Show Notes
Jazz radio has never had a better friend than Rhonda Hamilton. During a broadcasting career spanning nearly 50 years, she’s brought the music to a worldwide audience with her trademark warmth, integrity and composure.
This year she received a fitting honor: the A.B. Spellman NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship for Jazz Advocacy, which she’ll formally receive on Sept. 15 during a gala concert at Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles. She’ll be in fine company there: the 2026 class of honorees also includes drummer and percussionist Airto Moreira; keyboardist, vocalist and producer Patrice Rushen; and singer, songwriter and bandleader Carmen Lundy.
Rhonda is now on the air at KKJZ-FM in Southern California, but during her longtime tenure at Newark Public Radio, she worked with Josh Jackson, Nate Chinen and our producer, Alex Ariff. We were all delighted to reconnect with her in a conversation brimming with insights from one of our very best.
Chapters
00:00 — Coltrane 100 Philly kickoff
02:00 — NEA Jazz Masters & this year's honorees
10:00 — Interview with Rhonda Hamilton
49:00 — Key records & jazz recommendations
55:30 — Dizzy Gillespie dinner story
1:02:30 — “This I Dig”
Learn more about WRTI’s John Coltrane @100 celebration:
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