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'Tis the season for family, friends, Frank, and...philanthropy?! In the words of Chuck Apostalas, our most esteemed development director, YOUUUUU BETCHA!

Happy Holidays! As always, KSDS will be airing its annual 'Sounds of the Season' programming which begins at Noon on Christmas Eve day. You can be a part of the programming. For any online pledge of $100 (or more) you can create a customized greeting that will air on KSDS. Just go to the DONATE PAGE and write your greeting in the comment section.This 36-hour block of holiday music is brought to you by KSDS and our good friends at California Coast Credit Union,  California Center for the Arts, Escondido and Exalt Clinical Research. Special thanks to Ken Borgers and David Grudt.

Nothing says the holidays like family, friends, and Frank.

Holiday season programming alert! Back by popular demand...it's KSDS's "12 Days of Sinatra."

Beginning MONDAY, Dec. 2, and continuing EVERY WEEKDAY from NOON to 2 p.m. through Tues., Dec. 17, KSDS will bring you a new, expertly and exhaustively curated Sinatra show each day.

KSDS apologizes about our broadcast signal being down. We are currently working on the issue and hope to have it resolved as soon as possible. Thank you all for reaching out to let us know. It is always reassuring to hear from so many people. We are grateful for your understanding and patience.

To register for the inaugural semester of KSDS’s Jazz University, call 619-388-3000 or email Chuck@jazz88.org.

The inaugural semester of KSDS's Jazz University will kick off on Thurs. evening, Nov. 7 at 7 p.m., on the campus of San Diego City College. Classes will meet at the Black Box Theatre, on City College's campus, the first three Thurs. evenings in November (Nov. 7, 14, and 21), from 7 to 9 p.m. The culmination of the course — the “Final Exam” — will be a dinner party, with authentic New Orleans cuisine, hosted at Nola on 5th in Hillcrest on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024 at 7 p.m.

Louis Armstrong with Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra performing “Skeleton in the Closet,” from 1936’s film classic “Pennies from Heaven.”

By Matt Silver

Best of Halloween playlists are ubiquitous this time of year—and, frankly, most of them consist of the obvious, low-hanging fruit. Of course, clichés are clichés for a reason: they have staying power. So, here we acknowledge the very best of the tried-and-true—along with some...deeper cuts. From the absurd and campy to the spooky and truly frightful, you’re sure to find something in these five tunes that speak to what you love most about Halloween.

”Inside Art” with Dave Drexler airs Sunday evenings from 6 to 6:30 p.m. PT on KSDS Jazz 88.3 FM San Diego and jazz88.org.

Last week (Oct. 22), Dave Drexler's "Inside Art" was awarded “Best of Show” honors (Radio/Podcast category) at the 51st annual San Diego Press Club Excellence in Journalism Awards.

Charles McPherson (center) stopped by KSDS studios on Mon., Oct. 21, 2024 to chat with Ron Dhanifu (left) and Matt Silver (right) on the “Afternoon Drive.”

THIS SUNDAY EVENING, KSDS is presenting a jazz concert. We do this regularly; we’re pretty good at it. And, yes, they’re all special. We love all our children the same (yeah, yeah, yeah). BUT THIS…this concert really is one that we’re going to cherish a little bit more, and a little bit longer, than the rest. Because these musicians playing this music together is the embodiment of our mission here at KSDS; it represents the quintessential expression of modern jazz’s lineage, as presented by a multi-generational group of ardent flame-keepers.

If a 15-year-old Jon Faddis had never summoned the courage to ask Dizzy Gillespie to sign his massive stack of records at the Monterey Jazz Festival, would Faddis have gone on to develop into “the best ever”? It’s an interesting thought. Ponder it, then see for yourself whether you agree with Dizzy’s evaluation of Faddis. Come celebrate the 60th anniversary of Dizzy Gillespie’s run for president on Oct. 27 at the Handlery Hotel with the Faddis/McPherson Quintet.

By Matt Silver

Here’s a short story — incomplete, certainly, but revealing nevertheless — about how a young trumpeter from Oakland came to be called the best ever…by the best ever.

Trumpeter Jon Faddis met his hero, Dizzy Gillespie, for the first time when he was 12 years old. He was too afraid to say anything. 

John Clayton, co-founder of the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra and mentor to countless young jazz musicians, is one of the premier jazz bassists of the last half-century.

It’s been 60 years since Dizzy Gillespie’s candidacy injected music, levity, and a focus on civil rights into the 1964 presidential election. By now, you’ve read and heard quite a bit about the concert we’re presenting on Sunday evening, Oct. 27 to celebrate that anniversary. And by now, you know the legendary names leading the band: Faddis and McPherson.

Now it’s time to make like Art Pepper… and meet the rhythm section.