The Straight Skinny

 

Koz & Emeril Kick It Up A Notch…On TV

 

By Carol Archer

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WLFM Welcomes Additional Air Talent 

WLFM/Chicago now not only has a live and local midday show hosted by PD Rick O'Dell, former WNUA personality veteran Smooth Jazz personality Loni Taylor takes the reins on "Chicago After Hours," from 7:00 p.m. to Mid. weeknights. O'Dell comments, "It's just great to have Loni back on Smooth Jazz in Chicago on WLFM. Her style and personality fit our format and the direction we are taking the station perfectly."

Taylor was a top-rated afternoon drive host on WNUA from 1994 to 2001. A family illness in her hometown, Philadelphia, prompted her departure from the station. She says, "I'm absolutely elated to be back on the airwaves in Chicago. I truly consider myself lucky and blessed to once again be able to share my passion for radio and Smooth Jazz in one of the most beautiful cities in the world with our amazing listeners, who are just as passionate about the music as me, and the artists themselves."

       O'Dell recalls the years he and Taylor worked together at WNUA: "Loni's first radio gig in Smooth Jazz was at WNUA, and I remember how quickly she took to the format, because she's a true fan of the music in addition to being a solid pro." Moreover, O’Dell is confident that the Chicago audience will embrace her new show as easily as they did in the mid-‘90s. "It's like Loni never left Chicago. She's still intimately connected to things we like to do and talk about around here."

Additionally, critically-acclaimed drummer "Paul Wertico's Wild World of Jazz" debuted on Sunday, Feb. 14 at 9:00 p.m. The show is a two-hour showcase of modern and traditional jazz across all its styles and forms. Each program will feature a mix of classic tracks and best-kept-secrets, legendary artists and local heroes, live and in-studio recordings, new releases, and one-of-a-kind gems from Wertico's private collection. In his words, "We'll be playing everything from Louis Armstrong's Hot Five to The Bad Plus, Bessie Smith to Kurt Elling, Joao Gilberto to Karim Ziad, and all points in between." Moreover, his role as Assistant Professor and Head of Jazz and Contemporary Music Studies at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University will allow him to tap into music performed by his students.

According to O'Dell, Wertico's musical pedigree is "unmatched." "Add in his genuine enthusiasm, down-to-earth personality and encyclopedic knowledge across multiple genres of music, and we have the essential ingredients for an entertaining show on straight-ahead jazz. Jazz, being an improvisational idiom, can be a bit challenging to those of us who grew up on Top 40. What makes Paul unique is that he's able to draw on his skills as a jazz educator to make the music accessible and understandable to even my untrained ears," O'Dell notes.