Concert emcee a natural fit for Wichita’s ‘smooth jazz guru’

Every week, Steve Bauer sits and edits his “Sunday Jazz Brunch” radio show for hours, destined to play during commutes to church and Sunday brunches.

Recently, his responsibilities have included helping to organize Bradley Fair’s annual smooth jazz concert series.

Bauer, also known as “The Jazz Man,” is Wichita’s smooth jazz guru – there are few in town with as much knowledge and insight into the genre as he.

He’s able to entice high-level acts to come to Bradley Fair to perform over the summer, which is a boon for the shopping center at 21st and Rock, according to Bradley Fair officials.

“He has been a wonderful emcee and asset to the series,” said Jessica Dunbar, marketing and property administrator at Bradley Fair. “He gives us great insight and artist recommendations each year.”

Bauer’s beginnings

Bauer grew up around radio – his voice has been on the radio waves since he was a senior in high school in 1971.

In the 1970s, he worked at KMUW and at a local country radio station before doing severe weather reporting.

Then, he decided smooth jazz was his calling.

“I just fell in love with the music,” he said. “I sort of had to be self-taught and learn the artists.”

He was inspired in part, he said, by a short-lived smooth jazz radio station in Wichita in the mid-1990s.

Before the station folded and switched format, Bauer acquired most of its music collection.

If there was not a market in Wichita for a smooth jazz radio station, there surely was a market online.

At the time, in 2001, internet radio was a relatively novel concept.

In 2001, Bauer launched his own show at www.jazznotes.net. In November 2003, the show was picked up by B98-FM.

From his home studio in Wichita, his smooth jazz show is heard around the country – from Colorado to California – and sometimes overseas in the United Kingdom, he said.

And of course, Wichitans can hear it every Sunday morning on B98-FM, where it has been hosted on FM radio since 2003.

Dave Wilson, program director at B98-FM, said the show draws more than 10,000 listeners every Sunday.

Growth of the Bradley Fair series

Bauer, who is blind, plays an important role in helping organize the annual summer jazz concert series at Bradley Fair. A partnership with B98-FM means Bauer is on tap to recommend artists and emcee the event.

As Wichita’s most recognizable smooth jazz guru, it’s his duty.

“I love being able to meet the listeners while I’m at Bradley Fair, talking to them about music and about the show,” Bauer said. “It just seemed a natural fit to become more involved with the concerts.”

The popularity of the series at Bradley Fair has grown in recent years, and its reputation is spreading in the smooth jazz circles, Bauer said.

“Nationally, the smooth jazz world is quite small and everyone in the industry knows each other,” said Dunbar, the Bradley Fair official. “The artists have always enjoyed the Bradley Fair venue and the warm hospitality from the guests. Because of their experience, we receive many requests each year from artists around the country who would like to play here.”

About 3,000 people attend the free concerts each week, culminating with a fireworks display this year on June 30. About 13,000 people attend the final “Celebrate America Concert” every year, Dunbar said.

Bradley Fair is typically able to recruit high-level acts to its summer concert series because the timing coincides with a large Kansas City music festival in June, Bauer said. Smooth jazz artists who play the festival often come down to Bradley Fair to play a show as well, he said.

“They bring pretty big names in for their festival, and we’re able to generally get one or two of those big names to come on over to Wichita,” Bauer said. “It’s just a juggling act to get everything scheduled.”

There is a popular perception that young people just don’t get jazz, Bauer said.

However, he said, a trip to Bradley Fair often goes a long way toward helping youths acquire a taste for free-form jazz.

“If they get a chance to see a jazz concert in person, 95 percent of the time they’ve had a few changes because they realize these jazz musicians are on stage playing instruments. They’re not having computers and electronic machines generate the music,” Bauer said. “They are making the music themselves, and the talent we have on the stage each year at Bradley Fair is just amazing.”

This story was originally published June 3, 2016 at 2:37 PM with the headline "Concert emcee a natural fit for Wichita’s ‘smooth jazz guru’."