KJZZ music director to retire after 32 years

[AuxRSS]

Buried in this interview is acknowledgement that KJZZ in 2024 exiled music from FM to HD ("which some people know about, but most people don’t") and streaming services.

Blaise Lantana, who has been KJZZ’s music director for past 32 years, is signing off

Blaise Lantana, who has been KJZZ’s music director these past 32 years, is leaving the airwaves.

www.kjzz.org

 

[DrAkbar]

30+ years? That's almost as long as Nurse Jeff and I've been scamming educating newbies at the Buckeye Media Hut.

Congratulations, Blaise 👏 and a tip of the fez for all the many hours of great music!.

 

[ted chittenden]

Per

PublicRadioFan.com - Listings by station: KJZZ 2 (Jazz PHX)

Directory of public radio stations with streaming audio, featuring a program schedule database for hundreds of public radio stations.

www.publicradiofan.com

Blaise Lantana (her name is not listed) was the only local host on the HD2 channel. Everything else comes from Jazzworx which, I believe, is based out of Pittsburgh, PA. (I don't know when the publicradiofan.com schedule was last updated, and I purposely changed the time zone on KJZZ's HD2 schedule to reflect Arizona time.) While I wish Blaise luck as a jazz musician, my best guess is that KJZZ's HD2 channel will now become full-time Jazzworx.

Finally, the main channel does still have one locally-produced music program: "Lowdown Blues," with Bob Corritor (not sure of spelling) which airs from 6 until 11pm on Sunday evenings Arizona time. And, if memory serves, Bob has been with the station since the mid-1980s.

 

[PTBoardOp93]

Blaise Lantana (her name is not listed) was the only local host on the HD2 channel. Everything else comes from Jazzworx which, I believe, is based out of Pittsburgh, PA.

It is indeed based at 90.5 WESA in Pittsburgh.

(I don't know when the publicradiofan.com schedule was last updated, and I purposely changed the time zone on KJZZ's HD2 schedule to reflect Arizona time.)

It couldn't be too recently, as Charlie G. Sanders has not appeared on the JazzWorks network in a number of years. That slot has been filled by "David Jay" since perhaps 2021 (I didn't keep detailed notes on the subject).

The JazzWorks network itself is hosted by people who could retire at any time. Bob Studebaker has hosted JazzWorks for over 25 years, and Helen Wigger has almost 20 years with the network.

I wish Ms. Lantana well in retirement. I recall exchanging emails with her when I was MD of a jazz station in Indiana many years ago and she was very gracious with me.

 

[Deus Ex Machiato]

I wish Ms. Lantana well in retirement. I recall exchanging emails with her when I was MD of a jazz station in Indiana many years ago and she was very gracious with me.

Back in 2019 when I was "on the beach," I got to hang out with her for an evening at the station during her show. She was indeed gracious, and her knowledge of jazz is (obviously) extensive and impressive. It was like going to jazz radio school.