Skip to content
CapRadio

CapRadio

listen live donate
listen live donate
listen live
donate
  • News
    • News

    • State Government
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • Race and Equity
    • Business
    • Arts and Lifestyle
    • Food and Sustainability
    • PolitiFact California
    News
    • News

    • State Government
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • Race and Equity
    • Business
    • Arts and Lifestyle
    • Food and Sustainability
    • PolitiFact California
  • Music
    • Music

    • Classical
    • Jazz
    • Eclectic

    • Daily Playlist
    Music
    • Music

    • Classical
    • Jazz
    • Eclectic

    • Daily Playlist
  • Podcasts & Shows
  • Schedules
  • Events
  • Support
    • Support
    • Ways to support
    • Evergreen Donation
    • One-Time Donation
    • Corporate Sponsorship
    • Vehicle Donation
    • Stock Giving
    • Legacy Giving
    • Endowment Support
    • Members
    • Member Benefits
    • Member FAQ
    • Member Newsletter

    • Fund drives
    • Drawing Winners
    • Thank You Gifts
    Support
    • Support
    • Ways to support
    • Evergreen Donation
    • One-Time Donation
    • Corporate Sponsorship
    • Vehicle Donation
    • Stock Giving
    • Legacy Giving
    • Endowment Support
    • Members
    • Member Benefits
    • Member FAQ
    • Member Newsletter

    • Fund drives
    • Drawing Winners
    • Thank You Gifts
  • About
  • 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 [email protected] 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 

Sign up for ReCap and never miss the top stories

Delivered to your inbox every Friday.

 

Check out a sample ReCap newsletter.

Thanks for subscribing!

Thank you for signing up for the ReCap newsletter! We'll send you an email each Friday with the top stories from CapRadio.

Browse all newsletters

More From CapRadio Music

Caroline Tompkins/Courtesy of the artist

For Missy Mazzoli, composing is the hard work of making life easier

January 26, 2023
We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter

More From CapRadio Music

Caroline Tompkins/Courtesy of the artist

For Missy Mazzoli, composing is the hard work of making life easier

January 26, 2023

Back to Top

  • CapRadio

    7055 Folsom Boulevard
    Sacramento, CA 95826-2625

    •  
      (916) 278-8900
    •  
      (877) 480-5900
    •  Contact / Feedback
    •  Submit a News Tip
  • About

    • Mission / Vision / Core Values
    • Stations & Coverage Map
    • Careers & Internships
    • Staff Directory
    • Board of Directors
    • Press
  • Listening Options

    • Mobile Apps
    • Smart Speakers
    • Podcasts & Shows
    • On-Air Schedules
    • Daily Playlist
    • Signal Status
  • Connect

    •  Facebook
    •  Twitter
    •  Instagram
    •  YouTube
  • Donate

  • Listen Live

  • Newsletters

CapRadio stations are licensed to California State University, Sacramento. © 2023, 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.