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Clay LaFaro Ellington

a long time jazz collector and jazz fan

About Me

I have two jazz radio shows that I do in Chico, Ca. feel free to listen.

1. Listen at KZFR 90.1 and www.kzfr.org Sunday nights 5 to 730.

The name of the show is Miles Ahead And Miles Behind. The show is spontaneously programmed. I will start the show with any significant birthdays for that day. After that I will cover exactly what the name says. Anything before Miles Davis and anything after Miles.

2. Listen at KCHO 91.7 and www.kcho.org. I am on every Wednesday from 9 pm till midnight. This is called Evening Jazz. This has the same format as my other show.

Contact Me

My Jazz Story

I love jazz because... I was first exposed to jazz...At the age of 7 when I went to see Count Basie with my father. After the concert I went to go look for a bathroom and ended up in front of the greenroom. I went inside and this tall black man at the door said "strange bathroom isn't it." I was shocked! How did he know I was looking for that? I started to look around the room and saw Count Basie standing on the other side of the room. I walked over and towards him and before I could get there he had noticed me and had stopped his conversation. I thanked him for the concert and told him how much I had enjoyed the concert. He then took me by the hand and we went over and sat down and he asked me a bunch of questions such as: How do you know my music? What was the best part of the concert? and other questions that I do not remember. At the time I did not think that the encounter was all that important. I met [musician name]...Besides Count Basie I have had the opportunity to meet and talk with a lot of jazz musicians due to my 20+ years in jazz broadcasting. Such as McCoy Tyner, Hank Jones, Steve Turre, Charlie Haden, Marcus Roberts, Ornette Coleman, and many others. The best show I ever attended was...Alice Coltrane's last concert with Ravi Coltrane, Charlie Haden, and Roy Haynes. The first jazz record I bought was...Theory of Art by Art Blakey And The Jazz Messengers. My advice to new listeners... Or whatever else you have in mind.

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