Maryanne Sullivan © Andrea Canter

MPR’s loss is KBEM’s gain, and the big winner is Twin Cities jazz. A few weeks ago, Maryann Sullivan announced that her Saturday night program, “The Jazz Connection,” would be discontinued in favor of more eclectic programming at Minnesota Public Radio. Long-time home of Leigh Kamman’s “The Jazz Image,” MPR had brought Sullivan on board to fill the jazz airspace left by Kamman’s retirement in fall 2007.

It only took a few weeks for KBEM Radio (Jazz 88 FM) to fill the Saturday night void, bringing Maryann back to her former employer with a new program, “Corner Jazz,” which will air in the 9-11 pm time slot starting January 31^st. Notes Maryann, “The show will be similar to what I was doing on “The Jazz Connection,” only more so!  I may feel a bit more relaxed in a jazz environment.  I will eventually continue with interviews and, of course, be featuring lots of the great talent we have here in the Twin Cities... I hope that some of my listeners will bring their support to KBEM to keep it going strong.”

The daughter of a local trumpeter, Maryann Sullivan grew up hearing jazz recordings in her family home. At Augsburg College, she studied music and played flute and saxophone in the college jazz program under the direction of James “Doc” Carlson. Since the 1980s, she has worked in a variety of radio formats and settings. Maryann began her jazz broadcasting career at KTWN-108 in Anoka, the first full-time jazz radio station in the Twin Cities area. She went to work at KTCJ, KTWN’s “The Breeze” new-age jazz satellite radio network, and KTWN Video as a jazz video host. Her long association with KBEM dates back to the 1990s, when she conceived the locally produced show, “Minnesota Connection,” an hour-long interview program featuring musicians from around the country with ties to Minnesota. Her commitment to promoting the local jazz scene has been a driving force ever since. In the 1990s, Sullivan also co-hosted the nationally syndicated “JazzWire,” featuring independently produced jazz recordings from around the country. “JazzWire” was produced by IGMOD records, a local jazz record label.

Sullivan worked at MPR for 12 years―as music host for KSJN, as a news anchor and host of “Weekend Edition” for KNOW, and as voice talent for various MPR produced shows. She hosted the Jazz Calendar on Leigh Kamman’s “The Jazz Image” before moving into Kamman’s time slot with the weekly “The Jazz Connection.”

In addition to her broadcasting work, Maryann continues to work as a commercial voice talent and lately has been venturing out as a singer. She is married to local jazz musician Doug Haining of the Twin Cities Seven and the Wolverines Classic Jazz Orchestra, and has 2 sons pursuing music careers at Indiana University and the University of North Texas.

Listen to KBEM, Jazz 88 streaming online now

Welcome Maryann back to the airwaves—give her a call on the studio line on Saturday night, January 31^st during the inaugural broadcast of Corner Jazz (between 9 and 11 pm), at 612-529-5236.

---

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites