He is a jazz program host and DJ for WRTI, and has been on air for more than 30 years.

Bob Perkins Remembers Jimi Odell By Bob Perkins • … [9] Philadelphia honored him in 2017 when he was inducted in Philadelphia Music Walk of Fame.[10]. Perkins had a five-year relationship with The Philadelphia Tribune, where he wrote commentary on government, society and public affairs. He is also a… He also wrote editorials and other articles for the former Philadelphia New Observer. Now he's an active performer on the New York jazz scene; his ensemble the Daniel Bennett Group was recently voted “Best New Jazz Group” at the New York Hot House Awards. Perkins was born Robert Ellis Perkins on December 6, 1933. He has been with the station since 1997. His distinctive deep voice and progressive points of view became an on-air signature for the fast-growing FM and AM operations at WDAS over 19 years during the 1970s and '80s. WRTI’s Susan Lewis reports on a new play that explores what this grace must have cost him. ", meaning "Bob Perkins with the good music." Five Decades On, An Eclectic Church Preaches The Message Of John Coltrane, City Scenes: Ensuring Philly's Next Generation Of Jazz Musicians, Jazz Philadelphia's Hometown Heroes: Spotlight on Saxophonist Olivia Hughart, Jazz Philadelphia's Hometown Heroes: Spotlight on Trumpeter Wallace Roney, WRTI's Annual Back-to-School Week: We're Celebrating Music Students from the Philadelphia Region, City Scenes: Philadelphia's Best Of The Bass, Part 3, NPR Music's Slingshot City Scenes Series Is Featuring Stories from WRTI, Jazz Philadelphia's Hometown Heroes: Spotlight on Bassist Anthony Tidd. Bob Perkins Reflects On Oldtime Philly Legends as Jazz Appreciation Month Comes To A Close By Bob Perkins • Apr 30, 2020 Take a look at this photo album of Mr. Perkins through the years. Please remove or replace such wording and instead of making proclamations about a subject's importance, use facts and attribution to demonstrate that importance.

Bob Perkins remembered the iconic jazz pianist and composer Dave Brubeck, when he died on December 5, 2012 at age 91—one day shy of his 92nd birthday. Elvis’s increasing discomfort wells up when the hostess asks his opinion. Perkins was born and raised in South Philadelphia and currently lives in Glenside, Pennsylvania, with his wife Sheila. The jazz brunches that would normally be packed will be replaced by curbside pickup and listening to Sunday Jazz Brunch with Bob Perkins on WRTI 90.1 (not too shabby) while chatting with family via Zoom. Some folks—even jazz fans—wouldn’t know that the handle Robert Chudnick belonged to Red Rodney, the once well-known jazz trumpeter from Philadelphia who was born back on September 27th, 1927. Library of Congress Music Division/ Wiliam R. Gottlieb, Classical Video from WRTI's Performance Studio, Jazz Philadelphia's Hometown Heroes: Spotlight on Tenor Saxophonist Larry McKenna. The film I Called Him Morgan tells of the rise and tragic fall of trumpeter Lee Morgan, who grew up in Philadelphia. [2] In 1997 he joined WRTI-FM Temple University Radio. He died on Friday, April 10th, 2020 at age 93. The delightful ladies of DivaNation Philly have been singing together for over five years throughout the Philadelphia region. Thinking about the legacy of jazz pianist Bill Evans, you might be surprised to know that some cool cats named Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Igor Stravinsky, Arnold Schoenberg, and— especially— Johann Sebastian Bach helped shape his sound. McCoy was an inspired musician who devoted his life to his art, his family and his spirituality.

He was able to improvise at a very early age and says that by now he thinks of the saxophone as an extension of himself. (Originally published in 2015) . Tenor sax player, composer, and arranger Tim Warfield has been performing professionally since he was sixteen. [5], Perkins is the PM drive time jazz radio personality and host for WRTI-FM Temple University Radio in Philadelphia.

[3] One of his well-known sayings is "This is BP with the GM! This final installment of the series showcases artists at the crossroads of jazz, pop, hip-hop, and R&B. Jazz means family.Jazz means something loved and in close proximity. “The way I look at it, ‘jazz’ is a lineage,” said London-to-Philadelphia transplant bassist, composer, and teacher-mentor Anthony Tidd. Perkins is currently engaged for the annual Cape May Jazz Festival Concert Series and the Tony Williams Jazz Festival Concert Series. Now, Slingshot is shining a spotlight on jazz in Philadelphia: its history, its present, and its future, with stories produced by WRTI. https://youtu.be/SZcT0saY3zY. promotes the subject in a subjective manner, Learn how and when to remove this template message, http://6abc.com/health/art-of-aging-bob-perkins-a-philly-institution/1612006/, http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/dan_deluca/20161016_Talking_all_that_jazz_with_WRTI_legend_Bob_Perkins.html, http://wrti.org/post/photo-album-bob-perkins-through-years, https://phillyjazz.us/2015/01/27/bob-perkins/, http://www.broadcastpioneers.com/bobperkins.html, https://www.allaboutjazz.com/bob-perkins-the-art-of-listening-by-victor-l-schermer.php, http://www.broadcastpioneers.com/banquetvideo2003.html, http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/celebrities/jill-scott-patti-labelle-among-philadelphia-music-walk-of-fame-class-of-2017-honorees-20170803.html, Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia website, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bob_Perkins_(radio_personality)&oldid=970628776, Articles with peacock terms from August 2020, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2019, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 1 August 2020, at 13:13. His radio career began in 1964 in Detroit, Michigan. Today marks what would have been jazz giant John Coltrane's 94th birthday.

Since 2017, Slingshot—a collaboration between NPR Music and the digital music service VuHaus—has provided a platform where 'taste-making' music stations share stories about the music scene and emerging artists in their communities. Bob Perkins is an American radio personality. Jazz pianist and singer Nat "King" Cole, the first African American to host his own TV variety show in 1956, was known for his great talent and his grace, even in the face of mistreatment and racial discrimination. Perkins wandered into the station at WGPR-FM and got a position as on-air DJ and Announcer. He got his first job in radio during a trip to visit his two brothers in Detroit in 1964. Jazz with Bob Perkins Monday through Thursday, 6 to 9 pm Hosted by Bob Perkins Lovingly known as “BP with the GM” (Bob Perkins with the Good Music), BP brings you that good music just in time for dinner during your work week. Perkins is most proud of his independently produced radio documentary on the life of African-American history icon, Paul Robeson, who was born in the region and spent his last years living in Philadelphia. On Tuesday, June 2nd at 6 PM, WRTI presented a special live program addressing Black Music as a form of social engagement. He regularly serves as master of ceremonies for major annual and special concert events in the region, such as the previous and very popular Mellon Jazz Festival Concert Series. He’s reflecting on the fact that he’s as known for collaborations with nu-jazz masters Steve Coleman, Greg Osby, and Roy Ayers as he is working within The Roots and playing alongside hip hop greats such as Common, Ursula Rucker, and Black Eyed Peas. And it's not just a slogan. WRTI jazz DJ Bob Perkins returns to the airwaves after a stroke MICHAEL BRYANT / Staff Photographer Growing up in a two-bedroom rowhouse near 19th and Reed in South Philly during World War II, Bob Perkins received intimate and powerful instruction on the healing properties of radio. The great Ella Fitzgerald was born on April 25th, 1917, and died in 1996. It begins from below, a slowly twisting Roman candle of a tune, and explodes in the top range of the singer, as the eyes of onlookers reflect the glory of what songs once were.

Trumpeter Wallace Roney died from complications of the COVID-19 virus on March 31, 2020 at the age of 59. Two years before his untimely death from liver cancer in 1967, a young San Francisco couple heard him play — and their experience was literally religious. He went on to work for WDAS and WHYY in Philadelphia. Sports, music, news and podcasts. And all the while, you weren't aware of it—until that person moved away, and the world let you know about the celebrity who had been in your midst. In 1997 he joined WRTI-FM Temple UniversityRadio. Young jazz musicians from 11 states and Puerto Rico are coming to Philadelphia for the 2020 festival on February 15th, which features 63 ensembles of high school-age musicians in different categories.

WRTI's Bob Perkins and Debra Lew Harder host. Bob Perkins on Trumpeter Red Rodney, an Overlooked Philly Great! WRTI-FM His radio career began in 1964 in Detroit, Michigan. WRTI’s Susan Lewis talked with sax master Odean Pope about his memories of Morgan, who in his short life made a long-lasting contribution. Blackwell's Jazz on My Mind Presents-Bob Perkins at LaRose Social Club Part 2. Philadelphia's Best Of The Bass, Part 1 includes WRTI's 8 favorite bebop and hard bop players. He continued to grow, working as newsman and assistant director at WJLB-AM in Detroit, before his career path returned him to Philadelphia, where in 1969 he joined WDAS-AM / FM as a newsman and after two years became News Director there;[6] after another year he also became the Editorial Director. Hear the audio that matters most to you. Perkins has an independent website project under construction, and he expected it to launch by early 2010. His selections are like a familiar hug from Jazz Land featuring your favorite standards and vocalists such as Sarah, Ella, and Nat, some Big Band legends including the Duke and the Count, and the giants of the instrumentals like Lee Morgan, Hank Crawford, Miles, and Coltrane. That's how the famed and venerable jazz disc jockey Bob Perkins signs on the air, with the code for "Bob Perkins with the good music." Commercial-Free CNBC, CNN, FOX News Radio & MSNBC, Commercial-Free Music For Every Mood & Activity. Jazz is many things to many people. They founded a spiritual community inspired by his music and 50 years later, they're still preaching that gospel at the Coltrane Church in San Francisco. Hailed as one of the world’s finest jazz saxophone players, Larry McKenna is firmly rooted in his Philadelphia birthplace where he has spent over six decades showcasing a gorgeous tenor saxophone sound. ", meaning "Bob Perkins with the good music. Known for his laid-back and mellow style, Perkins is a favorite of night-time jazz listeners in the Philadelphia area. WRTI's Susan Lewis talks with Joe Bonjiovi, founder and executive director of the National Jazz Festival about why jazz is so important for young people.