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Listen Here! Biographies
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M ARK RUFFIN, HostListen Here! host Mark Ruffin is an Emmy Award-winning jazz correspondent for Artbeat Chicago on WTTW-TV, jazz editor for Chicago Magazine, music editor for the alternative weekly N’Digo, host of Miles Ahead -- Chicago’s only afternoon drive-time jazz radio program – and a producer of jazz recordings and events. Many Chicago radio listeners know him as a former jazz host on WBEZ-FM. Mark has also served on-air stints at WNUA, WBEE, and WDCB in Chicago. He was the producer for the first five years of the nationally syndicated Ramsey Lewis radio program. Mark Ruffin is a former musician and songwriter, who has written over five hundred articles on jazz, broadcasting, and African-American culture. His articles have appeared in a variety of local and national publications, including the Chicago Sun-Times, Down Beat, Jazziz, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Playboy, and dozens of other publications.His recent productions include the latest album from be-bop guitar legend George Freeman, titled At Long Last, George, on High Note Records, and a benefit concert for the late Art Porter, starring Brenda Russell, Jeff Lorber and Peter White, where he was also honored as Father of the Year by the organization Real Fathers/Real Men.Mark Ruffin has also received the Excellence in Television Award from the Chicago Association of Black Journalists for his work on WTTW’s Artbeat program.
| N EIL TESSER, HostListen Here! host Neil Tesser is the author of The Playboy Guide to Jazz, jazz critic for the Chicago Reader, the former jazz critic for Playboy magazine, and host of Miles Ahead – Chicago’s only afternoon drive-time jazz radio program. He also wrote a monthly column for Jazziz magazine.Author of liner notes for more than 150 albums – one of which, the Stan Getz reissue, The Girl from Ipanema, received a Grammy nomination in 1985. Tesser previously hosted Jazz Forum on WBEZ-FM Chicago (1980-1996), and Straight No Chaser on WNIB-FM (1974-1976). His broadcast credits include arts commentaries for the NPR series Future Forward and for all-news WBBM-AM, and he was the initial jazz critic for USA Today.Tesser teaches courses in jazz history as an adjunct professor at Northwestern University, and is a charter member of the programming committee for the Chicago Jazz Festival. He also recently completed his second term as president of the Chicago chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences. Neil Tesser recently won a Deems Taylor Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) in the category of liner notes. Neil won for his liner notes for two John Coltrane re-releases - Coltrane Jazz and Coltrane Plays the Blues, which were originally pressed by Atlantic in the 1960s. Rhino issued the re-releases.These awards are granted each year by ASCAP, which is the world’s largest performing-right organization, with more than 100,000 active composer, lyricist and publisher members.
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