Smooth Jazz Returns In Chicago

From Larz, ChicagoRadio and Media

After teasing fans for the last couple of weeks that a big announcement was coming soon, beloved Chicago radio icon Rick O'Dell today let the world know the good news on his blog. As of early this morning, O'Dell and Smooth Jazz are back, 24 hours a day on his new website, SmoothJazzChicago.net. 

Rick O'Dell is a life-long Chicagoland resident and has been a staple on the Chicago-area radio airwaves since 1981. He best known for his 19 years at WNUA-FM, when it was a Smooth Jazz station, where he was a DJ, Music Director, and Program Director. He was most recently heard on WLFM-LP/Smooth 87.7. 

Since Venture Technologies, the owners of WLFM-LP, decided last April to take a cash offer from another company to allow them to use the 87.7 frequency, the Smooth Jazz/Smooth AC format has been off the Chicago airwaves, despite decent ratings and a large, loyal fanbase. 

Rick O'Dell -- who served as midday host, weekend specialty show host, Program Director, and driving force behind the station -- has spent months trying to find another Chicago radio outlet for the format. In today's corporate-owned, ultra-conservative, PPM-dictated radio world, that has most of Chicago's radio stations owned by just a few companies, none of which want to air anything that isn't overly-focus grouped in advance and already airing in numerous other markets, O'Dell was turned down. 

Instead, he decided to take matters in own hands and take the Smooth Jazz format directly to fans via the Internet.

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