D.W. Long

Since: 2026 | Position: Contributor | Reviews Albums | Location: Ann Arbor | Page Views: 306

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About Me

Just a man who has always loved music, doing his best to present it.

Ever since I was a kid, one of my favorite past-times has been sitting and playing records. I would spend hours cuing up my parents' record collection, selecting just the right track to suit the mood. As a teen I immersed myself in the radio; I would spend hours listening to alternative rock and poring over the liner notes of the albums I purchased.

When I was 18, my first love -- books -- introduced me to the freeing, soul-soothing improvisations of jazz. I needed to know more. I turned where I always turned, the radio; searching the dial until I found a local jazz station, right in my hometown. I spent hours, days, years listening and learning; I would volunteer at every fund drive, learning from the hosts. Then at 29, I was given a shot: a chance to intern as a music librarian and show producer. Since then, I have been given the opportunity to host two 2-hours programs: one program focuses on the modern jazz movement of the 1950s and '60s and the rise of the LP. The other program takes elements from the first and juxtaposes them against artists who are creating and pushing the genre forward.

Outside of music, I enjoy hanging with my wife and 2 kids, woodworking, gardening, doing crossword and sudoku puzzles, and of course reading.

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Explorer

Points Earned

289

Favorite Musicians / Bands

My Jazz Story

At 18 years old, I was first exposed to jazz through my first love -- literature. In one of his books, Jack Kerouac described seeing Charlie Parker in Chicago, and after reading about that frenetic, almost-spiritual scene, I knew I had to find out more. I searched through my local FM radio dial, and found 89-1 WEMU in Ypsilanti. Over the next 10 years, I listened religiously, learning all I could, volunteering as often as I could, until April of 2010, when the music director offered me an internship. Since then, I have continued to listen, learn about, work around -- and for the last 10 years present -- this beautiful artform called Jazz.