Home » Jazz Articles » Meet the Staff » Meet Geoff Anderson
Meet Geoff Anderson
I currently live in:
Littleton, COI joined All About Jazz in:
2007What made you decide to contribute to All About Jazz?
It all started at a concert by George Brooks and his band Summit at the Boulder Theater around 2002. The band featured tabla maestro
Zakir Hussain
tablas1951 - 2024
Fareed Haque
guitarb.1963
Steve Smith
drumsb.1954
Kai Eckhardt
bass, electricb.1961
How do you contribute to All About Jazz?
I concentrate on live reviews. I've enjoyed going to concerts since at least high school. Denver has an outstanding live music scene with bushels of top drawer local talent of every genre and, because there are so many music fans around here, it has a reputation as a great stop for national acts touring the country. As a result, there are WAY too many concerts than I have time to attend. It's a little frustrating at times, but it's a great problem to have.What is your musical background?
I played trumpet and French horn in junior high, high school and college and messed around with piano a bit in college. I eventually concluded I'm better at listening than playing. My main musical outlet over the years has been radio. For some reason, I was enthralled with radio even at an early age. I started in radio in 1976 at KCSU, the campus radio station at Colorado State University in my hometown of Fort Collins. While I was there, the station became affiliated with National Public Radio and began broadcasting All Things Considered and the (at the time) brand new Morning Edition. The format kept plenty of music programming and I dove in enthusiastically. The station literally played everything from classical to folk to country to rock to jazz. It was intent on not being commercial and it was almost as if the staff had an unwritten rule to see who could play the most obscure stuff. I learned a huge amount about all kinds of music including jazz. In fact, for a year or two I hosted a show called "Mostly Jazz" from 9 p.m. to midnight weekday evenings. There were a number of hosts and I did that show two or three nights a week.In 1978, I got a gig at the local rock radio station, KTCL, now know as "Channel 93.3." At the time, the station called itself "Progressive Radio" and had an expansive playlist for a rock station. We played much of what is now known as "Classic Rock;" acts like
Led Zeppelin
band / ensemble / orchestrab.1968
Cream
band / ensemble / orchestraDire Straits
band / ensemble / orchestra1977 - 1995
Grateful Dead
band / ensemble / orchestrab.1965
Little Feat
band / ensemble / orchestrab.1969
Yes
band / ensemble / orchestra
King Crimson
band / ensemble / orchestrab.1969
Gentle Giant
band / ensemble / orchestrab.1970
Return to Forever
band / ensemble / orchestra
Weather Report
band / ensemble / orchestra
Jean-Luc Ponty
violinb.1942
Crusaders
band / ensemble / orchestrab.1960
I worked at KCSU from 1976 to 1982 and at KTCL from 1978 to 1982. So I worked at both stations simultaneously. Sometimes I would do Mostly Jazz on KCSU from 9 to midnight, hop on my bike and ride across town and do the 12:30 to 6 a.m. shift at KTCL. Those were the days.
In 1982, I moved to Denver to attend law school at the University of Denver and put my radio career on hold. After I graduated and worked as a lawyer for a couple years, I decided to get back into it. KUVO had gone on the air in 1985 with a jazz format and ran, almost exclusively, on volunteer power. In 1988, a radio acquaintance told me that the program director there was always looking for experienced announcers so, after getting a couple years as a lawyer under my belt, I contacted Carlos Lando, program director at KUVO. I quickly landed a Tuesday evening slot and I've been there ever since. Twenty-five years later, I still enjoy going to the studio on Tuesday evenings to play jazz on the radio from 7 to 10. BTW, Lando is still there too and, for my money, is one of the best program directors around. I say that not only because he lets the DJs more or less play what we want, but also because it works! The station has a great sound. It's diverse, yet it hangs together.
I've always been a music proselytizer and radio has given me a great opportunity to do that. Writing concert reviews and emailing them to friends was another step in that process. Being able to post those reviews on All About Jazz gives me a wider distribution to talk about the music that I enjoy and often touches my soul. Hopefully, through all this, I can inspire others to seek out and hear music that can inspire them as well.
What was the first record you bought that you would still listen to today?
Up until recently, the answer to that question was Who's Next (Decca, 1971) and Led Zeppelin IV (Atlantic, 1971) both purchased on the same fateful day in 1971. These were the first two rock records I bought and I'm still impressed that I picked those two because they are clearly two of the top albums of the Classic Rock era.I became enamored with music at a very early age. The interest was encouraged by my parents who bought me a little record player and records about things like train songs. As I got older, I wanted to buy my own records, but my parents weren't too sure about that Rock 'n Roll stuff I was interested in. The compromise, for a time, was that I was allowed to buy non-rock albums and I gravitated to
Herb Alpert
trumpetb.1935
Recently, I watched the movie "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World." In the movie, the Keira Knightley character spends about half her time carrying around about a dozen of her prized records. The one that was always on top was Herb Alpert's Beat of the Brass (A&M, 1968), easily identifiable by the back cover with Herb standing in the middle of a field of bright yellow flowers. I still have that album! After watching the movie, I had to pull it out and listen to it. It includes Alpert's first hit vocal, "This Guy's In Love With You"(!) They even played that song in the movie.
What type of jazz do you enjoy listening to the most?
I try to listen to all of it. One of the great things about my volunteer airshift at KUVO is that I can listen to many of the new releases coming out. I try to play about 40% new music when I'm on the air.I particularly like hearing new things. It's great fun hearing jazz musicians pulling in many different influences to come up with something new.
Aside from jazz, what styles of music do you enjoy?
Like many AAJ contributors, I have a broad agenda. This morning I listened to Vivaldi's "Four Seasons." Last night, I substituted on the All Blues program on KUVO, playing two hours of blues on the radio. I enjoy a great funk show (
Maceo Parker
saxophone, altob.1943
Tower of Power
band / ensemble / orchestrab.1968
Trombone Shorty
tromboneb.1986
What are you listening to right now?
This very moment?
Roseanna Vitro
vocalsb.1954
Ray Charles
piano and vocals1930 - 2004
In general:
Trombone Shorty
tromboneb.1986
Cassandra Wilson
vocalsb.1955
Shemekia Copeland
vocalsb.1979
Which five recent releases would you recommend to readers who share your musical taste?
Pat Metheny
guitarb.1954
Brad Mehldau
pianob.1970
What inspired you to write about jazz?
See #1, above.What do you like to do in your free time? Any hobbies?
Skiing is my main non-music interest. I've been skiing since about age 8. Literally, I can have more fun on skis than almost any human has ever had in the history of the world. Between the music scene and the world class skiing, Colorado is pretty much the best place to live in the entire universe.Biking is my second favorite non-music activity. I have a mountain bike that goes on roads and trails. It's great exercise and a good way to stay in shape for skiing. Plus, in Colorado, it's possible to basically bike year around. There are a few days here and there where it's too cold or snowy, or maybe even a whole week with too much snow on the ground, but the snow quickly melts and warm days are frequent.
One of the best things ever is to combine a ski trip and a concert. During ski trips I've been able to see people like
Dr. John
piano1940 - 2019
North Mississippi Allstars
band / ensemble / orchestrab.1996
Gov't Mule
band / ensemble / orchestraWhat role does jazz music play in your life?
I listen to jazz everyday. It soothes my soul after a day at work (or on the ski slopes).How does writing about jazz contribute to the music itself?
As another approach to my goal as a musical proselytizer, I hope that I can inspire other people to seek out and hear the kind of music that I find so enjoyable. Every once in awhile, someone will tell me they read one of my reviews about someone they had never heard of. They checked out the artist on the web and learned more about that person. The same thing can happen with the radio. One time a talked to a local jazz drummer I know through my involvement at KUVO. He also spends much of his time teaching high school kids how to play jazz. He told me he heard a tune I played by
Luciana Souza
vocalsWhat do you like most about All About Jazz?
No question: The broad approach to the music.What positives have come from your association with All About Jazz?
Mainly, it's just been the chance to distribute my reviews more widely. I also read articles on the site more frequently than I would otherwise which has expanded my knowledge of jazz.Visit Geoff at All About Jazz.
Tags
Meet the Staff
AAJ Staff
United States
Colorado
Denver
Zakir Hussain
Fareed Haque
Steve Smith
Kai Eckhardt
Led Zeppelin
Cream
Dire Straits
Grateful Dead
Little Feat
Yes
King Crimson
Gentle Giant
Return To Forever
Weather Report
Jean Luc Ponty
Crusaders
Herb Alpert
Maceo Parker
Tower of Power
trombone shorty
Roseanna Vitro
Ray Charles
Cassandra Wilson
Shemekia Copeland
pat metheny
brad mehldau
Dr. John
North Mississippi All Stars
Big Head Todd and the Monsters
Gov't. Mule
Luciana Souza
Comments
PREVIOUS / NEXT
Support All About Jazz
All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.
Go Ad Free!
To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.
Denver
Concert Guide | Venue Guide | Local Businesses
| More...
Buy Now
