Bop City - Internet Radio's
Jazz Center of the World

Imagine that you are back in the era when jazz was expanding beyond its perceived boundaries - when jazz was an American phenomenon.

Imagine that there is a radio station spinning records on the cutting edge of jazz, giving a nod to the origins of jazz and even sneaking in some blues now and then. Bop City is that radio station.

Why Bop City?

We love classic jazz and we enjoy sharing it with other jazz lovers.

With more and more radio stations dropping classic jazz from their formats, we decided to do something about it by creating Bop City, Vintage Jazz Internet Radio. We present a selection of album oriented jazz that is not easily found and rarely heard on the radio.

Within our playlist, we include entire albums of artists rather than only select cuts. We feel that this gives the listener a better variety of an artists' body of work and results in a playlist with a vibe that ebbs and flows from within. This concept allows our listeners to delve deeper into the world of jazz.

Bop City is Live365's best alternative for classic jazz!

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Playlist Update and News

We had the good fortune this past Saturday to attend the local Indianapolis International Association of Jazz Record Collectors (IAJRC) convention.* This gathering of jazz lovers, that has been held for the past 22 years, is organized by Duncan Schiedt, the incomparable jazz photographer. The event's agenda is comprised of educational films and lectures, listening parties, jam sessions and a record and ephemera sale. Traditional jazz is the main focus of the group.

The record sale was well attended. 78's were definitely the focus of the collectors. We were able to obtain a couple of gems, a King Oliver LP on Riverside and an Earl Hines 10" LP on Dial.

The jam session that we attended was great fun and the playing was very nice. The ages of the performers spanned from the twenties to the eighties. It was obvious that the performers were passionate about playing. For a group of folks that don't regularly play together the off the cuff arrangements and soloing were top-notch.

We met some very nice folks, among them Andy "Jazzman" Smith that has a show on Murray State's radio station from 3 - 4 PM EST on Sundays. The room was filled with lovers of jazz that promote the art of jazz through festival promotion, playing, collecting and education. Thanks to people like this that are dedicated to the art of jazz, our greatest American art form will be preserved.

The highlight of the short time we were able to attend was meeting Duncan Schiedt and procuring an inscribed copy of his amazing book of photography. (There's a link to purchase the book below this post.)

Thanks to Gerry Ruark for turning us on to this event. Gerry and his wife Nan have kept music alive in the Midwest by hosting record collector conventions for at least 25 years.

In honor of this event we have added several cuts of traditional jazz to our playlist. We've hauled out some rare digitized recordings of some 78's and LP's that feature Charlie Parker and Louis Armstrong in sidemen roles. Also added to the playlist are cuts from Art Pepper's Savoy sessions, George Russell's Stratusphunk and Pepper Adams' 10 to 4 at the 5 Spot.

Thanks for listening and enjoy the jazz and be sure to pick up Duncan Schiedt's book.


*The annual Indianapolis IAJRC convention is not formally affiliated with The International Association of Jazz Record Collectors.

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