WMUB and jazz

[Ed.: Ron Gable publishes the online newsletter Jazz Advocate.]

So how did we come up with the name “Jazz Advocate?” Going on fourteen years ago, I discovered Mama Jazz on 88.5 FM, which rejuvenated my love for the music. In those days, the majority of the station’s program was jazz and a nice selection of other music along with NPR news. Aside from Phyllis Campbell (Mama Jazz), they had a number of other live DJ’s – Sam Meier, Don Leshner and Tracy DiMartini devoted to jazz and big band music.

Then came some program changes along with a new station manager (Cleve Callison) to implement them. Music was dropped from daytime programming with one DJ eliminated, one re-assigned to other duties and one had his program greatly reduced. The one main stay was the Mama jazz program but they did eliminate her call in request lines as well. While all of this was, transpiring at WMUB other media was dropping jazz and this was the main reason I decided to start a website giving our local jazz artists some kind of publication to keep fans informed.

I continued to listen to Mama Jazz and frequently called Cleve Callison to let him know my displeasure and finally on one occasion he said “look Ron, I know you’re a real jazz advocate but.” So the name “Jazz Advocate” came from the soon to be ex-manager of station WMUB. I have long since reconciled any bad feelings with the station and have enjoyed the Mama Jazz show to this day (on their HD channel 2) but all will end soon as Miami University is dropping the station after fifty-eight years.

You can read all the details at: http://www.wmub.org/WMUBchanges2009/#WMUBGM
As Cleve quotes “nothing gold can stay” but I want to thank all of them for the years of enjoyment they brought me.

--Ron Gable – Jazz Advocate