Then the music stopped.

“The first time we went on the air with ‘Maiden Voyage,’ a few seconds we were off (the air) because something broke,” laughed Quo Vadis Gex Breaux, the fledgling station’s original program director. “The engineer had to go find out where the glitch was and fix it.”

Fifty years later, WCLK hasn’t only fixed that initial glitch, but survived to become one of the nation’s premier jazz stations, reaching about 100,000 listeners. It’s a fixture in Atlanta’s jazz scene, from partnering with the High Museum of Art on its “Friday Jazz” series to being a longtime media partner of the Atlanta Jazz Festival.

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

If you’re a jazz artist, the station is a must-visit when you’re in town, and has hosted such luminaries as Gregory Porter, Natalie Cole, Dianne Reeves and Hancock.

“Whenever Incognito came to Atlanta we went straight there,” said singer Maysa, a former vocalist of the British jazz band.

Chandra Currelley-Young, a jazz vocalist and former lead singer of the iconic R&B group SOS Band, agreed. She said while jazz may have had its heyday decades ago, it is still one of the nation’s most viable art forms and is the underpinning of much of today’s music.

Stations such as WCLK are critical to delivering that message and acting as an advertising vehicle for visiting artists.

“It’s important to have someone say, ‘We’re still here and that there is a place for us,’” she said.

Putting jazz front and center

In 2022, WCLK, now operated by Clark Atlanta University after the two schools merged in 1988, upped its significance to the jazz world by launching North America’s first-ever Jazz Music Awards.

The ceremony, which officials hope will someday become an annual event, will focus on jazz artists, not as afterthoughts as they are during the Grammys or the American Music Awards, but as headliners of the show, said Ray Cornelius Cobb, WCLK’s marketing and communications director.

Credit: Jason Getz

Credit: Jason Getz

The inaugural Jazz Music Awards was held Oct. 22, 2022 at the Cobb Energy Center with jazz legend Dee Dee Bridgewater and actor Delroy Lindo as hosts.

“When COVID hit, we lost a lot of jazz musicians,” Cornelius said in describing one of the reasons WCLK launched the awards. “We were like, ‘Wow, OK, a lot of these people are dying off and no one is recognizing them.’”

While jazz is its main focus, the station covers other genres, including gospel, Caribbean and fusion. It can do so because as a public radio station it doesn’t have to worry about ratings like commercial stations, allowing for more programming flexibility, said Rodney Evans, host of the station’s gospel programming.

“We played everybody, all the hottest music,” Evans said. “Other stations would listen to us and then build their playlist off of what we’re doing.”

Credit: Jason Getz

Credit: Jason Getz

Tight budget

The station has an annual budget of around $2 million, said station manager Wendy Williams. About 20%-30% of funding comes from Corporation for Public Broadcasting grants while another 30% hails from the university. The station raises about $400,000 yearly through membership drives while advertising and sales bring in close to another $400,000.

“It’s been growing,” she said, adding she hopes membership funding will soon hit $500,000 annually. “There’s been success. It’s hard getting there, but we’re getting there.”

Credit: Jason Getz

Credit: Jason Getz

Part of the challenge is the fragmentation of the market and the ever-growing list of ways consumers get music, news and information, Williams said. The biggest threats it faces are streamers such as Apple Music and Spotify and music on social media sites such as TikTok, Instagram and Facebook.

A key to the station’s growth is making sure it remains relevant. That means having a strong news presence as well as hosting programs on important issues, such as health, financial literacy and art, Williams said.

It also means making sure to showcase young talent that can bridge the gap between older listeners and Gen Z’ers. Artists such bassist Esperanza Spalding, Jazzmeia Horn and 24-year-old Samara Joy, who won best new artist at the 2023 Grammys, are helping to expose younger listeners to the segment.

“I always like to say, ‘Once you get hip, you get hooked,’” said Debb Moore, host of WCLK’s “Jazz at Sundown.”

Jamal Ahmad, host of WCLK’s “Soul of Jazz,” said the station’s history is really the story of Atlanta over the past 50 years. The station grew alongside the city, from a sleepy southern town to a mecca for Black Americans, with all the highs and lows along the way.

“When you look at CLK in the 70s, it was just setting its feet planted in the ground,” Ahmad said.

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

WCLK alum Stan Washington said he is proud of what WCLK — or as he used to call the “54-watt giant” — has achieved. He said the vagaries of radio mean that nothing is certain, so it’s a tribute to the hard work of the station’s management and on-air talent that it is celebrating 50 years.

“I’m not surprised that it’s lasted because it’s still serving its purpose,” he said.

ABOUT THIS SERIES

The AJC’s Black History Month series focuses on the role of African Americans and the Arts and the overwhelming influence it has had on American culture. These daily offerings appear throughout the paper. More subscriber exclusives on the African American people, places and organizations that have changed the world are available at ajc.com/news/atlanta-black-history.