San Diego's Jazz 88.3

Martin Luther King Jr. believed that Jazz was the soundtrack to the Civil Rights era. He loved Jazz and appreciated its cultural significance and its connection to his dream. Tune in to KSDS-FM and Jazz88.org This Monday at 7AM (Pacific) to celebrate the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.. Music related to the civil rights movement will be heard all day- Max Roach's "Freedom Now, We Insist," Oliver Nelson's "Black, Brown and Beautiful" and Sonny Rollins' "Freedom Suite," to name a few as well as commentary from San Diego resident and Jazz Legend, Charles McPherson. There will also be historical vignettes. This special day coincides with KSDS's return to live broadcasting since March of 2020 as the weekly Daytime M-F hosts return LIVE in our first phase of live broadcasting (M-F/7AM-3PM). That's right, KSDS is back to live broadcasting beginning this Monday, 7AM Pacific.
 

KSDS Resident Theater Critic Pat Launer has her annual end-of-the-year chat with Dave Drexler on "Inside Art"... Despite all the shutdowns, she managed to watch more than 200 theater performances. Hear her talk about 2020: The Best of Theater in the Worst of Years.
 

KSDS/Jazz88.3 is kissing 2020 good-bye and ringing in the new year with the sounds of swingin' Big Bands! It's happening right now- "Big Bands Coast to Coast and Around the World!" It will be approximately 30 hours of classic Big Band music from greats like Dizzy, Basie and Ellington. You will also hear from Rob McConnell, Terry Gibbs, Gil Evans and so many more. While you are listening we hope you can make that last tax-deductible donation(s) to KSDS and make it count for 2020! DONATE NOW and become a first-time member, renew your membership, make an additional gift or make a donation in memory of a loved one. Many Thanks and Happy New Year!

All the staff and hosts at KSDS want to thank so much for sticking with us this year. Your e-mails, phone messages and, of course, support has really lifted us up during these crazy times.We hope to see you in the new year and get back to some normalcy. We can't wait till we start having Jazz Live concerts again. We will let you know when that is possible. Speaking of which, if you have been a faithful attendee of our Jaz Live concert series or if you have never been we encourage you to look at these terrific JAZZ LIVE PHOTOS, taken by Larry Redman. He volunteers his talent and time and has become a true friend of the station. Thank you Larry and again, thank you for your support! Cheers to a better, and safer, New Year. Happy Holidays!

KSDS is airing an exclusive Sinatra Birthday Celebration all weekend (It gegan this morning at 7AM, Part Two will beginSunday at 10AM) and it is a very special fundraising broadcast. It's an in-depth overview of Frank's career including all the classic recordings for Columbia, Capitol and Reprise- plus, many extremely rare recordings including radio and live concert footage. There are interview segments as well and lots of surprises and Sinatra-related thank you gifts. You are not going to want to miss one minute of this very special fundraising broadcast. It's Sinatra's life and career told through music and stories. Tune in Now!

Happy Holidays! KSDS is now airing its annual 'Sounds of the Season' programming. This 36-hour block of holiday music (ending at Midnight on Christmas Day) is brought to you by KSDS and our good friends at California Coast Credit Union. Special thanks to Ken Borgers and David Grudt. CLICK HERE FOR THE PLAYLIST!

Camarada is announcing its 26th season for 2020/21 and they are calling it "Unstoppable." The series runs through May 15th, 2021. The next performance, "Gold Rush," happens this Saturday, January 16th (In-Person) and on Friday, January 22nd (Stream) . The entire concert series will have limited in-person concert attendance as well as LiveStream programming. Here is Camarada's link for more information on the concert line-up, in-person ticket information and LiveStream options.

Live jazz is back! Experience an evening with the legendary Charles McPherson and his band at a socially distanced, drive-in concert. There will be special guest appearances by members of the Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra, the largest gathering of concertmasters and principal players in North America. The concert is Sunday, October 18th at 7pm, only at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. Click here for tickets and use promo code “jazz” for 20% off at checkout! Tickets are as low as $36 per carload.

Join KSDS/Jazz88.3 as we are NOW CELEBRATING the birth of the one and only John Coltrane. We began at 6AM and are running into the wee hours of Thursday morning. We are dusting off the vinyl and playing John Coltrane (as a leader) albums, in their entirety. Hear classic albums like “Blue Train”, “Live at Birdland”, “A Love Supreme” and many others. DONATE $88.30 OR MORE to KSDS during our Trane Birthday Celebration and we'll thank you with an exclusive poster featuring the cover art from all of the albums we play for the celebration. For more information on donating and to make your contribution, visit our DONATE PAGE.

THE INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY OF JAZZ – SAN DIEGO (or IAJSD) is starting its seventh year providing its top-tiered jazz music after-school program to San Diego’s jazz band students.  Artistic Director and two-time Jazz Grammy award winner, Kamau Kenyatta, leads the team of instructors and will also be teaching. Fall classes will be ONLINE and are starting now, and open enrollment will continue through the remainder of September. This new online curriculum studies the elements of harmony, theory and ear-training, all geared for the young music students who loves jazz. IAJSD is also launching its first ever Adult classes, which are a version of the award-winning jazz-for-kids program only tempered for adults.  Each adult class is twelve weeks in length and enrollment for the adult classes is open now. Call (619) 997-7453 for more information or visit IAJSD.org.