Jeff Cebulski

Since: 2026 | Position: Contributor | Reviews Albums | Location: Chicago | Page Views: 341

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About Me

Former jazz radio host becomes writer for Chicago, NYC publications.

I discovered jazz via listening to my dad’s albums and was attracted to the Dave Brubeck Quartet’s “Take Five.” But my real education began listening to radio shows. When I became a co-advisor for a student-run school district station in Wisconsin, I discovered a trough of jazz vinyl there that no one else was interested in. I decided to drink deeply, and eventually I hosted a three-hour jazz show once a week. We reported playlists to college radio publications, and I learned about the business. Later, I sent a tape of my show to an FM station in Milwaukee, and they were impressed enough to give me evening and afternoon hours a few times a week. After I decided to finish a master’s degree in professional writing at Kennesaw State in Georgia, the jazz station back home had its plug pulled, and I returned to the school station. In 2005, I was hired to teach in the Georgia university system, eventually landing a position at Kennesaw State, which also had a student-run Internet station. I applied and was given a weekly jazz show. After I retired in 2015, I began to look for opportunities to write and maybe host a show. The radio thing didn’t occur, but Chicago Jazz Magazine was looking for writers, and I had my opportunity. While the pandemic halted the Magazine, the chicagojazz.com webpage continued. I joined the Jazz Journalists Association in 2024.

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Articles
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My preferred album format: CD/Vinyl

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My Jazz Story

People have told me that they liked my jazz radio shows because I mixed the music well and took time to explain or share important details. I think many would-be listeners are intimidated by what they perceive as complex music, so they avoid listening or searching. I remember the days when the radio DJ was virtually the teacher of music, the curator for the audience. Besides for obvious reasons that involve business [money], jazz radio, whether analog or digital, could benefit from this kind of appeal. I try to write for the benefit of interested people who are looking for ways to appreciate jazz but need help to enter in.