Dear Listener,

In case you haven't heard the sad news, Larry McKinley, Minit Records co-founder and voice of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, recently passed away at the age of 85.

Larry McKinley is the reason I am at WWOZ. When I was in high school on Saturday afternoons from noon 'til six on WYLD-AM, Larry used to host a six-hour jazz show followed by a very groovy postlude featuring Dr. Daddy-O (Vern Guidry, but that’s a story for another time).

Anyway, the thing about Larry's show—and this was in the late 60's—he played everything you could ever want to hear from the world of jazz: Bud Powell, Charlie Parker, Coleman Hawkins, Kenny Dorham, Ben Webster, Dizzy, Monk, Miles, Charlie Minghus, Eric Dolphy, Sonny Rollins, Rasaan Roland Kirk, Sun Ra, Cecil Taylor, Ornette Coleman and everybody in between and beyond. I mean can you imagine hearing Ornette on AM radio in the 60’s? Or ever?

Well, Larry McKinley could, and he made it possible for me to get a first class education in jazz the likes of which I never would have gotten otherwise in my middle-class, whitebread world. And I'll always be eternally grateful to Larry for sharing this very special world that has meant so much to me personally over the years. Not only that, but it turned out that Larry's tutelage served as my ID badge to the jazz police and cultural gatekeepers of this city, which ultimately lead to my association with WWOZ. Even more than all that, Larry McKinley and WYLD-AM set the model for what an informal, informed, passionate, human jazz Sherpa should sound like. It worked for me in high school and it works for me now.

Thank you Larry for using the power of radio to introduce real music into my life, music that was shaping the sound of jazz in our own city—the music of Nat Perillat, Ellis Marsalis, Red Tyler, Richie Payne, James Black and so many others; for showing us better than anyone since how it's done; (in my later years) for being so much fun to be around. Essentially for changing my life before I even knew you were changing it (for the better). So now I’m paying it forward. I’m listening to WWOZ, but I’m hearing your Saturday afternoon jazz show. Thank you, Larry.

Yours in thoughts and prayers,

David Freedman
General Manager

We can't say it too often: we have the greatest group of volunteers in the world, and without them, this Whole Thing would be impossible. So we celebrated them at Chickie Wah Wah last weekend, with music and food, staff and friends... Awesome, and they deserved every bit of appreciation for helping WWOZ Guard the Groove for another year.

 » 2013 Volunteer Party highlights

 » About 'OZ Volunteers

Speaking of volunteers, we're blessed with an extremely talented set of volunteer photographers. Check our their work (along with some by 'OZ staff) in this collection of one hundred terrific photos from 2013's in-studio performances, festivals, parades, and other events.

» Some of our favorite photos of the year

No matter whether you call New Orleans home, or  visiting for the holidays, there's tons going on at this time of year.  Check out the WWOZ Livewire Music Calendar, our Community Events calendar, and our Holiday Events List for all your holiday season entertainment needs.

» Livewire Music Calendar

» Community Events Calendar

» Holiday Events List

The end of the year is a great time for charitable giving. With so many great organizations worthy of your support, we hope you'll remember WWOZ. Before you ring in the New Year, please consider making a year-end charitable gift to WWOZ. Your tax-deductible gift means a lot to us, right down to the syncopated fibers of our beings.

» Give the Gift of the Groove

» Donate a car & get a tax write-off for 2013!

Visit our YouTube Channel and see this snazzy-jazzy collection of 17 (and counting!) WWOZ-style holiday music videos, with selections by Kermit Ruffins, Fats Domino, Irma Thomas with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Aaron Neville, amongst others.

» Holiday music videos, in the 'OZ style

Carnival 2014 kicks off on Twelfth Night, January 6. In addition to the Phunny Phorty Phellows streetcar ride, the occasion is marked by the Krewe de Jeanne d'Arc's annual procession in the Quarter, a blend of family-friendly whimsy and idealism, in which the sacred and the secular combine, in equal parts light-hearted Mardi Gras parade and genuine saint procession.

» Krewe de Jeanne d'Arc's annual Twelfth Night procession

Nominees for OffBeat Magazine's Best of the Beat Awards have just been announced, and online public voting is open. Any New Orleans music fan can vote to help determine the winners, with public voting through January 10. The Best of the Beat Awards happen on Saturday, January 18 at Generations Hall, with performances by Jon Cleary, Glen David Andrews, Brass-A-Holics, Cheeky Blakk, Feufollet & more, plus an All-Star Tribute to Cyril Neville marking his Lifetime Achievement Award.

» See the list of 2013 nominees and vote

» More about the Best of the Beat Awards for 2013

Get ready to feast this holiday season with a recipe courtesy of Chef Matt Murphy and The Ritz-Carlton of New Orleans: turkey with cornbread-andouille stuffing and Worcestershire gravy. Yum!

» Recipe: Turkey with Cornbread-Andouille Stuffing