Most jazz fans know the art form has a deep history in the Bay Area, particularly beginning in the 1940s, when the Fillmore became known as the “Harlem of the West.” Perhaps less well known: One of the biggest collections of jazz music in the world resides here, in a library belonging to KCSM 91.1, the jazz radio station nestled within the College of San Mateo.
At a time when corporate radio programs music by algorithm, KCSM still offers listeners the expertise and personal imprint of its DJs, who are essentially kids in the candy store of that library as they create their shows every day.
A new documentary, “KCSM 91.1 The Bay Area’s Jazz Station to the World,” celebrates this extraordinary endeavor through spotlights on the station’s personnel, listeners, and the music that forms its heart and soul. It premieres on Saturday, Feb. 8, at the Roxie Theater as part of this year’s San Francisco Independent Film Festival, with an afterparty at Mission bar the Rite Spot.
“It was really exciting to bear witness and just see everyone do their passion,” says Wade Shields who, along with Jasmine Wang and Danny Monico, directed the film. “In filmmaking, that is something we gravitate towards so much. Being there, everyone loves the music, everyone loves the history. Everyone loves the station. It’s a very warm environment.”
The documentary is just one of several projects by local filmmakers at SF IndieFest, which runs from Feb. 6 through 18 at the Roxie and Vogue theaters. Other highlights with Bay Area ties include “East Side Sushi” director and San Francisco State University alum Anthony Lucero’s uplifting “The Paper Bag Plan;” San Francisco filmmaker J.P. Allen’s romantic and mysterious “Memorizing Allison;” Vallejo filmmaker Miyoni Nelson’s debut “Encrypted,” depicting a young woman’s mental health crisis; and San Jose director Anthony Hand’s colorful, animated queer superhero tale “Maxxie LaWow: Drag Super-shero.”
Going global
The KCSM documentary, in particular, deftly proves how Bay Area culture can spread far beyond the region. A listener-supported nonprofit, KCSM was founded in October 1964, and has enjoyed a loyal local following ever since. But now, with an internet presence, its reach has gone global. Testimonials from fans throughout the film from as far away as Japan underscore how the station has evolved into a worldwide phenomenon. That the filmmakers had access to words from those fans also illustrates how the station values and maintains the breadth of its own history.
“Those voices we were excited to uncover, working with the station,” Shields says. “They had them as part of the database, and they were labeled by first name and location… That was a goldmine.“
It was KCSM that reached out to Incurrent Media, the New Jersey-based production company founded by Wang and Monico, with the idea for a documentary. The station just celebrated its 60th anniversary in October, and station staff figured a film would preserve its legacy while also providing a valuable tool to boost KCSM’s bottom line.
“We focus a lot on fundraising work, so it felt like a natural fit to be able to tell that human story and the passion behind it, and help grow the station by doing what we do best, which is storytelling,” says Shields.
A complex history
There is history within history in “KCSM 91.1 The Bay Area’s Jazz Station to the World,” as the filmmakers embroider the growth of jazz within the documentary’s slim, 57-minute running time. While working on the film, Shields discovered how little non-aficionados know about the genre.
“I think today, you say, ‘Oh, do you like jazz?’ And people say, ‘Yes, I love Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra,” Shields says. “And I think people don’t even know that the roots of jazz are in slavery, as the film makes it clear. We really wanted that to be prominent, because it’s such a key part of pop culture. Things get co-opted and treated as if they just appeared out of nowhere when, really, there’s this rich, diverse, and sometimes painful history.”
Shields also believes that while the station and its personalities, with their highly curated set lists, might seem retro now, they could, in fact, be at the forefront of a brighter future for radio. Just as LPs came back, so might the power of the DJ triumphing over the bland homogeneity of the algorithm.
“I think people get tired of being hit over the head with the inhuman,” he says. “I’m sure the world will look very different in five or 10 years. I don’t know if it’s optimistic, but I imagine that there will be a re-gravitation toward the personal, the more connected, and the more human.”
“KCSM 91.1 The Bay Area’s Jazz Station to the World” screens at 6:45 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 8 at the Roxie Theater (3117 16th St.) and online. Following the Roxie screening, there is an afterparty at The Rite Spot with entertainment by local jazz band The Cottontails. To purchase tickets or peruse the whole program, visit www.sfindie2025.eventive.org/welcome.
Now do KPOO – and boost that signal!
Hooray for KCSM! We are really looking forward to this film at the Roxie. Love the station – if we are home, and awake, it is most likely the soundtrack in the house!