Program Descriptions

'DCB Jazz

'DCB Jazz offers an uninterrupted presentation of a variety of styles, focusing on straight-ahead jazz. We cover the classics, as well as current jazz releases and artists, and of course we love to highlight jazz from Chicago! This well-rounded and informative program is designed for extended listening.

Afterglow

Hosted by Mark Chilla, Afterglow explores the stories of vocal jazz and popular song from the Great American Songbook. Ella, Frank, Billie, Duke – Afterglow has them all!

American Backroads

Hosted by Greg Easterling, American Backroads combines folk, country, blues and roots-rock from the 50s through the 90s to create an aural portrait of American music.

American Routes

Hosted by Nick Spitzer, American Routes covers the "vast American musical landscape," spanning genres and eras: From Aretha Franklin to George Jones, Los Lobos to Howlin' Wolf, Count Basie to Beck.

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Another Place

Chicago journalist and jazz aficionado Andy Pierce hosts  "Another Place" Sundays at midnight. The show explores creative music, jazz and the avant-garde, and delves into the longer, more complex compositions and improvisations in jazz.

The Arts Section

The Arts Section spotlights creative people, events and ideas. Every week, WDCB's Gary Zidek shines a light on arts and culture in the Chicago area. The mission is to focus on stories within the arts community that aren't being told, with additional commentary and discussions on literature, music, film, food, special events and anything else creative.

You can listen to The Arts Section every Sunday 8:00 - 9:00 am on 90.9/90.7 FM or online at WDCB.org

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Blacks & Blues

A Harlem native, lifelong blues lover, writer, record collector, historian and poet, Doug Curry has hosted blues radio programs for more than 40 years. His weekly “Blacks and Blues” program on WDCB highlights the full spectrum of blues music past & present, acoustic & electric, with a perspective that spotlights the history of the people, places, and even the politics behind the recordings. Each week, Curry connects the dots between evolution of the music and larger forces of Black culture from which the music is nurtured. He brings both a scholarly enthusiasm and a hip, confident swagger to each show, delivering the blues with a style all his own. Each week’s show begins Wynonie Harris’s “Mr. Blues is Comin’ to Town” and ends with the Ray Charles instrumental, “Ray’s Blues.”

Blues Before Sunrise

Blues Before Sunrise showcases blues as part of a cultural landscape that includes jump and jive, rhythm and blues, swing, doo wop, gospel, comedy, and recitation, and never is the music presented as kitsch or retro fashion in the way that some music has been exploited and trivialized. For host Steve Cushing, the blues is a living African-American tradition with deep roots.

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Blues from the Red Rooster Lounge

Blues is one of the primary roots of American popular music and the "daddy" of rock'n'roll. Blues From the Red Rooster Lounge, hosted by Cary Wolfson, has attracted a cult following - Saturday nights on WDCB. Wolfson (a.k.a "The Red Rooster") is a world-renowned authority on the blues and every week he cranks out a lively hour blending blues and R&B, with a touch of gospel and lost soul tossed in. Wolfson has twice been honored with W.C. Handy Keeping the Blues Alive awards from the Blues Foundation in Memphis, TN.

Blues Time

Blues Time is hosted by Tom Marker, a veteran in Chicago Blues Radio since 1975, beginning with WJKL "The Fox" in Elgin. In January 2015 Tom joined the staff of WDCB where he gets to program two hours of blues music with virtually no interruption. Not only will he play the classic blues performers, there is a strong emphasis on Chicago’s local legends and up-and-comers.

Chicago Jazz Live

Chicago Jazz Live is a one-hour weekly program produced in partnership between WDCB and Emmy Award winning composer, Steve Rashid, who created and hosts the new program.  CJL shines a spotlight on the deep pool of local jazz musicians working in Chicago by presenting small groups that are recorded live, exclusively for this series.  Each week’s program includes interview segments with the featured artists. Conceived as a ‘house concert in a club’, CJL allows its audience an up-close look into the process and intimate musical conversation that is the heart of a small ensemble.

Chicago Jazz Spotlight

WDCB presents a variety of special programs spotlighting Chicago jazz artists, events and history!

The Dueling Critics

The Dueling Critics are Jonathan Abarbanel and Kerry Reid. Each week they debate the merits of a show at one of the 240-some professional theaters in the Chicago area, often supplementing their discussion with individual recommendations of plays not to be missed. Jonathan also reviews for Windy City Times and teaches theater history at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Kerry is the theater and dance editor at the Chicago Reader and former theater critic for the Chicago Tribune. You can hear Kerry and Jonathan duel every Sunday morning on The Arts Section 8 -9 am on WDCB and WDCB.org. You can find archived reviews from the Dueling Critics at: TheArtsSection.org

Folk Festival

Join host Lilli Kuzma for a great mix of folk artists and styles, from traditional and contemporary folk, to doses of related and influenced styles, like folk-rock, bluegrass, country, blues, Celtic, world, Americana, and more. Folk Festival presents entertaining themed shows plus topical and historical segments, and regularly hosts outstanding live studio guests, both Chicago-based and national touring acts. There are frequent ticket and CD giveaways, and on each show listeners are informed about area/regional concerts, workshops, and events, with the Chicagoland Folk Calendar. Lilli presents the show live, affording a fresh and direct presence with the listeners.

The Grateful Dead Hour

Guitarist and songwriter, journalist and author, and long-time host of the Grateful Dead Hour, David Gans has produced “GD Hour” since 1987 (in its present form). The syndicated program airs weekly on 75 stations coast-to-coast, and features live concerts from the Grateful Dead's vault, as well as music influenced by the Dead, live studio performances, in-depth interviews with core Dead members, and more. It's an in-depth look into the world that revolves around the Grateful Dead.

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Hambone's Blues Party

Hambone's Blues Party is a lively two-hour program featuring blues with some rhythm, blues with some soul and blues with some jump. Broadcasting from the backseat of his black Cadillac parked on the corner of Jazz Avenue and Blues Boulevard, Hambone plays the best in contemporary blues and classic R&B recordings. Jump start your weekend with Hambone!

House Party

Every Monday, Bill Margeson and Imelda Brogha will present a high-spirited hour of bluegrass, Celtic and Cajun music that spotlights all three forms while celebrating the commonality between them. And since this is a house party, get out your fiddle, banjo or squeezebox and play along at home!

How the West Was Strung

Where country meets jazz and all things Western ... swing!  How the West Was Strung is hosted by Al Finley, and features hot licks and cold steel from the likes of Speedy West and Jimmy Bryant, Danny Gatton, Hark Garland …and Bob Wills is still the king!

Ireland Tonight

Ireland Tonight features the best of Celtic traditional music. Hosted by Sharon Iberle, each one-hour program is full of music, fascinating facts about Celtic music and its host countries, as well as stories and inside information about Ireland. And always, there is lots of good music... so Failte! (Welcome!)

Jammin' Jazz: Jazz for the New Generation

Jammin’ Jazz: Jazz for the New Generation features all that is cool and groovey, and happenin’ in Modern Jazz right this minute. Host Michelle Sammartino focuses on artists that are currently touring as well as the influences that made them choose this glamorous profession. Jammin’ Jazz features not just new modern Jazz, but the marriage of Jazz and Funk, Jazz and Rock, Jazz and Soul, Jazz and Hip Hop – from New Orleans to New York to Chicago to San Fran to Montreal to Europe to Japan and more. If it is happenin’ in the world of Jazz you can find it here.

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Jazz Calendar

The daily Jazz Calendar contains listings of jazz events happening everyday throughout the Chicagoland area.

The Jazz Calendar is proudly sponsored by:
Monday - Enright Insurance
Tuesday - Unlimited Heating & Cooling, Inc.
Wednesday - Epiphany Center for the Arts
Thursday - PJ's Camera & Photo Supply
Friday - Ellman's Music Center
Sunday - Luscombe Music

Jazz Night in America

Each week, the Jazz Night in America radio broadcast presents some of the best live jazz performances happening around the country and the stories behind them. With multiple Grammy Award-winning musician Christian McBride as host, the one-hour radio show features hand-picked performances from across the country, woven with the colorful stories of the artists behind them.

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Jazz Oasis with Steve Cushing

Spend an extra hour with blues radio legend Steve Cushing as he presents his new jazz program "Jazz Oasis." It's an hour of jazz from the heart of the music's 20th-century golden age, spanning roughly the years 1946-1964. It follows Cushing's all-night "Blues Before Sunrise" program each Sunday morning at 5am.

Jazz Organic

Jazz Organic is a one-hour weekly radio program celebrating America’s original art-form, jazz, uniquely played on the tone-wheel organ - from “Wild Bill” Davis and Jimmy Smith to Joey DeFrancesco, to the next generation of B3 artists, Jazz Organic features a variety of colors and flavors of jazz played on the Hammond B3 organ.

Jazz Tropicale

If you're a fan of Brazilian music, get ready to swing! Marshall Vente, who also leads his own Latin group "Tropicale", is your host for two hours. From traditional to contemporary, and Brazilian to Caribbean... "It's a jazz show with palm trees."

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Judy Carmichael's Jazz Inspired

What inspires the people who inspire you? How do creative people create? World-renowned jazz pianist Judy Carmichael explores these questions with her guests every week on her public radio show Judy Carmichael’s Jazz Inspired. Celebrated artists discuss their creative process and how their passion for jazz has inspired their work. They share their favorite recordings with the listener as well as insight into their life and art.

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Jukebox Saturday Night

Host Karl Pearson takes a weekly look at the music of the Big Band Era of the 1930s and 1940s, both swing and sweet. He also presents music by the small groups, vocalists, and other musical outfits from that magical period, and offers additional live and rare material as well, from his extensive collection of 78s, CDs, LPs and broadcast transcriptions. And from time to time he also features music from the late 1920s and the 1950s.

Mambo Inn

Host Rene Avila carries a long tradition of Sunday afternoon Latin Jazz on WDCB into the future as he brings you along on a weekly trip to the "Mambo Inn." Tune in every Sunday from 4 - 6pm for 2 hours of jazz with clave, as Avila reaches back to the classic Afro-Cuban sounds of the '40s & '50s and explores Latin Jazz styles along the way to the current sounds of today.

Mood Indigo

Host Leslie Keros presents an hour of swinging, soulful blues from the 1950s to the present.

New Vintage

Featuring the contemporary sounds of the vintage art form known as big band, New Vintage celebrates the many successes of today's band leaders dedicated to furthering and promoting America's greatest contribution to world music history. New Vintage is hosted by Bill O'Connell, leader of the Chicago Skyliners Big Band.

Night Lights

Night Lights, is a weekly one-hour jazz radio program hosted by David Brent Johnson, focusing on jazz from the 1945-1990 era—a timespan that, as Johnson notes, “weirdly parallels Miles Davis on record and the Cold War.” Covering artists such as Jackie McLean, Charles Mingus, and Nina Simone and themes ranging from jazz recordings of spirituals to avant-garde interpretations of the Great American Songbook, Night Lights also features many lesser-known talents of post-1945 jazz, such as saxophonist J.R. Monterose, trumpeter Freddie Webster, and piano/singer duo Dick and Kiz Harp.

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Night Train

"Night Train," hosted by Sammie-Jay, puts a contemporary spin on the blues. It’s a mix of Southern Soul and Chicago Blues with an emphasis on deep soul blues singers. Sammy-Jay offers listeners the chance to interact with the music, to both remember the past and embrace the future as he spotlights up-and-coming artists who are keeping the blues alive.

Notes from the Jazz Underground

Host Paul Abella plays cutting-edge Jazz, fusion, brass bands, jazz-funk, the occasional jam band and music that blends jazz and various other music genres every Wednesday night at 11.

The Real Deal with Orbert Davis

Take a journey with jazz trumpeter, composer and bandleader, Orbert Davis, that includes the traditions of our jazz heritage... where jazz is now, and where it's going! Tune in to hear ‘Real Talk about Real Music’ when Orbert occasionally invites some of his friends to stop by and ‘Sit In’ from time to time. Past guests include Kurt Elling, Joel Ross, Howard Levy, Alison Ruble, Jason Marsalis and Brian Lynch, to name a few.

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Saturday Sunrise Set

The Sounds of Brazil

The Sounds of Brazil radio program showcases the best Brazilian jazz, Bossa Nova and Nu Bossa grooves - plus top new music.

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State Week

State Week has been produced by NPR Illinois since January 1975, created by original WSSR News Director Rich Bradley when the station went on the air. It is the longest running public affairs program on NPR Illinois and was patterned after the popular PBS show Washington Week in Review.

Sean Crawford, the NPR Illinois News Director and former Statehouse Bureau Chief, moderates the program.  He is joined by a regular panel consisting of Charlie Wheeler, retired director of the Public Affairs Reporting Program at UIS, and reporters from throughout Illinois. The program provides analysis and commentary on the top news stories of the week in Illinois state government and politics.

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Sunday Jazz with Dee Alexander

World-renowned, Chicago-based jazz vocalist and educator Dee Alexander is your host for a two-hour weekly jazz program featuring a range of jazz artists, styles and eras. With a mix of vocalists and instrumentalists, “Sunday Jazz with Dee Alexander” includes the work of current jazz artists from around the world, as well as Chicago’s own world-class jazz talent.

Swing Shift

WDCB's Bruce Oscar takes you back to the World War II era when "swing was king."

The Thistle & Shamrock

Each week, award-winning host Fiona Ritchie explores the evolving Celtic musical traditions of Europe and North America. In addition to well-known artists and selections, Ritchie introduces listeners to Celtic influences in World and contemporary music, and investigates other distant landscapes and genres.

Those Were the Days

WDCB is very pleased to present "Those Were the Days," a program that has played a prominent role in Chicago's radio history for more than 50 years. Drawing from a vast library of material each Saturday, Steve Darnall presents old-time radio classics and music.
Email Those Were The Days: info@nostalgiadigest.com

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The Wayne Messmer Radio Show

Drawing from a lifetime of musical experiences as a singer, performer, speaker, author and broadcaster, Wayne Messmer blends an entertaining mix of personality, jazz standards, cabaret, and Broadway classics with his own observations of the world around us, offering provocative thoughts on where and how we live. The listener is invited to take a sentimental, musical journey while also touching upon some of life's issues that help us to make our house a home, and our lives just a little bit better. The Wayne Messmer Radio Show offers good tunes, positive vibes and a nice place to hang out together as we wind down the weekend.

WDCB Weekly

WDCB Weekly is a public affairs show with a local focus. Host Gary Zidek sheds light on a variety of interesting stories, people you should know and community events. Tune in Sunday mornings at 7:30 a.m.

When Jazz Was King

Hosted by Barry Winograd, "When Jazz Was King" explores the early jazz sounds of the traditional masters.