Freedom, Community, and Jazz: KCSM’s 60 Years on the Air

On any foggy Bay Area morning, the right song from KCSM can feel like a memory you didn’t realize you shared—a living link between local history and the listeners who keep it connected to the present. (Click play to listen to the interview with KCSM’s Robert Franklin.)

“KCSM was built on a foundational link from the past to the present,” says Dr. Robert “Bob” Franklin, station manager and executive producer of a new documentary celebrating the station’s 60th anniversary. “Amazingly, some of the former students are now program curators, and they’ve put together some of the most interesting jazz shows you could ever want to hear.” He describes the sound that flows through the transmitter as “a form of cultural memory, a vital public service,” and notes that KCSM is “one of the last full-time jazz radio stations in the country.”

What makes that service special is the human factor. “Our curators are on air live,” Franklin emphasizes. “Listeners know them by name and by how they present themselves. The connection to the community is unique, powerful, and unbreakable.” The upcoming film aims to show the people behind the voices: “We wanted to put faces with the voices. Listeners have been hearing these stories for over 60 years—now they’ll see the individuals who make the station run, both on and off the air, on the big screen.”

That screen debut is part of a larger 60th anniversary celebration. Founded at the College of San Mateo in 1964 as a training ground for radio and television, KCSM became an all-jazz station by the mid-1980s and accumulated a collection of recordings after the sale of KJAZ radio in the 1990s, growing a library often called the largest in jazz radio by insiders. Today, it’s a noncommercial, listener-supported station with global streaming and a clear mission: to keep jazz alive on Bay Area airwaves.

Inside the studio, the craft is traditional and proud of it. “Setting up the segue is very important,” Franklin says. “It invites the listener in and keeps them curious about what’s next. We have some of the best curators around, and they set up the pieces beautifully, so the flow is seamless.” The philosophy behind those transitions is equally clear: “Our jazz curators have the independence to go in whatever direction their heart desires. We never set parameters—they have the creative authority and responsibility to shape the show.”

The library embodies that freedom. Franklin describes it as “a huge laboratory—an inanimate space made alive by a human being pulling items and creating something that breathes when it’s placed in the air… It is so extensive,” he adds, “that you could pull so many selections you’d never duplicate anything on air.” That depth also supports a major archival effort. “We’re digitizing our massive holdings,” he notes, citing help from WGBH and the Library of Congress to preserve historic KCSM programs and make them available to national audiences.

If the question “what is jazz?” tends to spark debate, KCSM thrives by avoiding gatekeeping and letting the music speak for itself. “We don’t try to establish the quintessential definition,” Franklin says. “Jazz is what it is to the person—it’s a feeling. Our announcers won’t try to define it; they’ll create a great presentation and let listeners draw their own conclusions.” That openness extends to younger artists and related styles. “We set no boundaries. Our approach has kept listeners coming back for decades.”

The station’s durability depends on a bond between the audience and the staff. “Our donor community continues to be the financial bedrock of KCSM,” Franklin says. “Even in challenging times, their support has never been stronger.” What unites the on-air team? “History, family, camaraderie—and most of all, passion. You cannot fake passion. Our curators’ love and commitment to this music is the single factor that ties them together.

Education is ingrained in the culture. Student interns at the College of San Mateo assist with digitizing the library and engage directly with Studio 91, a new in-studio performance series that will showcase local, regional, and national artists. “Students are doing the videotaping, editing, and post-production; they’re setting up and striking the sets,” Franklin explains. “They’re learning executive-producing and technical skills while serving the public—exactly the linkage the college seeks.”

The documentary explores these themes—the curators’ craftsmanship, the archive’s treasures, and the station’s role as a community hub—and weaves them into a story told by those who have kept KCSM broadcasting. It’s a collaboration with the California Historical Radio Society that integrates radio history into Bay Area cultural memory, featuring vintage footage and firsthand accounts. Viewers also get a glimpse of the library’s extensive collection; as one longtime host proudly states, KCSM’s collection is so large that record enthusiasts will "salivate.”

KCSM’s next decade, Franklin says, will be built on the same principles that carried it through the first six. “We promise to keep jazz alive and on the air for our communities—working even more collaboratively with them—and to continue telling KCSM’s remarkable journey to the Bay Area and to listeners around the world.” And he leaves a final thought that doubles as a mission statement for both the station and the film: “Jazz, like public broadcasting, is built on freedom, community, and expression… playing music you can’t hear on most stations, supporting local artists, and creating a platform for intergenerational connections.”

Screening Information

For newcomers to Bay Area jazz—and for anyone who has ever found solace or surprise in a DJ’s perfectly judged musical transition—the film offers an entry point and an invitation.

·      Event: KCSM: 60 Years of Broadcasting and Jazz (documentary screening)

·      Venue: Alameda Cinema, 2317 Central Ave., in Alameda

·      Date & Time: Saturday, November 1, 2:00 PM

·      Extras: Post-film reception with refreshments and a live DJ set by KCSM’s Harry Duncan; plus, a tour of the California Historical Radio Society’s vintage radios, historic studios, and hands-on broadcasting exhibits.

·      Tickets & info: https://californiahistoricalradio.com/event/kcsm-documentary-screening-at-alameda-theater/

Listen and support KCSM: https://www.kcsm.org