The Spenard area of Alaska is known for its eclecticism and diversity amongst its people, businesses, and artistic sensibilities. Long has it been the host of Tommy’s Burger Stop, Chilkoot Charlies, Center Bowl, and more currently The Drip, the city’s first black-owned coffee hut. It’s no wonder that this area specifically also openly celebrates American jazz culture, and has instituted an event to partake in its music. Established in 2008, the Spenard Jazz Fest will celebrate its 15th anniversary in Anchorage this year. Alaska-based musician Yngvil Vant Guttu has been pivotal in the scene for years and will be one of many artists gathering in Spenard to perform on the 4th of June. Here, she and fellow artist Corinthia Rabb help facilitate the discussion on the importance of Jazz on a national scale and a local one to support the culture and the Fest in the heart of Spenard.
HOST: Justin Williams
GUESTS:
Yngvil Vant Guttu, Corinthia Rabb, and Karl Wilhelmi
PARTICIPATE:
- Call 550-8433 (Anchorage) or 1-888-353-5752 (statewide) during the live broadcast (10-11 a.m.)
- Send e-mail to hometown@alaskapublic.org before, during, or after the live broadcast (E-mails may be read on air).
- Post your comment or question below (Comments may be read on air).
- LIVE: Monday, May 23, 2022, at 10 a.m.
- RE-AIR: Monday, May 23, 2022, at 8 p.m.
- PODCAST: Available on this page after the program.
Eric Bork, or you can just call him “Bork” because everybody else does, is the FM Operations Manager for KSKA-FM. He oversees the day-to-day operations of the FM broadcast. He produces and edits episodes of Outdoor Explorer, the Alaska-focused outdoors program. He also maintains the web posts for that show. You may have heard him filling in for Morning Edition or hosting All Things Considered and can still find him operating the soundboard for any of the live broadcast programs.
After escaping the Detroit area when he was 18, Bork made it up to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where he earned a degree in Communications/Radio Broadcasting from Northern Michigan University. He spent time managing the college radio station, working for the local NPR affiliate, and then in top 40 radio in Michigan before coming to Alaska to work his first few summers. After then moving to Chicago, it only took five years to convince him to move back to Alaska in 2010. When not involved in great radio programming he’s probably riding a bicycle, thinking about riding bicycles, dreaming about bikes, reading a book, or planning the next place he’ll travel to. Only two continents left to conquer!
