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April 30, Jazz Bassist Raphael Semmes Visits WJSU For Look Inside State’s Premier Jazz Station

For the last 16 years, bassist Raphael Semmes has hosted the monthly Fusion Coffeehouse Jazz Series making conversation and music with jazz musicians. On International Jazz Day, April 30, he will visit the studios of WJSU 88.5 for an inside look into Mississippi's premier jazz station and what makes it work.

 

"WJSU isn't just a radio station that plays jazz. It's a jazz resource," says Semmes, adding "...certainly for the jazz aficionado who tunes in to hear what's new and true in jazz. But it's also for the casual listener who desires an environment in their home or workplace that provides the best of America's original art form along with vital news and information throughout the day. WJSU is 'Cool and Current' indeed."

 

Perhaps the most important aspect of WJSU's status as a jazz resource is its location and presence on one of the South's most respected college campuses in jazz circles. Jackson State University's jazz program, under the direction and watch of such respected musicians and teachers as Dr. Russell Thomas Jr. and Dr. London Branch, has produced a number of artists whose presence on today's jazz landscape is both impressive and formidable.

 

As we celebrate International Jazz Day 2019, join us as Raphael visits WJSU for an inside look at this venerable resource of jazz in our midst, as well as the people and processes that make it work. And, of course, there will be music because there is always jazz, both on the airwaves of and at the very heart of WJSU. It's what we do...and why we are here. We are...WJSU 88.5...Cool and Current.

An award-winning engineer and musician, Dale Morris has been a student of technology for more than three decades. At WJSU-FM 88.5, he was the project leader that made WJSU the first digital radio station in Mississippi. At The Sipp. fm (WJSU HD-2), he designed and installed the infrastructure for Jackson State University's newest radio station. He is currently a member of NPR's Content Depot Advisory Group. He has also partnered with other stations as a consultant and in grant writing.