Here’s a new show for all you smooth jazz fans out there. It’s called The Smooth Jazz Top 20 Countdown with Allen Kepler, and it airs on WNUA, WSMJ and other great stations across the country. The two-hour show focuses on the 20 hottest smooth jazz tracks from the past week, and I have a link to the show’s website below:

Other shows worth mentioning include the Legends of Jazz with Ramsey Lewis (www.legendsofjazz.net), the Dave Koz Radio Show (www.radiokoz.com), and Chill with Mindi Abair (www.chillwithmindiabair.com). I’m glad that the smooth jazz format is finally catching up to the likes of Hip-Hop, R&B and Top-40 Pop with a countdown show of its own. Hopefully, these shows will appear in North Carolina, preferably Charlotte and Raleigh, if these two cities ever get their own full-time Smooth Jazz stations, because the Tar Heel State is sorely lacking in that category. In fact, both cities had full-time stations and lost them (WCCJ in Charlotte, and 102.9/103.9 The Wind in Raleigh). But one day, the format will return with a vengeance, and I, for one, will be tuning in. But until that time comes, I’ll continue to listen to WZTK whenever I’m spending the weekend in the Triangle to get my smooth jazz fix.

If I had my own radio show, I’d interview the hottest names in the jazz world, and I’d be sure to thank everyone for stopping by and making my show a success. I know there’s a snowball’s chance in hell of that ever happening, but that can’t stop me from dreaming, can it?