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The Straight Skinny
The Listening Room Returns
By Carol Archer |
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Urgent Update: Smooth Jazz Awards Travel Ink in your calendar now the American Smooth Jazz Awards gala concert and dinner, slated for Friday, Oct. 29, 2010 at the Blue Chip Casino & Spa in Michigan City, Indiana. The nomination process is underway, according to Awards' President/CEO/SJ fanatic/philanthropist Bernie Scott, who reports that 260 preliminary ballots have been mailed to format leaders; subsequently, nominees will be posted for online voting. Fortunately for frugal me, I spoke with Scott before booking travel arrangements (in Thurs, out Sun. morning in order to accommodate a secondary event onsite on Saturday). Turns out, Michigan City is 50 miles from Chicago, but only if you fly into Midway Airport. Scott explains that Chicago's behemoth hub, O'Hare Airport, is light years from the venue, at "the center of the Universe," so heads up, folks. Fly into Midway! I am overjoyed by the restoration of legitimate national Smooth Jazz Awards, not to mention the very thought of October's gala concert and awards banquet; and our long-overdue Smooth Jazz family reunion, where, in Deborah Lewow's words, I can hug your neck. Please stand by for details here, as they develop.
Blake Lawrence Unveils Chilltrax Former WQCD(CD101.9)/New York PD, twice-KKSF/San Francisco APD/MD, founder of the satirical radio blog All The Excess! and multiple winner of the R&R Industry Achievement Award for SJ MD of the Year, Blake Lawrence, announces a 24/7 all-chillout Internet audio channel, of which he is Program Director: "Through the graciousness of Bernardo Passariello and Radio Danz, I find myself immersed in an Internet opportunity that I'm finally able to share with you. Chilltrax is born," Lawrence states. Chilltrax features artists like Thievery Corporation, Zero 7, Goldfrapp, Massive Attack, Everything But The Girl, Moby, Bent, and William Orbit. Cool, eh? Lawrence notes that these are musicians with roots in electronica and dance music who have slowed down the tempo to a more relaxing pace. This is undiluted chill, unlike the failed hybrid experiment that he oversaw in late-2004 at WQCD(CD101.9)/New York, in which Jeffrey Osborne coexisted with Café Del Mar -- a schizophrenic format. He explains: "This has very little resemblance to what we tried in New York. Chilltrax is starting fresh. We don't have any carryover from an old format nor a corporate mandate to keep an arbitrary percentage of it in our mix. So instead of being limited to only the smooth-jazziest chill music, we can play it all. The result is that it's a very long time between saxophones on Chilltrax, and the only Motown is sampled! "I'm programming the channel with the invaluable assistance of MD Bill Hutchcroft (DJ Beatdaddy) from San Francisco, and the voice of Chilltrax is [noted jock, formerly of WQCD, currently heard on The Wave/L.A.] Deborah Rath-Howell. "Our official launch date is February 15, 2010. But I invite you to listen now by going to www.chilltrax.com. Web functionality and interactivity are the next items we'll tackle, but you can enjoy the music already." Not unexpectedly, Lawrence says that his programming approach will unfurl and morph with time. "Chilltrax will always be a work in progress. Comments and feedback are welcome as we evolve. Thanks in advance for giving Chilltrax a listen, and I sincerely hope you enjoy what you hear." |
