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Bud Powell playing Birdland in 1949. Photo by Herman Leonard.

To our KSDS members, the jazz curious, the jazz adjacent, the community-minded, and the philanthropically inclined:

Matt Silver here, host of “Breaking Jazz,” writing to let you know that our Fall Membership Drive begins this Friday, Sept. 20 and runs through Sunday, Sept. 29. 

This season’s drive is dedicated to celebrating the principal architects of bebop—Bud Powell, Charlie Parker, and Dizzy Gillespie, or “Bud, Bird, and Diz” for short. 

It’s not uncommon to celebrate the holy trinity of bebop, but, in this case, we do so with extraordinary attention centered on Powell. After all, this is an extraordinary year, the 100th anniversary of his birth, his centennial year. 

On Friday evening, September 27, 2024, KSDS will celebrate the Bud Powell Centennial — Bud’s 100th birthday — in a manner befitting the only man who can rightly be called the principal architect of modern jazz piano conception. Though Powell himself won’t be playing — he’s been dead 58 years, which is just another way of saying he was already booked — we’ve arranged the next best thing, an evening of unforgettable musical testimony to Powell’s enduring artistic influence starring three modern masters of the piano: Joshua White, Alan Broadbent, and Bill Mays. 

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We've got TWO MONUMENTAL birthdays to recognize this week: Lester Young's (Aug. 27) and Charlie Parker's (Aug. 29). When we think influencers here at KSDS, we don't think college coeds hawking athleisure and makeup tutorials; we think Bird and Prez. Two sons of Kansas City, the Paris of the Plains.

New Orleans may be the birthplace of jazz, but Kansas City is the Cradle of Jazz. And it's not just Lester and Charlie. Along with Count Basie, they sport the most enduring legacies, but at Jazz 88.3 KSDS FM San Diego, names like Mary Lou Williams, Jay McShann, Ben Webster, Jimmy Rushing, and Jo Jones —  to name but a few giants of jazz who called KC home —  will never be neglected or forgotten.

Beginning Aug. 16, 2024, Ruffins will be broadcasting each and every Friday evening at 5 p.m. PST from Kermit’s Mother in Law Law Lounge in the heart of the Treme.

By Matt Silver

When the time came to find a new host for “Jazz Across America: New Orleans” (Fridays, 5 to 7 p.m. PST), Ken Poston, general manager of San Diego’s KSDS Jazz 88.3 FM, wanted not just to get someone good; he wanted to get someone perfect. Someone who wears the soul, the traditions, and the aspirations of New Orleans, jazz’s foundational city, on his richly designed, elegantly tailored sleeves.  

Balboa Theatre presents the Premiere of RACHMANINOFF AND THE TSAR.  Hershey Felder brings Rachmaninoff’s incredible story to life through his music - including his famous C# minor Prelude, second piano concerto, Paganini Variations and more.

Bring your friends and family!! Award winning blues musician Nathan James has built an international fan base with his masterful guitar playing and soulful vocals. He’ll be backed by The Rhythm Scratchers, his tight-knit trio. Featuring Stephen Hodges on drums, (Tom Waits, Mavis Staples, T-Bone Burnett), and Troy Sandow on bass and harmonica.

On July 4th (2024) KSDS-FM celebrated a major event. Yes, it was July 4th. But this was an extra special festival weekend because we used the occasion of our nation's founding to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the inaugural Newport Jazz Festival.

Sundays have a new look on KSDS beginning in July. And, it's more than just this graphic.

There will be a change of venue for the last Jazz Live of this season. Tonight's presentation of The Four Freshmen will be held at The Handlery Hotel under the stars in their backyard garden. If you are an existing Jazz Live subscriber for this season (February-July 2024) you are guaranteed your 2 tickets. Please e-mail Chuck (chuck@jazz88.org) for any additional information or questions you may have and ask him about any add-ons that you may be interested in. There are tickets avaialbe for VIP and concert only. If you are NOT A CURRENT JAZZ LIVE SUBSCRIBER please read below. All attendess need to check in at the venue. There are NO hard tickets for this event.

KSDS celebrates Miles Davis’s Birthday all day THIS MONDAY, on Memorial Day, beginning at 7AM PACIFIC. We will be playing classic and rare recordings and offering insightful commentary throughout the day. You're not going to want to miss one minute of this special programming. This Monday, beginning at 7AM only on San Diegos’ Jazz 88.3, KSDS-FM.