SJ.COM: The format is over a dozen years old... Is "Smooth Jazz" still doing it for you after all these years? Are you still feeling the passion for the music?

JW: Absolutely! It's still far & away the most refreshing, innovative music on the dial for adults who are not stuck in the time warp of their rock 'n roll youth.

SJ.COM: What are you doing in your market that you feel is unique to the format?

JW: We've created specialty shows to highlight format artists and local musicians. Years ago, we had a nightly feature at 9 o'clock called 'Nighscapes' which evolved into a weekly 'Spotlight Sunday Night' show often featuring artists who are coming to town. It helps familiarize the audience with the music and may help a bit in ticket sales. If we don't have any concerts on tap, we celebrate birthdays of the artists with a full hour of their music or have a CD concert of the hottest new releases. For some reason, this format attracts local musicians who expect (or at least hope for) airplay of their own projects. Of course, it's difficult to put 'em up against David Sanborn, etc., but early on, we would air those that were deemed worthy on Saturday mornings mixed in with the regular format. Give 'em a little thrill, ("Hey Marge, that's me on the radio!!") Although we don't feature that opportunity for the locals anymore, I am talking with our sales department about getting a sponsor for a weekend time period to bring back the idea...and bring in a little extra revenue.

SJ.COM: In your opinion, what's the deal with new music? Are you happy with the direction that the format is heading and what would you personally like to hear more of from the new stuff?

JW: Even with tighter playlists and less variety than in 'the old days', it's still a terrific mixture of music for the masses. I'd like to see a few more current vocals. It would be fun to once again mix in the well known singer-songwriters who've lost their rock airplay. The Joni Mitchells, Van Morrisons, Paul Simons and Dan Fogelbergs don't have a real outlet anymore for their new music. We did go on the new Boz Scaggs release, but the tunes aren't doing that well in recent tests. I'm disappointed the research and music tests show they aren't that appreciated by the bulk of the perspective audience. Even though it's said that this format can't break new music to other formats, what's so bad about a fetching song that may be format-specific - something listeners can only hear here. Maybe that would be part of the 'uniqueness' that so many stations like to use in imaging. (Sting's 'She Walks This Earth' from the Ivan Lins tribute album comes to mind. The song itself isn't that familiar, but the voice certainly is and we've gotten many calls from Sting fans in appreciation.) Too often, there does seem to be a certain sameness to the 'saxophone-guitar-keyboard' instrumentals that now represent that side of the format. Are the artists being cornered into playing it safe to garner that coveted airplay? Just last weekend, a listener came to our remote booth and, though they complimented the station and said they listen all of the time, they also asked why all of the music 'sounded the same'. Uh...would that be 'consistency'? I'm not saying we should go back to Peruvian harpists and orcharina music, but...a little more instrumental diversity would be nice. Whatever happened to Tim Weisberg and Sherry Winston? Let's not allow this to become 'Snooze Jazz'...

SJ.COM: What artist(s) do you think will be the next core artist(s) (the next Rick Braun, Boney James, or Sade)?

JW: After playing at 3 of our festivals in a row over the past 2 years, Euge Groove has become pretty popular 'round here.

SJ.COM: If you could cross over any sound or artist into the format without concern of risking ratings, who or what would you introduce to Smooth Jazz? Why?

JW: See my 'new music' answer above... I'd like us to return to the forefront of giving chances to new or underappreciated artists, like Eva Cassidy or Josh Groban. Even Enya's 'Only Time' made it on the AC charts before Smooth Jazz. There's a lot of great music out there that, unfortunately, will never test as high with target audiences as old Marvin Gaye tunes. Some of the pop-jazz classics, like Stan Getz's 'Desifinado'. Ramsey Lewis' version of Herbie Hancock's 'Maiden Voyage' and many Wes Montgomery tunes would be grand to exemplify the earlier forms of Smooth Jazz while bridging the gap between yesterday and today.

SJ.COM: What's the best way for a new Smooth Jazz artist to develop their career?

JW: Play live - everywhere you can.

SJ.COM: How do you utilize Internet presence to further your radio station's > image and your programming?

JW: We don't stream audio, but we do direct listeners to our website every chance we get, from obtaining concert info to the current Top 20 in Smooth Jazz. We also use a sweep liner once per hour saying, "...on the world wide web at SmoothJazz967.com."

SJ.COM: What was the last live show you caught?

JW: Fourplay and Steve Oliver - last Saturday night. Great show!

SJ.COM: What's in your CD player (home or car)?

JW: Jackson Browne's 'Naked Drive Home'. The poet laureate of my generation.

SJ.COM: Outside of radio, are you an enthusiast for anything else (wine, golf, movies, etc.)?

JW: A fine (or even not so fine) Merlot, movies, old friends, old Barney Miller reruns, free hand art and countryside cruises in my '71 MGB/GT.

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