Skip to content
CapRadio

CapRadio

signal status listen live donate
listen live donate signal status
listen live donate signal status
  • News
    • topics
    • State Government
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • Race and Equity
    • Business
    • Arts and Lifestyle
    • Food and Sustainability
    • PolitiFact California
  • Music
    • genres
    • Classical
    • Jazz
    • Eclectic
    • Daily Playlist
  • Programs + Podcasts
    • news
    • Morning Edition
    • All Things Considered
    • Marketplace
    • Insight With Vicki Gonzalez
    • music
    • Acid Jazz
    • At the Opera
    • Classical Music
    • Connections
    • Excellence in Jazz
    • Hey, Listen!
    • K-ZAP on CapRadio
    • Mick Martin's Blues Party
    • Programs A-Z
    • Podcast Directory
  • Schedules
    • News
    • Music
    • ClassicalStream
    • JazzStream
    • Weekly Schedule
    • Daily Playlist
  • Community
    • Events Calendar
    • CapRadio Garden
    • CapRadio Reads
    • Ticket Giveaways
  • Support
    • Evergreen Gift
    • One-Time Gift
    • Corporate Support
    • Vehicle Donation
    • Stock Gift
    • Legacy Gift
    • Endowment Gift
    • Benefits
    • Member FAQ
    • e‑Newsletter
    • Drawing Winners
    • Thank You Gifts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Close Menu

Speak No Evil Jazz blog

Capital Public Radio's discussion of an art form born in America and celebrated worldwide.

subscribe

 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 
 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 

Falling In Love Supreme: Devin Discovers An Affinity For Jazz

  •  Devin Yamanaka 
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
  

Younger siblings have the luxury of watching and learning from their elders, which is exactly how I came to love jazz. My brother played trombone in the high school jazz band and when I was in middle school, I got to hear them play “String of Pearls” and “Stompin’ at the Savoy” at their inaugural concert. It was an eye-opener. I’d heard jazz before, but wasn’t into it. There was nothing to grasp melodically like there was in pop music. But there’s a type of jazz for everyone and, at the time, big-band was right up my alley. There’s a lot to love about jazz from that era: whistle-able melodies, dance-able tempos, loud shout choruses from the brass, and clear beats from the rhythm section. So I bought a Glenn Miller “best-of” compilation and started listening.

I worked my way through the American Songbook via Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington and loved putting names to songs I’d heard on TV and in movies. “Sing, Sing, Sing” and “Little Brown Jug” became favorites. And, of course, I started listening to Excellence In Jazz. While I’ll always have a spot in my heart for the jazz that got me interested, I realized there was a whole world of jazz to explore. I tapped my foot to the syncopation in Miles Davis’s “Milestones.” I came to believe there is no cooler collaboration than Paul Desmond and Dave Brubeck. And when I heard Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers’ “Moanin,’” it spoke to me like no other. By that time I had joined the high school jazz band just like my brother. I got to learn about jazz by listening and playing. To be part of this new groove was a different kind of fun than I’d experienced before.

My brother and I still love jazz and talk about it from time to time. At one strange point, we both worked in jazz radio (I was here at Capital Public Radio; he was in Long Beach at KKJZ). I wonder what would have happened if my brother had joined a polka band in high school. This might have been a very different blog entry.


This is part of a series about how our music hosts fell in love with the artform of jazz. 

We're inviting you to share your story of how you came to love jazz, in 200 words or less. Email your essay to [email protected] before February 14. We’ll read the top submissions on air and award several prizes.

    More about Falling In Love Supreme

  • Falling In Love Supreme

    Our music hosts contemplate the performances, songs and artists which sent them into a life time love affair with jazz as part of our series "Falling In Love Supreme." Listener-submission contest finalist essays are now posted.

 Falling In Love Supreme

Devin Yamanaka

Assistant Director of Programming and Audience Development/Afternoon News

You can hear Devin Yamanaka weekdays during All Things Considered. She also contributes to CapRadioMusic and is an avid tweeter (and re-tweeter) of all things baseball, animals, music, and public radio.  Read Full Bio 

Sign up for ReCap and never miss the top stories

Delivered to your inbox every Friday.

 

Check out a sample ReCap newsletter.

Thanks for subscribing!

Thank you for signing up for the ReCap newsletter! We'll send you an email each Friday with the top stories from CapRadio.

Browse all newsletters

More Jazz Posts

Courtesy of the artist

Joe Gilman: A Sacramento Jazz Master Explores A Classic Live Recording

August 5, 2022

We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter

Back to Top

  • CapRadio

    7055 Folsom Boulevard
    Sacramento, CA 95826-2625

    • (916) 278-8900
    • Toll-free (877) 480-5900
    • Email Us
    • Submit a News Tip
  • Contact Us

  • About Us

    • Contact Us / Feedback
    • Coverage
    • Directions
    • Careers & Internships
    • Mission / Vision / Core Values
    • Press
    • Staff Directory
    • Board of Directors
  • Listening Options

    • Mobile App
    • On Air Schedules
    • Smart Speakers
    • Playlist
    • Podcasts
    • RSS
  • Connect With Us

    •  Facebook
    •  Twitter
    •  Instagram
    •  YouTube
  • Donate

  • Listen

  • Newsletters

CapRadio stations are licensed to California State University, Sacramento. © 2022, Capital Public Radio. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Website Feedback FCC Public Files: KXJZ KKTO KUOP KQNC KXPR KXSR KXJS. For assistance accessing our public files, please call 916-278-8900 or email us.