John Kessler
All Blues HostJohn has worked as a professional bassist for 20 years, including a 15 year stint as Musical Director of the Mountain Stage radio program. John has been at KNKX since 1999 where he hosts “All Blues”, is producer of the BirdNote radio program, and co-hosts “Record Bin Roulette”. John is also the recording engineer for KNKX “In-Studio Performances”. Not surprisingly, John's main musical interests are jazz and blues, and he is still performing around Seattle.
His most memorable and satisfying KNKX radio moment was getting an email from Jimmy Lane, a bluesman and the son of blues legend Jimmy Rogers, who said something like “You’re playing the good stuff, keep it up!”
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Roger Hawkins went from playing drums in his Alabama church to drumming on dozens of hit singles with Aretha Franklin, Percy Sledge, Wilson Pickett and The Staple Singers.
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Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts died this year. Unlike other rock drummers, he cited jazz as a major influence on his style, and that gentler touch led to the unique sound of the Stones.
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Many of these artists were new discoveries for me this year, which gives me much hope that blues music has a bright future. Blues is certainly evolving as a musical form, and it’s a very interesting time to be a listener and a fan.
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Celebrating the release of his new album "Dear America," Grammy-nominated blues singer and songwriter Eric Bibb talks with John Kessler.
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All Blues host John Kessler spoke with Larkin Poe's Rebecca and Megan Lovell about their new live album and staying busy during the pandemic.
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Marcia Ball joined us from her home near Austin, TX, for a Virtual Studio Session, exactly one year to the day that she performed live in KNKX’s Seattle Studios. This day we were lucky enough to hear Marcia perform six songs, and we chatted briefly and took some questions from the Zoom audience.
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KNKX blues host John Kessler shares his Best of the Blues list from the past year. Read more about his favorite songs from 2020 (and check out some…
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We live in a world of super-powers competing for global influence. Beyond military victory and economic dominance, they also compete for our hearts and…
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Once in a generation, a musician comes along whose individual innovations are so dramatic they fundamentally change the function and perception of their…
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Stephanie Anne Johnson and The Hidogs stopped by KNKX studios and performed four songs from their new album, Take This Love. A Tacoma native, Johnson came…