Oscar Treadwell Passes Away

[96rocker]

A local and national jazz radio legend, Oscar Treadwell, passed away over the weekend.

Here is the link from the Post:

http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060403/NEWS03/604030350/-1/all

What a great delivery he had, as well as a wealth of musical knowledge. I really felt like I was sitting in a smoky jazz club in New York in 1959 whenever I listened to his show.

How many DJs had not one, but two songs written for him? And by musical giants, no less. "Oska T" by Thelonius Monk, and "An Oscar for Treadwell" by Charlie Parker.

 

[jcr]

> A local and national jazz radio legend, Oscar Treadwell,
> passed away over the weekend.
>
> Here is the link from the Post:
>
http://news.cincypost.com> /apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060403/NEWS03/604030350/-1/all
>
>
> What a great delivery he had, as well as a wealth of musical
> knowledge. I really felt like I was sitting in a smoky jazz
> club in New York in 1959 whenever I listened to his show.
>
> How many DJs had not one, but two songs written for him? And
> by musical giants, no less. "Oska T" by Thelonius Monk, and
> "An Oscar for Treadwell" by Charlie Parker.
>
Another one of the great ones is gone. As well known as he was for jazz, my first introduction to an Oscar Treadwell radio show came in 1970, on the Eclectic Stopsign show he did on Saturday afternoons. He did jazz and poetry on Sunday afternoons, but from 2-5 pm on Saturday, he was playing Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, The Beatles, and basically the same type of music that Michael Xanadu, Thom Mcgreevey, Ty Williams, and Denton Marr were playing on WEBN. From there I also started to listening to his jazz programs and followed him to the other stations after WNOP.

 

[darksoldier]

> > A local and national jazz radio legend, Oscar Treadwell,
> > passed away over the weekend.
> >
> > Here is the link from the Post:
> >
> http://news.cincypost.com>
> /apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060403/NEWS03/604030350/-1/all
>
> >
> >
> > What a great delivery he had, as well as a wealth of
> musical
> > knowledge. I really felt like I was sitting in a smoky
> jazz
> > club in New York in 1959 whenever I listened to his show.
> >
> > How many DJs had not one, but two songs written for him?
> And
> > by musical giants, no less. "Oska T" by Thelonius Monk,
> and
> > "An Oscar for Treadwell" by Charlie Parker.
> >
> Another one of the great ones is gone. As well known as he
> was for jazz, my first introduction to an Oscar Treadwell
> radio show came in 1970, on the Eclectic Stopsign show he
> did on Saturday afternoons. He did jazz and poetry on
> Sunday afternoons, but from 2-5 pm on Saturday, he was
> playing Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, The Beatles, and
> basically the same type of music that Michael Xanadu, Thom
> Mcgreevey, Ty Williams, and Denton Marr were playing on
> WEBN. From there I also started to listening to his jazz
> programs and followed him to the other stations after WNOP.
>
The absolute worst news of the day. I was blessed to know him and learn a lot about jazz from him in my time at WNOP. He would come by the studio fairly regularly, and was always a pleasure to be around. I last saw him at a Joshua Redman concert at CCM. Truly a legend and a class act. RIP OT, you will be missed.

 

[radiojuan]

s
> The absolute worst news of the day. I was blessed to know
> him and learn a lot about jazz from him in my time at WNOP.
> He would come by the studio fairly regularly, and was always
> a pleasure to be around. I last saw him at a Joshua Redman
> concert at CCM. Truly a legend and a class act. RIP OT, you
> will be missed.

I too, had the honor of knowing OT. Besides possessing an encyclopedic knowledge of jazz and an amazing set of vocal pipes, he was the embodiment of the word "gentleman". Although his personal life was at times rough with his wife's poor health, he was never anything but cheerful and in love with life; just a lovely, lovely man.

 

[KBR]

OT actually had 3 songs written about him by jazz greats...the two mentioned and Wardell Grey's "Treadin' with Treadwell" which was the first of the three.

There's a tribute page to OT at wvxu.org and a place for fans & friends to leave messages and memories. The family has given WVXU their blessing to play not only the remaining unaired Jazz with OT shows but once those are aired, the entire 8 months worth of shows he did for the new WVXU will be reaired.

I got to meet him a couple of times recently and he truly was a gentle man.

 

[keys2]

> Another one of the great ones is gone. As well known as he
> was for jazz, my first introduction to an Oscar Treadwell
> radio show came in 1970, on the Eclectic Stopsign show he
> did on Saturday afternoons. He did jazz and poetry on
> Sunday afternoons, but from 2-5 pm on Saturday, he was
> playing Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, The Beatles, and
> basically the same type of music that Michael Xanadu, Thom
> Mcgreevey, Ty Williams, and Denton Marr were playing on
> WEBN. From there I also started to listening to his jazz
> programs and followed him to the other stations after WNOP.


I don't have much time lately to post but I had to chime in on this thread. Thanks jcr for mentioning OT's Eclectic Stop Sign program on Saturday afternoons. I remembered him doing it but had forgotten what he called it. Unlike many jazzers who tend to be jazz snobs, OT respected other types of good music as well.

Anyway, he and WNOP played a big part in developing my love of jazz as a teenager. Heard him speak on a number of occasions and he was always just as smooth in person as he was on the air. It is indeed sad to see this legend pass away.