Doodlin’ Lounge has been a radio fantasy of mine for decades. That is to say, I have used imagery to envelop the music that I program for a long time. It all started when I would listen to my radio idol, Al ‘Jazzbeaux’ Collins. He would talk about his ‘Purple Grotto’ and I would imagine what it might be like in this environment that he spoke of in such euphoric terms. He would later tell me how it could have been (but wasn’t necessarily) a moist, cave-like room that was filled with various purple shades and the walls might have been long stalactites that crept down from above. I never forgot those images and how they enhanced the music I heard and made it so much more enjoyable. Jazzbeaux’s radio fantasy sparked my imagination. My ‘Doodlin’ Lounge’ began to take shape in the 70’s. As I learned about the small organ rooms throughout the so-called ‘Chitlin Circuit’ and within our inner cities, I began to imagine what it must have been like seeing Wild Bill Davis, Jimmy Smith or Baby Face Willette in those rooms, that is, ‘back in the day’. As I spoke to more and more Jazz Organists who performed in these rooms, I began to get a feeling for what they saw and heard… and how their lives represented a truly unique American Experience. It was the Jazz Organ Era of the fifties and sixties that would represent ‘the people’s music’ in this country. In fact, it was a story that has not fully been understood, let alone told. Those smoke-filled rooms with smells of fish and chicken swirling in the back…the wooden seats and vinyl booths…the sounds of urban America coming down from a hard day’s work with a cold beer… all needed to be re-visited. As I began to see the heads bobbing up and down and the feet moving from side to side, I prepared for my own radio fantasy: My very own, ‘Doodlin’ Lounge’… Since May of 1980, I have been broadcasting from radio station KUSP in Santa Cruz, California. This is an National Public Radio affiliate which offers an eclectic format for its Central Coast listeners. I am currently on the air each Monday night beginning at 9:30 PM. Listeners all over the world can hear the stream by visiting: HYPERLINK "http://www.kusp.org" www.kusp.org and clicking on the appropriate icons to ‘Listen Live’… My broadcasts begin with descriptive language that surfaces spontaneously. One night the ‘Lounge’ might be a long, ‘shot-gun’ room; another night it might be a larger room with a dance floor and raised bandstand. It never really matters what the ‘Doodlin’ Lounge’ looks like at any given time as long as it provides the listener with imagery that supports the music. As listeners, we need only honesty in our music for it to come across. We want to be coaxed but we don’t want to be fooled. The ‘Doodlin’ Lounge’ is where honesty in music is foremost and everything else is relative. My friend, Zoe, has created a visual for my ‘Doodlin’ Lounge’. I love it because it is honest and it feels good. And, it’s whatever we want it to be. It reminds me of the lounges we see today in New York and San Francisco but it could also be a warm and cozy spot in Des Moines or even Anchorage, Alaska. Let it be what you like but do come in and enjoy… Tonight’s group should be here any time… This web site not only provides information about me and my ‘Doodlin’ Lounge’ radio program but also reports the up and coming ‘Organ Events’ in and around the world. Providing the promotional information of an organ event is sent to the ‘Doodlin’ Lounge’ in a timely manner, it will be advertised to the world as a non-commercial gesture. The ‘Services’ page of this web site is a general posting of those activities provided by ‘Doodlin’ Productions’. I will continue to promote organ events in and around the Bay Area (San Jose-Oakland-San Francisco) by providing Hammond organs and Leslie speakers and encouraging club owners and festival directors to book Hammond organ players. Voice over, narration and Master-of-Ceremonies services will always be under the ‘Doodlin’ Productions’ umbrella. Interested parties are encouraged to inquire. The ‘Featured Artist’ segment of the ‘Doodlin’ Lounge’ will continue to showcase those organists who might not otherwise be well-known to the public. Those who have been passed-over for one reason or another; those who have struggled for recognition; and those who are emerging with a strength and dedication to the traditions set forth by Jazz Organ Pioneers… will eventually wind up on the ‘Featured Artist’ roster. The newest addition to my ‘Doodlin’ activities is: ‘Doodlin’ Records’. This will be an evolving project that will focus attention on Jazz Organ combos and other trios and quartets playing in the traditions of Soul Jazz. New recording sessions as well as re-issues and compilations will eventually surface on this start-up independent record company. The ‘Jazz Organ Stories’ that were once a part of the ‘Doodlin’ Lounge’ web site are now being collated, updated and edited for inclusion into a future book. More will be revealed about this as time passes…