I wonder if anyone here remembers these people who presented jazz programmes in the mid/late 1950s?
These four (Conover and Copans were American though Copans presented in French, Ténot and Filipacchi were French) were enormously influential on the development of my interest in jazz; I was introduced to it in school in the latter part of the 1950s by a fellow pupil, and we were eager to learn more. The BBC was pretty hopeless in that respect then, as I recall the only jazz-like material broadcast was sub-Dixieland stuff by the likes of Sid Phillips, and the programmes that the people I've listed above put out were revelatory. We listened to them on the rather poor quality long wave (younger readers may need an explanation for this term....) and it was through them that I discovered Charlie Parker and everyone else from that time. Sim Copans was my favourite, with a lovely, melodious voice that I remember even after all this time.
- Willis Conover presented the Voice of America Jazz Hour for over 40 years (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willis_Conover).
- Sim Copans presented a French jazz programme for a similar length of time, from 1944 to 1975 (https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sim_Copans)
- Finally, Franck Ténot and Daniel Filipacchi presented Pour Ceux Qui Aimez Le Jazz, also on French radio, at around the same time too (https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Filipacchi).
These four (Conover and Copans were American though Copans presented in French, Ténot and Filipacchi were French) were enormously influential on the development of my interest in jazz; I was introduced to it in school in the latter part of the 1950s by a fellow pupil, and we were eager to learn more. The BBC was pretty hopeless in that respect then, as I recall the only jazz-like material broadcast was sub-Dixieland stuff by the likes of Sid Phillips, and the programmes that the people I've listed above put out were revelatory. We listened to them on the rather poor quality long wave (younger readers may need an explanation for this term....) and it was through them that I discovered Charlie Parker and everyone else from that time. Sim Copans was my favourite, with a lovely, melodious voice that I remember even after all this time.
- "This is the Voice of America Jazz Hour, broadcasting from..." Luxembourg, wasn't it?
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