KBEM

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Recognized as the Twin Cities’ public radio voice for jazz and education, KBEM is a program of the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) Approximately 150 students annually participate in KBEM’s hands-on educational program, which focuses on all aspects of broadcasting and production. Students who develop their skills and select broadcasting experience can gain significant on-air time. The station is on-air 24/7 with 35 hours of student programming each week, with live professional announcers and pre-recorded, syndicated programming filling out the rest of the schedule. KBEM is the only station in the Twin Cities market which offers a jazz format and officially provides MN-DOT traffic reports.

KBEM was initially established at Minneapolis Vocational High School in the 1960s. The station was moved to North High School in 1983 as a part of the District’s desegregation initiative and it continues to reside there today. The vast majority of KBEM students attend North High School.

Series

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20 Pieces

Joan Griffith, Twin Cities musician and educator, has conversations with prominent Minnesota jazz musicians.

  • From: KBEM
  • Updated: May 25, 2016
Caption: Joan Griffith, Credit: Ann Marsen
20 Pieces

Joan Griffith, Twin Cities guitar player and educator, interviews Minnesota jazz artists.

  • From: KBEM
  • Updated: May 27, 2016
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13 Pieces

Minneapolis Public School teachers talk with Kevin O'Connor about their accomplishments.

  • From: KBEM
  • Updated: Jul 14, 2011
Caption: Leigh Kamman, Credit: Andrea Canter
57 Pieces

During his 60-plus years in jazz broadcasting, Leigh Kamman conducted hundreds of interviews with jazz artists, including many from the Minnesota scene. These are being preserved and edited by the Leigh Kamman Legacy Project and presented as The Jazz Image: Minnesota Edition, a continuation of the The Jazz Image: Special Edition series. These projects are part of the process of preserving and sharing the massive archive of historical recordings he left when he passed away in October 2014.

  • From: KBEM
  • Updated: Jun 29, 2020
Caption: Leigh Kamman, Credit: Andrea Canter
14 Pieces

Minnesota jazz broadcasting legend Leigh Kamman conducted hundreds of interviews with jazz artists, including some of jazz's illustrious figures. Now, these treasures have been lovingly preserved and edited into a new series of broadcasts, The Jazz Image: Special Edition. These recordings preserve priceless conversation Leigh Kamman had with such luminaries as Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughan and Stan Kenton. In his ninth decade, Kamman adds fresh commentary to round out these 5 minute broadcasts, 13 in all in this series.

  • From: KBEM
  • Updated: Jan 14, 2014
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776 Pieces

5 to 8-minute, highly produced heads-ups highlighting great musical activities in the Twin Cities broadly conceived. The pieces feature the musicians, their music, club owners, fans, in short all of those responsible for creating musical experiences.

  • From: KBEM
  • Updated: Dec 10, 2019
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0 Pieces

Viva City, Festival of the Arts, was initiated thirteen years ago as a way to showcase arts education in Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS). In this pod cast, we feature the musical portion of Viva City from the Ted Mann Concert Hall at the University of Minneapolis.

  • From: KBEM
  • Updated: May 29, 2011
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31 Pieces

Minneapolis High School Students comment on Minnesota Arts, Culture and History

  • From: KBEM
  • Updated: Aug 24, 2011

Latest Pieces

Caption: Kari Tauring, Credit: Eli Solheim
Kari Tauring is a leading researcher and performer of ancient Norse traditions, but she uses them in healing sessions. Hers is a point of view that...

  • Added: May 04, 2016
  • Length: 09:22
Caption: Kari Tauring, Credit: Eli Solheim
Kari Tauring performs really old music in a really modernistic way. It’s a combination you wouldn’t expect, but is completely natural to someone li...

  • Added: May 04, 2016
  • Length: 05:00
Caption: Charmin Michelle, Credit: JuliAnne Jonker
There’s a lot to be said for working with the same musicians over the years. That’s the case with Charmin Michelle and Joel Shapira. Joel Shapira t...

  • Added: May 01, 2016
  • Length: 05:00
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It’s a challenge to be a full-time jazz musician. But challenging or not, that’s what Joel Shapira does. He does it by becoming expert at many phas...

  • Added: May 01, 2016
  • Length: 08:01
Caption: Pee Wee Russell, Credit: William P. Gottlieb
Pee Wee Russell, who asserted a part-Cherokee background, stands as one of most innovative clarinet players in jazz.

Bought by WTJU, WDSE, WTJU, and WDSE


  • Added: Apr 27, 2016
  • Length: 05:00
  • Purchases: 4
Caption: Max Roach, Credit: Albert Kok
Best known as a bebop player, Max Roach (of Tuscarora ancestry) was named a National Endowment of the Arts Jazz Master in 1984.

Bought by WTJU, WDSE, and WTJU


  • Added: Apr 27, 2016
  • Length: 05:00
  • Purchases: 3
Caption: Oscar Pettiford, Credit: William P. Gottlieb
Oscar Pettiford (whose mother was full-blooded Choctaw and father, half Cherokee) was one of the top bassists during the 1940's and 50's.

Bought by WDSE, WTJU, and WTJU


  • Added: Apr 27, 2016
  • Length: 05:00
  • Purchases: 3
Caption: Jim Pepper
The son of a Creek mother and Kaw father, saxophonist Jim Pepper grew up surrounded by the songs and dances of inter-tribal powwows. Pepper was a ...

Bought by WTJU, WDSE, and WTJU


  • Added: Apr 27, 2016
  • Length: 05:00
  • Purchases: 3
Caption: Charlie Parker, Credit: William P. Gottlieb
A leading figure in the development of bebop, Charlie Parker (of Choctaw ancestry), is regarded as the greatest saxophonist of all time.

Bought by WTJU, WDSE, and WTJU


  • Added: Apr 27, 2016
  • Length: 05:00
  • Purchases: 3
Caption: Thelonius Monk, Credit: William P. Gottlieb
Of Tuscarora ancestry, Thelonious Monk was one of the most inventive pianists of any musical genre. Dubbed the “High Priest of Bebop”, Monk introd...

Bought by WTJU, WDSE, WDNA, and WTJU


  • Added: Apr 27, 2016
  • Length: 05:00
  • Purchases: 4