originally published: 04/20/2022
(NEWARK, NJ) -- WBGO Studios has announced a new limited run podcast, Jazz Cabbage, hosted by Nicole Sweeney (host of Lights Out on WBGO), and cannabis author/historian David Bienenstock. Jazz Cabbage will explore the cultural intersection of jazz and cannabis. The series will examine topics from how the marginalization of "viper" culture inspired improvisation and integration in the early jazz scene, to the federal government's relentless targeting of jazz musicians as part of its Reefer Madness-inspired eradication campaign.
The hosts will talk directly with musicians, scientists, scholars, cultural icons, cannabis entrepreneurs (past and current) and the vipers themselves.
"Jazz and cannabis have a long, complicated, intertwined history, but over time our understanding of this important cultural intersection has been obscured and erased until it's all boiled down to the occasional late-night talk show joke about a reefer-smoking jazz cat," lamented Bienenstock. "Dig a little deeper, however, and you discover a fascinating story of creating great art and a vibrant, integrated, improvisational culture from out of the margins.
Why did so many jazz musicians write and perform songs about this plant, even as the federal government used its prohibition as an excuse to target them for arrest? That's the question Jazz Cabbage has set out to answer."
Sweeney noted that her passion for marijuana legalization has been part of her life almost as long as her love affair with jazz. "I am thrilled that we are going to dive into the story and history of two often misunderstood entities that have more of a relationship with one another than most people may realize," said Sweeney. "We want to 'debunk' the stoner myths and take a more serious look at cannabis and how much it was and still is a part of the jazz community. From stories to song, Jazz Cabbage will provide an in depth look at how some of jazz's most celebrated artists took to this plant and the effects it had on their career and lives."
Jazz Cabbage, with theme music by Nate Smith, will be the eighth podcast to come from WBGO Studios, which has produced award winning jazz podcasts as well as finance, current affairs and sports podcasts. Jazz Cabbage is produced by Trevor Smith, WBGO Producer, who writes and produces for Jazz Night in America in addition to Jazz United and other WBGO Studios programs.
Nicole Sweeney is a Queens-born, Long Island-raised music lover. Growing up in New York with West Indian parents, she was surrounded by all types of music every day and the influence of jazz was constant.
Nicole received her B.A. in Communications from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA after taking a seven-year hiatus which originally started out as a "semester break". Going back to school as a more "seasoned adult", Nicole took her education very seriously; while working and going to school full-time, she obtained three internships with Temple Update, Good Day Philadelphia, and Temple University's public radio station, WRTI.
With jazz always being a part of her life, she quickly fell in love with the music and became very focused on her position at WRTI-FM. Shortly after the internship ended, Nicole was hired at WRTI-FM and after graduating, decided to move to Atlanta where the broadcasting industry was growing.
She was hired at WCLK-FM for a temporary Sunday shift and within months was hired for the weekly Midday shift which she held for over 6 years. Nicole grew her Midday audience by giving them a mix of classics as well as a nice dose of the "here and now" of jazz. Nicole also hosted the popular monthly "Friday Jazz at the High Museum of Art" for two years, as well as being the preferred emcee for jazz concerts at major venues such as Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center, Emory University's Schwartz Center for Performing Arts and Clayton State University's Spivey Hall.
She has interviewed jazz legends such as Ahmad Jamal, McCoy Tyner, Dee Dee Bridgewater, George Benson as well as legends in the making such as Robert Glasper, Christian McBride, and Esperanza Spalding. She feels jazz music should not be put in a box and considers herself a vessel of the music, constantly quoting the Pharoah Sanders piece "The Creator Has a Master Plan" when referring to her journey within the music.
David Bienenstock is the author of How to Smoke Pot (Properly): A Highbrow Guide to Getting High (Penguin / Random House), and co-host of the podcast Great Moments in Weed History w/ Abdullah and Bean.
Previously, he served as Head of Content at HIGH TIMES and was a columnist, frequent contributor, and video host/producer at VICE Media, where he produced the series Bong Appetit, including viral episodes like A Gourmet Weed Dinner at Hunter S. Thompson's House and Marijuana Nonna.
He has been profiled by The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, The Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, LA Weekly, Slate, and elsewhere, while making frequent media appearances, including on CNN, NPR, MSNBC, HBO and Fox News.
WBGO is a publicly-supported cultural institution that preserves and promotes jazz, blues, Latin jazz and classic rhythm & blues. From its home base of Newark, New Jersey, public radio station WBGO has long been an anchor institution in community engagement through its music and news programming, live performances and partnerships. WBGO reaches a diverse audience from its broadcast location in America's number one media market, the New York/New Jersey metro area. Through programs such as Jazz Night in America, produced in partnership with NPR and Jazz at Lincoln Center, the organization’s reach extends to millions more across the country, and around the globe through WBGO.org and the WBGO mobile app and social media plus Facebook Live broadcasts. WBGO is broadcast at 88.3 FM in the NY/New Jersey area and may be streamed from WBGO.org.
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