Greetings smooth jazz listeners! Hope your summer was bright and festive. We’re coming up on the fall months and the beginning of new events taking place.
First is the return of “Smooth’s NFL Football Picks”. Our annual series of predictions begins on September 1st with our pre-season predictions. For the third year in a row, we’ll be broadcasting our picks on our airwaves. Week 1 picks begins Thursday September 6th.
- Thursdays at 8:30am and 3:30pm
- Fridays at 11:30am and 4:30pm
- Saturdays at 1030am and 630pm
- Sundays at 930am and 12:30pm
- “The NFL Wrap” returns Monday mornings beginning September 17th from 6:30am to 9:30pm.
If you miss out on our broadcasts, you can read our picks at our football blog at WordPress.
Our other event is the return of Smooth Jazz and More Interviews. We just published two podcasts that I’m sure you’ll enjoy.
Our first podcast is with the guitar duo, “Strunz and Farah”. We were first familiar with their music on the old KKSF 103.7FM back in the late 80’s. They released their new CD, “Tales of Two Guitars” and we’re playing the track, ‘Firoozeh – Turquoise’ in our daily playlist. Learn more about the Grammy-nominated duo at their website; strunzandfarah.com
Photo: Rogers TV
Our second podcast is with Ottawa-based singer Danielle Allard. Her latest CD is called “Passing Notes” and I’ve added the track, #nolongersilent to our daily playlist. You can lean more about her career at her website; danielleallard.com.
Both interviews can also be downloaded along with my complete collection of podcasts at the iTunes Store with a free subscription.
Our Featured Artist for September is saxophonist, Grace Kelly. This talented musician has seen her star rise dramatically over the last 6 years, leading to a top 10 smooth jazz single and an appearance on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” Listen to many of her tracks all month in our daily playlist.
Website: gracekellymusic.com.
Finally, we were privileged to have recognized the ‘Queen of Soul’, Aretha Franklin by playing some of her greatest hits during the month of August.
Aretha, who died on August 16, 2018, had an amazing voice that entertained fans for the last 6 decades. She won 18 Grammy Awards, including the first eight awards given for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance from 1968 to 1975. In 1987, Aretha was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as the first female performer. Other accolades include being a Kennedy Center Honoree, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1994 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005. She also received 12 honorary degrees in her lifetime, including honorary doctorates from Michigan, Yale, Harvard, Brown and Penn. Rolling Stone magazine, listed Aretha as the No. 1 greatest singer of all time.
May our Queen sing with the angels for all time.
