The Classic 107 airwaves are about to gain a new voice to guide listeners through the sounds of jazz. The station’s parent company, Golden West Broadcasting, announced that Sharon Church will be the new host of jazz programming beginning October 28th.
Church, who hails from Regina, works out of Classic 107’s sister station in Moose Jaw. An ardent fan of rock music, she first grew into jazz after she married her husband, and they moved to the University of North Texas so he could pursue a master's degree in jazz studies.
"My husband would be listening to music, or I would go and watch him play with the jazz band that he was in,” said Church, recounting her early experiences in the genre to Morning Light host Nolan Kehler. “At first, I didn't really get it or I'd walk into a room and I'd go, ‘Oh, what is going on here?’ And he would say, ‘You're coming in in the middle of a story. Really. You need to walk it back and listen from the very beginning because there's a journey that happens in jazz.’”
The story aspect of jazz is what has kept Church attracted to the genre over the years, whether it’s the music of the swing era stars like Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman to the soloist standouts like Cannonball Adderley or Phil Woods. “I think I really enjoy history,” Church explains. “When I look back and I listen to those artists, I like to know what was going on in that time period with the social surroundings.” Church especially looks forward to sharing the stories of marginalized artists and their realities as they contributed to the jazz canon.
Ultimately, Church is excited to share all kinds of music with both the first-time, jazz-curious listeners and the seasoned veterans of the genre. For her, the key to appeasing all listeners is variety. “There’s so many different varieties of jazz,” Church explains. “One song may not appeal to one person and it may very appeal to another person.” That variety also extends to the balance of old recordings and new. “Jazz is alive and well and bringing forward some of the great musicians we have right now and talking about where they’re at and how they’re putting music together.”
You can hear Sharon Church on Classic 107 from 9 p.m. until midnight by tuning into 107.1 FM in Winnipeg, or on the Classic 107 app or website.