Fred Seibert - Early Career

Early Career

Seibert began his media career at Columbia University's WKCR-FM in 1969 as a board engineer and producer/host of world music, jazz and pop shows. He recorded the majority of the station's live jazz broadcasts which led to the formation of his independent blues and jazz label. Roots musician and producer Tom Pomposello and Seibert formed Oblivion Records in 1972 (with third partner Dick Pennington), producing releases by blues musicians Mississippi Fred McDowell (Live in New York), Johnny Woods, and Charles Walker (Blues from the Apple); and jazz musicians Joe Lee Wilson and Marc Cohen (now known as Marc Copland). He was a producer (and/or engineer) of over 30 jazz records (for independent labels like Muse Records and the Jazz Composer's Orchestra) between 1971 and 1978 by artists as diverse as Hank Jones, Cecil Taylor, Dom Salvador and Willis Jackson.

In 1977 and 1978 he was the road manager and sound engineer for tours with pianist/composer Carla Bley, before joining the innovative media executive Dale Pon at New York's WHN radio. Pon introduced Seibert to his WNBC Radio colleague Robert Pittman as Pittman was becoming an early cable television pioneer at the Warner Amex Satellite Company (WASEC), now named MTV Networks Siebert became the first creative director for the channel. Seibert was born in Manhattan, raised in Halesite, New York. He initially studied at Columbia University's College of Pharmaceutical Sciences 1969-1971, then minored in History at Columbia College, Columbia University, 1971-1973.