Premiering October 3, the show will be broadcast on Sunday and Friday nights at 8 p.m. on 90.7 FM KWMU and stlpr.org.
Jazz St. Louis president Gene Dobbs Bradford hosts the show and interviews the musical guests. Each hour-long episode will feature two performances, with a season roster of both local and national artists including Anita Jackson, Denise Thimes, Montez Coleman, Good 4 the Soul, Kara Baldus-Mehrmann, The Kendrick Smith Trio, Janet Evra, Matt Henry’s Agbara Quintet, Emily Wallace with the Adam Maness Trio, Jahmal Nichols, Erika Johnson, Hip Grease, and many more. Full episode descriptions are available at stlpr.org/nextset.
Host Gene Dobbs Bradford said, “The very nature of jazz is about 'what’s next.' Sure it’s built on the work of jazz greats – many from St. Louis like Miles Davis, Clark Terry, Oliver Nelson, Jimmy Blanton…Willie Akins, but they were just the beginning. Every note, every day, every generation builds on what came before. And that’s what we’re talking about on The Next Set. You may be the biggest Lester Bowie fan, or have no idea who he was, and that’s okay, it really is. You don’t need special knowledge to listen to jazz. These traditions are thriving and ever-expanding in today’s artists, and that is what we want to share with this show.”
“St. Louis Public Radio is proud to partner with Jazz St. Louis to expand their vibrant venue for jazz out to the airwaves with our full broadcast reach in the St. Louis region and into Quincy on WQUB and Rolla on KMST,” said STLPR interim general manager Tom Livingston. “This partnership continues St. Louis Public Radio’s service of sharing the arts with the public — from regular arts segments on St. Louis on the Air to local music performances each weekend. The Next Set is appointment listening that will bring you into the club, from wherever you are, when you tune in on Friday or Sunday nights.”
STLPR and Jazz St. Louis would like to thank the contributors who invested in the initial creation of The Next Set: Barbara and Lawrence Holmes; Ward and Carol Klein; Linda J. Sandell; and Susanne Franza Valdez.
To learn more about The Next Set: Live From Jazz St. Louis, visit stlpr.org/nextset and be sure to tune in on Sunday or Friday nights at 8 p.m. on 90.7 FM KWMU, at stlpr.org, or ask your smart speaker to “play St. Louis Public Radio.”
