workshops, clinics and residencies in the US and abroad. For more, visit www.averysharpe.com
Alternate host for Brent Banulis on Wednesday’s “Collector’s Choice/Jazz From New England” series, author of “Boston Jazz Chronicles”, the definitive history of jazz in Boston. For a look at his archival material and latest articles, visit richardvacca.com.
Laurie, contributor of WETF’s “Happy Birthday, Dear Jazz Artist” feature that airs at 10 a.m. (Eastern Time) throughout the week, has been working with fellow WETF family members, such as Joan Merrill and Rob Hoff, as well as National Public Media to ensure that WETF listeners will never forget those who have shaped America’s only original art form over the past 100-plus years.
Immersed in traditional jazz from an early age, Lori is a veteran jazz vocalist and music educator with a BA in mass media. Founder of “positivemusicpm.org”, Ms. Williams’s “Collector’s Choice” sessions focus on women in jazz, the international scene and young performers dedicated to the roots and traditions of the music. She is based in Atlanta, Georgia.
Creator of “Jazz for Kids” series, recording artist, musician, vocalist, composer, host of “Jazz for Kids, 1 to 92”. She lives in Foxboro, Massachusetts.