Community Post: Interview with DJ Bob Zieff
Bob Zieff is the kind of person who actually has articles written about him in books, newspapers, and Google searches. There’s even a song written about him, called “Who the Hell is Bob Zieff?” He is a big star in the music world, and he DJ’s here at WDCV every week. He leads an intriguing life, guided by his love for music, specifically jazz and classical music, specifically of the 20th century, of which he has loved since the age of twelve. Outside of WDCV, Bob is a jazz composer. He studied music at Boston University and spent many years composing for jazz musicians of all kinds. Bob has connections to many famous jazz artists, including Chet Baker and Richard Twardzik, whom he mentored. Bob’s following reaches more than just neighboring states; people from Japan, Sweden, Germany, Norway, and many more know Bob Zieff as one of their favorite jazz composers. A CD of his was recently released, a compilation of musicians performing some of his best creations. Bob is very modest about his fame though, and when asked what he likes to do other than DJ, rather than focusing on his own musical creations, Bob laughed about the jazz book that he’s been writing for decades now.
It’s amazing that someone as 
profound and inspiring as Bob has been a member of WDCV for almost twelve years now. In Bob’s show, Jazz Pathways, he hopes that his music choices will help others learn more about jazz. During his two hours at WDCV each week, he does not care about what’s deemed as popular, because as Bob says, “if you want to know what’s bad, listen to what’s popular.” Rather, Bob is interested in the complex, colorful nature of the jazz that is great to listen to because of the skill of musician and composer alike, not just because of the aesthetic it creates. Bob enjoys playing music that represents something:a musical progression, a harmonic riff, a compositional puzzle.
By doing this, he introduces a lot of jazz artists who are not very popular in the jazz world.He wants to paint jazz as approachable to all listeners, which is why he is so perfect for WDCV. Artists include Lester Young, CharlieParker, Duke Ellington, and Benny Goodman among others. By listening to Bob’s show, he wishes that all listeners can learn just a little bit about what he has dedicated much of his life to.
Listen to Bob’s show, Jazz Pathways, on Sundays from 12pm to 2pm for a lesson on jazz!
Click here to listen to the Enrique Heredia Quartet play the music of Bob Zieff!
Click here to purchase Bob’s latest publication from Fresh Sound Records!
If you have any questions, email Julia Ormond at ormondj@dickinson.edu. Thanks for reading!
