NorthEast Radio Watch 9/19/2022: A Boston Jazz Voice, Silenced

In this week’s issue… Remembering GBH’s Jackson – WSYR hits 100 – SBE comes back to CNY – RI Hall of Fame inducts 6

By SCOTT FYBUSH

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*For half a century, the sound of jazz on Boston radio was closely associated with one name: Eric Jackson, best known for his “Eric in the Evening” jazz show on WGBH (89.7).

Jackson made multiple stops in Boston radio in the years before he arrived at WGBH in 1977. A Providence native, he did college radio at Boston University on WTBU and then at WBUR, as well as at WHRB at Harvard. After a short stint at WILD, Jackson became part of the freeform airstaff at WBCN, where he expanded beyond jazz to play a wide variety of music, as well as producing public affairs shows.

One, the 35-part “Essays in Black Music,” aired on WGBH in 1975. Two years later, Jackson was hosting “Artists in the Night” overnight, followed in 1981 by his move to evenings. By 2012, Jackson was the last remaining jazz host on a schedule increasingly filled with news; the cancellation of weeknight jazz and the move of Jackson’s show to a Friday-Sunday slot prompted protests but no change.

Jackson remained at WGBH as a weekend staple, while also teaching at Northeastern, Simmons and Wheelock, among other schools.

Jackson died Saturday at 72; there’s been no announcement yet from WGBH about what will happen with his timeslot.