[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 146 (Monday, November 7, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2285]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  IN RECOGNITION OF THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF WAMU'S WEEKLY THREE-HOUR 
PROGRAM HOT JAZZ SATURDAY NIGHT AND OF THE SHOW'S CREATOR, PRODUCER AND 
                          HOST, ROB BAMBERGER

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, November 7, 2005

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I am particularly fortunate to have in my 
district one of the country's best public broadcasting stations, and 
Members of the House share in that good fortune while they are in 
Washington. If Members have had the pleasure of tuning in to WAMU 88.5 
FM on Saturday nights you will understand why I rise today to 
congratulate WAMU and Host Rob Bamberger on the occasion of the 25th 
Anniversary of Hot Jazz Saturday Night, Washington's only regularly 
scheduled show devoted to vintage jazz and one of the longest running 
locally produced shows on WAMU.
  Rob Bamberger's commitment to vintage jazz began in 1963 at an 
elementary school book fair in Shaker Heights, Ohio. Waiting until the 
mad rush was over; an admittedly shy kid with glasses approached the 
record table to see if anything was left. While the table had been 
picked pretty clean, Rob spied a two-LP set with a trombone and a top 
hat on the cover, set against an elegant red curtain. It was a two-
record set of broadcast recordings by Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra. 
It cost Rob a dime, a fateful investment because all he had to hear was 
the ``Hawaiian War Chant'' and he was hooked. That two-LP set became 
the cornerstone for a life-long love and scholarly interest in American 
music of the 1920's, 30's and 40's, and the start of a record 
collection that has been the mother lode for the music featured on Hot 
Jazz Saturday Night.
  WAMU listeners get a weekly glimpse into Rob Bamberger's record 
collection every Saturday night from 7 to 10 p.m. Rob often focuses on 
an artist or theme, illuminating the story behind the music and the 
artists from his own intimate and extensive store of knowledge, and the 
most recent scholarship. It becomes a lesson in American history and 
culture, but never stuffy or professorial. Rob's succinct and 
informative commentaries are laced with dry humor that endears him to 
his weekly fans.
  Rob Bamberger's Hot Jazz Saturday Night represents programming that 
listeners can't get anywhere else. Listeners who danced to some of the 
musicians and groups featured on the show enthuse about hearing artists 
and songs they have not heard in decades. Other listeners once had the 
impression that jazz is a remote unapproachable music enjoyed only by 
denizens of smoke- filled bars. Rob disagrees and says there are no 
prerequisites to enjoying jazz or Hot Jazz Saturday Night. His 
commitment to introducing this treasured American art form to new 
listeners is boundless. You can neither be too old or too young to 
discover and revel in the music of Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong, Glen 
Miller, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and countless others who are 
enduring images of a bygone era evoked every Saturday night on WAMU.
  I join jazz supporters in the Nation's Capital in paying tribute to 
WAMU and Rob Bamberger on the occasion of the 25th Anniversary of Hot 
Jazz Saturday Night.

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