Frank Consola, known as “the walking
encyclopedia of jazz,” was born in Brooklyn, New York, but a move to
Philadelphia in the late 50's put him in one of the most influential
cities for R&B and Rock & Roll. He didn't catch the jazz bug until 1963
when a romance interest played a record by Herbie Mann at the Village
Gate. From that moment on, he was hooked, forgot about the girl, and went
crazy buying jazz records. Philly was strong on jazz in the 60's with
great clubs like Peps and The Showboat, where Frank saw many of the
legends in person, including Miles, Monk, Bill Evans, Roland
Kirk, Sun Ra and Charles Mingus. A job offer brought Frank to Miami in 1982 where he discovered WDNA. Becoming sort of a station groupie, he befriended the hosts and programmers and eventually began guest-hosting their shows . By this time, Frank was deeper into the jazz spectrum, from mainstream to the avant gard, from blues, R&B, and progressive rock to soul and latin music. In 1989, he began hosting jazz once a week as a volunteer in the afternoon. This led to the daily morning show which is now the longest running jazz show in Miami. Frank has seen jazz constantly re-invent itself and his passion for it continues today. |