I leaned on them when I got into radio until I got my own sea legs and could navigate on my own.. 1. Pianist Orrin Evans believes BP is vital to Philadelphias jazz scene. Melinda Whiting, Courtney Blue, Bobbi I. Booker, Susan Lewis and Maureen Malloy are familiar voices on WRTI. He had his own antennae that he had drilled into his table model radio. I had an insurance license and they told me, Youre going to start in a week. I walked out the door and I was very happy. The music that appeals to BPs old noggin is what he calls the melodic stuff with no expiration date, most of it recorded decades ago. I try not to ad-lib and talk about what is going on. I had also served in the United States Army from 1956 to 1958. One day in late summer last year, his familiar and congenial voice the aural equivalent of a cup of hot chocolate and a soft blanket went silent. Bell Building And people do forget. A survey of the playlist from one of his last shows before his stroke is a ramble through classic jazz interpretations of American Songbook standards. Eventually, Perkins moved to Detroit at the suggestion of his older brothers who already lived there, having moved from Philly after World War II, he said. "[4] He is also an accomplished radio news journalist and a First Call Master of Ceremonies for regional jazz music events. Someone can think of something and express it in a musical form and without hitting any sour notes and make it sound melodic, where you can tap your foot or you can close your eyes and dream on it. The interview has been edited for brevity and clarity. A mainstay of the jazz music and radio community, Perkins has been on-air at WRTI since 1997. You dont know whos listening, how many people: could be one, could be 10,000. Perkins' jazz show has been broadcast Monday through Thursday from 6-9 p.m. and from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on Sundays. Have Your Say - WRTI's Bob Perkins 97 views Aug 17, 2020 4 Dislike Share Save MLTV - Main Line Network 2.72K subscribers Hosts Anne Minicozzi and Diana Robertson welcome radio personality. They can take you away. Saxophonist Larry McKenna has been listening to him for 40 years. Do you have any anecdotes about BP you'd like to share? BP: Well, I still like it. He began his career at WGPR Detroit. NPR news updates every hour. That was 25 years ago.. This website uses cookies. Perkins spoke about the evolution of radio. Am I going to capture their imagination today? Why might that be? 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. Bob Perkins, a legendary DJ at the radio station WRTI, spun everything from Duke Ellington to Miles Davis. I try to ameliorate that and take the rough edges off if I can, with the music. Bob received a Master of Science degree degree from Nazareth College. In addition to his radio duties, Perkins has written jazz columns for multiple publications over the years and has hosted concerts at jazz clubs and festivals. Classical music and jazz public media. Bob in the mid '60s - a seasoned veteran on the job for one year at WGPR in Detroit. But at age 88, Perkins is signing off passing the ball to the next era of jazz lovers. Bob Perkins on Trumpeter Red Rodney, an Overlooked Philly Great! Change has come to radio, music, listeners, and listening habits. WRTI's legendary jazz host, Bob Perkins, is surrounded by his cd collection of jazz recordings in his home in Wyncote, PA on December 19, 2019. Perkins is currently engaged for the annual Cape May Jazz Festival Concert Series and the Tony Williams Jazz Festival Concert Series. Maureen Malloy, the director of jazz programming at WRTI, says there was an insane amount of listener response to Perkins unexplained absence. A lot of people, at least in my experience as an artist, associate this music with their grandparents' music or their parents' music. Perkins had a five-year relationship with The Philadelphia Tribune, where he wrote commentary on government, society and public affairs. I dont know how they do it. Perkins credits his father for being the one who gave him the love for radio. I stayed over there about two years, but it really wasnt a good fit. We werent sure at first when hed be back, so we didnt say anything. Finally, in mid-November, a post went up on the WRTI web page. 2/17/2019. He got his first job in radio during a trip to visit his two brothers in Detroit in 1964. I had a mild stroke. [8] Philadelphia honored him in 2017 when he was inducted in Philadelphia Music Walk of Fame.[9]. Music, said BP about the GM. Radio has changed dramatically over the years, [particularly] with all the new technology, he said. I was weaned on radio. But you try to always put that best music forward. A mainstay of the jazz music and radio community, Perkins has been on-air at WRTI since 1997. Until then, Mondays through Thursdays from 6 to 9 p.m., you can continue to listen to his radio program on WRTI, Jazz with 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. It gives you a feeling of a time gone by, a past era where jazz was the music of the day.. Joseph V. Labolito. Bob Perkins at home at WRTI-FM studios. TEMPLE UNIVERSITY Jazz-Classical WRTI/PHILADELPHIA evening host BOB PERKINS is stepping away from his weekday 6-9p (ET) show on JUNE 30th. The 88 year old Perkins has been on the air in Philadelphia since 1969 with stints as News Director at WDAS-FM and a Jazz host at WHYY before joining WRTI in 1997. Some of the management of that station listened to me on WGPR and they liked what they heard, he said. The great alto saxophonist and jazz icon Charlie "Yardbird" Parker was only 34 years old when he died in 1955. WRTI's legendary jazz DJ Bob Perkins retires at age 88 For nearly six decades, Philadelphia has been a unique voice in jazz music. You can touch a button and get any answer to any question that you have. Sunday Jazz Brunch with Bob Perkins airs from 9 AM until 1 PM. 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. You had to sit around the radio and visualize. IE 11 is not supported. In 2016, he was awarded a bronze plaque on Philadelphia Music Alliance's Walk of Fame on the Avenue of the Arts. Bob has always taken that part of his life very seriously and gives credit where credit is due. He began his career at WGPR Detroit. As of 1997, Perkins landed at WRTI-FM. Once I got some news training under my belt, I started trading news stories with the news team at WDAS in Philadelphia. Born and raised in Philadelphia, PA, she has studied piano, voice, guitar, saxophone, and music theory at Granoff and Settlement Music schools, and PCPA - now University of The Arts, and continues private instruction with her husband Leon Mitchell - composer, arranger, vocal coach, and musical director of The Philadelphia Legends of Jazz Orchestra. Domain Insight 2/27: The First Audacy Atlas Divestiture Will Go To. PhillyVoice Staff, Monday through Thursday from 6-9 p.m. and from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on Sundays. Jazz radio host and South Philadelphia native Bob Perkins, a mainstay on Temple University's public WRTI-FM station, plans to significantly scale back his hours this summer. BP broke into the radio business in 1964 when he landed an on-air job in Detroit. WRTI. Joe Blocks parents were fans of WRTI and the pianist grew up listening to BP, becoming a fan himself. I was out for about four months. Bob is jazz radio, David Conant, former general manager at WRTI, told The Inquirer in 2016. I went to a radio school through my father. Temple Now:The official source for Temple news.Copyright 2015, Temple University. I went in and knocked on the door and they said, we listened to you on WJLB, and we liked your work there, but you dont know news. PublishedDecember 6, 2013 at 5:49 AM EST. Five days a week, on WRTI, "BP with the GM" (that's Bob Perkins with the Good Music), plays jazz with a connoisseur's ear and an infectious sense of joy. I looked around, and I found a station that wanted a newsman. But BP programs his own. We spoke with him about his show, the power of radio and the beauty of jazz. The mission of WRTI public radio is to broadcast the very best classical music and jazz recordings, and produce innovative, entertaining, and informative content that enriches the daily lives of our audience and the cultural life of Philadelphia and the tri-state region. His Sunday 'Jazz Brunch' show will continue. He has attended two White House Presidential news conferences - one of Gerald Ford's and one of Jimmy Carter's. I wondered to myself, could I get hired for two jobs in one day?, I went upstairs in the building where the radio station was located and I met the general manager, Perkins continued. Particularly for older listeners, he gives them the comfort of something familiar, and makes them remember that this music that he's playing was the soundtrack to a lot of their lives. The music Perkins plays can summon Proustian recollections of a first kiss, a dance at the Savoy Ballroom or a joyful reunion after a long absence. Jazz host Bob Perkins in his office at WRTI. In 1977, Perkins, 88, started up a side gig with a public radio Saturday night jazz show at 90.9 WHYY-FM the station where he coined his BP with the GM moniker. Things change, he said, but there's always someone that's going to keep us on the right track., We're not a fatherless community. I dont think that there's anybody in Philadelphia who's a true jazz fan who doesn't know who he is, McKenna said. "He is a gentleman, a kind soul, and every bit as nice in person as you hear on-air. The world wasnt moving quite as fast. Lance Venta is Owner and Publisher of RadioInsight.com. Mr. Perkins owns 88,692 shares of Targa Resources stock worth more than $6,747,687 as of February 16th. I look forward to the opportunity to pick up the mic at WRTI on Sundays to continue to serve all the listeners with finely-tuned ears who have said that Ive helped keep jazz music alive in Philadelphia, and beyond.. 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