April is Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM) and 90.7 KFSR is celebrating the occasion with a number of special programs and documentaries that tell the story of America's music - jazz. Learn more about the musicians and history behind one of America's most original art forms and celebrate the music with 90.7 KFSR.

Program Schedule:
Top 100 Jazz Recordings of All Time
Thursday April 1, 2010 - 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Airmen of Note Jazz Heritage Series featuring New York Voices
Tuesday April 13th 2010 - noon
Celebrating their 22nd Anniversary this year, New York Voices is the Grammy Award winning vocal ensemble renowned for their excellence in jazz and theart of group singing. Like the great groups that have come before, such as Lambert, Hendricks and Ross, Singers Unlimited, and Manhattan Transfer,they have learned from the best and taken the art form to new levels. Their interests are rooted in jazz, but often Brazilian, R&B, classical, and pop influences are infused with equal creativity and authenticity. NYV has traveled the globe with their elegant music, amazing audiences the world over with their impeccable voices and stunning arrangements.

New Orleans Jazz Fest Live - Piano Night 2009
Wednesday April 14th - noon
Highlights from Piano Night 2009, produced by WWOZ-FM, produced by WWOZ-FM. Recorded live in 2009 by WWOZ at the House of Blues in New Orleans, this show features music from two stages: Piano Heaven, a small stage in the HOB Parish room with solo piano, and the Main Stage, with an all-star backing band. This program includes performances by: Henry Gray, Dan Dyer, John "Papa" Gros, Tom McDermott, Matt Lemmler, John Autin, David Reis, Jim Hession, and David Torka.

Hidden Gems of Fresno Jazz II
Thursday April 15th - 11:00 AM
A follow up to last year's look at rare and unreleased recordings by Fresno jazz artists. This program explores more gems from deep in the underground jazz vaults of 90.7 KFSR. You won't want to miss this special program, hosted by Joe Moore. Hear rare recordings by Noel Jewkes, George Roessler, Windfall, Loren Pickford and many more.

New Orleans - Jazz Fest 2009 Live
Thursday April 15th - noon
Highlights from the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, produced by WWOZ-FM. An hour of jazz highlights from the 2009 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. The program includes performances by Kurt Elling, Esperanza Spalding, Poncho Sanchez, Courtney Bryan, Mario Abney, Delfeayo Marsalis, Leroy Jones, and The Hot Club of New Orleans.

Airmen of Note Jazz Heritage Series featuring Joey DeFrancesco
Tuesday April 20th 2010 - noon
Joey DeFrancesco has come a long way from All of Me, his recording debut as a leader made in 1989 as a fresh-faced 17-year-old. From the beginning, the Philadelphia native established his credentials with virtuoso technique and an innate soulfulness that he brought to bear on the hulking Hammond B-3 organ which belied his young age butspoke of his deep Philly roots under the tutelage of his father, Papa John DeFrancesco, a B-3 burner in his own right. Through the 1990s, Joey waswidely recognized as spearheading a renewed interested in the Hammond organ, an instrument that had fallen out of favor among musicians and thepublic since its golden period during the 1960s and early 70s. Today DeFrancesco is regarded by organ aficionados as the greatest jazz organist in the business (a claim supported by his six consecutive DownBeat Critics Poll awards for 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007). Joey has never made any boastful claims abou this own ranking among the organ elite, to the contrary, he has always respectfully deferred to his B-3 elders. No organist today plays with the skill, harmonic depth, and authority of this phenomenon from Philly. With over 20 solo releases and historic associations with legends such as Miles Davis, Jimmy Smith, Bobby Hutcherson, Elvin Jones and John McLaughlin, DeFrancesco’s place in the idiom’s history is cemented.

NEA Jazz Masters 2010 Tribute - Jazz at Lincoln Center
Wednesday April 21st 2010 - noon
For one night, the living luminaries of jazz gather under one roof as the National Endowment for the Arts honors America's Jazz Masters. Hear the words and works of this year's inductees: pianists/composer Muhal Richard Abrams, Kenny Barron and Cedar Walton; saxophonists/composers Bill Holman and Yusef Lateef; vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson; vocalist Annie Ross and producer/critic George Avakian. Join us for this moment of jazz history. Wendell Pierce hosts.

Ella Fitzgerald Birthday Tribute
Friday April 23rd 2010
Join 90.7 KFSR as we pay tribute to the first lady of song, Ella Fitzgerald in honor of her birthday. From her early hits with Decca to the great Songbook series of the 1950's to her live concert masterpieces, no voice in the world can compare to the great Ella Fitzgerald.

Fresno State Jazz Combo in-studio performance
Thursday April 22nd 11:00 AM
Join us for a special in-studio performance by the Fresno State Jazztet in honor of National Jazz Appreciation Month. The group will perform this weekend at the Reno Jazz Festival with a set of four original compositions. The group features Fresno State students Justin Copeland, flugelhorn; Derek Smith, tenor saxophone; Ben Simonetti, trumpet; Tyler Howell, piano; Greg Simpson, bass; Antonio Montanez, drums.

Airmen of Note Jazz Heritage Series featuring Gary Smulyan
Tuesday April 27th 2010 - noon
Baritone saxophonist Gary Smulyan was born April 4, 1956, in Bethpage, New York. The gifted multi-instrumentalist started his music career by first learning alto saxophone during his teenage years on Long Island. Today he is critically acclaimed across-the-board and recognized as a major voice on the baritone saxophone. His playing is marked by an aggressive rhythmic sense, an intelligent and creative harmonic approach and perhaps most importantly, a strong and incisive wit. After graduating high school he attended SUNY-Potsdam and Hofstra University before he joined Woody Herman’s Young Thundering Herd in 1978. In 1980, Smulyan moved to New York City where he became part of the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra. The baritone saxophonist is a four-time winner of the Down Beat Readers Poll and a multiple winner of numerous other official polls including the Jazz Journalists Award for Baritone Saxophonist of the Year. Smulyan is a five-time GRAMMY® award winner forhis work with B.B. King, Joe Lovano, Dave Holland and the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra.These days Smulyan, the Long Island native, lives in Amherst, Mass. He is a faculty member at William Paterson University and serves as artistic director at Berkshire Hills Music Academy in South Hadley, Mass.

Duke Ellington Birthday Tribute
Thursday April 29th 2010