This month we are featuring Joan Carroll, the host of Jazz Voice, airing live on Saturday mornings from 11am - 1pm. Joan is an experienced local jazz vocalist. She has been singing professionally for over 30 years. Joan studied music in college while working full time in a record store. She spends any spare time with friends and family, late-night crocheting, and reading.
Music has been very important to Joan for many years. Her mother was a fan of Big Band music, so she heard that growing up. She first got into jazz when she was working at the record store. This took her from knowing just smooth and pop jazz to many other genres within jazz. She recalls, “a co-worker turned her on to Betty Carter. That’s how it all started.” She believes, “that people should be exposed to the arts in all aspects of life.”
Lately, she has been listening to a melody she heard on Bradley Kayser’s show Riffs. It is an instrumental version of “Love Theme from Spartacus” with Yusef Lateef playing oboe, from his album Eastern Sounds. “It totally knocked her out. That doesn’t happen very often, but she loves it when it does.” She has spent a lot of time listening to other recordings of it or trying to find other versions. Her favorite vocalists are Mark Murphy, Shirley Horn and Laura Nyro.
Joan Carroll has been listening to KRTU since the 1970s. She would listen to Opera on the weekends and Jazz in the evenings. In 2003, when the format changed to all jazz, she was excited for the change. She had a radio on her desk at work that was tuned to KRTU all day. She liked KRTU’s non-profit, listener supported, college radio format as well as the music she heard from volunteer hosts who play music they love. She believes it is an important part of a thriving community. Joan decided to ask the Program Manager at the time, Aaron Prado, what she could do to become a DJ. Aaron asked for a proposal, so Joan followed up with an all vocal jazz program and it was accepted. She has been doing her show live since December of 2003.
Since Joan is a jazz singer, avid listener, and music collector, she has an extensive knowledge of the genre. Her show hasn’t changed much since the first show, if anything she is more comfortable with being a live DJ. Joan is always looking for vocal music she has not heard before and sharing it with her listeners. Her favorite genre of vocal jazz is improvisation or scat. She likes hearing singers improvise because it is exciting. She also enjoys vocal groups like New York Voices and Singers Unlimited. During the week, she will hear or think of an idea that will inspire her to play specific pieces on her Saturday show. Sometimes she will pull from her collection of CDs or if it is a singers’ birthday she will play a long set of their music. During her show, Joan likes to share details about the band members and when a piece was recorded. She “likes hearing information about what she is listening to, so she talks about what she thinks is important context for the recording.”
“I think KRTU is doing a great job working with the community and keeping true to our jazz mission. I want to see us keep growing and I hope to be a part of KRTU for a long time.”
- Joan Carroll