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Jeff Cebulski

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

About Me

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.

My Jazz Story

My Favorite Local Jazz Venues & Festivals

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