''12th Street Jump'' is a weekly

public radio Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

series, which is broadcast in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

as well as over internet radio stations around the world. The show is based in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more th ...

, where it began broadcasting from in 2009. The show focuses on two genres,

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

and

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...

, while including regular comedy segments. David Basse and Eboni Fondren (Pearl Rovaris MacDonald prior to 2014) are the show's hosts. They regularly have guests on the show, and interview leading Jazz and Blues artists. In 2015, the show had spread its reach to over 115 stations across the

History

''12th Street Jump'' began broadcasting in 2009. It is produced by Theater League in

. The public radio show is a weekly show, focusing on Jazz, Blues and also comedy segments. The show is recorded at the Green Lady Lounge, 1809 Grand Avenue, on Wednesday nights from 7:30 to 9:00pm in Kansas City. It was first broadcast on KCUR FM89.3, Kansas City's public radio station. Its first broadcast came from the Mutual Musicians Foundation, a historic building in the Historic 18th and Vine Jazz district, where Dizzy Gillespie is rumored to have met Charlie Parker. In 2010, the show moved to 12th Street Rag, a club located in downtown

. A renovation of the hotel where the club is located forced the show to move to its current location. It is now recorded live at the Broadway Jazz Club for subsequent broadcast on stations across the United States. In 2017, the show was aired on 60 public radio stations in the

on a weekly basis.

Background

The weekly show is one hour long, combining

and

with topical sketch comedy, similar to shows such as ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves ...

'' and ''

Prairie Home Companion Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

''. The show is hosted by Pete Weber and Eboni Fondren (Pearl Rovaris MacDonald prior to 2014), who regularly interview Jazz and Blues musicians on their show. ''12th Street Jump'' celebrates the birthday of a major jazz or blues musical influence on each show. The show commonly features the music of various Jazz and Blues artists including

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Born and raise ...

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", ...

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was bas ...

and

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and Singing, vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and se ...

as well as composers like

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

and

Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Glenn E. Wallic ...

Guests

The show regularly features guests from a variety of backgrounds, including

vocalist Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western bands that play rock, pop, jazz, or R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeeping and embellishing the musical timbre. The drummer's ...

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

players,

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pro ...

s and

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themsel ...

s. The variety of guests gives the show diversity. Guests have included Karrin Allyson,

Kevin Mahogany Kevin Bryant Mahogany (July 30, 1958 – December 17, 2017) was an American jazz vocalist who became prominent in the 1990s. Particularly known for his scat singing, his singing style has been compared with those of Billy Eckstine, Joe Williams ...

, Jeff Hamilton,

Joe Sample Joseph Leslie Sample (February 1, 1939 – September 12, 2014) was an American keyboardist and composer. He was one of the founding members of The Jazz Crusaders in 1960, the band which shortened its name to "The Crusaders" in 1971. He remained ...

Randy Brecker Randal Edward Brecker (born November 27, 1945) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, and composer. His versatility has made him a popular studio musician who has recorded with acts in jazz, rock, and R&B. Early life Brecker was born on No ...

Wycliffe Gordon Wycliffe A. Gordon (born May 29, 1967) is an American jazz trombonist, arranger, composer, band leader, and music educator at the collegiate-conservatory level. Gordon also sings and plays didgeridoo, trumpet, soprano trombone, tuba, and piano ...

, Sean Jones, Christian McBride, and Rod Fleeman.

Comedy

Each week comedy sketches are presented on each weekly broadcast, incorporating Jazz and Blues themes. Their weekly "Blues in the News" feature spoofs celebrities and politicians and has received national coverage. Other sketches include "Dr Pearl", "Eboni," " Ask the Professor," Serena's School for Scat," "The Jazz Mechanics," "So What's Your Question", "Sonny Zoot Reedman – Sax Therapist" and "Who's Got the Blues". Each Sketch has a unique approach, more often than not relating back to Blues or Jazz.

Personnel

CURRENT
* Eboni Fondren (Host) * Jackie Myers (Pianist and Musical Director) * David Basse (Vocalist) * Tyrone Clark (Bass) * Jim Lower (Drums) * Derek Djovig (Audio Engineer) * Paul Seaburn (Writer) * Mark Edelman (Creator, Executive Producer)
PAST MEMBERS INCLUDE
* Pete Weber (Host 2009-2018) * Pearl Rovaris Ma cDonald (Host 2009-2014) * Joe Cartwright (Pianist and Musical Director 2009-2018) * Mike Warren (Drums 2009-2016) * Todd Strait (Drums 2016-?) * Nedra Dixon (Vocalist 2009-2014) * Ian York (Director) * Chad Meise (Audio Engineer 2009-2014)

References

{{Reflist 2010s American radio programs 2000s American radio programs American variety radio programs American public radio programs 2009 radio programme debuts