Tell us about Just Jazz

Steve Hart‘s Just Jazz features new releases and casts a wide net to include the best feel-good jazz, smooth jazz and straight ahead jazz. I run down the jazz chart and occasionally feature artist interviews. Let me know if you’d like something played.

Tell us about yourself

One of the first things I did when I moved to Sunbury in 2022 was to become a member of Sunbury Radio. I have always had a passion for radio. It all began when I started volunteering at my local hospital radio station in the UK.

My interest in music saw me become a full time club DJ. After many years’ DJing in clubs in and around London I swapped my turntables for a typewriter, and joined my local weekly as a news reporter covering everything from carnivals to crime.

I worked in commercial and BBC Local radio, and ended up travelling the world as a photo-journalist. I left the UK for New Zealand in 2000 to join the New Zealand Herald’s newsroom.

What’s your all-time favourite album? That’s a toughy… I have wide music tastes and so enjoy everything. Jazz, soul, funk, EDM, prog rock, ambient, classical… 80s club music has a special spot in my life of course, and today’s dance music is fantastic too. The first album I remember buying is Rick Wakeman’s Journey to the Centre of the Earth.

Do you play a musical instrument?

When the mood takes me, I plug a keyboard into the Mac and get busy with an app called Reason. I love the sounds of the Moog and ARP synths. But, if it counts, I create dance mixes blending half-a-dozen cuts into a single track, adding percussion and samples.

What’s your favourite TV show?

I like documentaries. But…Seinfeld, Detectorists, The Prisoner, Blake’s 7, and The Beiderbecke Affair series are favourites.

What’s your advice to those thinking of volunteering at Sunbury Radio?

Get in touch. All skills are needed, from technical to fundraising. There are regular get-togethers, it can be very social at times, and everyone is really friendly.

Visit my website here and check out my Just Jazz page on Facebook