ANTHEA REDMOND - The Woman Behind Jazzbites Radio
Anthea Redmond is part of the driving force behind Jazzbites Radio and the voice of its public face. From a small beginning, the station is now a multi channel station streaming smooth and cool, free style and contemporary and vintage vinyl and wax . Jazzbites is gaining considerable influence and respect from instrumentalist, PR companies and the jazz world as a whole.
Ever up for a challenge Jazzbites radio has also allowed this writer to host and co-host shows, some of which have been centred around theme like the popular 'Ladies In Jazz' series - which inspired the book,' Women In Jazz', which followed. Anthea has also overseen some innovative series including The Freer Side of Jazz and Jazz Unhinged where she has allowed me to introduce listeners to free jazz music and a whole range of challenging ideas. The hosts are varied and come from the whole spectrum of jazz music. More than this, though, the station hosts the JazzBites show where artists are interviewed in depth in a show-length feature which is then played before being archived in accessible format. The station also holds the Jazz Repository which is a collection of some 59,000 jazz recordings, many of which have never been aired . For a radio station to be bequeathed such a large personal collection is a statement of the station is held in respect by many jazz aficionados.
Jazz Bites also funded a jazz festival - held in London in June 2017 featuring 14 acts from the UK, Europe and New Orleans, the idea was to showcase acts and help form collaborations - which it certainly did. The station has proved itself worthy of support and the diversification of its programmes has seen the audience soar for all channels. Careful thought has gone into the planning and programming of each channel and those lucky enough to be featured on shows know that the aim is to share jazz music on a world stage. The station plans to air shows featuring musicians from Europe, America or the UK at peak times in that country so the listeners are as many as possible.
Something the station has become known for is airing music which might otherwise go unnoticed and for this they rely not only on musicians and bands sending in their material but also on a wealth of associates who contact them if they hear somebody they think is different and worth airing. Many acts who gained their first airing on Jazzbites radio have gone on to become well known in their own right.
I have been in contact with Anthea when she is despairing at the amount of material they are receiving, sometimes at the lack of quality and sometimes almost incendiary with excitement about a new act they have found and felt were different and unique. Sometimes she is at her wits end as to how best program everything but it works out all right and the station is going from strength to strength.
Here, Anthea tells us about her background, her move to Almost Canada, her love affair with jazz, a husband with a voice like chocolate, her passion for the future of jazz and much more.
Sammy Stein: Can you tell us briefly about your career before you moved to the US?
Anthea Redmond: My career began in advertising at the age of 21 with a large media group in the UK. After five years of learning from the best, I extended my purview to encompass the skills of marketing, media and public relations with several established organisations in the region, eventually branching out on my own as a consultant in my mid-thirties. Also, having studied fine art decades before, I helped stage and fund - along with a trusted business partner - exhibitions and shows in high-profile venues in the UK and Europe for artists new to the scene in an effort to present their work to the public. It was a labour of love we both enjoyed enormously and gave our time free of charge.
SS: When did you find jazz music? Is it something you have had around all your life or gradually come to like?
Anthea Redmond: My earlier years at home saw me exposed to jazz and musical theatre from the age of five. I learned all the songs from The King and I, Carousel, and Oklahoma by heart. As the youngest child of five and younger than my siblings by a decade or two, I spent a lot of time on my own with my parents, which I viewed as a bonus. My parents and paternal grandparents could play the piano and other instruments and my earliest memories were of being surrounded by music. I still know all the words to ‘Some Enchanted Evening’ from South Pacific and often belt it out slightly off-key from the shower when so inclined.
My father - who died when I was only 12 years of age - was a huge jazz fan and loved Fats Waller, Dizzy Gillespie and Billie Holliday. My mother’s favourites were Nat King Cole, Etta James and Ella Fitzgerald, so jazz was second nature to me long before I reached my teens. Before I had my sixteenth birthday I preferred the sounds of soul and blues to 90% of the pop and rock music around at that time. My heart was already embedded in jazz, so I was happy to go along with that together with a smattering of Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, John Mayall, and Howlin’ Wolf thrown in for good measure. Mind you, whilst still at school I got the opportunity to sneak out without permission and see Jimi Hendrix play live at a local club shortly before he died: something denied to many of his fans who would have appreciated the ‘experience’ more than I did.
SS: What made you move to the US?
Anthea Redmond: I fell in love with the sweetest, most romantic man in the world. Someone who can make every day brighter just by walking into a room and who has the ability to inspire me every day. If I’d been informed 12 years ago that I’d be leaving the UK to move across the Atlantic and live in the United States, I would have laughed out loud. My husband, however, on recent visits back home has fallen in love with the wildness of the Scottish Isles and the wild and woolly North of England, so you never know what will happen in the future.
SS: How did you meet and did it take a lot for you to decide to move to nearly Canada ( the term Anthea affectionately calls her home in Maine)?
Anthea Redmond: I met my husband, Jacques, when we were both invited to take part in a seminar online for a new product launch in 2008. He was working as a cyber-security analyst back then, and I was asked to come on board to contribute to the marketing aspect of the initiative. He was very good looking which I found a little distracting and he had a voice like warm chocolate fudge. We began chatting on the telephone after a few weeks which morphed into several months and we met in person for the first time 6 months later. As the cliche goes, it was love at first sight for us both. When we decided to get married, I found it hard to leave the UK and my family behind but we decided it was easier for me to give up my small consultancy than it was for him to close his long-standing business and take the quantum leap into the unknown over in England.
Ever up for a challenge Jazzbites radio has also allowed this writer to host and co-host shows, some of which have been centred around theme like the popular 'Ladies In Jazz' series - which inspired the book,' Women In Jazz', which followed. Anthea has also overseen some innovative series including The Freer Side of Jazz and Jazz Unhinged where she has allowed me to introduce listeners to free jazz music and a whole range of challenging ideas. The hosts are varied and come from the whole spectrum of jazz music. More than this, though, the station hosts the JazzBites show where artists are interviewed in depth in a show-length feature which is then played before being archived in accessible format. The station also holds the Jazz Repository which is a collection of some 59,000 jazz recordings, many of which have never been aired . For a radio station to be bequeathed such a large personal collection is a statement of the station is held in respect by many jazz aficionados.
Jazz Bites also funded a jazz festival - held in London in June 2017 featuring 14 acts from the UK, Europe and New Orleans, the idea was to showcase acts and help form collaborations - which it certainly did. The station has proved itself worthy of support and the diversification of its programmes has seen the audience soar for all channels. Careful thought has gone into the planning and programming of each channel and those lucky enough to be featured on shows know that the aim is to share jazz music on a world stage. The station plans to air shows featuring musicians from Europe, America or the UK at peak times in that country so the listeners are as many as possible.
Something the station has become known for is airing music which might otherwise go unnoticed and for this they rely not only on musicians and bands sending in their material but also on a wealth of associates who contact them if they hear somebody they think is different and worth airing. Many acts who gained their first airing on Jazzbites radio have gone on to become well known in their own right.
I have been in contact with Anthea when she is despairing at the amount of material they are receiving, sometimes at the lack of quality and sometimes almost incendiary with excitement about a new act they have found and felt were different and unique. Sometimes she is at her wits end as to how best program everything but it works out all right and the station is going from strength to strength.
Here, Anthea tells us about her background, her move to Almost Canada, her love affair with jazz, a husband with a voice like chocolate, her passion for the future of jazz and much more.
Sammy Stein: Can you tell us briefly about your career before you moved to the US?
Anthea Redmond: My career began in advertising at the age of 21 with a large media group in the UK. After five years of learning from the best, I extended my purview to encompass the skills of marketing, media and public relations with several established organisations in the region, eventually branching out on my own as a consultant in my mid-thirties. Also, having studied fine art decades before, I helped stage and fund - along with a trusted business partner - exhibitions and shows in high-profile venues in the UK and Europe for artists new to the scene in an effort to present their work to the public. It was a labour of love we both enjoyed enormously and gave our time free of charge.
SS: When did you find jazz music? Is it something you have had around all your life or gradually come to like?
Anthea Redmond: My earlier years at home saw me exposed to jazz and musical theatre from the age of five. I learned all the songs from The King and I, Carousel, and Oklahoma by heart. As the youngest child of five and younger than my siblings by a decade or two, I spent a lot of time on my own with my parents, which I viewed as a bonus. My parents and paternal grandparents could play the piano and other instruments and my earliest memories were of being surrounded by music. I still know all the words to ‘Some Enchanted Evening’ from South Pacific and often belt it out slightly off-key from the shower when so inclined.
My father - who died when I was only 12 years of age - was a huge jazz fan and loved Fats Waller, Dizzy Gillespie and Billie Holliday. My mother’s favourites were Nat King Cole, Etta James and Ella Fitzgerald, so jazz was second nature to me long before I reached my teens. Before I had my sixteenth birthday I preferred the sounds of soul and blues to 90% of the pop and rock music around at that time. My heart was already embedded in jazz, so I was happy to go along with that together with a smattering of Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, John Mayall, and Howlin’ Wolf thrown in for good measure. Mind you, whilst still at school I got the opportunity to sneak out without permission and see Jimi Hendrix play live at a local club shortly before he died: something denied to many of his fans who would have appreciated the ‘experience’ more than I did.
SS: What made you move to the US?
Anthea Redmond: I fell in love with the sweetest, most romantic man in the world. Someone who can make every day brighter just by walking into a room and who has the ability to inspire me every day. If I’d been informed 12 years ago that I’d be leaving the UK to move across the Atlantic and live in the United States, I would have laughed out loud. My husband, however, on recent visits back home has fallen in love with the wildness of the Scottish Isles and the wild and woolly North of England, so you never know what will happen in the future.
SS: How did you meet and did it take a lot for you to decide to move to nearly Canada ( the term Anthea affectionately calls her home in Maine)?
Anthea Redmond: I met my husband, Jacques, when we were both invited to take part in a seminar online for a new product launch in 2008. He was working as a cyber-security analyst back then, and I was asked to come on board to contribute to the marketing aspect of the initiative. He was very good looking which I found a little distracting and he had a voice like warm chocolate fudge. We began chatting on the telephone after a few weeks which morphed into several months and we met in person for the first time 6 months later. As the cliche goes, it was love at first sight for us both. When we decided to get married, I found it hard to leave the UK and my family behind but we decided it was easier for me to give up my small consultancy than it was for him to close his long-standing business and take the quantum leap into the unknown over in England.
SS: What made you found a radio station? Was it complicated and how do you decide what to play?
Anthea Redmond: Via a blossoming love affair Jacques and I had with YouTube, we heard a tremendous amount of wonderful jazz and blues tracks written by unsigned musicians who couldn’t get their music on the radio so, in 2015, we decided to indulge in an experiment and start up a radio station to provide a platform exclusively for unsigned artists. We extended an invitation via social media for many of them to submit tracks, and the response we had was phenomenal. Less than 12 months later we decided to widen the platform to include established recording artists from all over the world so the artists we already had onboard could play alongside their more famous peers. The result was a success and listening figures soared.
SS: You are known as a supporter of new music and giving airplay to music which might otherwise go unheard. Is this a deliberate thing?
Anthea Redmond: Yes, it is. We always give the listeners the opportunity to hear everything that’s out there - and we mean everything - so that they can decide what it is they want to hear. We have three channels with subtle guidelines so audiences know what to expect for the most part, but the playlists aren’t exactly random. We schedule shows with titles such as ‘Jazz Unhinged’ so listeners have a clue that the content isn’t something they’d hear on a cruise ship or the Oprah Winfrey Show. (This series was completely free jazz and improvised music and is still running).
SS: We have curated shows together and you have given a huge range of music air time, including free jazz, straight-ahead and smooth. Do you feel the enthusiasm for jazz is growing?
Anthea Redmond: I do indeed. The feedback we’ve received from established jazz clubs on both sides of the Atlantic have confirmed there’s a huge rise in attendance from younger audiences, and this is encouraging news. Smooth jazz is always heavily subscribed and figures are always healthy. As for the more avant-garde types of jazz, enthusiasm has been mirrored in the listening figures we’ve seen soar and remain constant when individual shows highlighting free jazz go on air. For me, this wipes out the myth that jazz lovers are in the minority and fall into the category of retired geography teachers over 50 years of age who wear corduroy trousers and baggy sweaters. We are playing jazz in all its flavours to a worldwide audience that encompasses all demographics and this is a seismic shift away from the opinion jazz appreciation is only for the few.
SS: What audiences are your most unusual?
I’ve always wanted to say “we’re big in Japan” and now I can. We have growing numbers of listeners and the increase in those from the far East have been noticeable from the very beginning when we first started out 5 years ago. Looking at the world map on a daily basis as listeners grew, we could see large amounts of listeners from Ukraine, the United States, Canada, UK, Australia and everywhere in between and this was the reason we decided to have shows with presenters with different personal tastes in jazz broadcasting from different parts of the world.
SS: In 2017 you funded an event in London showcasing acts form Nola, the UK and Europe - The London Jazz Platform. What made you decide to do this?
Anthea Redmond: In the mid ‘80s, I was approached by a fine arts gallery based in the UK to help secure funding via corporate sponsorship to finance a number of exhibitions and touring shows as they’d run out of government grants and had nowhere to turn. I’d had previous success in this field before so I was happy to help. To me, it meant shows involving the arts didn’t have to be cancelled through lack of cash; and, if tastefully executed, would be well-received. * When we heard about the unique concept of the London Jazz Platform - a one-day mini-festival in the heart of London with some outstanding jazz on offer with artists from New Orleans, London, and Scandinavia; it sounded such a great idea we just wanted to help and make it all happen. *To expand on this a little - Anthea is being modest here - Anthea asked me, whilst interviewing me on a show, what my dream was for the next year or so and I said to run a min-festival in London. Next thing, funding was in place and we were set. Jazz Bites Radio put their trust in an unknown curator, risked losing the funding and allowed me to curate a good show with decent pay for all the performers and organise a mix of performers from across the globe. The event was curated by myself and proved successful on many levels for the musicians who performed.
SS: At times you have been controversial. The London Jazz Platform received threats from US based people to try and block it; some said it could not work but it did. At times like this is it difficult to stick to your guns and how do you know you are doing the right thing? After all, you were backing an untried idea ?
Anthea Redmond: I’m always amazed - and a little disappointed - to see how many people, without the experience of putting on a public event themselves, cast aspersions and mock the efforts of those who do. Sadly, I’ve seen this happen many times before and I have to question their motives. It’s a sad thing when others go out of their way to adopt an agenda wishing your project will fail, even if that means lost opportunities for those who will benefit from it going ahead. In my view, any event that provides exposure and paid time for the artists who perform, plus great entertainment for the audience is worth all the effort and the funding involved. I don’t regret putting up the cash in the past to help artists get the exposure they need, and if it feels right to me, then I’ll simply go ahead and do it.
Anthea Redmond: Via a blossoming love affair Jacques and I had with YouTube, we heard a tremendous amount of wonderful jazz and blues tracks written by unsigned musicians who couldn’t get their music on the radio so, in 2015, we decided to indulge in an experiment and start up a radio station to provide a platform exclusively for unsigned artists. We extended an invitation via social media for many of them to submit tracks, and the response we had was phenomenal. Less than 12 months later we decided to widen the platform to include established recording artists from all over the world so the artists we already had onboard could play alongside their more famous peers. The result was a success and listening figures soared.
SS: You are known as a supporter of new music and giving airplay to music which might otherwise go unheard. Is this a deliberate thing?
Anthea Redmond: Yes, it is. We always give the listeners the opportunity to hear everything that’s out there - and we mean everything - so that they can decide what it is they want to hear. We have three channels with subtle guidelines so audiences know what to expect for the most part, but the playlists aren’t exactly random. We schedule shows with titles such as ‘Jazz Unhinged’ so listeners have a clue that the content isn’t something they’d hear on a cruise ship or the Oprah Winfrey Show. (This series was completely free jazz and improvised music and is still running).
SS: We have curated shows together and you have given a huge range of music air time, including free jazz, straight-ahead and smooth. Do you feel the enthusiasm for jazz is growing?
Anthea Redmond: I do indeed. The feedback we’ve received from established jazz clubs on both sides of the Atlantic have confirmed there’s a huge rise in attendance from younger audiences, and this is encouraging news. Smooth jazz is always heavily subscribed and figures are always healthy. As for the more avant-garde types of jazz, enthusiasm has been mirrored in the listening figures we’ve seen soar and remain constant when individual shows highlighting free jazz go on air. For me, this wipes out the myth that jazz lovers are in the minority and fall into the category of retired geography teachers over 50 years of age who wear corduroy trousers and baggy sweaters. We are playing jazz in all its flavours to a worldwide audience that encompasses all demographics and this is a seismic shift away from the opinion jazz appreciation is only for the few.
SS: What audiences are your most unusual?
I’ve always wanted to say “we’re big in Japan” and now I can. We have growing numbers of listeners and the increase in those from the far East have been noticeable from the very beginning when we first started out 5 years ago. Looking at the world map on a daily basis as listeners grew, we could see large amounts of listeners from Ukraine, the United States, Canada, UK, Australia and everywhere in between and this was the reason we decided to have shows with presenters with different personal tastes in jazz broadcasting from different parts of the world.
SS: In 2017 you funded an event in London showcasing acts form Nola, the UK and Europe - The London Jazz Platform. What made you decide to do this?
Anthea Redmond: In the mid ‘80s, I was approached by a fine arts gallery based in the UK to help secure funding via corporate sponsorship to finance a number of exhibitions and touring shows as they’d run out of government grants and had nowhere to turn. I’d had previous success in this field before so I was happy to help. To me, it meant shows involving the arts didn’t have to be cancelled through lack of cash; and, if tastefully executed, would be well-received. * When we heard about the unique concept of the London Jazz Platform - a one-day mini-festival in the heart of London with some outstanding jazz on offer with artists from New Orleans, London, and Scandinavia; it sounded such a great idea we just wanted to help and make it all happen. *To expand on this a little - Anthea is being modest here - Anthea asked me, whilst interviewing me on a show, what my dream was for the next year or so and I said to run a min-festival in London. Next thing, funding was in place and we were set. Jazz Bites Radio put their trust in an unknown curator, risked losing the funding and allowed me to curate a good show with decent pay for all the performers and organise a mix of performers from across the globe. The event was curated by myself and proved successful on many levels for the musicians who performed.
SS: At times you have been controversial. The London Jazz Platform received threats from US based people to try and block it; some said it could not work but it did. At times like this is it difficult to stick to your guns and how do you know you are doing the right thing? After all, you were backing an untried idea ?
Anthea Redmond: I’m always amazed - and a little disappointed - to see how many people, without the experience of putting on a public event themselves, cast aspersions and mock the efforts of those who do. Sadly, I’ve seen this happen many times before and I have to question their motives. It’s a sad thing when others go out of their way to adopt an agenda wishing your project will fail, even if that means lost opportunities for those who will benefit from it going ahead. In my view, any event that provides exposure and paid time for the artists who perform, plus great entertainment for the audience is worth all the effort and the funding involved. I don’t regret putting up the cash in the past to help artists get the exposure they need, and if it feels right to me, then I’ll simply go ahead and do it.
SS: Tell us about the Jazz Repository collection - how did it come into your hands and what are your hopes for it?
Anthea Redmond: In January 2017 we were gifted access to over 59,000 vintage jazz tracks from one of the biggest private collections in the world. Our idea back then was, and still is, to keep adding our own choice of tracks to the collection as time passes so it will become a living, growing archive of music from jazz artists from around the world both past and present. Although a mammoth undertaking, it is our hope to have it curated in its entirety by someone with a deep passion for jazz from the time when it all began, and I think we already have someone in mind…..
SS: How you see the future for Jazz Bites Radio - do you have an idea of the way you want the station to progress?
Anthea Redmond: We’re always looking for new ways to captivate listeners with news shows, new music and artists, compelling interviews, experimental ideas - as we’re always chasing the avante garde in jazz. We have several news shows and additions to the programming we’re keeping under our belt at the moment that will take shape this Autumn, so we’re really looking forward to that.
Also, when we started out in 2015, we made the decision not to have sponsors to help pay for the station’s overall annual costs, as we didn’t want the invasive presence of advertising to mar the enjoyment for listeners whether it be on air every fifteen minutes in between tracks or corporate logos splattered across the radio website. We still hold this view, but are warming to the idea of securing a long-term sponsor to fund a talented individual to curate the depths and delights of The Jazz Repository: it is a huge job after all.
Anthea Redmond: In January 2017 we were gifted access to over 59,000 vintage jazz tracks from one of the biggest private collections in the world. Our idea back then was, and still is, to keep adding our own choice of tracks to the collection as time passes so it will become a living, growing archive of music from jazz artists from around the world both past and present. Although a mammoth undertaking, it is our hope to have it curated in its entirety by someone with a deep passion for jazz from the time when it all began, and I think we already have someone in mind…..
SS: How you see the future for Jazz Bites Radio - do you have an idea of the way you want the station to progress?
Anthea Redmond: We’re always looking for new ways to captivate listeners with news shows, new music and artists, compelling interviews, experimental ideas - as we’re always chasing the avante garde in jazz. We have several news shows and additions to the programming we’re keeping under our belt at the moment that will take shape this Autumn, so we’re really looking forward to that.
Also, when we started out in 2015, we made the decision not to have sponsors to help pay for the station’s overall annual costs, as we didn’t want the invasive presence of advertising to mar the enjoyment for listeners whether it be on air every fifteen minutes in between tracks or corporate logos splattered across the radio website. We still hold this view, but are warming to the idea of securing a long-term sponsor to fund a talented individual to curate the depths and delights of The Jazz Repository: it is a huge job after all.
For more information visit thejazzrepository.org & JazzBites Radio
