Skip to content
CapRadio

CapRadio

signal status listen live donate
listen live donate signal status
listen live donate signal status
  • News
    • beats
    • State Government
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • Business
    • Arts and Lifestyle
    • Food and Sustainability
    • PolitiFact California
    • California Dream
    • Videos
    • Photos
  • Music
    • genres
    • Classical
    • Jazz
    • Roots
    • Eclectic
    • Videos
    • Daily Playlist
  • Programs + Podcasts
    • news
    • Morning Edition
    • All Things Considered
    • Marketplace
    • Insight
    • California State of Mind
    • The View From Here
    • music
    • Acid Jazz
    • At the Opera
    • Classical Music
    • Connections
    • Excellence in Jazz
    • Hey, Listen!
    • Insight Music
    • K-ZAP on CapRadio
    • Mick Martin's Blues Party
    • Programs A-Z
    • Podcast Directory
  • Schedules
    • News
    • Music
    • ClassicalStream
    • JazzStream
    • Weekly Schedule
    • Daily Playlist
  • Community
    • Events Calendar
    • CapRadio Garden
    • CapRadio Reads
    • CapRadio Travels
    • Ticket Giveaways
  • Support
    • Evergreen Gift
    • One-Time Gift
    • Corporate Support / Underwriting
    • Vehicle Donation
    • Stock Gift
    • Legacy Gift
    • Endowment Gift
    • Volunteering
    • Benefits
    • Member FAQ
    • e‑Newsletter
    • Drawing Winners
    • Thank You Gifts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Close Menu

Speak No Evil Jazz blog

Capital Public Radio's discussion of an art form born in America and celebrated worldwide.

subscribe

 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 
 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 

Falling In Love Supreme: How Jazz Found Paul Conley

  •  Paul Conley 
Thursday, January 22, 2015
  

If you’re a longtime CapRadio listener you may remember me as a jazz disc jockey from 1991-2001 (bless you if you do!). Or you might have caught one of the Jazz Profiles documentaries I produced for NPR, hosted by singer Nancy Wilson in the late 90’s. Maybe you heard an All Things Considered piece I did in more recent years on local jazzman Joe Gilman or jazz legend Dave Brubeck.

Or maybe -- and most likely -- you don’t know me from Adam!

That’s ok. For the sake of this article just know that I’m a jazz fan who’s been blessed to indulge my passion while sharing it with listeners as an employee of Capital Public Radio.

But where did that passion come from?

It’s a question I’ve given a lot of thought to, and the answer I found kind of surprised me.

First of all, I would never have a job at CapRadio if I hadn’t first discovered – fresh out of college in the mid 80’s – Gary Vercelli’s program “Jazz International” on KXPR. I was living in Stockton, working at my family’s restaurant, and listening to Gary’s compelling nightly mix of John Coltrane, Emily Remler, Joe Henderson, Dianne Reeves, John Scofield and so many other jazz artists who would become personal favorites.

It was a mind-expanding, soul-enriching time for me that led to my being hired here.  But it wasn’t where my passion for jazz began.

Was the seed planted at UCLA where I hosted a weekly jazz radio show and ran a monthy jazz concert series? No. I was a jazz lover before that, too.

Maybe it was while playing in my high school jazz band? Or during trips to Tower Records to buy the latest Crusaders or Jeff Lorber Fusion lp’s?  No, still not when the jazz bug bit.

OK, how about Junior High when I saw my first big band concert at Delta College and discovered jazz on public radio station KUOP (now part of CapRadio)? 

Nope. Not then either.

Here’s what I finally realized as I reflected on how my relationship with jazz got started.

It wasn’t while listening to other people play this music that I learned to love it. It was while seated at our family’s Baldwin spinet as a grade schooler doing everything I could to avoid practicing my scales. That’s right, blame it on piano lessons!  Having a really hip piano teacher named Mrs. Billingsley didn’t hurt either.

Sure, I played my share of Bach and Beethoven, but not very well. Then Mrs. B. got me a book called The Joy of Jazz.  In it were easy versions of classic tunes by jazz/swing heavyweights:  Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Jimmy Dorsey, Fats Waller, and Sy Oliver.  From that book I discovered the beautiful harmony of a major 7th chord and learned how to play boogie woogie bass lines. I worked my way through ragtime syncopation and quirky bebop melodies. Soon I realized I could improvise a little bit too, and that’s when the deal was sealed. Jazz was part of me.

What’s remarkable is that I didn’t start listening to jazz until many years later.  In some cases it took a couple of decades – not until after I started working at Capital Public Radio --  that I heard recordings of tunes I first discovered in The Joy of Jazz. 

How did I fall in love with jazz?  You might say jazz found me through my fingers before it ever hit my ears.

Joyofjazz


This is part of a series about how our music hosts fell in love with the artform of jazz. 

We're inviting you to share your story of how you came to love jazz, in 200 words or less. Email your essay to jazz@capradio.org before February 14. We’ll read the top submissions on air and award several prizes.

 

    More about Falling In Love Supreme

  • Falling In Love Supreme

    Our music hosts contemplate the performances, songs and artists which sent them into a life time love affair with jazz as part of our series "Falling In Love Supreme." Listener-submission contest finalist essays are now posted.

 Falling In Love Supreme

Paul Conley

Creative Content Producer

In his role as Creative Content Producer, Paul brings high-level technical and artistic knowledge and skills in support of CapRadio’s audio content production across all formats and platforms.  Read Full Bio 

Coronavirus Newsletter

Get answers to your questions, the latest updates and easy access to the resources you need, delivered to your inbox.

 

Want to know what to expect? Here's a recent newsletter.

Thanks for subscribing!

We'll send you weekly emails so you can stay informed about the coronavirus in California.

Browse all newsletters

More Jazz Posts

ARTEMIS

Celebrating Blue Note Records During Jazz Appreciation Month

April 14, 2021

More From CapRadio Music

Florian Thoss

New Classical Tracks: Pat Metheny Enters The World Of Classical Guitar

April 14, 2021
We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter

More From CapRadio Music

Florian Thoss

New Classical Tracks: Pat Metheny Enters The World Of Classical Guitar

April 14, 2021

Back to Top

  • CapRadio

    7055 Folsom Boulevard
    Sacramento, CA 95826-2625

    • (916) 278-8900
    • Toll-free (877) 480-5900
    • Email Us
    • Submit a News Tip
  • Contact Us

  • About Us

    • Contact Us / Feedback
    • Coverage
    • Directions
    • Jobs & Internships
    • Mission / Vision / Core Values
    • Press
    • Staff Directory
    • Board of Directors
  • Listening Options

    • Mobile App
    • On Air Schedules
    • Smart Speakers
    • Playlist
    • Podcasts
    • RSS
  • Connect With Us

    •  Facebook
    •  Twitter
    •  Instagram
    •  YouTube
  • Donate

  • Listen

  • Newsletters

CapRadio stations are licensed to California State University, Sacramento. © 2021, Capital Public Radio. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Website Feedback FCC Public Files: KXJZ KKTO KUOP KQNC KXPR KXSR KXJS. For assistance accessing our public files, please call 916-278-8900 or email us.