Farewell, Bob Parlocha

My heart is pittering between ache and joy. JPR's Rhythm and News made a major switch in their programming. Deadheads in the State of Jefferson are likely to lament the loss of the Grateful Dead Hour with David Gans. Something tells me, though, they will be quite content to have Keller Williams' Keller's Cellar take its place. (I know I enjoy it.)

Far more devastating to me, however, is the loss of "Late Night Jazz with Bob Parlocha."

Bob's voice moved me through many a long night. He has been with me as long as I've lived in the Rogue Valley. I bottle fed both my sons listening to Bob.

Bob's custom JPR commercials marked the passing of every hour, letting me know how much time I had left that night with that killer jazz that sets the mood, paces my pulse, and drove whatever I was doing with each reedy sigh, with each snare whisper, with each wailing trumpet. I'll miss you, Bob.

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On the flip side, there's no more Echoes with David DeLomberto either. This all means that the current show which airs for five hours and is followed by an hour of World Cafe with David Dye equals a dream come true. The closest thing to Open Air at night we're likely to ever get.

In the long term, I'd definitely say that JPR made the right choice. The fact is most people probably found the old schedule of 2 hours of Echoes followed by 4 hours of Late Night Jazz a little sleepy. In order to attract a greater and more sustainable listener base, it most likely behooved JPR to make this bold programming change.