The
"Vocal Sound of Jazz" began airing
on 89.5 FM (now
WHRV-FM) on January 4th 1980.
Originally a 30 minute program that aired on Friday evenings, the
program expanded to it current 60 minute format and moved to Saturday
evenings during the 90s.
It was also aired over WUOM in Ann Arbor, Michigan for a five-year
period in the late 1980s.
Produced and hosted by Jack Frieden since its premiere broadcast, the program has always attempted to spotlight both jazz vocal music's post 1950s history, as well as the new singers and songs that will continue to play an increasingly prominent role in the music's future.
Personal Background for Jack Frieden:
A native of Norfolk, Jack
Frieden graduated in 1968 from Granby High School. Following his subsequent graduation from The University of Georgia in
1972, he spent four years in the Washington DC area, before returning to the
Hampton Roads area to help manage his family's insurance agency.
An avid music fan since his
teens, it was the years in Georgia and Washington that
saw his musical
interests expand from folk and rock music to include jazz and world
music.
Attracted to the vocal
harmonies of Brian Wilson,
Graham Nash, and so many other harmony type pop singers, it was only natural
that Jack's interest in jazz would veer towards jazz vocal music.
Although the 1970s were in
many ways jazz vocal music's darkest days, a 1974 Stereo Review feature
called "The Art of Cabaret" and Alec Wilder's and Loonis McGlohon's
much praised NPR series "American Popular Song" program helped turn this
interest in jazz vocal music into the passion it continues to be more than
30 years later.
In addition to his radio
activities, Jack has written numerous articles about music, contributing to
"Metro Magazine" and for many years serving as a rock, pop, and jazz
writer for The Virginian-Pilot newspaper.
He has also contributed liner notes to albums by Maxine Sullivan and
Sir Roland Hanna.
Married with two adult daughters, Jack resides in Virginia Beach and continues to explore and enjoy music at every opportunity.
