Jazz88

Jazz88’s Peter Solomon spoke with Sgt. Rick Denneson of the West Hennepin County Police Department about Crash Responder Safety Week, November 13 – 17. Sgt. Denneson says that the week was not just created to raise awareness about the safety of crash responders, but to encourage the driving public to consider their own safety in potentially hazardous driving situations. (Attached image from Oregon Department of Transportation).

Nabaté Isles connected with Jazz88 in advance of his show this Sunday at Crooners. The show is titled "Jazz's Influence on Hip-Hop". Isles was quick to point out how his upbringing in NYC in the golden era of hip-hop involved his artistry and his understanding of music in general. Nabaté also shared the information on the distinguished group of players and guests that he'll have with him on Sunday.

The celebrated Twin Cities vocalist Kathleen Johnson is back onstage this weekend at the Capri Theater this weekend for Blue Gardenia. The show features three singers, Johnson, Thomasina Petrus and Patricia Lacy. The trio is navigating the songbooks of Etta James, Billie Holiday and Phyllis Hyman. Kathleen Johnson took the time to visit Jazz88 and discuss her connections to Etta James and her excitement about bringing the music to the stage this weekend.

Alonzo King Lines Ballet will perform an original work called "Deep River," blending music from Jewish and African American spiritual traditions with a score by pianist, composer, and MacArthur fellow Jason Moran and vocals by Grammy-award winning singer Lisa Fischer. The work also incorporates compositions by Pharoah Sanders, Maurice Ravel, and James Weldon Johnson. The performance will take place tonight at 7:30 at Northrop’s Carlson Family Stage. Jazz88’s Peter Solomon spoke with choreographer and group founder Alonzo King.

LA Buckner and his Big HomiE project are preparing for another big show at the Dakota. This week he'll be bringing a special Halloween friendly program to the stage. When he visited Jazz88 he talked about this show and his recent experience playing with Big HomiE on stages that require different levels of restraint in regards to volume.

Payments on federal student loans resumed in October after a 3-year pause. More than 800,000 people in the state of Minnesota have federal student loan debt. That debt, combined with state and private loans, according to the Minnesota Office of Higher Education, has made the median loan for student borrowers in Minnesota nearly $24,000.

Jazz88’s Peter Solomon spoke with Kim Miller, financial counselor at LSS Services about what borrowers can do to become informed about loan servicers, repayment options, getting out of default, and where to obtain free financial counseling.

Who wants to be a DJ? A few students at Southwest High School in Minneapolis certainly want to. MPS Voices Producer DJ DIME talks with Dean Mark Robinson of Southwest High about a new after school program that teaches students how to be a DJ, and how the idea came about.

Dez, Rokkstar Savage and Glo visited the studios of Jazz88 to announce an exciting development for their podcast, 4theKulture. The 4theKulture podcast is presented by the Kulture Klub Collaborative. Glorius L. Martin, aka Glo, has been helping the team produce the podcast. And starting next week, you can hear the 4theKulture podcast on MPS Voices. Listen to hear more about this exciting new collaboration.

Jazz88's Peter Solomon speaks with Amy Schendel and Mary Larew from the St. Paul Conservatory of Music about "Music Across Minnesota" and other musical outreach programs.

Jazz88 Morning Show host Peter Solomon had the opportunity to sit down with Andy Mannix, Minneapolis Policing Reporter for the Star Tribune, about a "Curious Minnesota" feature on the murder of journalist Walter Liggett and the gangster accused of the crime, Isadore “Kid Cann” Blumenfeld.

Blumenfeld was a Jewish immigrant who became extremely rich and influential in the Twin Cities during the prohibition era. He was accused of many crimes, but almost always skated. Liggett suspected him of engaging in business dealings with Minnesota Governor Floyd B. Olson. The story of Liggett’s murder became so big that it knocked the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby off the front page of the papers.