The WICN Blog
From full-band recordings to live performances and special events, WICN’s beautiful Studio 50 space is available on an hourly basis. Contact us for details.
Enjoy a luxurious round-trip ride to The Newport Jazz Festival on Saturday, August 3rd with WICN! Travel back and forth to the festival in style and comfort aboard the WICN Jazz Bus, provided by FTI Coach, and leave the hassle of driving and parking to us! Ticket-holders must arrive at WICN Studios on 50 Portland […]
The circle of jazz drummers that emerged in the 1950s set a new high for talent. Certain names repeat themselves as they joined seminal jazz trios, quartets, and quintets led by legendary bandleaders. Philly Joe Jones (aka Joseph Rudolph Jones) would establish his own fiery, volatile style – often referred to as “like a machine […]
Mark Lynch the host of WICN’s Inquiry had the opportunity to sit down and speak with several hosts and other members of WICN. If you missed hearing these interviews you can check them out below. We talk with WICN’s former General Manager of WICN: BRIAN BARLOW about his long and important history with the […]
Presents Organ Fairchild Friday, August 23rd at 6 pm Presented by 90.5 WICN Public Radio, Downtown Worcester Business Improvement District, and The Hanover Theatre. August 23rd, 2024, at 6 pm in the parking lot behind The Hanover Theatre in beautiful Downtown Worcester. Gates Open at 5 pm Regular and VIP tickets are available through pre-sale June 4th through […]
In the jazz community, innumerable legendary bandleaders are familiar to jazz fans, yet often, it’s the sidemen at the core of that bandleader’s trio, quartet, or orchestra. At 83, Kenny Barron, pianist, composer, educator, and NEA jazz master, is the current statesman of piano accompaniment in jazz and a bandleader in his own right. As […]
Miles Davis stands, to many jazz scholars, jazz historians, and critics, as arguably the most influential jazz musician and composer in the post-World War II modern period. Jazz as a genre is a mélange of subcategories developed over 100-plus years of evolution, with a variety of essential musical contributors. However, some singular artists effect cataclysmic […]
By Doug Hall, WICN Contributing Writer As with standard jazz instruments, many players are responsible for popularizing them during different genre periods. For the vibraphone, there is no greater originator and virtuoso than Lionel Hampton. Hampton would become a pioneer in the use of the vibraphone as a soloist and later enjoy international fame as a […]
WICN Contributing Writer Doug Hall has a new podcast series through a partner community channel. Tune into the series below. In this first episode, Doug speaks with jazz pianist, composer, and Berklee Professor Laszlo Gardony about his life, career, and work. WICN Contributing Writer Doug Hall spoke with Phil Haynes recently for […]
Did you miss our 2nd annual Women’s History Month concert, or do you just want to listen to it again? Listen to the concert below in its entirety. If you missed the 2nd Annual WICN Women’s History Month Concert, aired live from Studio 50 on March 17, 2024, you can listen to it in full […]
by Doug Hall, Contributing Writer During the height of the Civil Rights Movement in the late ‘50s and ‘60s, many Black musicians participated in the marches, demonstrations, and political activities of the times, lending their voices and stature to this seminal era in America. In particular, Black female vocalists Billie Holiday and Nina Simone were […]