Tom Schnabel goes off the air at KCRW, moves to web

After producing shows for KCRW for 34 years, including 20 years with a show on Sundays, Tom Schnabel announced that Sunday was his final live program on the air. He is moving to an on-line platform that KCRW is calling Rhythm Planet. He explains on his blog:

I’ll be moving to our digital platform, hosting a new online show called Rhythm Planet, a companion to my KCRW blog which I’ve been writing for the past couple of years.

On Rhythm Planet, I’ll produce a weekly feature with jazz, world, and latin music, interviews and live sessions. I’ll be able to mine my archives and present rare interviews with musical heroes and giants. I’ll also appear monthly with Jason [Bentley] on Morning Becomes Eclectic to offer my latest world music recommendations.

KCRW will be launching a Rhythm Planet CD club where I pick my favorite jazz and world music titles for members. I’m also hosting an Up Close program on May 20th at the Jerry and Anne Moss Stage in Santa Monica, where jazz pianist Alan Pasqua will join me in presenting a live history of jazz piano from honky tonk to Keith Jarrett, Cecil Taylor, and beyond. I’m thrilled and excited about that upcoming event.

The first new feature of Rhythm Planet is already up and running. For the first time since June, 1986 when it first aired on Morning Becomes Eclectic, you can hear my interview with the legendary Nigerian afrobeat superstar Fela Kuti, which has never been rebroadcast since that day so many years ago.

KCRW is beefing up its web presence and previously converted "DnA," the design show by Frances Anderton, into the Design & Architecture web platform. The long-running news show Which Way, LA? is also doing more on the web these days.