Saturdays | 7 – 10 pm
To hear an interview with John Penney, conducted by Peter Whorf, click here.
John Penney was born and raised in Ithaca, New York, and began hosting and programming weekly jazz and folk music programs on student owned commercial radio station WVBR-FM at the age of 15.
In 1967 WVBR became one of the first FM radio stations in the country to program “progressive rock.” John was instrumental in the creation of the format and became one of WVBR’s most popular on-air personalities, frequently featuring live studio performances on his show. He served as Music Director beginning in 1970, and continued to program jazz, folk, and rock programs through 1971.
In 1978, at the age of 25, John became the National Promotion Director of Amherst Records in Buffalo, New York, where he was instrumental in establishing the career of the platinum selling band Spyro Gyra. He also became the most popular jazz host on public radio WBFO, as measured by Arbitron and listener donations.
In 1984 John moved to Detroit as the Michigan Regional Representative for Action, and in 1989 was hired by Warner Elektra Atlantic as a sales rep. During his 15 year career with WEA John gained a national reputation as a creative and innovative marketer, among other things designing and executing the company’s first regional catalog promotion with Wal-Mart, which was used to leverage the first national event.
John joined the air staff of public radio WDET-FM in Detroit in 1986 as host of a music variety program. John pioneered the concept of presenting “all the varieties of music” in such a way as to demonstrate the continuity between diverse musical forms by making the connection between current and historic recordings. His program became one of the most popular on the air.
John is a popular and sought after MC for live events, and for years was a fixture on stage at the Detroit Jazz Festival in Hart Plaza. He helped to create an innovative format for radio broadcasts of the festival, and served as national co-anchor for five years. John began his association with the AMRF in 2004 when Ron Harwood asked him to MC the 6th Annual Motor City Boogie Woogie and Blues Festival. He became consultant/Director in September of 2005. John is also collaborating with Ron on a book about the life and times of classic blues singer Sippie Wallace and her siblings.
John’s Latest Playlist
Jazzfest Detroit 5-21-2022
Time Start Duration Artist Title Album Label Year
7:00 3:15 Planet D Nonet Mush Mouth Tribute to Buddy Johnson Eastlawn 2022
7:04 2:36 Mose Allison I Live the Life I Love Mose Alive! Atlantic 1966
7:07 7:31 Steve Davis Off the Cuff Bluesthetic Smoke Sessions 2022
7:16 8:10 Grant Green Jean de Fleur Idle Moments Blue Note 1964
7:25 6:33 Mark Lipson Springwells Springwells DCC Records 2022
7:32 8:36 Thelonious Monk Bright Mississippi Monk’s Dream Columbia 1963
7:41 4:52 John Abercrombie Ralph’s Piano Waltz Timeless ECM 1975
7:48 8:16 Ralphe Armstrong Blue Mashed Potatoes Detroit Rising Ralphe Armstrong 2015
8:03 2:05 Henry Mancini Peter Gunn Music from Peter Gunn RCA 1959
8:05 3:53 Quincy Jones Ironside Smackwater Jack A&M 1971
8:09 2:10 Nelson Riddle Rt. 66 Rt. 66 Theme Capitol 1966
8:12 3:06 David Schwartz Theme From Northern Exposure Northern Exposure MCA 1992
8:15 3:33 “Nat “”King”” Cole” When I Grow Too Old to Dream The After Midnight Sessions Capitol 1956
8:19 5:49 Dee Dee Bridgewater Treme Theme Dee Dee’s Feathers Okeh 2015
8:23 6:55 Frank Morgan We Three Blues Mood Indigo Antilles 1989
8:30 4:15 Art Pepper Smack Up Smack Up Contemporary 1960
8:40 9:11 Keith Jarrett Trio Poinciana Whisper Not ECM 1999
8:50 7:10 Pat Metheny Trio So May It Secretly Begin Live Warner Bros 2000
8:53 2:36 Cecile McLaren Salvant Dead Poplar Ghost Song Nonesuch 2022
9:03 10:50 Paxton/Spangler Septet Water No Get Enemy Ugozi Eastlawn 2022
9:14 3:56 Bill Charlap Your Host Street of Dreams Blue Note 2021
9:18 2:15 Giacomo Gates Are You Having Any Fun You Savant 2022
9:20 6:52 Harry Edison The Strollers The Swinger Verve 1958
9:30 4:12 Charles Brown I Cried Last Night One More For the Road Alligator 1989
9:35 4:25 George Benson Clockwise It’s Uptown Columbia 1966
9:45 2:51 Mel Torme I Love To Watch the Moonlight Lulu’s Back In Town Bethlehem 1957
9:48 8:21 Steve Gadd & Friends Undecided Live at Voce BFM Lazz 2010
9:58 2:44 Pete Johnson Death Ray Boogie King of Boogie Milan 1941
Wow. I don’t get turn the radio up loud too often, but I got a rare Saturday night to myself, and this evening is an exception. Tonight’s program (1/29/22) is absolutely stellar! Thanks for putting together a great program John. Good thing it’s winter and everyone’s window and doors are shut or i might be disturbing the peace.
Thank you Lee, it’s nice to hear you really liked it!
I would like to know if the John Penney program from April 23rd Mingus 100 will be available on a podcast or replay. It was fantastic!
Hi Margaret, glad you liked it! Unfortunately we can’t save the episodes online because they have full songs in them. Sorry! Hopefully you’ll like the next episode just as much this Tuesday at 7pm.
Hi John, Driving home last night 12/9/21 at 800pm, enjoying the great and often new music I experience on your show. From 800 to apprx 815 there were three songs that really blew me away. I got the 1st- Dave Samuels- Sea Breeze (love latin jazz, live in Miami for 3 yrs! FUN!) Then next tune had this klunky Thelonious Monk feel to the opening , moving into tight rhythmic drum hits with some sweet bass work over this Chick Corea-esque groove and ended with a flute solo as it faded. Can you identify this song and the next, which to me sounded a lot like Nando Lauria? Those and many others send me down a spiral of musical experience. Great choices! Thanks, Scott Zanni
Hi Scott, glad you are enjoying the tunes! Here are the two songs after Sea Breeze:
Brilliant Corners
ARTIST:Geoffrey Keezer
ALBUM:On My Way To You
LABEL:MarKeez
Sublimity (Bunny’s Dream)
ARTIST:Marcus Miller
ALBUM:Laid Black
LABEL:Blue Note
It’s Saturday night, October 16, 2021, the eve of this year’s Free Press Marathon and you just finished describing the kick you get out of watching squirrels pelting various targets, maybe including people, with acorns. Then you cued up your next tune and missed the desired cut on your first three tries, but that just gave you more time to chat about squirrels, acorns, and the great music coming up. Thanks, John. I really enjoy your show.
I listened to the Detroit Jazz Festival 2021 and I have two comments.
First, as God transcends our religion, so God’s gift, music, transcends our tastes, our prejudices, our biases, and all our boundaries. The Festival was a sublime human continuity, together from a distance. So many persons and musicians speaking to me and us, soul to soul.
Second, the musicians offered their finest wine, with heartfelt generosity. That wine was fresh and unique, but truly aged by our times.
This was a wonderful Festival and thank you John and WRCJ for your part in bringing it to us.
Hello Rodger, thank you. John, Linda and Maxine enjoyed the Festival as well. Hopefully it came through on the air. Thanks for being a part of it!
If most other music radio programs are courses in music appreciation, John Penney holds court for a graduate level course, perhaps even a philosophical doctorate seminar. Your elucidation, John, of various artist’s craft, their personalities, connections, preferences, growth and artistic trajectories are presented as though you are sitting with colleagues presenting the history and significance without pretense. What comes through is your sheer love of the music and the art forms- a kind of agony and the ecstasy of the inner life of music. Thank you John Penney for your thoughts.
Thank you Rodger, that’s a kind, well written commendation. John will appreciate it.
Ditto!
As first a listener, and second a co-worker I second these appreciations of John Penney’s approach to jazz radio. Sublime and totally approachable.
Hey John, You might get an email from my nephew, Owen Marchell, a senior in high school in Ithaca. He’s into music right now during all this craziness, especially Frank Zappa. Somehow you name came up today during our long distance Christmas call. First time I haven’t been with family for the holidays in years. Hope all is well with you. I mentioned your brother Chris and it turns out he was classmates with my brother Tim, Owen’s father.
Here’s to a better 2021!
Chris
Thanks Christine, we’ll send to John.