The Sarnoff Channel

The Sarnoff Channel has been a year in the making. We wanted to honor our good friend Les with the music both he and his listeners loved. One of the things you’ll notice is the inclusion of a bit of jazz in the blend. Let’s explain:

Les was a front-runner in the Smooth Jazz explosion of the 80’s and 90’s. Jazz was never meant to be a food group (some radio stations took it way too far), just a spice for good music. Les spent twenty years on the stage of the Mount Hood Festival of Jazz: There he met and introduced all of the greats from Ella Fitzgerald to Mel Torme’, George Benson, Kenny G, Anita Baker, Chuck Mangione, The Crusaders, Oscar Peterson, Dave Brubeck, Grover Washington Jr., Wynton Marsalis, and David Sanborn, as well as many local artists like Tom Grant, Dan Siegel, and Jeff Lorber who made an impact on a national level.

When Les started at KINK, the station was struggling with its musical identity. Over the course of several years we were able to shape the sound of KINK into something that was special for the musicians as well as the listeners. We started the “live artist in the studio” concept in Portland. We were notorious for hanging out at places like Music Millennium, scouring the album bins to find the new and different music. I would tour the record stores in London each year to find new music and artists. Some of those “finds” included Sade, Art Of Noise, and Everything But The Girl.

We only had one rule when it came to music: Play the good stuff.

On the Sarnoff Channel, we’ll be doing basically the same thing with updated music from today and an homage to the past. If you liked the music Les played, we hope you’ll love the Sarnoff Channel and will tell a friend. We welcome your comments and suggestions.

We’re here to play the good stuff.

Carl Widing
Former KINK-FM music guy, 1977-1997