Cleveland jazz fans polarized by WCSB switch to JazzNEO

On October 3rd – National College Radio Day, ironically – Ideastream and Cleveland State University announced that they were turning the student-run station WCSB 89.3 into JazzNEO, a new jazz radio station. While CSU and Ideastream said that the new partnership would create a home for jazz in Northeast Ohio as well as preprofessional opportunities for students, backers of WCSB said the sudden, hostile takeover was destroying a community-driven institution. What’s been lost in the coverage has been the jazz community’s reaction to this swift, polarizing change. 

Recently, The Land spoke with a broad mix of jazz fans, musicians and promoters, who expressed deeply mixed feelings about the switchover of WCSB (now known as XCSB) to JazzNEO. The jazz insiders we spoke to remain excited about the possibilities for jazz in Cleveland – and what could happen with JazzNEO now that it’s launched as a terrestrial station – but dismayed at how we got here. And many of them are embarrassed that an art form they love and champion is being caught in the middle of the cultural crossfire right now, with JazzNEO being slammed by some XCSB supporters as elitist and homogeneous.

“I’m all about supporting local jazz, but not at the expense of silencing the voices of WCSB,” said one jazz promoter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak by their employer. 

“As a lifetime jazz lover and supporter of public broadcasting, I was pleased when Ideastream created JazzNEO as an HD companion channel to offer jazz programming,” commented Doug Wahl, a local architect and jazz aficionado. “But when this secret backroom deal was announced with no community input, I felt ashamed … the ‘public’ in public radio seems to have been intentionally sidestepped without even lip service to community input.”

Longtime jazz promoter Jim Wadsworth, on the other hand, said he’s concerned with how XCSB supporters have portrayed jazz, arguing they’ve used the term “smooth jazz” to smear the genre. “I’m kind of offended by the way a lot of people defending WCSB reference jazz,” he said. “The jazz community and jazz as an art form was not a part of taking WCSB away, that was done by Ideastream. I think it was the right move, but I think it could have been done more gracefully.” 

The backstory

In their announcement, Ideastream and CSU promoted the switchover of WCSB from community programming to jazz as a win-win for Northeast Ohio, one that will promote jazz in Cleveland while also providing opportunities for students. “The decision to have Ideastream oversee WCSB programming is one step forward in our Cleveland State United vision, the strategic plan for our university launched earlier this year,” said Dr. Laura Bloomberg, president of CSU, in a press release. “We look forward to working with Ideastream to expand access to experiential and work-based learning.”

“Jazz is one of America’s most original art forms – and by expanding its reach on the airwaves, we’re ensuring this music remains vibrant, accessible, and part of the cultural fabric of our community,” said Kevin Martin, CEO and president of Ideastream Public Media, in the release. 

Yet XCSB supporters say that creating new opportunities for students shouldn’t come at the expense of existing opportunities that were available at the 50-year-old community institution. 

Alison Bomgardner, former XCSB general manager, told Ideastream that the switchover to JazzNEO had stripped the station of important student voices. “They took away every opinion and viewpoint, not just liberal opinions and viewpoints,” she said. “We have conservative people if you can believe that too, but ultimately that’s what matters. We were the sounding board for everything and we cared about everything. We cared about disagreeing and coming to conclusions together. We cared about community and still continue to advocate for a new and greater community that was WCSB, but now could be (called) ex-CSB. We might not have a transmitter, we might not have a voice right now, but we have to keep hope.”

Mixed feelings 

According to its website, JazzNEO will play a wide range of types of jazz, from bebop to contemporary, and will help promote the local jazz scene. “JazzNEO reflects the region’s active jazz scene, with local hosts showcasing our world-class musicians, emerging artists from area schools, and national and international performers who are drawn to Northeast Ohio,” the website states. 

Yet that’s not enough for Michael Stutz, co-owner of The Current Year record shop in Parma, a “highly curated” store with a special focus on rare jazz. Stutz loves the music being played on JazzNEO but not the way the whole thing went down, an attitude that might be summed up by the moniker, ‘Hate the players not the game.’

“What they did was very violent, I think, and very horrible for Cleveland’s community,” said Stutz. “It’s puzzling because they’re putting themselves out there as basically comic book villains. Why would you do that? Why would you commit an act of cultural terrorism to our community?”

“Do we need a terrestrial jazz station like that?” Stutz added. “Sure, but don’t destroy Cleveland over it, oh my goodness.”

Not everyone agrees, however. Nathan-Paul Davis, who goes by Nathan-Paul professionally, said that Ideastream has a stellar reputation when it comes to jazz, and he’s excited about the possibilities of a new station. “In the jazz world, the Ideastream people are well respected people who we have no issues with,” he said. “This might be more of a concern outside of the jazz community. It’s more of a concern to college students who want to have some power.”

Nathan-Paul added that the advent of JazzNEO could help jazz to gain a foothold in Northeast Ohio similar to classical music on WCLV. “This is the beginning of jazz being able to function like the old world, like classical, especially if they’re going to turn this into a collaboration that helps kids, if they’re going to extend money and mentorships and all of that,” he said. 

Daniel Peck, host and producer of the syndicated podcast and radio show Live at the Bop Stop, agreed it’s potentially a good thing for Cleveland to have a jazz radio station – there are only 65 left in the country, after all – but that to put it mildly, the ends don’t justify the means. “Losing WCSB was a real blow to the community,” he said. “When you lose all these smaller communities, it really hurts the scene, the city, the university, even as it helps and strengthens the jazz scene.” 

Peck continues to work with JazzNEO to air his Live at the Bop Stop show. “As long as their commitment is greater than being a greatest hits jukebox, they’re ahead of their peers in that regard,” he said.

Come together

XCSB and JazzNEO should be valued and shouldn’t be pitted against one another in a zero–sum game, the jazz fans we spoke with argued. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what they say is happening, and they argue it’s a shame. To overcome these divisions, renowned trumpeter Dominick Farinacci said the community needs to come together around supporting both JazzNEO and XCSB (there’s been talk of continuing it as some kind of streaming or podcast service such as HD2). 

Longtime musician Bobby Selvaggio said that JazzNEO is a welcome addition to the scene if it promotes local music, especially Northeast Ohio’s original composers. He said while it’s unfortunate that XCSB is no longer on the air, the positive of having a terrestrial jazz radio station in Cleveland to promote the scene outweighs the negative. “Anything that’s gonna put a spotlight on what we’re doing can only be a positive,” he said. 

Wadsworth expounded on why he believes it’s important for jazz to be on terrestrial radio in Northeast Ohio. “I think that jazz is an important part of American culture, and it’s not being represented at the end of the dial anywhere, whereas there are five college radio stations,” he said. “I feel for the students, but I wish they had the same passion for the next election as they do for this radio station. If they are really motivated, they need to register to vote and get involved. That would impress me a lot more than demonstrating because they lost a college radio station.” 

Last week, according to an article in Cleveland.com, CSU president Laura Bloomberg announced a new steering committee that would devise opportunities for students to participate in the radio station. “This inaugural steering group will design specific partnership actions and student experiences (e.g., internships, capstone projects, media production, job site tours and job shadowing) that pair CSU scholarship and talent with Ideastream’s storytelling and media expertise, enhancing both in the process,” Bloomberg wrote to the campus community. “Students will also receive benefits beyond internships and other applied learning experiences as they engage with the Ideastream professional community and build their networks.”

This past week, Cleveland.com quoted a longtime legal expert saying that the Ideastream-CSU deal may have violated Ohio sunshine laws, and that if so, it could be invalidated. 

Farinacci said he was hopeful that the divisions caused by the pitting of XCSB versus JazzNEO would begin to heal as time wears on. “I’m optimistic that JazzNEO is going to continue to do great things and include an experiential learning component, but also that the people over at WCSB who are so passionate and committed to this will figure out their own way,” said Farinacci. “Cleveland is a small community and we all need to figure out how to work together in the most collaborative way so we don’t become divided. It doesn’t serve any purpose if we are divided when the common thread is we’re all committed to culturally significant music.” 

Next steps

Ideastream did not respond to a request for comment for this article, asking for clarification on how JazzNEO will provide opportunities for students and the jazz community. CSU released the following statement: “One of CSU’s strategic goals is to “enhance relationships with community partners to expand opportunities for prospective and current students/learners.” This new partnership will pursue that goal as students will have access to paid and for-credit learning opportunities in broadcasting, production and digital media with JazzNEO and, more broadly, with Ideastream Public Media.”

Responding to criticism that Ideastream is prioritizing jazz over community programming, Martin said during a City Club program on the future of public media, “I do think jazz programming is important. It may not be that important to you, but it’s important to a large constituency. It’s an art form. It’s an African-American art form. It’s something we’ve been a champion of for over 40 years. It’s not like we said, ‘Let’s start a jazz station.’ It’s a community that exists.”

Bloomberg told Ideastream during a recent Sound of Ideas show that the switch was necessary because of changes happening in higher education. “You can’t look at the media now and not realize change is afoot in higher education,” she said. “We have an expectation to grow, innovate, and enter into strategic partnerships to prepare students for a future we don’t even know exists.” 

Bomgardner said that XCSB is working on identifying ways to continue as a student group as well as a radio station, possibly by streaming online. “We’re trying to find a temporary way forward while also navigating the FM dial issue,” she said. “Even if we find a temporary medium on streaming or some other platform, we’ll keep pursuing our efforts to get a spot on the FM dial. That was our home for 49 years, and it should be our home for the next 49 years.” 

Responding to criticism that XCSB supporters have rankled the jazz community through their salty language, Bomgardner said that XCSB and other stations also promoted jazz. “I think one of the things about Cleveland that I love is that there is a community for everyone, there’s a space on the dial for everyone,” she said. “What JazzNEO is providing is something WCSB was also providing, they’re just not doing it on a 24/7 basis.” (Bomgardner argues that because JazzNEO does not have all local programming, it’s not as comprehensive as WCSB.) 

It’s not an us-versus-them attitude towards jazz that prompted the criticism of JazzNEO, Bomgardner said, but rather the feeling that the focus on the single genre is eclipsing a larger set of voices. “When you hyper focus on one community, we lose focus on the larger group of communities we could focus on,” she said. “We need to make space for other voices, as well.” 

However, she admitted that mistakes were made in how some XCSB supporters portrayed JazzNEO and jazz in general. “I think in the frustration of the first two weeks, people were getting pretty reductive in their frustration and anger,” she said. “Now, we’re getting more nuanced. JazzNEO is not a single point to jab at. I can understand those frustrations.” 

She also said while CSU and Ideastream touted the fact that student internships would be provided, they have not provided any concrete details. “If internships and opportunities for students were at the forefront, why weren’t they promoted earlier?” she asked. “It’s more about the number of promotional spots (they received) and Bloomberg’s board spot.” 

Signal Cleveland reported in October that Cleveland State will receive 1,000 on-air mentions as part of its handover of WCSB, while the university’s president will receive a seat on Ideastream’s Board of Trustees.

Bomgardner refuted the idea that there were positives to having JazzNEO as a terrestrial jazz station. She said Ideastream has referenced a study showing that the jazz community is an underserved community, but that study hasn’t been released. “We’re taking it at face value, and on top of that every single college radio station has some sort of jazz programming,” she said. “The idea that in order to benefit the jazz community completely, it has to be a 24/7 station at the expense of a station serving a wide range of communities is rhetoric I can’t subscribe to.”