Jazzessenz

Jazzessenz commits to its mandate completely - this is a jazz station run by people who actually believe in the music. The programming pulls from the tradition without fetishizing it: standards from the 1950s sit beside contemporary improvisers who didn't exist when those standards were written. Oscar Peterson doesn't overshadow Kamasi Washington. The station eschews smooth jazz compilations entirely, valuing texture and compositional complexity. Late-night blocks embrace free jazz and abstraction that would alienate casual listeners, which the station accepts as necessary consequence of artis…