Bob Perkins, R.I.P.

[An edited version of this published in Broad Street Review 28 Jan 2025, “Remembering beloved WRTI jazz announcer Bob Perkins.”] Jazz broadcaster Bob Perkins, an announcer on radio station WRTI in Philadelphia for 25 years, died yesterday, January 19th. He...

The Arc in the Sky

2020 Grammy nomination, Best Choral Performance, The Crossing. Text by Robert Lax. Music by Kile Smith. SATB, unaccompanied. Duration, 65 minutes. Commissioned for The Crossing, Donald Nally, conductor. Premiered June 30th, 2018, at the Presbyterian Church of Chestnut...

I Didn’t Get Fired

“I haven’t heard you on the air for a while. Did they fire you?” she asked. “It’s worse than that,” I said. “They promoted me.” Day One of my new job as Director of Content at WRTI is in the books; I officially started...

Frank Sinatra: Jazz His Way

[First published in WRTI’s Arts Desk 4 Dec 2015.] Frank Sinatra was born 100 years ago on December 12th, and there have been any number of stars in the entertainment world during that century. But WRTI’s Kile Smith looks at what truly sets him apart from all the...

The Legacy of Dave Brubeck

[First published in WRTI’s Arts Desk, 30 Nov 2015.] December 6th is Dave Brubeck’s birthday, and WRTI’s Kile Smith looks at the secret behind the legacy of this giant of jazz. Dave Brubeck may be the most unlikely of jazz pianists. He almost was tossed from...