Other Streets
A survey of jazz resources on-line.
A site with everything:
First, we want to mention Steve Elman’s home turf – The Arts Fuse, “Boston’s Premier Online Arts Magazine,” as it proclaims on its masthead.
The Fuse is a reader-supported home to an impressive array of New England-based writers and critics who observe and discuss any aspect of the arts you can imagine – dance, music, theater, books, film, food, television, visual arts and design, poetry, and everything in between the genres. The Arts Fuse was founded in 2008 by its assiduous and energetic Editor-in-Chief Bill Marx, and publishes dozens of new pieces every week.
The Fuse even sponsors its own podcast, under the title The Short Fuse.
Steve is honored to be included among their jazz writers. He recommends (ahem) his own pieces and the work of the others writing for The Fuse – Steve Feeney, Jon Garelick, Brooks Geiken, Tom Hull, Allen Michie, Steve Provizer, Paul Robicheau, Michael Ullman, and others past and to come.
Blogs we like:
Marc Myers is a jazz writer with great credentials and great heart. His JazzWax blog is consistently interesting.
Myers has an especially insightful series of posts he calls Jazz101. Example: https://www.jazzwax.com/p/why-you-dig-jazz-and-others-dont
Steven Cerra’s JazzProfiles blog wears its mission on its sleeve.
https://jazzprofiles.blogspot.com
Cerra is concerned with presenting profiles and perspectives on the personalities of jazz. His blog has a particularly useful index of topics on the front page.
Steve Provizer’s Brilliant Corners blog ranges far and wide, but concentrates on jazz recordings and appreciations of them.
https://brilliantcornersabostonjazzblog.blogspot.com
Steve P is is one of Steve Elman’s colleagues at The Arts Fuse and an author (most recently of As Long as They Can Blow: Interracial Jazz Recording and Other Jive Before 1935 [2023]). His posts in the last couple of years have been devoted to further explorations of interracial jazz recordings, a little-documented and often surprising aspect of jazz history. Steve P has established himself as an expert in this area.
Richard Vacca’s Boston Jazz Chronicles blog is Boston-centered, obviously, but his writing is solid and his appreciation for the local scene is deeply sincere.
Joe Maita’s JerryJazzMusician blog is an aggregator.
https://www.jerryjazzmusician.com/.
Since 1999, Maita has been collecting and publishing material related to jazz from writers, poets, photographers, artists, and other creative contributors.
Podcasts of interest:
We have some favorites among the sites listed here, but we are not suggesting that these are the best or even the most interesting podcasts out there. They DO have some of the most articulate hosts.
Many of the publications devoted to jazz (and music in general) select podcasts in annual polls, and we have looked to them for some guidance as well.
Trumpeter-composer Dave Douglas is the host and producer of A Noise from the Deep, which has been offering ’casts since 2013.
Douglas is a genre-stretching iconoclast in his music, and the podcast reflects his interests. He posts irregularly. Most of the ’casts are interviews, and the subjects range from esteemed players like Andrew Cyrille, Carla Bley, Henry Threadgill and Jane Ira Bloom to virtual unknowns with interesting new releases. There is a certain “downtown” bent to his choices . . . not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Jeffrey Siegel is the host of Straight No Chaser, which may be on hiatus, because its last post was in November 2025.
https://straightnochaserjazz.libsyn.com
With more than 900 episodes in the can, this qualifies as a real veteran among podcasts. Siegel is to be praised for spotlighting conversations with newer and foreign-born jazz artists, but he takes a wide view, occasionally opening his lens towards more general topics, like reminiscences of artists who’ve passed away or jazz for the holidays.
Nate Chinen and Greg Bryant hosted Jazz United from 2020 – 2023.
https://www.npr.org/podcasts/976648503/jazz-united
Yes, it’s gone now, but it holds up remarkably well. Both hosts are articulate and well-informed – Nate Chinen is a highly respected writer and Greg Bryant is a broadcaster with years of experience on WBGO in Newark, NJ and WRTI in Pennsylvania. Their list of ’cast topics is intriguing and well-thought-out.
The Late Set, originating at WRTI, is the successor to Jazz United.
https://www.wrti.org/podcast/late-set
Chinen continues in his co-host role. He worked at first with Greg Bryant and now he works with Josh Jackson. They post ’casts biweekly, incorporating interviews, reviews, and observations on The Scene, broadly interpreted. Each ’cast is described in detail on their site.
Pianists Peter Martin and Adam Maness host You’ll Hear It.
Martin and Maness often delve into individual recordings – new, old, and in between. Most of the artists featured are working in jazz, but they also have spotlighted albums by Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, D’Angelo, Paul Simon, and others. They also pose topics of interest to jazzpeople and others and then discuss them at length.
Composer-clarinetist Jeremiah Cymerman hosts The 5049 Podcast, a “weekly interview show.”
https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/5049-records-222056
The show (“from the Lower East Side of New York City”), true to form, mostly calls upon denizens of The Apple to be interviewed. Mary Halvorson, Joe Morris, Peter Evans, and Bill Frisell are interviewees to be reckoned with, but Cymerman talks to many others you may not have heard of.\
“AJ” and “Johnny” are the otherwise unidentified co-hosts of Same Difference: 2 Jazz Fans, 1 Jazz Standard.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/same-difference-2-jazz-fans-1-jazz-standard/id1456627254
The ‘cast began in 2020 with an intriguing idea – spotlight a well-known tune in each episode. Since that time, the hosts have broadened their focus a bit, but regularly return to the basic concept.
The Jazz Podcast is decidedly UK-centric, hosted by Brit saxophonist-composer Tom Cope and Aussie harpist Tara Minton.
Cope, Minton, and occasional guest hosts are vets of the podcast scene, with more than 300 eps so far. Since 2017, they have been dropping eps at least once a month and often weekly. Most of their ’casts are devoted to interviews with UK-based players, with a substantial component of African players as well, since there is an active scene in London of African-born jazz musicians. In addition to their usual subjects, notably including the brilliant English singer Norma Winstone, they have interviewed international figures like Sonny Rollins, Wadada Leo Smith, John Scofield, Maria Schneider, Delfaeyo Marsalis, Samara Joy, Mark Turner, and Dave Douglas. Many of the interviews are focused on the interviewee’s newest release.
Rich Rector hosted Rich Tones Curated Jazz on KPCW, Park City UT from 2021 – 2025.
https://www.kpcw.org/show/rich-tones-curated-jazz
Like so many public broadcasting programs, Rector’s show became the victim of budgetary constraints last year, but his podcast gave listeners music programs built around specific themes, and the shows still can be heard on line.
Tom Reney of New England Public Media hosted The Jazz Beat from 2018 – 2023.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jazz-beat/id1021670316
Tom focused primarily on interviews with important figures in jazz and blues and appreciations of their work. The interviews especially are a substantial body of important documentation.
Simon Rentner hosted The Checkout from WBGO in Newark, NJ from 2018 – 2022.
https://www.wbgo.org/podcast/the-checkout
Most of the episodes focused on releases or events that were current at the time of recording, but there is still much to enjoy here, even in retrospect.
Herman “Hollywood” Dawkins and “Ray the Jazzman” are the hosts of 8:30.
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2342721
If they exhibit a bit too much “Morning Show” camaraderie for our taste, Herman and Ray are affiliated with iHeart Radio, which allows them to play full tracks and comment on them. And their hearts are in the right place.
Had enough yet? This is a site that aggregates names and links for many other jazz podcasts:
https://podcast.feedspot.com/jazz_podcasts
Jazz “Radio”:
Some folks just want a jazz soundtrack to whatever they may be doing. There are non-broadcast jazz streaming channels, some of which you must pay for, and there are many public radio stations that provide jazz streams on-line as well.
Steve hosted jazz programming on WBUR in Boston from 1972 until 1982, so he knows the ropes (and he has a critic’s ear for his own medium).
Jazz streams:
All of these services have excellent sound quality. Too few of them have obvious volume controls on their sites – streamers, do your listeners a favor and let them set a volume that protects their ears!
Real Jazz, a channel on Sirius / XM satellite radio (which you pay for – but they do offer a free trial), is the Top Daddy of jazz streaming and one of Steve’s faves.
It sounds the most like jazz radio as it was in the glory days. It is the on-line home of Mark Ruffin, a host with decades of experience and intimate interaction with the greats of the music. The announcers have a lot of say in what they program, so the character of the stream tends to shift with the person on the air. Real Jazz was at one time also the national home of Rhonda Hamilton, one of the nation’s best announcer / producers – not all of their current announcers live up to her standard.
There are also specialty DJ shows hosted by Marcus Miller, TerrI Lyne Carrington and Christian McBride – McBride’s music / interview show is consistently good. SFJAZZ has a spotlight show, Dick Golden hosts a mainstream jazz show called “American Jazz” on Saturday mornings, and there is even a specialty show devoted to jazz organ. The channel drifts toward fusion in the late hours (eastern time).
Sirius / XM also offers a new-agey channel called Spa and a smooth jazz channel called Watercolors.
AccuRadio (which is free to users, but they ask you to provide them with your email) is a streaming service relatively new to the game, but they have unusual perspectives. https://www.accuradio.com/jazz/
Instead of streaming via bot or listener popularity, they commission real live people to curate their channels, and narrowcast the channels – there are more than 70 jazz streams, from the general (“Pure Jazz,” “Groove Jazz,” “Live Jazz,” “Vocal Jazz,” “25 Greatest Jazz Standards” [played by anyone and everyone], etc.) to the super-specific (channels devoted to each decade of jazz, channels devoted to each of the instruments of jazz, jazz versions of Beatle tunes, etc.). There are no hosts, so you get the names of the tunes from their site. The upside of the service is that you get to listen to exactly what you want; the downside is that there are few if any surprises.
Jazz24 (a listener-supported stream from KNKX, Seattle / Tacoma, WA, directed by Carl Pogue) delivers a very listenable mostly-music stream with some announcer commentary and fundraising. https://www.jazz24.org/
They also sponsor an informative website with jazz news and features.
Jazz DeVille is a free streaming service from Amsterdam, curated by DJ Maestro. https://www.jazzdeville.com/
DJ Maestro defines “jazz” very broadly. He or she offers four separate streams: “Jazz,” “Chill,” “Groove” and “Party.” The “Jazz” stream hews most closely to a straight-ahead agenda, but only rarely plays traditional or vintage forms, and some of the artists programmed are unfamiliar names to jazzheads. Nonetheless, the music offered is always ear-friendly, and usually interesting. The “Jazz” stream also occasionally leans toward bossa, and the “Groove” channel often includes afrobeat – these are not necessarily downsides, because the choices of repertoire are solid. Downsides: the site doesn’t offer an easily accessible volume control, and the info panel doesn’t always keep up with what is being played.
You can always build your own streams or listen to the staff or bot selections on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Tidal, Qobuz, Amazon Music Unlimited or any of the other big deal outfits – some of which you have to pay for – but you may have to wade through a lot of non-jazz to get to what you want to hear.
Streams from real radio stations:
Again, count on excellent sound quality from all our choices below. And again, too few of them have volume controls on their sites – stations, do your listeners a favor and let them set the volume that protects their ears!
Here are some of the best jazz streams from radio broadcasting stations:
WBGO (from Newark NJ, serving the NYC metro) has arguably been the nation’s most important jazz radio station for decades, with a stream that plays its air.
Like all public radio stations, it depends on listener support, so if you like it, do your part. The announcers have a lot of say as to what they play, so the character of the music changes with the host.
KKJZ (from Long Beach, CA) offers a very listenable stream with few announcer interruptions. https://player.live365.com/KKJZ
Like all public radio stations, it depends on listener support, so if you like it, do your part. This is the current home of the great host / programmer Rhonda Hamilton, but you have to listen quite a while to hear her. The station also offers an all-bebop channel and a channel with an archive of older programs and interviews.
Jazz 90.1 (from WGMC, Greece, NY, serving the Rochester NY metro) is an all-jazz public station from our one-time home town.
Like all public radio stations, it depends on listener support, so if you like it, do your part. We’re proud to give a shout-out to the city of our births, because they do very good work. The announcing staff has a lot of stability, and one of the best and most tasteful is Steve’s good friend Phil Dodd, who hosts middays. The station also offers a specialized “smooth grooves” stream.
WWNO (New Orleans, LA) offers a stream of its air, but also offers a solid all-jazz stream, tending towards the traditional. https://www.wwno.org/ Tap on “All streams” to choose your poison.
Like all public radio stations, it depends on listener support, so if you like it, do your part. WWNO’s announcers vary in quality, but some are very knowledgeable – as you would expect from the home town of the music.
KCSM (from San Francisco) offers two all-jazz streams, and each presents a very attractive menu of mainstream music. https://www.kcsm.org/ Tap on “All streams” to choose your poison.
Like all public radio stations, it depends on listener support, so if you like it, do your part.
Their HDM1 channel is a live stream of their on-air broadcasting. Their HDM2 channel is a alternative music channel hearable only on HD radios – or via the net.
WNCU (from North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC) has made a commitment to jazz 24 / 7, and their announcers make tasteful choices. https://wncu.org/
Like all public radio stations, it depends on listener support, so if you like it, do your part.
KWMU (from St. Louis, MO) offers an all-jazz stream without announcer interruptions, tending towards the contemporary. https://www.stlpr.org/jazz Tap on “All streams” to choose your poison.
Like all public radio stations, it depends on listener support, so if you like it, do your part.
KMHD (from Gresham / Portland, OR and Oregon Public Broadcasting) offers a live stream, but they also stream recordings of their recent programs so that you can choose a style or an announcer you like. https://ondemand.kmhd.org/library/shows
Like all public radio stations, it depends on listener support, so if you like it, do your part. The music choices are listenable, but the downside of their system is that any current banter within a show risks being out of date by the time you hear it.
The following list shows that many other stations, commercial and not, are offering music streams. It identifies the ones that are offering jazz, or were at the time of compilation. However, many of the “jazz” identifiers here only apply to part of the station’s programming.