Jazz Podcasts

I'm a fan of jazz music, dating back to when I became exposed to the music by my father and my band directors during middle school. I find that jazz, however, is one of those musical genres that you actively have to seek out to find, and I appreciate media outlets that make jazz more readily available to the public. In Dallas, KNTU was a great source of jazz music as I grew up, and when I went to school in San Antonio, KRTU became my new home for jazz when I was in the mood. Both stations can be streamed online.

In Virginia, I can catch jazz on public radio only during the evenings, so I have to work a little harder to find new jazz recordings I haven't heard before. I recently came across two podcasts that I'm just starting to get acquainted with:

• WBGO out of the New York City area has a program called, "The Checkout" that features new music in the New York jazz scene. It also features extensive interviews with jazz musicians. http://www.wbgo.org/thecheckout/
• WGLT out of Illinois State University produces a podcast called, "GLT Jazz Next" that each week provides a sample tune of a featured jazz artist. http://www.wglt.org/programs/jazz/index.phtml